Hard Road Home screened at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX this week. It is a film that opens the door into the difficult world of readjustment for ex-convicts. The film profiles the Exodus Transitional Community, a Harlem-based faith-based organization that helps ex-convicts find jobs and re-integrate into society so they don't return to a life of crime. The program is run by the heroic Julio Medina. One of the unique aspects of the program is that Julio and his staff is made up of ex-convicts so they can really relate to their clients' struggles. Hard Road Home is a moving and inspiring film that focuses on the struggles of both the clients and the staff members. The film provides an unvarnished look at just how difficult the process of staying off drugs and on the right side of the law can be given the high rates of recidivism. This hopeful film provides all of us a chance to get a truly human understanding of the struggles of released convicts. It is a powerful film that should be widely viewed so we can truly understand that criminals are also flawed human beings who are struggling with their demons - just like all of us.
