In 1971, underestimated artist Faith Ringgold made a monumental painting for the women incarcerated at Rikers Island jail called “For the Women’s House.” Fifty years later, artist Mary Baxter, who at the age of twenty-five gave birth in prison, finds herself banding together with an eccentric bunch of activists, politicians, artists, corrections officers, and Faith Ringgold to free the painting with the ultimate goal of freeing the women.
An exploration of the nexus of art, race, and justice through the story of art collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund who sold Roy Lichtenstein’s painting “Masterpiece” in 2017 for $165 million to start the Art for Justice Fund to end mass incarceration.
A cinematic omnibus rooted in New Orleans, challenging the idea of black cinema as a "wave" or "movement in time," proposing instead a continuous thread of achievement.
Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.