Sentenced
COMING SOON

Once you learn to read, You will be forever free.
—FREDERICK DOUGLASS

43,000,000 adults in the US struggle to read.
—USA DEPT OF EDUCATION

60% of young men entering prison cannot
read above a third grade level.
—CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Research reveals that children who have at least one stable and commited adult in their life, can succeed despite serious hardships.
—HARVARD, DEV CHILD

Artwork
About About

ABOUT

Children who don't learn to read are sentenced to a lifetime of struggle.

The motivation behind the film is simple – over 43 million Americans can't read well enough to get a job and support a family. The film posits there are actually no illiterate children, just children who haven't learned to read yet. Sentenced exposes this tragic reality and presents a solution for overcoming failing systems and preventing kids from disappearing into society's margins.

Filmed from the point of view of ethnically diverse adults and children who have never learned to read, SENTENCED is a forceful yet tender tale of how literacy can free children from the cycles of generational poverty.

WATCH THE TEASER TRAILER

PROFILES

 

Fugi
FUGI
SOUTH CENTRAL, LOS ANGELES

Illiterate, unemployable, ex-con. A truly loving father, who is passing his “life sentence” on to his children: He is devastated.

Fugi
HAILEY
ELKIN, NORTH CAROLINA

This courageous and compassionate young woman has been extracted from the American Dream: WORDLESS, JOBLESS, HOUSELESS, HOPELESS... STUCK.

Bianca
BIANCA
SOUTH BRONX, NEW YORK

Imprisoned to the projects, this single MOTHER-OF-FOUR is daring the impossible dream that her children will achieve what she never will.

Ana
ANA
ORCHARD BEACH, BRONX, NEW YORK

This heroin addict's son, Ruben, escorts her every day to the Methadone Clinic. She doesn't work and he doesn't go to school: illiterate mother creates illiterate son.

Marquis
MARQUISE

THIS HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT, product of the streets, learned to read in prison. Now he refuses to watch the next generation be forgotten as he was.

Mary
MARY

A WIDOW, nearly crushed by life, finds her own salvation by becoming a reading mentor.

TEAM

Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin

PRODUCER
Jeff Martin is a producer of award-winning, high impact and culture changing films including UNDIVIDED, A RIVER BETWEEN US and LORD, SAVE US FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS. Jeff is the Founder of Children's Literacy Project an organization that utilizes film to bring much needed resources and volunteers to our most at-risk Public Schools.

Connor Martin
Connor Martin

DIRECTOR
Connor Martin lives in Oregon working as a commercial and narrative director for internationally recognized brands including Old Spice, Dr Pepper, NFL, Microsoft, Weiden & Kennedy, and many more. SENTENCED marks Connor's debut as a feature documentary director.

Tony Kriz
Tony Kriz

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Tony Kriz is a theologian, professor, award- winning author, international speaker and filmmaker. His influence extends from Eastern Europe to Portland, OR, from Yale University to the Southern Baptists, conservative and progressive think-tanks alike.

VIDEOS & PHOTOS

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