Malik is the anti-hero of this somewhat mystical mini-epic of a movie. Just turned adult, illiterate, lacking a clear-cut ethnic identity, he finds himself doing 6 years in a prison run on the inside by a violent Corsican gang with the connivance of corrupt staff. With the guidance of the ghost of a now dead inmate Malik learns not just to read and write but to deal with the power politics of gangsterhood and it is his success at the latter that allows him to emerge from prison... There is a s find out more...

James "Animal" King is locked away in a maximum security prison for a very good reason, the streets he ruled were more reminiscent of a war zone, and his merciless reputation was well earned. A reformed man upon his release James is horrified to find his son has taken the same violent path as him; but just how much is the "Animal" prepared to sacrifice in order to save his family. A powerful prison/urban drama starring Ving Rhames. find out more...

Sean Penn stars in this powerful and violent drama as the kind of kid who was always destined to end up in prison. When he inevitably does, it only serves to fuel his hatred and contempt for the system. Yet Penn still manages to win the viewer's sympathy in possibly his best performance ever. find out more...

Linda Blair plays Carol, a young woman who must serve 18 months in prison after killing a man (by accident). The prison turns out to be brimming with decadence, corruption and sleaze, where the other female inmates are sadistic crack-selling lesbian rapists and the guards and warden are no better. Racial tensions are high as the inmates is divided into two factions, blacks and whites, who must either join together against the management or kill each other tryin find out more...

A bullied factory worker decides to change his life by getting pally with a bunch of bouncers and learning to fight back. However, he finds himself dragged into a world of crime with some brutal consequences. Not a film critics' choice. find out more...

A screwed-up runaway teenage girl accepts a lift from a Mr Nice Guy, but soon realises he's a notorious serial killer. Having left him for dead she is soon arrested and facing a lifetime in prison, escapes, only to meet the killer again. A high quality, brutally comic, thriller with attitude. Very dark and very good.

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The frightening story of a naive young American caught smuggling hashish out of Turkey and sentenced to years inside a particularly vicious prison regime. The despair and desolation are brought home brutally. John Hurt is magnificent as the eccentric British prison veteran. find out more...

Three years after entering prison for robbery as a 19-year-old heroin addict, Sherry Swanson begins her first day of freedom clean and sober. A model prisoner, who has undergone personal transformation, she immediately sets out to regain custody of her young daughter Alexis, but life on the outside proves far tougher than Sherry had anticipated and it is only when all seems to be slipping away from her that she realises one small step at a time is better than no step at all. "SherryBaby" is a to find out more...

 

For over forty years, America's 'War on Drugs' has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs in America are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever before. The House I Live In depicts a series of heart rending stories at all level find out more...

When quiet and unassuming Leland (Ryan Gosling) is accused of a seemingly senseless crime, his family and the community are shocked and he is sent to a juvenile detention centre where a teacher (Don Cheadle) begins to unravel the motivations behind Leland's actions. A beautifully crafted film with strong central performances and a provocative script. find out more...