U of S Student Documents Former Inmates' Reintegration into Society in Nationally Broadcast Film

November 15, 2006

Source: University of Saskatchewan
http://announcements.usask.ca/news/archive/2006/11/u_of_s_student_4.html

100 Days of Freedom, a film documenting the lives of three former inmates as they reintegrate into society, will go to air November 25th on Global TV thanks to the innovative research of University of Saskatchewan PhD student Karen Parhar.

The film premieres on Global Currents at 7 p.m.

"I was looking for a different method of collecting my data that would also incorporate the environment of the released offender," said Parhar, who is in the applied social psychology program in the U of S department of psychology.

The film follows three former inmates from facilities across the Prairies, shedding light on the changes they must make in their lives during the shift back into society. The documentary shows the challenges they face after being released, highlighting their struggles to stay away from drugs and criminal influences.

Parhar said it was remarkable to see the newly released inmates struggling with technological changes that most people take for granted such as automated bank machines.

She came up with the film concept when she decided to focus her research on positive decisions made by former inmates to stop themselves from re-offending.

"It's a fresh angle," said Parhar. "You get to see the offenders' lives through their own eyes and you get to hear about their pasts."

Parhar worked under the guidance of her supervisor Stephen Wong, adjunct professor at the Regional Psychiatric Centre (Prairies) in Saskatoon. To create the documentary, she teamed up with Cooper Rock Pictures and Fahrenheit Films for nearly a year of filming. She will analyze the film footage as part of her dissertation project.

The documentary is funded by Global Television, The Canadian Television Fund, Court TV, ACCESS TV, Canadian Learning Television, and SaskFilm.

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For more information, contact:

Karen Parhar, Doctoral StudentDepartment of PsychologyCollege of Arts and ScienceUniversity of Saskatchewan(306) 261-5273karen.pahar@usask.ca

Angela HillResearch CommunicationsUniversity of Saskatchewan(306) 966-6058angela.hill@usask.ca