The House We All Live In: Eugene Jarecki Screens Drug War Documentary On Rikers Island

The House We All Live In
A view of buildings on Rikers Island penitentiary complex where IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being held in New York on May 18, 2011. Strauss-Kahn has asked a second New York judge to release him on bail after being jailed on charges he sexually assaulted and attempted to rape a hotel maid in Manhattan. Strauss-Kahn's proposal includes a requirement that he be confined to home detention 24 hours a day in Manhattan with electronic monitoring, in addition to posting USD 1 million in cash for bail, according to court filings.AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
A view of buildings on Rikers Island penitentiary complex where IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being held in New York on May 18, 2011. Strauss-Kahn has asked a second New York judge to release him on bail after being jailed on charges he sexually assaulted and attempted to rape a hotel maid in Manhattan. Strauss-Kahn's proposal includes a requirement that he be confined to home detention 24 hours a day in Manhattan with electronic monitoring, in addition to posting USD 1 million in cash for bail, according to court filings.AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

It seems about right that it's raining as we drive over the bridge to Rikers Island in a prison van with metal grills over the windows. We're riding with Eugene Jarecki, the director and writer of The House I Live In--this year's Sundance-winning documentary examining the cruel grip of America's War on Drugs. A screening of his film for prisoners is taking place at New York City's vast jail complex--an establishment that drug laws feed well.

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