—Intimate, Honest and Raw Documentary Follows the Journeys of Two Native Hawaiians in a Prison Thousands of Miles from Home—
Filmed over four years at Arizona’s Saguaro Correctional Center, “Out Of State” is an inside look at the lives of two native Hawaiians shipped thousands of miles away from the tropical islands to a private prison in the desert.
In this unlikely setting, David and Hale find a community of other native Hawaiians and discover their indigenous traditions from a fellow inmate serving a life sentence.
Hoping for a fresh start and eager to prove that the experience has changed them forever, the two men finish their terms and return to Hawai’i.
But once on the outside, they struggle with life’s hurdles and wonder if it’s possible to ever go home again.
The film is directed by native Hawaiian Ciara Lacy.
Since 1995 the state of Hawai’i has shipped male prisoners to for-profit prisons in the continental U.S. to alleviate overcrowding.
Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, was built specifically to house men convicted of crimes in Hawai’i.
Removed far from their homes and families, most prisoners have few — if any — visitors, leading to isolation and estranged relationships, which makes the brotherhood they form with other Hawaiians inside the facility all the more important.
“What captured me in this prison space was the humanity and connection between men,” said Lacy. "If, in this most unlikely location, thousands upon thousands of miles away from home, they could discover their native culture from each other and create a bond, so much more was possible.”
"Out Of State" focuses on David, a charismatic, complex and powerful man who discovers a deep connection to his identity through cultural practices, and Hale, so accustomed to being locked up that he’s nervous about getting out.
By revealing their vulnerabilities, personal transformations, hopes and dreams, the film challenges stereotypes about those who are in prison and casts a human light on a criminal justice system that seems almost impossible to escape.
As David and Hale transition from prison to home in Hawai’i, each finds life more challenging than they expected.
David, prone to outbursts, has trouble communicating with others, including his teenage daughter, and struggles with mounting debt.
Hale, a dark horse at first, finds a job driving a bus for tourists and creates a home with his fiancé Laura.
But the struggle continues.
Having come to terms with who they are as Hawaiians, the question is whether they will be able to fit in, to adjust to society.
“I’ve been waiting all this time — I want to come home,” says Hale. “But right now, prison is home.”
“A for-profit prison in Arizona thousands of miles from home is an unexpected place to discover your Hawaiian heritage, and yet that’s what happens for many native Hawaiian inmates,” said Lois Vossen, Executive Producer of INDEPENDENT LENS. “Native Hawaiian filmmaker Ciara Lacy looks at these men’s ability to change after they study the traditional language and culture of their ancestors, and the documentary fulfills our decades long tradition to fund and support emerging, diverse women filmmakers.”
“Ciara Lacy’s powerful 'Out of State' examines the unique phenomenon of Native Hawaiian inmates who paradoxically discover their indigenous roots while incarcerated in mainland prisons. Following two of the men back to Hawai’i. . . the film uses their particular journeys as Native Hawaiians rediscovering their identity for a much more universal story on the difficulty of re-entering society.” — Filmmaker Magazine
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Credits:
Director and Producer: Ciara Lacy. Produced by Beau Bassett. Executive Producers: Terry Leonard, Anderson Hinsch, Jessie Creel, Sally Jo Fifer and Leanne K. Ferrer. Co-Producers: Jeff Consiglio and Justin Williams. Supervising Producer for ITVS: Michael Ehrenzweig. Cinematographer: Chapin Hall. Edited by Jeff Consiglio, Sara Booth, Jason Zeldes. Music by Tyler Strickland.
