Tribeca All Access® 2007
Jessica Sanders is an Academy Award®-nominated, Sundance and Cannes winning filmmaker and commercial director. Jessica directed After Innocence, a feature documentary film about innocent men wrongfully convicted of crimes, cleared by DNA evidence and their struggle to reenter society after spending decades in prison.
Picking Cotton is the true story of Jennifer Thompson who was raped and Ronald Cotton who she wrongfully identified as her rapist. After 11 years in prison, Cotton’s name is cleared by DNA. The two are now best friends, working together to improve the justice system.
For a group of young dancers and drummers, preparing for carnaval is the only escape from the violence and crime that dominate the gritty streets of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas.