Oklahomie filmmaker Bradley Beesley’s film “Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo” is back and playing at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art beginning this Friday, December 17th through Sunday, December 19th.
From 1940 – 2008, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary held an annual “Prison Rodeo.” Part Wild West show and part spectacle; it was one of the last of its kind – a relic of the American penal system. Prisoners compete on wild-broncs and bucking bulls, risking life-long injuries. In 2006, female inmates were allowed to participate for the first time. Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo goes behind prison walls to follow convict cowgirls on their journey to the 2007 Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo. In a state with the highest female incarceration rate in the country, these women share common experiences such as broken homes, drug abuse and alienation from their children. But the rodeo provides the chance to become a hero if only for one night.
For more information about the screenings, check out http://www.okcmoa.com/films/sweethearts-of-the-prison-rodeo
