Overloon Penitentiary Centre
Directed by Rob Rombout

26 MIN
BETA DIGITAL (4/3)

Original version available
with English or French commentary
 
documentary – lifestyle – surroundings – art – culture
– society – history – nature – work – everyday life

SYNOPSIS

Why do we have golf courses? So that we have somewhere to play golf. And tennis courts? A place where we can play tennis. So! Prisons exist as places from where to escape. (Excerpt from “The great illusion” a film by Jean Renoir)
The “Penitentiare Inrichting Maashegge” at Overloon in The Netherlands is a prision divided into “pavilions”. Pavillions 1 – 4 are reserved for short-term detentions and are half open. Pavillion 5 is a closed prison for women. Pavillion 7 is specifically for those in the final phase of their sentence, a totally open section. At this point the detainees work in the vicinity but return every evening to the prison. The division known as N° 8 is outside the prison: it’s a chicken farm. Theres no kind of door for them from which to exit! The policy at Overloon penitentiary centre is built on the axes of respect for detainees and self-responsibility. In the semi-open section of the prison (pavilions 1 –4) a key expression is “Weekend verlof”: one weekend per month the prisoners can go home for the weekend and each penalty that has to be delivered has a direct impact on this sacred weekend. In this section the detainees work in a carpentry workshop building components destined for childrens playgrounds. As in every prison, the key is a symbol of freedom and enclosure, or of “private life” versus “collective life”. Overloon penitentiary centre is surrounded by doors that must remain closed, but inside, the detainees keep their own room keys on them. The warden of the prison has an impressive collection of old keys in the window of his office. For his part, one of the prison officers walks about with the “saint of all saints”, the one and only key that opens each and every door without exception. Overloon penitentiary centre is without doubt the key to the future!

CREDITS

Directed by : Rob Rombout
Script : Rob Rombout
Mister Kaleidoscope was written and acted by Marc-Henri Wajnberg
Image : Louis - Philippe Capelle
Editing : Michèle Maquet
Sound : Paul Heymans

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

Wajnbrosse Productions
Video cassette available on request: Contact - us

PRODUCTION

ARTE France
Panic Productions
Wajnbrosse Productions

With the support of:
Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) ,
Ministère de la Communauté Française de Belgique et des Télédistributeurs Wallons