Date: March 30, 2007
Contact: Lindsay Gladstone
Governors State University
Phone: (708) 534-7090
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: l-gladstone@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, IL, March 30, 2007 - Dr. James “Chip” Coldren of Governors State University can add movie credits to his long list of qualifications after the world premier of the documentary, The C Number, during the Chicago Documentary Film Festival.
Coldren is the Academic Program Coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program and Co-Director of the Center for Law Enforcement Technology Collaboration at GSU. In the documentary, he provides commentary on the function of prisons in society, trends in the political significance of crime, and law and order issues. The film examines the long-term incarceration of prisoners under Illinois’ indeterminate sentencing statutes prior to 1978 and the difficulty some have in securing parole.
“There are three separate Prisoner Review Board procedures for attaining release from incarceration, depending on which version of the criminal code a person is sentenced under,” explained Coldren. “Thus, to some people, it seems unfair that different types of prisoners seem to have an easier or tougher time securing release.”
Coldren believes films investigating this situation and increased discussion of this issue are important because of the high cost of incarceration, the frequent and often neglected health issues of long-term prisoners, and the fact that the code is applied unevenly depending on when sentencing occurred.
“Prison reform and the affects of long-term incarceration are important issues,” said Coldren. “If the system operates unfairly, we should all be concerned.”
The C Number, directed by Christopher Booker, will be screened on Saturday, April 7, at 4:30 p.m., at the Chopin Theatre, 1517 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, and on Sunday April 8, at 7 p.m., at the Portage Theatre, 4050 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago. The Chicago International Documentary Festival is considered the premier festival of documentary films in the United States.
Tickets and information about the festival and the screening of The C Number are available at www.chicagodocfestival.org, at (773) 486-9612, or at the theater box offices.
