James “JJ’88” Jacobs was only 15 when he shot a man, but he still received a double-life sentence. Much of that time has been spent in solitary confinement. Now in his 30s, JJ’88 has constructed a hip-hop visual album, a stunning treatise on growth, discrimination, and a path toward redemption. Winner of the Visions Audience Award at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.

At 15, he took a life. Three days later, his brother’s life was taken. A moving chronicle of forgiveness, family, and the transformative power of art, SONGS FROM THE HOLE weaves music and storytelling into an innovative documentary visual album. Through clear-eyed narration and lyrical journal entries, incarcerated musician James “JJ’88” Jacobs reveals his innermost struggles as a person who has both committed and experienced violent harm. While serving a double-life prison sentence, he searches for healing and peace as he comes of age in this documentary-musical odyssey composed behind bars. In a uniquely creative process, director Contessa Gayles (“The Feminist on Cellblock Y,” “Founder Girls”) collaborated with protagonist/writer JJ’88 and producer/music producer richie reseda to interweave the collective storytelling of the film’s nonfiction participants with imagined memories, dreams, and spiritual dialogues set to JJ’88’s original music. The result is a powerful mix of truth-telling and dreaming that reveal the potential for healing and liberation within us all.

GUEST(S) ARE SCHEDULED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR Q&A

Post-screening Q&A's:

Following the screening on March 29 will be a Q&A with filmmaker Contessa Gayles, moderated by Zachary Thomas of Writers in Residence.

Following the screening on March 30 will be a Q&A with filmmaker Contessa Gayles, moderated by Louis Fields of The Marshall Project.

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