WATCH TRAILER

Belly of the Beast

A film by Erika Cohn, Produced by Angela Tucker, Christen Marquez, and Nicole Docta

US | 2020 | 81 minutes | Color | DVD | English | Order No. W201262 |

Filmed over seven years with extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people, this Emmy-winning documentary exposes a pattern of illegal sterilizations, modern-day eugenics and reproductive injustice in California prisons.

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SYNOPSIS

When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. With a growing team of investigators inside prison working with colleagues on the outside, they uncover a series of statewide crimes -- from inadequate health care to sexual assault to coercive sterilizations -- primarily targeting women of color. This shocking legal drama captured over 7-years features extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people, demanding attention to a shameful and ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States. 

BELLY OF THE BEAST is a co-production of Belly of the Beast LLC, Idle Wild Films Inc., Black Public Media (BPM) and Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

PRESS

"Shocking."

"Whistleblower testimonies, expert commentary and powerful archival footage are well-paced throughout the film and reveal a darker truth when it comes to advocating for the rights of incarcerated people: Those on the frontline are not only fighting bad actors who abuse their power, they are also battling a public that at best does not care and at worst condones it."

"Harrowing."

NPR

"A powerful exposé of human rights abuses of women in the criminal justice system."

Human Rights Watch Film Festival

“Horrifying and fascinating all at once.”

"An exposé of modern-day eugenics in the United States."

"Erika Cohn's follow-up to her multi-award-winning THE JUDGE, tracks down a previously little-known story about enforced—and illegal—sterilization of female inmates in California's correctional facilities."

"Filmmaker Erika Cohn’s BELLY OF THE BEAST tackles a tough subject — the forced sterilization of women inmates at a California prison — with journalistic fire and sensitive artistry."

“It’s like an onion, and you just keep peeling and seeing just layers and layers and layers of systemic injustice on so many intersectional levels...absolutely worth watching for students.”

Beth Seymour ACT Human Rights Film Festival Managing Director

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

  • Emmy Award for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
  • American Library Association Notable Films for Adults 2022
  • 93rd Oscars Shortlist, Best Original Song
  • Special Jury Mention, Documentary Feature, Social Impact Media Awards
  • Peabody Award Nominee
  • Honorable Mention, American Bar Association Silver Gavel Awards
  • Best Director, Documentary Feature, Centre Film Festival
  • Honorable Mention, Best Feature Documentary Film, Womens Voices Now Film Festival
  • Opening Night Film, Human Rights Watch Film Festival
  • Opening Night Film, Repro Film Festival
  • Mill Valley Film Festival
  • Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival
  • Athena Film Festival
  • Philadelphia Latino Film Festival
  • Duluth Superior Film Festival
  • rePRO Film Fest
  • Vancouver International Black Film Festival
  • United Nations Association Film Festival
  • Montreal Black Film Festival
  • Hawaii International Film Festival
  • Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival
  • Heartland Film Festival

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Erika Cohn

Erika Cohn is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director/producer who Variety recognized as one of 2017’s top documentary filmmakers to watch and was featured in DOC NYC’s 2019 “40 Under 40.” Most recently, Erika completed The Judge, a Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated film about the first woman judge appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a courts, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ 2018 Independent Lens series. (10/20)

Angela Tucker

Angela Tucker is a writer, director and Emmy nominated producer who works in narrative and documentary genres. Her directorial work includes “All Skinfolk, Ain’t Kinfolk,”a documentary short which aired PBS’ Reel South about a mayoral election in New Orleans. A Visiting Professor at Tulane University, Tucker was a Sundance Institute Women Filmmakers Initiative Fellow. (10/20)

Credits

Directed and Produced by Erika Cohn
Produced by Angela Tucker, Christen Marquez, Nicole Docta
Executive Produced by Geralyn Dreyfous, Blye Faust, Mark Lipson, Patty Quillin, Doree Friedman, Diane Philips
Executive Producers for ITVS: Lois Vossen, Sally Jo Fifer
Co-Executive Producers: Barbara Dobkin, Gretchen Sisson
Consulting Producers: Carrie Lozano, Brittney Shepherd
Supervising Producer for ITVS Amy Shatsky
Edited by Tchavdar Georgiev, ACE, Jean Kawahara
Cinematography by Clare Major, Bianca Travis Cline
Composer: Omar Fadel
Music Supervisor: Tracy McKnight
Consulting Editors: Kate Amend, Ken Schneider, Sabrina Gordon
Investigative Producer: Linda Himelstein

