Trouble Finds Me
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Documentary
Los Angeles has the largest juvenile incarceration system in the U.S., and the trauma it creates follows kids into adulthood. This film follows four youth through a year at FREE LA, a juvenile courthouse and jail turned high school that is radically teaching how to fight systemic injustice.
Trouble Finds Me
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Documentary
1 Campaigns | California, United States
37 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$3,910
Goal: $19,800 for post-production
Los Angeles has the largest juvenile incarceration system in the U.S., and the trauma it creates follows kids into adulthood. This film follows four youth through a year at FREE LA, a juvenile courthouse and jail turned high school that is radically teaching how to fight systemic injustice.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Seniors Alex and Trelin face serious charges that could result in years of prison time. Their teachers, Lupita and Jahzara, are fighting for them to not only graduate instead, but to become leaders in the fight to transform the spaces that imprison them.
In the heart of South Central Los Angeles, students trickle into the hallways of what once was a juvenile courthouse. Ghosts of the building’s former function remain – a door marked as the Sheriff’s office, empty jail cells, and judges’ podiums in the classrooms. Six years after the courthouse closed under pressure from young activists, these rooms now form FREE LA High School, a cop-free campus that practices peace building and transformative justice instead of conventional discipline.
20-year-old Alex is typically late for class - transportation is tricky, and the long bus ride can be dangerous if he runs into someone from a rival neighborhood. But when he shows up, he greets everyone in the room warmly. This could be the year he finally graduates high school and gets a stable job, maybe as a mechanic, to make enough money to buy a car or move into a safer neighborhood.
19-year-old Trelin is one of the quiet students in the room. He’s doing his best to listen, but his mind often wanders. Like Alex, he was arrested not long ago and spent a few months in jail before he was able to be bailed out with community support. It was his first time being incarcerated, and now the judge is giving him a chance. He has one year. If he can run his program with Free LA and graduate high school, his case will be dismissed.
Lupita teaches a weekly class called “Street University,” where students plan actions to advocate shutting down juvenile prisons and learn about their political rights through role playing interactions with police officers.
Jahzara works in the school's garden and teaches students how they can grow their own food from seeds. With encouragement from their teachers, Trelin and Alex realize that their experience in the system gives them power to advocate not only for themselves but also for their community.
They only see us when we are behind bars,” Jahzara says into a microphone at a protest, acknowledging that the state will spend more money to lock young people up than to educate them. Meanwhile, the teachers at Free LA recognize that their students are uniquely equipped with the life experience to be leaders of political change. They show up dutifully, hoping students like Alex and Trelin will one day be free.
Overhauling this century-old system is not a simple task. It exists at the intersection of criminalization of poverty, substance abuse challenges, and lack of education opportunities–all issues that Lupita and Jahzara support their students through every day.
This is an intimate film that utilizes immersive cinema vérité to drive the narrative forward. Rather than relying on interviews with academics and experts to explore the issues and themes of our story, we spent months with each of our characters, filming them in decisive moments of their lives. This is a coming-of-age story about a group of students and teachers whose lives illuminate an innovative approach to public safety and justice.
A Note From the Directors
Co-director Corleone Ham (he/they) first connected with Youth Justice Coalition (YJC) and FREE LA when they were 15 years old, and has since spent years covering the work of grassroots and community organizers as they challenge the effects of the criminal justice system on communities of color. He feels connected to organizing because he understands how isolating it feels to be told that who you are is wrong. Overcoming the shame he associated with his gender and sexual identity has become a powerful tool in connecting with the young participants in the film. Through organizing, he learned the power storytelling has to affect social change.
Co-director Claire Hannah Collins (they/she) began their career on staff as a filmmaker at the Los Angeles Times for five years and focused on projects related to incarceration and youth development. She also has extensive experience as an educator and mentor, coaching university and high school students in filmmaking and storytelling. Claire approached this story with the belief that centering youth voices and lived experience is critical to reimagining our criminal legal system. When Claire and Corleone became connected with the faculty at FREE LA High School and found out they were interested in sharing their story, it seemed to be a perfect opportunity for collaboration.
Our Fundraising Goals
1) Green light (80% of our public budget) - This will allow us to to complete post production and have a film ready to premiere.
2) Wish List (100% of our public budget) - This will also allow us to cover our travel expenses for the film's premiere and community screenings across the country.
3) Stretch Goals (Approx. 200% of our public budget) - This will cover E&O insurance and associated legal fees, allowing us to begin an even wider release of the film.
