Ben Lear's guest appearances

Ben Lear

juvie

KUCI: Film School

The Road to Cinema Podcast

Andrew Neel

Nancy Buirski

Daniel Lindsay

Paul Schrader

David Rane

Amanda Lipitz

Brett Morgen

Sidney Lumet

Oren Moverman

Tanna Frederick

Lea Thompson

Brett Haley

Amy Scott

Henry Jaglom

Evgeny Afineevsky

OwlTail

Director Ben Lear on his documentary They Call Us Monsters which takes a look inside the prison system in Los Angeles as 3 teenagers are tried as adults for violent crimes. Ben shares his thoughts on juvenile justice and the writing program featured in the documentary which plays a key role in the rehabilitation process as the teenagers collaborate on a creative writing project while simultaenously dealing with their impending criminal charges in the court system. We discuss Ben's process for developing and filming the documentary as well as his collaboration with editor Eli B. Despres of the acclaimed doc Weiner. They Call Us Monsters is now available on Netflix! You can learn more about the InsideOut Writers program on their website. http://insideoutwriters.org/ Subscribe to Jog Road Productions and Road to Cinema on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/jogroadproductions Follow us on Twitter @JogRoad Follow us on Instagram @jogroadproductions Like us on Facebook  http://jogroadproductions.com/roadtocinemablog

Director Ben Lear on his documentary They Call Us Monsters which takes a look inside the prison system in Los Angeles as 3 teenagers are tried as adults for violent crimes. Ben shares his thoughts on juvenile justice and the writing program featured in the documentary which plays a key role in the rehabilitation process as the teenagers collaborate on a creative writing project while simultaenously dealing with their impending criminal charges in the court system. We discuss Ben's process for developing and filming the documentary as well as his collaboration with editor Eli B. Despres of the acclaimed doc Weiner. They Call Us Monsters is now available on Netflix! You can learn more about the InsideOut Writers program on their website. <a href="http://insideoutwriters.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://insideoutwriters.org/</a> Subscribe to Jog Road Productions and Road to Cinema on YouTube! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/jogroadproductions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/jogroadproductions</a> Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jogroad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@JogRoad</a> Follow us on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jogroadproductions/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@jogroadproductions</a> Like us on Facebook  <a href="http://jogroadproductions.com/roadtocinemablog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://jogroadproductions.com/roadtocinemablog</a>

Director Ben Lear on his documentary They Call Us Monsters

Ben Lear talks about his documentary film, They Call Us Monsters, which follows three Hispanic teenagers, Jarad, Juan and Antonio, incarcerated in The Compound, the high-security facility in the middle of Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in California’s Los Angeles County, as they themselves create a screenplay for a short film under the guidance of film-director […]

26 Monsters, How They Call Us – Ben Lear on His Film Debut

THEY CALL US MONSTERS takes viewers behind the walls of the Compound, the facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters. Three such young offenders sign up to take a screenwriting class to write a movie while they await their respective trials: Jarad, who was arrested at 16 and faces 200-years to life for four attempted murders; Juan, who was arrested at 16 and faces 90-to life for first-degree murder; and Antonio, who was arrested at 14 and faces 90-to life for two attempted murders. Halfway through the class, Antonio returns to juvenile court and gets released with time served. Once back in his neighborhood, he quickly falls victim to the same environment and patterns that led to his incarceration in the first place. Meanwhile, the realities of Jarad and Juan’s crimes and pending trials set in.  Ultimately, the film asks how should the system deal with offenders like these young boys. Do they have a capacity to change and return to society one day? Does society have a responsibility to these kids? Or to their victims? Do they deserve a second chance? Director Ben Lear stops by to talk about all of the social, political and cultural issues that have made children “irredeemable” and vilified when it comes to crime and punishment.For news and updates go to: theycallusmonsters.com

THEY CALL US MONSTERS takes viewers behind the walls of the Compound, the facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters. Three such young offenders sign up to take a screenwriting class to write a movie while they await their respective trials: Jarad, who was arrested at 16 and faces 200-years to life for four attempted murders; Juan, who was arrested at 16 and faces 90-to life for first-degree murder; and Antonio, who was arrested at 14 and faces 90-to life for two attempted murders. Halfway through the class, Antonio returns to juvenile court and gets released with time served. Once back in his neighborhood, he quickly falls victim to the same environment and patterns that led to his incarceration in the first place. Meanwhile, the realities of Jarad and Juan’s crimes and pending trials set in. Ultimately, the film asks how should the system deal with offenders like these young boys. Do they have a capacity to change and return to society one day? Does society have a responsibility to these kids? Or to their victims? Do they deserve a second chance? Director Ben Lear stops by to talk about all of the social, political and cultural issues that have made children “irredeemable” and vilified when it comes to crime and punishment. For news and updates go to: <a href="http://theycallusmonsters.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">theycallusmonsters.com</a>

They Call Us Monsters / Film School interview with director Ben Lear