In a time of immense division, PURPLE tells the story of everyday Americans with opposing viewpoints confronting their disagreements head-on and discovering the humanity and concerns that lie behind each other’s positions.
Filmed in rural Wisconsin and Iowa – in a swing region that spans two bordering swing states – PURPLE captures six people investigating their divergent views on equity, work ethics, and the social safety net. Created by political mediation organization Resetting the Table in partnership with Emmy Award-winning Transient Pictures, PURPLE provides viewers of all stripes – liberal, conservative, and independent; rural and urban; religious and secular – with a vision for what a healthy public debate on fault-line issues might look like. The film presents a rare political conversation that uplifts, provokes, and inspires while going toward the heat of passionate political differences.
Directed by Landon Van Soest | Run Time 21 minutes
A journey of change through film
Odyssey Impact® and Resetting the Table worked together to create a discussion guide to get more out of your screening.
Impact Goal
Odyssey Impact® collaborated with director Rudy Valdez and production company Park Pictures to launch a six-month community engagement and impact campaign for The Sentence in January 2020, with the aim of bringing the film to the experts, stakeholders and families experiencing the wide-ranging impacts of parental incarceration.
Screenings
Odyssey Impact® coordinated a special screening event with Worth Rises’ and their initiative, Connecting Families, which aimed to eliminate the cost of communication in Connecticut prisons. As part of its efforts, Worth Rises hosted a screening of The Sentence on in partnership with Color of Change and the Working Families Party, at the Connecticut Capitol Building. The screening attendees had the opportunity to participate in petition signing and testimonial sharing in support of the Connecting Families campaign.
Adoption and Safe Families Act Resources
Odyssey Impact® partnered with Movement for Family Power, which developed a one-page resource on the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). The ASFA is the law that largely determines how child welfare systems terminate the rights of parents. The resource provides background on how the ASFA contributes to the loss of parental rights for thousands of incarcerated parents.
Resources and Partnerships
Odyssey Impact® partnered with Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), to adapt its HBO Watch Party Toolkit for impact screenings. The toolkit became the basis of the Discussion and Facilitator guide for the campaign.