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Emmy-nominated and Oscar-shortlisted documentarian Catherine Gund‘s new film “Paint Me a Road Out of Here” tells the story of how art and the women’s prison system intersect. Gund centers on the legacy of late artist Faith Ringgold, whose 1971 painting “For the Women’s House” made it from Rikers Island to the Brooklyn Museum. The 50-year journey for Ringgold’s masterpiece to be placed in a museum is at the crux of the feature. Ringgold died in 2024; she was 93.
The official synopsis reads: “A great painting tells a compelling story. When its provenance deepens that story, it becomes an extraordinary and impactful performance piece. Emmy-nominated and Oscar-shortlisted documentarian and activist Catherine Gund tracks the labyrinthine ordeal born by Faith Ringgold’s 1971 painting ‘For the Women’s House’ — originally created for the women incarcerated on Rikers Island, then relegated to mishandling, defacing, and deep storage. Artist and rapper Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, herself formerly incarcerated and commissioned to create a new work for the Rikers women, bands together with Ringgold, politicians, artists, philanthropists and corrections officers against Kafkaesque bureaucracy to liberate the original painting from Rikers and, more profoundly, Black women from mass incarceration.”
Prior to her passing, Ringgold issued a statement about her painting: “The women wanted to be free, they wanted to be out of there of course but it was obvious to me that the reason many of them were there was because they had a lack of freedom in the first place. They were arrested for doing things for other people.”
“Black-ish” star Yara Shahidi executive produces the film with her mother Keri Shahidi under their 7th Sun Production banner. “Faith Ringgold’s work and presence has and will always be both timely and important,” Yara and Keri Shahidi told Variety. “Ringgold’s impact on the cultural fabric of global art and inspiration on Brown and Black women in the carceral system highlights in its truest sense that art matters.”
Tanya Salvaratnam is producing. Artists Mickalene Thomas and Julie Mehretu executive produce with the Shahidis. Community partners include Beyond Rosie’s, Brooklyn Museum, Close Rikers Campaign, New Museum, Silver Art Projects, Women’s Community Justice Association, Women’s Prison Association, and Worth Rises.
“Paint Me a Road Out of Here” had its world premiere at DC/DOX and won a Best Director prize at the Urbanworld Film Festival.
Gund previously directed “Chavela,” “Born to Fly,” “Aggie,” and “Dispatches from Cleveland.” She founded Aubin Pictures, a nonprofit organization for filmmakers and activists and a producer of this film. Gund is also on the board of the Art for Justice Fund. Her mother, philanthropist Agnes Gund, raised $100 million to end mass incarceration after watching the documentary “13th.”
“Paint Me a Road Out of Here” premieres at the Film Forum on Friday, February 7 from Aubin Pictures. Check out the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.
English (US) ·