They Call Us Monsters - Trailer
They Call Us Monsters goes behind the walls of the Compound, a high-security facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals, to follow three young offenders who sign up to take a screenwriting class with producer Gabe Cowan as they await their respective trials. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters.
Previews + Extras
They Call Us Monsters - Juvenile Prisoners Write Film - Clip
S18 E18 - 1m 39s
In this scene from the Independent Lens film They Call Us Monsters, filmmaker Gabe Cowan introduces us to the screenwriting class he teaches to a group of incarcerated teen boys housed at a Los Angeles facility for juveniles tried as adults. While they can't physically leave, they can imagine their stories on screen, and we see a scene from this autobiographical film-within-the-film.
They Call Us Monsters - Juan's Unrequited Crush - Clip
S18 E18 - 1m 55s
In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film They Call Us Monsters, teenager Juan, who is incarcerated for 90 years-to-life for first degree murder, talks about the girl he's had a crush on since kindergarten and may never have a chance to tell her how he really feels given his situation.
They Call Us Monsters - Jarad's Victim Speaks - Clip
S18 E18 - 2m 50s
Jarad Nava is incarcerated for life for four attempted murders and is one of the boys featured in the Independent Lens film They Call Us Monsters, but in this excerpt from the film we get to know Yesenia, a 17-year old girl forever confined to a wheelchair after Jarad shot her in the back in a drive-by shooting. Yesenia doesn't wish him dead but does want Jarad behind bars for 50 years.
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