Featuring (in order of appearance) Kelli Dillon, Cynthia Chandler, Theresa Martinez, Melody Nickles, Courtney Hooks, Corey Johnson, Dorothy Roberts, Kimberly Jeffrey, Robin Levi, Crystal Nguyen, Former OB Nurse, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson

“See What You’ve Done” Written by Mary J. Blige, Darhyl Camper, Jr., Denisia Andrews and Brittany Coney, Performed by Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige appears courtesy of Mary Jane Productions, Inc.


Press

View the Press Kit

  • New York Times
    (Critics Pick) 'Belly of the Beast' Review: Fighting for Incarcerated Women
  • LA Times
    Review: The fight for the rights of imprisoned women in the documentary ‘Belly of the Beast’

The Daily Beast
“Not Just ICE: A California Prison Sterilized Her and Other Black Women”

Washington Post
New Movies to Stream this Week: 'Martin Eden,' 'Time,' 'Belly of the Beast' and more.

  • Democracy Now
    “Belly of the Beast”: Survivors of Forced Sterilizations in California’s Prisons Fight for Justice”
  • Variety
    Mary J. Blige Enters Oscars Race for Original Song (EXCLUSIVE)
  • Broadway World
    “BELLY OF THE BEAST Documentary Out Oct. 16”
  • Hollywood Reporter
    “Inaugural rePRO Film Fest to Open With 'Belly of the Beast' Doc (Exclusive)” 
  • Broadway World
    “BELLY OF THE BEAST Director, Erika Cohn, Talks Eugenics & The Sterilization of Women Prisoners on Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM”
  • Real Screen
    “Westdoc Online features “Belly of the Beast” director Erika Cohn” 
  • The Guardian
    “Belly of the Beast: California's dark history of forced sterilizations”
  • The Root
    “Belly of the Beast Documentary Aims to Uncover Injustices Faced by Incarcerated Women”
  • Scenester
    “Erika Cohn’s ‘Belly of The Beast’ To Have World Premiere Opening Night Film Of 2020 Human Rights Watch Film Festival New York Digital Edition” 
  • The Daily Beast
    “Inside America’s Horrifying Modern-Day Eugenics Movement”
    • Movie Cricket
      'Belly of the Beast' documents eugenics in a California prison, and introduces two heroes fighting to end it
    • Variety
      Oscar Predictions: Best Documentary Feature - Election Day Lingers in Multiple Contenders
    • Variety
      VARIETY predicts Mary J. Blige's "See What You've Done," written for Belly of the Beast to be an Oscar contender for Best Original Song
    • The Nerdy Girl Express
      Belly of the Beast and Coded Bias Human Rights Watch Film Festival Showcase from @kleffnotes
    • CherryPicks
      Belly of the Beast Review
    • Midwest Film Journal
      Heartland 2020: The Belly of the Beast
    • The Arts STL
      Belly of the Beast Review
    • Screen Comment
      Belly of the Beast: Modern-day eugenics in California's prisons
    • Film Forward
      Belly of the Beast Review by Benjamin Tran
    • The 19th
      ‘Belly of the Beast’ spotlights forced sterilizations in California prisons
    • DJ Daley
      Mary J Blige's new single "See What You've Done" from the "Belly Of The Beast" Film.
    • Eye for Film
      Belly Of The Beast (2020) Film Review
    • Unseen Films
      Belly of Beast (2020) opens Friday
    • KUTV
      Review: California's history of forced sterilization revealed in 'Belly of the Beast'
    • KJZZ
      What to watch at home and in theaters this weekend October 16-18, 2020
    • Berkeleyside
      Small Screen Berkeley: Highlights from the Mill Valley Film Festival
    • Salt Lake Tribune
      In ‘Belly of the Beast,’ Utah filmmaker examines modern ‘eugenics’ in women’s prisons
    • Women and Hollywood
      Pick of the Day: “Belly of the Beast”
    • Rolling Stone
      Mary J. Blige Drops ‘See What You’ve Done’ From ‘Belly of the Beast’ Documentary
    • Salt Lake City Weekly
      Movie Reviews: New Releases for Oct. 15-16
    • San Diego Reader
      Belly of the Beast Review

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