If you are interested in making a tax-deductible donation, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Mix + Design
Costs $10,000
Help us hire our Sound Engineer to mix and design our audio.
Music License
Costs $1,500
Help us license a few tracks to reflect the music and culture of South Central, LA.
Film Festival Submission Fees
Costs $1,800
Help us submit our film to festivals and begin sharing the film widely.
Screening Travel Expenses
Costs $2,000
Help us support our team as we travel to promote the film across the US.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
CORLEONE HAM (CO-DIRECTOR & Producer)
Co-director Corleone Ham (he/they) received his degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine, where he studied ethnographic approaches to culture and storytelling. Drawing on over a decade of community organizing experience working alongside impacted communities and stakeholders on racial, economic, and gender justice issues across Greater Los Angeles and California, his filmmaking seeks to capture the humanity and nuance in our experiences while elevating perspectives and stories often underrepresented on screen.
CLAIRE HANNAH COLLINS (CO-DIRECTOR & DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)
Co-director and Director of Photography Claire Hannah Collins (they/she) is a documentary filmmaker and educator based in Michigan. They were born in Hong Kong and raised in Amman, Jordan, where they first picked up a camera with the hope of making sense of the disparate cultures that created my communities. After studying photo and video journalism at the University of North Carolina, they spent five years on staff at the Los Angeles Times. Their long term reporting focuses on issues of incarceration and mental health. Their work has been recognized by Picture of the Year, the Online News Association, a Los Angeles Emmy, the National Press Photographers Association, the Los Angeles Press Club, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Horizon Interactive Awards, SxSW, the Webby Awards, and College Photographer of the Year.
KATHERIN HERVEY (PRODUCER)
Producer Katherin Hervey (she/her) is an artist and award-winning filmmaker who is interested in what is hiding in the dark corners of the American landscape and our collective psyches, believing truth is often found in the dark before it shines in the light. Her work as a documentary filmmaker is informed by her 15+ years in criminal justice and prison reform, where she’s worked as a filmmaker, restorative justice advocate, prison college instructor, and trial attorney for the Los Angeles Public Defender. THE PRISON WITHIN (Discovery Plus), her award-winning first feature film, “a tremendously moving motion picture” - The Progressive, was featured in The Guardian, Forbes & The Washington Post; and premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, winning best Social Justice Documentary, the first of 8 awards, including the 2021 Media for a Just Society Award, the only national award recognizing media whose work furthers public understanding of the US justice system. The film is also an accredited class titled “Pathways to Justice” at Seattle University School of Law, part of an educational curriculum for federal and state prisons nationwide, and available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and numerous streaming and cable platforms.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Seniors Alex and Trelin face serious charges that could result in years of prison time. Their teachers, Lupita and Jahzara, are fighting for them to not only graduate instead, but to become leaders in the fight to transform the spaces that imprison them.
In the heart of South Central Los Angeles, students trickle into the hallways of what once was a juvenile courthouse. Ghosts of the building’s former function remain – a door marked as the Sheriff’s office, empty jail cells, and judges’ podiums in the classrooms. Six years after the courthouse closed under pressure from young activists, these rooms now form FREE LA High School, a cop-free campus that practices peace building and transformative justice instead of conventional discipline.
20-year-old Alex is typically late for class - transportation is tricky, and the long bus ride can be dangerous if he runs into someone from a rival neighborhood. But when he shows up, he greets everyone in the room warmly. This could be the year he finally graduates high school and gets a stable job, maybe as a mechanic, to make enough money to buy a car or move into a safer neighborhood.
19-year-old Trelin is one of the quiet students in the room. He’s doing his best to listen, but his mind often wanders. Like Alex, he was arrested not long ago and spent a few months in jail before he was able to be bailed out with community support. It was his first time being incarcerated, and now the judge is giving him a chance. He has one year. If he can run his program with Free LA and graduate high school, his case will be dismissed.
Lupita teaches a weekly class called “Street University,” where students plan actions to advocate shutting down juvenile prisons and learn about their political rights through role playing interactions with police officers.
Jahzara works in the school's garden and teaches students how they can grow their own food from seeds. With encouragement from their teachers, Trelin and Alex realize that their experience in the system gives them power to advocate not only for themselves but also for their community.
They only see us when we are behind bars,” Jahzara says into a microphone at a protest, acknowledging that the state will spend more money to lock young people up than to educate them. Meanwhile, the teachers at Free LA recognize that their students are uniquely equipped with the life experience to be leaders of political change. They show up dutifully, hoping students like Alex and Trelin will one day be free.
