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The Early buzz: ‘Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo’
Austin filmmaker Brad Beesley, who’s known for his bizarre Americana documentary ‘Okie Noodling,’ turns his camera on Oklahomans again, but this time, the subjects aren’t fishermen. They’re prisoners.
In ‘Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo,’ Beesley explores the vibrant, near-extinct phenomenon of prison rodeos, specifically the one in McAlester, Okla.
Since 1940, Oklahoma convicts have participated in what some people see as a gladiatorial contest, with multiple injuries and maimings. And in 2006, Oklahoma allowed women to join the rodeo and compete against the men.
Beesley doesn’t just show the rodeo. Over a couple of years, he trains his camera on the men and women who are competing and tells their stories — how they ended up in prison, how long they’ve been there, why they’re competing.
And some of the facts he uncovers are startling. It turns out that the vast majority of the imprisoned women are there not for violent crimes, but for drug possession or distribution. And the few murderers who do compete in the rodeo seem truly repentant.
Among the women are Crystal Herrington and Rhonda Buffalo. We see them training, see them in their cells and eventually see them riding broncs against the men.
Although many people may question the wisdom of holding a rodeo, the annual event at least gives the imprisoned cowboys and cowgirls a goal. The danger of the final scenes, however, may surprise viewers.
11 a.m. Saturday at the Paramount; 1:30 p.m. March 17 at the Alamo Ritz downtown; 4:30 p.m. March 20 at the Austin Convention Center.
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By Zach
March 14, 2009 3:25 PM | Link to this
I just saw the premier. The film is both heartbreaking and funny. They’ve really made a beautiful story about redemption.