Tre Maison Dasan

Three resilient boys grapple with the fallout of having an incarcerated parent as they come of age in America.

son visiting father in prison
Series
Independent Lens
Premiere Date
April 1, 2019
Length
90 minutes
Director

Denali Tiller

Tiller is an artist named one of 110 “filmmakers to watch” by Variety Magazine in 2015 for her short film, Sons and Daughters of the Incarcerated - now an award winning feature documentary titled Tre Maison Dasan. She has worked with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) training Development Outreach Coordinators in video production in Show more Ghana, and assisted in the production of several USAID sponsored videos in Uganda and Tanzania. She is currently a critic in the Film/Animation/Video department at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and developed and taught a course on Art+Activism for RISD’s precollege program. She has also been an editor, consultant and producer for short form content on various documentary and narrative projects. Tiller is most passionate about women and children’s advocacy, and how we raise boys in America. Show less

Headshot of Tre Maison Dasan producer, Rebecca Stern
Producer

Rebecca Stern

Stern has worked for 6 years in documentary film. She is the Co-Producer of the film Netizens (Tribeca 2018, Hot Docs 2018), the Associate Producer of The Bomb, an innovative installation and film experience which closed 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and opened 2017 Berlin, and the Director and Producer of the short film, Well Groomed (The Atlantic, Vimeo Show more Staff Picks Premieres). Previously, Stern was the Production Coordinator for Academy Award nominated documentary Cartel Land, and managed the development and implementation of film campaigns with the leading impact firm, Picture Motion, including Food Chains (2016 BritDoc Impact Award). Rebecca lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Show less

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The Film

At a time when one in 14 children in America is growing up with an incarcerated parent, the film follows tough 13-year-old Tre, enthusiastic 11-year-old Maison, and empathic 6-year-old Dasan as they navigate their lives among extended family and friends and visit their parents serving sentences for serious crimes. In their own voices, and at their own pace, the three Rhode Island youths reveal their feelings on separation, masculinity, justice, and the resilience it takes to become a man with a parent behind bars.

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