Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo

Every year for the past 70 years, officials at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary have allowed a select group of inmates to take part in the world’s only behind-the-wall rodeo. In 2007, they decided to let female inmates compete for the first time, an historic moment that director Bradley Beesley brilliantly captures in this fascinating documentary. While a big part of the film is taken up with the women preparing for and competing in the actual event, it is the intimate portraits that Beesley captures of the inmates that give the film its true power. It’s one thing hear the statistics – about how many young women are facing spending large chunks of their lives in prison because they did something stupid – but listening to these individuals talk about their families, their life inside prison and their dreams of what life will be like for them when – or if – they ever get out will haunt you.