What These Walls Won't Hold

Transcending the grim realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adamu Chan's WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD paints a portrait of resilience and hope blossoming within San Quentin State Prison. Chan, formerly incarcerated himself, offers an insider's view delving into his own journey towards freedom, while amplifying the voices of his community and their loved ones on both sides of the prison walls.

Transcending the grim realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adamu Chan's WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD paints a portrait of resilience and hope blossoming within San Quentin State Prison. Chan, formerly incarcerated himself, offers an insider's view delving into his own journey towards freedom, while amplifying the voices of his community and their loved ones on both sides of the prison walls.

Lonnie Morris once said "Me and my families, they really believe, you know, that I'm getting out of prison but it's really difficult for me to get out of prison. So I'm stuck in this kind of no man land of trying to be honest and truthful with them but not creating any illusions." But now the man incarcerated at California's San Quentin State Prison has a second chance on the outside.

Incarcerated at California's San Quentin State Prison, Rahsaan Thomas talks with Lonnie Morris about incarceration and the inhumanity of it, including why people get involved in crime and how isolation is the root cause.

Director Adamu Chan and Natasha Del Toro, host of America ReFramed, talk about WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD and the story behind the documentary. Chan, who was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, shares why he chose to focus on the relationships between people inside the walls and the loved ones on the outside. The director also opens up about his own experience, impact, and filmmaking.

They say art heals and it is what director Adamu Chan discovered when he picked up a camera while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Chan, who worked with others on the inside, learned filmmaking, shared his art through videos, and found a purpose that led to healing and eventually making the documentary, WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD.

Adamu Chan and Isa Borgeson are best friends through thick and thin. Although Chan's incarceration has kept them apart, they are still able to share their hopes and dreams for the future when freedom becomes a reality. Borgeson herself has been leading an effort to support Chan and other loved ones at California's San Quentin while the COVID-19 pandemic rages inside the walls of the prison.