Free advanced screening of new PBS documentary takes place Thursday

A free advanced screening of “Apart” will take place on Thursday at the San Marcos Public Library. 

The documentary highlights a trend that incarceration of women in the United States has grown 800%, the majority of whom are mothers, since the launch of the War on Drugs. 

The free community event begins at 7 p.m. The special advanced viewing is due to a partnership between PBS, Lost River Film Fest and Mano Amiga, where the nation’s largest public media enterprise regularly invites the grassroots groups to show content attuned to the criminal justice system ahead of airing across the country.

“Apart” chronicles three mothers in the Midwest returning home from prison, endeavoring to rebuild their lives after years of separation from their children.

Their stories overlap at a new re-entry program for women, run by an advocate who was previously incarcerated in the same prison.

Filmed over the course of three years, “Apart” traces their steps as they reconstruct lives derailed both by drugs and imprisonment.

Following the free screening Thursday evening, a panel of experts will reflect on the film as well as the growing phenomenon of women’s incarceration.

Dr. Cathy Marston, grant coordinator for Mano Amiga as well as Executive Director of Free Battered Texas Women (FBTW), will moderate the panel. Dr. Marston served over nine years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice related to defending herself against her abuser.

Also on the panel is U.S. Army (Ret.) SFC Cheryl Craig, MA, a veteran who served in Rwanda, Iraq, and Afghanistan. She is a business owner; a formerly incarcerated survivor of abuse; and serves as Secretary-Treasurer for FBTW.

Another panelist is Cynthia Simons, the Grant Me the Wisdom Foundation Women’s Fellow, who also serves as coordinator of the Texas Women’s Justice Coalition at the Texas Center for Justice and Equity.

Rounding out the panel is Lauren Johnson, a Policy & Advocacy Strategist for the ACLU of Texas. Johnson’s own experience with incarceration has informed her advocacy to increase hiring opportunities for people with criminal convictions; reduce sentencing guidelines for low-level drug crimes; and improve prison conditions, especially for women.

Information provided by Lost River Film Fest