In advance of the upcoming Golden Globe(R) and guild nominations, Sundance Channel will give the awards community a thought provoking "For Your Consideration" campaign that explores some of the risk-taking questions raised by the network's first original scripted series, "Rectify." For the campaign around the critically-acclaimed series, which tells the haunting story of Daniel Holden (portrayed by actor Aden Young) who is released from prison after spending nearly two decades on death row, the network has partnered with the Safe Streets Arts Foundation to curate a collection of works created by artists while incarcerated. "The Rectify Project: Visions From Inside" will anchor the network's For Your Consideration campaign, with images of the artworks juxtaposed with quotes and images from the series. The collection will also be featured in an online gallery at www.sundancechannel.com/art.
"Rectify," which will return for a second season in 2014, was overwhelmingly well-received by critics when it debuted on Monday, April 22nd, including Matt Roush at TV Guide, who rated the series a "10 out of 10" and called it "TV's most absorbing, unsettling new drama." The Daily Beast dubbed "Rectify" "the best new show of 2013" and Mary McNamara at the Los Angeles Times said, "'Rectify' is a revelation that sets a new standard... a game changer." "Rectify" is created and written by Ray McKinnon (The Accountant, "Deadwood," "Sons of Anarchy"), and executive produced by Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein, the Emmy Award(R) winning producers behind "Breaking Bad."
"While imprisoned, Daniel Holden turned to literature as a salve for his isolation and we wondered how art generally plays a role in people's experience in prison," said
Sundance Channel President Sarah Barnett. "We wanted this campaign to not only be visually striking, but serve as a strong catalyst for conversation. The partnership with The Safe Streets Foundation can do that in a way that directly connects to our character's story."
The Safe Streets Arts Foundation (SafeStreetsArts.org) exhibits art created in prison on its website, at its many gallery locations and at colleges and universities across America. SSAF is an offshoot of the nonprofit Prisons Foundation (PrisonsFoundation.org) which publishes books and poetry written in prison as free downloads. Plays written by or about prisoners, victims and correctional staff are presented annually by the foundation at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. The sale of prisoner art through SSAF helps support the work of the Prisons Foundation in its mission to prepare men and women for their release from prison as contributing, law-abiding citizens, and to provide help and support for victims of crimes.
"Access to the arts while in prison empowers inmates to convey a message through the works they create, whether their works give voice to a longing for freedom, explore acceptance or express a howl of injustice," notes SSAF Director (and former inmate) Dennis Sobin. "We thank
Sundance Channel for the opportunity to bring those messages a broader audience through this partnership."
Two of the artists selected for the campaign are Luther Luckett Correctional Complex inmate George Bozeman and recently released Georgia artist Curtis Anthony Dye. Bozeman, who is largely self-taught, paints in his cell up to five hours a day, creating everything from conceptual and fantasy pieces to landscapes, seascapes and images of flowers and buildings. Bozeman notes, "I have a 105 year sentence. I started art as part of a therapeutic program. Now art is everything. I think I will be doing it, experimenting with it, for the rest of my life." For Dye, since art materials were sparse while he was serving time at Dooley State Prison, he drew and painted on paper bags and cardboard scraps with paints created from materials such as wax, instant coffee, white out, mustard, powdered creamer and spinach.
Also starring in "Rectify" alongside Aden Young (Killer Elite, The Tree) as Daniel Holden are Abigail Spencer ("Burning Love", Oz the Great and Powerful), who portrays Amantha Holden, Daniel Holden's younger sister who believes completely in his innocence and has devoted her entire adult life to securing his release; J. Smith Cameron ("True Blood", Margaret) who plays Janet Talbot, Daniel's loving mother, who has been living with the impending death of her son for nineteen years, and who long ago had made peace with the loss of her son, giving up on any hope for his release; Luke Kirby (Take this Waltz, "Slings and Arrows") tackles the role of Jon Stern, Daniel's lawyer who works for an organization dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted; Clayne Crawford (A Walk to Remember) portrays Ted Talbot, Jr., Daniel's stepbrother whom he had never previously met; and Adelaide Clemens ("Parade's End", The Great Gatsby) plays Tawney Talbot, Ted's kind-hearted wife; Bruce McKinnon (The Way Home) as Daniel's step father Ted Sr.; Jake Austin Walker (The Chaperone) as Daniel's half-brother Jared; Michael O'Neill (Transformers) as Senator Roland Foulkes; and Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild) as Rutherford Gaines, Daniel's former attorney.
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Sundance Channel
Sundance Channel is the destination for What's Next, Now. Showcasing both today's creative icons and the emerging talent of tomorrow,
Sundance Channel tells bold stories with a fresh point of view. In addition to award winning films,
Sundance Channel is home to daring new original programming. Launched in 1996 and owned and operated by
AMC Networks Inc.,
Sundance Channel provides perspectives dedicated to founder Robert Redford's mission to celebrate creativity.
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AMC Networks Inc.
Dedicated to producing quality programming and movie content for more than 30 years,
AMC Networks Inc. owns and operates several of the most popular and award-winning brands in cable television. AMC, IFC,
Sundance Channel, WE tv, and
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