Screening note: This digital screening is available to view between 12:01am PT on Friday, October 9, and 11:59pm PT on Thursday, October 15.
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A woman in a California prison sends an impassioned, desperate letter to an ambitious lawyer pleading for help, setting off a shocking investigation into the Department of Corrections' dark history of forced sterilizations. Filmed over seven years, Erika Cohn's searing documentary centers on these two tenacious women: Kelli Dillon, a formerly incarcerated Black woman who finds out she was sterilized without her consent while in prison, and Cynthia Chandler, a nonprofit lawyer based in the Bay Area. Conducting surveys among the other inmates, Dillon discovers a disturbingly common occurrence and teams up with Chandler in pursuit of justice. Belly of the Beast chronicles the legal drama as Dillon and Chandler seek to hold the Department of Corrections responsible for the rampant crimes uncovered, many of which targeted women of color. Cohn's film is a deeply probing look at this seemingly impossible battle, as well as an exposé of modern-day eugenics in the United States.
Thank you to our Community Partner Berkeley Film Foundation