The Sentence

Time: Sept. 27, 2018, 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Location: Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, Newhouse 3

Opening Night: 16th Annual Syracuse University Human Rights Film Festival [6pm - Reception]

Rudy Valdez (USA)

Drawing from hundreds of hours of footage, filmmaker Rudy Valdez shows the aftermath of his sister Cindy’s 15-year sentence for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her deceased ex-boyfriend—something known, in legal terms, as “the girlfriend problem.” Valdez’s method of coping with this tragedy is to film his sister’s family for her, both the everyday details and the milestones—moments Cindy herself can no longer share in. But in the midst of this nightmare, Valdez finds his voice as both a filmmaker and activist, and he and his family begin to fight for Cindy’s release during the last months of the Obama administration’s clemency initiative. Whether their attempts will allow Cindy to break free of her draconian sentence becomes the aching question at the core of this deeply personal portrait of a family in crisis. Valdez participates in a post-screening Q&A.

(85 minutes, captioned in English)

Visit the festival website for complete schedules and addition details as they develop.

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FESTIVAL CO-SPONSORS:

B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics; School of Education; Department of Languages, Literature and Linguistics; Citizenship and Civic Engagement Program; International Relations Program; Latino-Latin American Studies Program; Native American and Indigenous Studies Program; Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC), Disability Cultural Center; LGBT Resource Center; South Asia Center

FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS:

Department of Art and Music Histories; Department of History; Department of Political Science; Department of Religion; Department of Sociology; Department of Women’s and Gender Studies; Asian/Asian American Studies Program; LGBT Studies Program; Middle Eastern Studies Program; Office of Multicultural Affairs; SASSE: Students Advocating Safe Sex and Empowerment

NOTE: Films will be screened with English closed captions or with English subtitles, as noted. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be available at all screenings. If you require other accommodations, please contact Kristen Northrop (315-443-7358) by September 15, 2018.

Roger Hallas, Tula Goenka, English, Newhouse