The Gladue Video Advocacy Project is the first initiative under FILM. The project is directed by award-winning Anishinaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson.

The Gladue Video Project aims to assist judges in carrying out the Gladue Process by meaningfully supplementing written Gladue Reports.

Gladue Reports are court-mandated reports that provide comprehensive information about an Aboriginal offender’s background and their community, and present options for sentencing or bail that offer realistic and viable alternatives to prison. The Gladue process is intended to address the over-representation of aboriginal people in the prison system by considering other mitigating factors.

The project will create 4-7 five-minute-long video profiles of Aboriginal offenders. These will include “day-in-the-life” footage as well as interviews with the offenders and people in their life, such as family, friends, and legal or community workers.

The production style will be “stripped down” and plain – with minimal editing, no musical score, etc. The videos will aim to show the offenders’ life outside of the crime.

As in some Gladue reports, the videos may include interviews with elders or others from the offender’s community regarding traditional approaches to dealing with crimes, providing information on how a sentence could incorporate Aboriginal justice practices.

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