*Director Andrew Jarecki, known for “The Jinx,” takes audiences deep into the walls of Alabama’s prisons in his latest documentary, “The Alabama Solution,” currently streaming on HBO and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film follows a six-year investigation sparked by whispers from incarcerated men that terrible things were happening behind closed doors.
“I visited a lot of prisons over the years,” Jarecki said. “And Alabama is notorious for having a bad prison system, but nobody really knows the details because the press is not allowed in.” His initial visit in 2019 to film a revival meeting with Chaplain Browder quickly revealed a darker reality.
“When we were there, and the men started talking to us…people were being killed by corrections officers, the fact that people were dying of drug overdoses from drugs that were being sold to them by corrections officers, it just seemed to us that the whole Alabama Department of Corrections seemed like a criminal enterprise.”
After being removed for asking too many questions, Jarecki discovered incarcerated men willing to continue speaking through contraband cell phones. “We sort of found each other, and we ended up making the film in a sort of collaborative way. So that was very unusual compared to what you normally see about prison in the media.”
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The footage captured was both disturbing and vital. “There’s a certain…sacred quality to that footage,” Jarecki said, describing material that shows violent deaths like that of Stephen Davis.
“We really had to think long and hard about how to use that material in the film so that it didn’t seem gratuitous or…just exploiting the quality of this material.” Alongside the disturbing images, the film highlights the courage of those documenting the truth. “They’re the most heroic citizen journalists I can think of because they know that they’re putting themselves at risk.”
Jarecki also emphasized the philosophical and moral strength of the men featured. “To have men who are under constant threat in these horrifically dangerous institutions also have the fortitude to be able to think on behalf of others, to be able to think about how to try to change the system…It wasn’t just upsetting. It was also very inspiring.”
The film’s investigative depth includes a look at all 1,500 deaths in Alabama state custody during the production, which you can explore at thealabamasolution.com. Jarecki notes, “There were entire massive storylines that couldn’t be in the film…But you really can’t deny it. You’re seeing with your own eyes.”
Recognition for “The Alabama Solution” has been widespread. Beyond its Academy Award nomination, the film won Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Political Documentary and Cinema Eye Honors for Outstanding Production. It also received nominations from the Producers Guild Awards and IDA Awards for Best Production.
Reflecting on the reception, Jarecki said, “Stories about marginalized people…are hard to get attention for…The reality is you don’t hear about it because the press is not allowed in.” He added, “The thing that draws people to the film is the men. These men are…extraordinary, and you can’t help but wonder what they would be able to do on the outside.”
The film follows incarcerated men not only documenting abuses but also fighting for survival and change. “I can’t help but wonder when you have somebody like Robert Earl Council…His outspokenness and his thoughtfulness and his clarity and his intelligence…probably got him locked up in the first place.”
Through unprecedented access, secret footage, and firsthand accounts, “The Alabama Solution” exposes a system in collapse while revealing the humanity and heroism of those trapped within it, offering viewers a rare, unfiltered look at one of America’s deadliest prison systems.
Watch our full conversation with Andrew Jarecki below.
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