Jail Guitar Doors film 'Breaking Rocks' premiere will include live performances

from Billy Bragg, Mick Jones, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Wayne Kramer of MC5, and more

news: Thursday 3rd September 2009

Billy Bragg's Jail Guitar Doors project documentary 'Breaking Rocks' has been chosen for this year's Raindance Film Festival. The film will be premiered at London's Proud Galleries on Thursday 1st October with a host of artists performing on the night.

The ground-breaking gritty film documenting has been made by Alan Miles and follows Billy Bragg's unique independent initiative that aims to provide instruments to those who are using music as a means of achieving the rehabilitation of prison inmates.

The 'Breaking Rocks' premiere will see performances from a host of artists on the night including the man himself Billy Bragg, an acoustic set from Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters), The Rotten Hill Gang (featuring Mick Jones), Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Wayne Kramer of MC5, Night Of Treason and The Jail Guitar Doors Graduates who include Jonny Neesom, Leon Walker, Theone Coleman, and Louise Wells all of whom have recently been released from prison and are now artists in their own right with their own very unique styles, forthcoming material and gigs. There are also rumoured to be some very special guests, don't say we didn't give you a heads up.

Billy Bragg said, "It's great to be part of this very special night and to see 'Breaking Rocks' come to its rightful full fruition. The voice of ex-prisoners is rarely heard in a society that locks more people up every year, and all graduates of Jail Guitar Door's draw on their life experiences to write powerful songs."

Director Alan Miles said of the truly original UK project, "Being an old Clash fan, I'm proud that Strummerville, The Joe Strummer Foundation for new music, have funded the production of the Jail Guitar Doors documentary 'Breaking Rocks', and I hope that the film will be an inspiring and thought-provoking journey which challenges our perception of rehabilitation as well as being a bloody good music documentary."

Jail Guitar Doors – named after a Clash b-side – was established in 2007 to help provide guitars and other instruments to people teaching prison inmates, using music as a way of rehabilitating offenders. In two years, Bragg and his cohorts have worked with 25 prisons in the UK, and the project has been to the USA by MC5 legend, Wayne Kramer.

Tickets for this over 18s only, stellar night not to be missed for music and film lovers alike, are priced at £15, and to buy tickets click here.

Billy Bragg's Guitar Doors

article by: Scott Williams

photos by: Karen Williams

published: 03/09/2009 09:21



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