Directed by Tamara Perkins, The Trust is a feature length documentary chronicling the experiences of a man in his late 30’s, sentenced as a juvenile and serving a life sentence, who has found purpose as a peer educator in The San Quentin Trust Program. The film also follows five of his students as they struggle to apply the teachings of the Trust to their daily lives, both inside the prison walls and as they cope with new tribulations returning back to their families and communities outside the prison gates.
 
The Trust addresses issues faced by incarcerated men and women, their families and communities. Potential audience include those who have lived in incarceration or have a family member who has been incarcerated. The filmmaker will also target those individuals involved in incarcerating, caring for, rehabilitating, and working to reduce this population. Finally, she will target those impacted by violence in our communities, whether as a victim or as an activist rallying for change. In this sense, The Trust will be a tool for educating the community about how The Trust is reducing violence in our communities, recidivism in our detention institutions, and facilitating successful outcomes for youth and adults both caught in and affected by these cycles and systems.
 
The Trust has a multi-faceted distribution plan which leverages both new, innovative methods along with traditional routes of sales and release.
 
Educational Use
Inherent in the film project is the educational aspect.  An inmate developed curriculum, Youth of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow, will be modified for use with different student audiences in High Schools, Colleges, and in Youth Development programs. Our relationships with Alameda County Public Health, Alameda County Probation, Oakland Unified School district, along with local Youth Development agencies such as YouthRadio, Youth Uprising, and The Mentoring Center will help facilitate the incorporation of the film and curriculum.
 
Perkins will also lead a College Tour with panel and discussion. Her relationships with universities like the University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, Stanford University, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley will help facilitate this tour. The panel tour will begin with Dr. Kim Richman at the University of San Francisco, where she will address the systemic issues infusing the path to successful reentry to the Schools of Sociology, Criminal Science, Law, and Education.
 
Grassroots Outreach
Community-based presentations, panel discussions, and forums have already begun and will continue in community centers, agency led youth development forums, and local events, such as Berkeley’s One Love People’s Day in People’s Park, as well as, Day of Peace and Silence the Violence events held all over the Bay Area. East Bay Community Foundation will host a screening event focused on engaging and rallying the Bay Area Faith community behind the project.
 
Screenings
Screenings will kick off at Google Headquarters in Mountain View. Screenings will also be held at the California College of the Arts and the Art Center College in L.A. Additional screenings will be held in New York and Washington, D.C.

Cable Network & Public Television
Perkins has approached Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) with The Trust documentary for airing after the festival and theatrical release.
 
On September 12, 2008, she received a strong letter of interest to distribute from KQED’s Truly California executive producer, Sue Ellen McCann. Perkins is also in talks with ITVS’ Kathryn Washington regarding exploration of PBS as a partner in distribution of both the Documentary and related works created by the San Quentin Media Project. Kathryn is opening a relationship with American Public Media and POV.
 
Film Festivals
Perkins plans to circulate the movie through various national and international festivals, such as Sundance, LA International, IDFA Amsterdam, HotDocs, Silver Docs, Full Frame, and TrueFalse.
 
DVD Sales
In order to facilitate DVD sales beyond our own Website, Perkins will contact Ironweed, Amazon Unboxed, and Netflix.
 
Web Sales and Streaming
As part of her alternative distribution plan Perkins will engage services that allows users to discover, watch and share independent and world films online such as Jaman, Hulu, and Cacchi.
 
Social Networking
Perkins is using several social networking sites to drive traffic to our site and promote both the production and distribution of the film. Sites already populated include: Facebook, Linked-in, My Space, Plaxo, and IndieGoGo.
 
Theatrical Release
Theatrical release opportunities will be researched for both Domestic and International distribution. Opportunities are being explored both through Independent Feature Project and through her relationship with The Doc Film Institute.