The Alabama Solution: Screening and Community Conversation
Sunday, September 7, 2026
Film + Program | 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Philbrook Art & Gardens, 2727 S Rockford Rd, Tulsa, OK 74114
Free | Refreshments | Mature Audience
Join us for an important screening of The Alabama Solution, followed by a community conversation around detention conditions in Oklahoma. The Alabama Solution is a powerful documentary that exposes the realities of Alabama's prison system and centers the voices of those living within it. The brutality shown in the documentary is not unique. In a way, it shows every prison because of the violence and oppression that prison breeds. The film invites us to confront the human cost of incarceration, the forces that allow injustice to persist, and the urgent need for accountability and systemic change. Join advocates working across issues of incarceration, immigration detention, and the death penalty in Oklahoma for a community conversation after the screening that discusses how the film relates to what is happening in Oklahoma and actions you can take to fight injustice in our state.
Hosted by the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, the Julius Jones Institute, and the ACLU of Oklahoma, this event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and we will be joined by local community organizations who will provide free resources and ways to stay involved in advocacy efforts.
ABOUT THE FILM
In 2019, filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman (HBO’s The Jinx) visited an Alabama prison, where, off camera, incarcerated men whispered a message: terrible things are going on and being kept secret. This reveal sparked an immersive six-year investigation to discover the reality behind one of the nation’s deadliest prison systems. With unprecedented access and video shot on contraband cell phones, the directors learn of a suspicious and violent death, which wasn’t an isolated incident – and that the official version appears far from the truth. A shocking story of brutality, corruption, and a system in collapse, The Alabama Solution shines a light on the inmates fighting for their survival who, against all odds, embark on a powerful campaign of resistance.
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS + PRODUCERS
Andrew Jarecki’s work over the past 25 years has won Emmy, Peabody, Sundance Grand Jury, and NY Film Critics Circle awards, and been nominated for the Academy Award. His twelve-part HBO series The Jinx (Parts One and Two) led to Robert Durst’s arrest and conviction for murder. He directed and produced the narrative feature that led to that series, entitled All Good Things, starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. Jarecki’s groundbreaking documentary Capturing the Friedmans, won 18 international prizes and led to the conviction review of a notorious criminal case. Among other films, he produced the feature documentary Catfish and the related MTV series, now in its twelfth season. He is a graduate of Princeton University and a board member of The Marshall Project.
Charlotte Kaufman is a New York-based filmmaker with a focus on long-term, in-depth investigative storytelling. She has worked closely with Andrew Jarecki for the past six years, beginning as a producer on The Jinx: Season 2. Her previous investigative work includes Hidden Alibi, featured in the Netflix series The Innocence Files. She is a graduate of Columbia University.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
Pardiss Kebriaei is a writer, human rights lawyer, and professor at CUNY School of Law. She was awarded a 2024–2026 Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Born in Iran, she immigrated with her family to Oklahoma as a child and spent her first years in the United States in Norman and Stillwater. Her work is shaped by personal and historical connections, including her father’s experience as a political prisoner in Iran. For nearly 25 years, Kebriaei has worked in human rights advocacy. Her work has also focused extensively on incarceration in the United States, including efforts with movement organizations to end sentences of death by incarceration. In Tulsa and across Oklahoma, she engages with organizations and advocates exploring incarceration and detention.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma is a nonprofit, non-partisan, privately funded organization devoted exclusively to the defense and promotion of the individual rights secured by the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions. We dare to create a more perfect union — beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution and the Oklahoma Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees. The ACLU of Oklahoma is an affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been at the center of nearly every major civil liberties battle in the U.S. for more than 100 years.
Julius Jones is an artist, author, and world changer who survived Oklahoma’s death row for over 23 years until his commutation on November 18, 2021. The Justice for Julius campaign engaged millions of people around the world and inspired many to take part in civic activism and justice reform. In addition, Julius is the founder of the Julius Jones Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to community education and advocacy. Julius has authored two books, JuWels of Life and JuWels from Death. He is still awaiting justice for his wrongful conviction by the State of Oklahoma.
VISITOR EXPERIENCE
Tulsa Artist Fellowship and Philbrook Museum of Art are committed to making all visitors feel welcome and supported. To learn more and make inquiries, visit philbrook.org/access.
Hearing Loop technology is available in the auditorium for visitors with hearing aids or cochlear implants. Assisted listening devices are also available at the Admissions Desk. Unsure if you have a Telecoil? Ask your hearing professional. To learn more about how it works, click here.