1 of 3 | A guard watches over prisoners in "The Alabama Solution," which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute
PARK CITY, UTAH Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The Alabama Solution, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival, successfully uncovers troubling issues in Alabama's prison system. Cell phone footage from inmates provides a unique contribution to this investigation.
Inmates allege abuses and unlivable conditions inside these prisons. The Alabama Department of Corrections denies the claims, but the proliferation of contraband cell phones allows inmates to document it firsthand.
A lot of the footage the inmates provide is vertical, the way many people hold their cell phone cameras. Much of the footage of bloodied prisoners, rats swimming in cell toilets and flooded, filthy halls is disturbing to see.
Alabama prisons are so overpopulated that many have inmates lying on the floor. Outspoken inmates are locked in solitary confinement for years, but manage to still obtain cell phones and communicate with filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman.
The key activists on the inside are Robert Earl Council, aka Kinetic Justice, and Melvin Ray. The pair formed the Free Alabama Movement and got the information onto Facebook.
This is where the movie offers some hope. If incarcerated inmates can make progress in activism from inside prison walls, it suggests even greater things are possible when people with more resources join forces. The documentary illuminating the issue is a major step.
The film eventually focuses on the death of inmate Steven Davis, who was beaten to death by a guard, allegedly for attacking first.
The film becomes a mystery as Davis's mother, Sandy Ray, and attorney Hank Sherrod try to investigate the incident. The state threatens witnesses and officers intrude upon private calls with lawyers, making it difficult for Sherrod to learn the truth when the perpetrators control the witnesses.
Davis' brother took a picture of Steven's body, which is shared so the state cannot deny the circumstances of his death. Authorities continue to obfuscate the case, all the more frustrating because it's real life.
We find out late in the movie why Davis was originally convicted and imprisoned. Some of the other inmates show remorse for their crimes and even accept their punishments, but just want their prison time to be reasonable.
There is still more work to do on this issue. The film is only the next step, but effectively inspires outrage to attract more activists to work on the outside.
HBO will air The Alabama Solution.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.