THE MIND OF      MARK DEFRIEST

USA | 2014 | Documentary | 92 Minutes 

Written and Directed by Gabriel London

Producer: Daniel J. Chalfen

Cinematographer: Eric Koretz, William Charles Moss, and Andreas Wager 

Editor: Nick Clark

Composer: Ronan Coleman 

Synopsis: Once known as Houdini for his multiple and improbable jailbreaks, Mark DeFriest was condemned to Florida's toughest prison after a lone psychiatrist declared he was faking mental illness. When that doctor reaches out 30 years later, DeFriest finds an unlikely ally willing to examine his infamous past and offer new insights to the Parole Commission. Along the way, they uncover lingering questions about whether Mark should have been sent to prison, yet face the daunting task of explaining why a notorious troublemaker deserves to go free.

WHERE: VILLAGE EAST CINEMA - 189 SECOND AVE, NYC

Filmmaker bio:  Gabriel London began his work on criminal justice issues as an undergraduate at Pomona College, where he won the Albert R. Broccoli film award for a prison documentary, Turned Out. Continuing with incarceration stories, in 2001, Gabriel produced and directed No Escape: Prison Rape in America, two short films that accompanied the Human Right Watch report of the same name and that were honored with a Soros Criminal Justice Award. In 2004, Gabriel went on to produce Drew Barrymore's MTV documentary about youth voting, The Best Place to Start, and in 2008, he directed Snoop Dogg's autobiographical streets-to-prison story, Youth Authority: California for Spike TV. Gabriel's work has been included in international campaigns like Live Earth and Hopenhagen, as well as film festivals such as IDFA, Media that Matters and Urbanworld. In recent years, Gabriel has traveled extensively creating documentary based campaigns relating to disaster relief, clean energy and climate change.