Overhauling this century-old system is not a simple task. It exists at the intersection of criminalization of poverty, substance abuse challenges, and lack of education opportunities–all issues that Lupita and Jahzara support their students through every day.
This is an intimate film that utilizes immersive cinema vérité to drive the narrative forward. Rather than relying on interviews with academics and experts to explore the issues and themes of our story, we spent months with each of our characters, filming them in decisive moments of their lives. This is a coming-of-age story about a group of students and teachers whose lives illuminate an innovative approach to public safety and justice.
A Note From the Directors
Co-director Corleone Ham (he/they) first connected with Youth Justice Coalition (YJC) and FREE LA when they were 15 years old, and has since spent years covering the work of grassroots and community organizers as they challenge the effects of the criminal justice system on communities of color. He feels connected to organizing because he understands how isolating it feels to be told that who you are is wrong. Overcoming the shame he associated with his gender and sexual identity has become a powerful tool in connecting with the young participants in the film. Through organizing, he learned the power storytelling has to affect social change.
Co-director Claire Hannah Collins (they/she) began their career on staff as a filmmaker at the Los Angeles Times for five years and focused on projects related to incarceration and youth development. She also has extensive experience as an educator and mentor, coaching university and high school students in filmmaking and storytelling. Claire approached this story with the belief that centering youth voices and lived experience is critical to reimagining our criminal legal system. When Claire and Corleone became connected with the faculty at FREE LA High School and found out they were interested in sharing their story, it seemed to be a perfect opportunity for collaboration.
Our Fundraising Goals
1) Green light (80% of our public budget) - This will allow us to to complete post production and have a film ready to premiere.
2) Wish List (100% of our public budget) - This will also allow us to cover our travel expenses for the film's premiere and community screenings across the country.
3) Stretch Goals (Approx. 200% of our public budget) - This will cover E&O insurance and associated legal fees, allowing us to begin an even wider release of the film.
If you are interested in making a tax-deductible donation, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Mix + Design
Costs $10,000
Help us hire our Sound Engineer to mix and design our audio.
Music License
Costs $1,500
Help us license a few tracks to reflect the music and culture of South Central, LA.
Film Festival Submission Fees
Costs $1,800
Help us submit our film to festivals and begin sharing the film widely.
Screening Travel Expenses
Costs $2,000
Help us support our team as we travel to promote the film across the US.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
CORLEONE HAM (CO-DIRECTOR & Producer)
Co-director Corleone Ham (he/they) received his degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine, where he studied ethnographic approaches to culture and storytelling. Drawing on over a decade of community organizing experience working alongside impacted communities and stakeholders on racial, economic, and gender justice issues across Greater Los Angeles and California, his filmmaking seeks to capture the humanity and nuance in our experiences while elevating perspectives and stories often underrepresented on screen.
CLAIRE HANNAH COLLINS (CO-DIRECTOR & DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)
Co-director and Director of Photography Claire Hannah Collins (they/she) is a documentary filmmaker and educator based in Michigan. They were born in Hong Kong and raised in Amman, Jordan, where they first picked up a camera with the hope of making sense of the disparate cultures that created my communities. After studying photo and video journalism at the University of North Carolina, they spent five years on staff at the Los Angeles Times. Their long term reporting focuses on issues of incarceration and mental health. Their work has been recognized by Picture of the Year, the Online News Association, a Los Angeles Emmy, the National Press Photographers Association, the Los Angeles Press Club, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Horizon Interactive Awards, SxSW, the Webby Awards, and College Photographer of the Year.
KATHERIN HERVEY (PRODUCER)
Producer Katherin Hervey (she/her) is an artist and award-winning filmmaker who is interested in what is hiding in the dark corners of the American landscape and our collective psyches, believing truth is often found in the dark before it shines in the light. Her work as a documentary filmmaker is informed by her 15+ years in criminal justice and prison reform, where she’s worked as a filmmaker, restorative justice advocate, prison college instructor, and trial attorney for the Los Angeles Public Defender. THE PRISON WITHIN (Discovery Plus), her award-winning first feature film, “a tremendously moving motion picture” - The Progressive, was featured in The Guardian, Forbes & The Washington Post; and premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, winning best Social Justice Documentary, the first of 8 awards, including the 2021 Media for a Just Society Award, the only national award recognizing media whose work furthers public understanding of the US justice system. The film is also an accredited class titled “Pathways to Justice” at Seattle University School of Law, part of an educational curriculum for federal and state prisons nationwide, and available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and numerous streaming and cable platforms.