Film | JAIL TIME RECORDS (2026)

DCP| 2026 | Directed by Dione Roach and Steve Happi | Cameroon, USA | 94 minutes | French with English subtitles

Free admission. No registration required.

The New Bell prison in Douala, Cameroon, is one of the most overcrowded in Africa: designed to hold 800 people, it now houses around 6,000. What began as a rehabilitation project at the prison turned into a prolific nonprofit record label—the first of its kind on the continent—where incarcerated artists can tell their stories through music and share them with the world. The Tribeca-winning documentary Jail Time Records covers years of life and art at New Bell, focusing on three protagonists’ reflections on the past and their hopes for the future. Balancing footage of the inmates’ daily lives with music video interludes, this pulsating documentary testifies to the necessity of artistic practice in the harshest of conditions.

This screening is part of the World Documentaries Today program. Launched in the fall of 2024 as a graduate student–curated series, it is now a regular section of film programming at the Whitney Humanities Center. Each semester, it will bring to campus the latest cutting-edge documentaries from around the world that combine pointed social focus with innovative form. Join us for this screening and stay tuned for the coming ones!

Presented by Yale Whitney Humanities Center and French Department Cine Club