In 1997 Rob Rich, a first offender in Louisiana, was sentenced to 61-years as a result of overzealous prosecution. In 81 brief minutes, we get to know Sibil Fox Richardson, who also goes by Fox Rich, and the hell that was her life for two decades. Despite the clear contrast between the rough-hewn archival video and the sharp, shimmeringly beautiful newer material (shot by Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach and Nisa East), the entire movie is rendered in black and white. GB: Thank you because I can give you my honest answer ::laughter:: So first of all the archives I didnt know existed until like our last day of filming. But were still not free., The Times Feature Film in the Oscar Spotlight, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/insider/oscar-film-prison-time.html. Her husband Robert Richardson was sentenced to 60 years in prison and held. Theyre being talked about in the media in the same way that Batman is being talked about, right? Attitudes are changing: John Bel Edwards, Louisianas governor since 2016, campaigned on prison reform and has granted 116 of the 164 clemency appeals made to him; his predecessor, Bobby Jindal, pardoned just 83 out of 738 during the previous eight years. Most of all, we see Rich gradually (though not always chronologically) coming into her own, whether shes publicly reckoning with her long-ago crime at church, taping a TV commercial for the car dealership she now runs or speaking publicly about the pain of growing older without her husband and seeing her boys grow up without their father. Fox then became an adjunct professor at Southern University and Grambling State University. Time can make you weep for a hundred reasons, from joy, pain or recognition, but its wounds and its glories are finally inextricable from one of the paradoxes of moviemaking itself. The Richardson familys interpretations of time help structure their experiences of Robs absence. Time flies. It had a lot to do with the fact that he was caught up in his emotions, and no one had ever worked to temper the emotions. I want to go run my mouth so bad I dont know what to do with myself! Oh my God!!!! Its so incredibly perfect for the times we live inbad personal decisions, misplaced accountability, genuine redemption, and eventually dignity and justice. For the 21 years while Sibil "Fox" Richardson's husband, Rob, was imprisoned, they were, she says, "a telephone, letter-writing, visitation, just-stay-alive and keep-your-head-above-water . I was really just extrapolating that and applying it to this other film and really thinking about these two films, as being sister films that would always coexist with one another. Rob was sentenced to 60 years, while Fox accepted a plea deal of 12 years and served three and a half. As they peel back the layers of their unforgettable love story, youll discover the secrets of perseverance and the power of a resilience that is founded on faith in a God who never gives up on us. The resolution, which called for Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and for peace to be restored to the. "Time," directed by Garrett Bradley, consists of a great deal of video footage that Fox Rich filmed herself during the family's ordeal that began in the late 1990s and continued through 2018. To be honest with you, I just love black and white. I just think its beautiful. I think it goes back to forgiveness, says Bradley. As Rob survived two decades at Americas bloodiest penitentiary and Fox raised their sons solo, they never stopped fighting for Robs freedom and for their futures against the statistical odds. Under the working title Flat Rob, inspired by the six-foot-tall cardboard cutout of Mr. Rich that the family carried with them as they wished for his return home, Ms. Bradley hoped to tell a story about the effects of incarceration centering as much on the people outside as in. Author: wwltv.com. She doesnt feel her approach is any better than the factual documentary one. Fox earned her bachelors degree in biology at Grambling State University. In Louisiana, thats practically routine for a black man. He is joined in the video by his wife, Sibil Fox Richardson, whose decades-long effort to secure his release was documented in the film "Time," and by one of their sons, Freedom. The election will be held on Saturday, Feb. 18. All right. You have a good weekend. This this woman and my family are worth fighting for it. It tells the story of Sibil Fox Richardson, known as Fox Rich, a mother of six who fought for decades for the release of her incarcerated husband. Time is unbiased. I sat in my living room fixed to this story as this beautiful strong dedicated mother sister daughter wife pressed through with grace her strength and faith in God Her success is the best revengeslogan is something all black people should embrace understanding and walk in daily I absolutely love this storyI wish the family forever love peace happiness and last but not least many many many Blessings.. thanks for giving some clue about the story , now am watch this peacly . Bradley doesnt imprint the amateur footage with a date on-screen; however, the news program captured in the background places it in 2003. Rob: One that I can think of, was most recent, when this wave of Black Lives Matter. Bye-bye. [MUSIC PLAYING] [PHONE RINGS] [PHONE RINGS] [PHONE RINGS] This is Sibil Hi. checking again. Mm-hmm. Were you able No. Their lives looked promising until they were in a bind, and Rob was convinced to help rob a bank. Keep a heart. To have that footage use later on to tell a much, much bigger story is nothing less than amazing. Desperate and unmoored, the. Success is the best revenge. In order for me to do that I had to do it from the perspective which I thought, honor the family about unity. Fox meets him in a white limousine. The Times editors Lindsay Crouse, Andrew Blackwell and Kate Sinclair critiqued and fact-checked the work. The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic. What a beautiful interview to read, I have never heard that documentary but reading this interview touches my heart. Documentary Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Bradley, who is the first Black woman to win best director for a U.S. documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, originally broached this topic in her 2017 New York Times op-doc, Alone, a short film that captures a young womans fraught and isolating decision to marry her incarcerated boyfriend. Time begins with the first video Fox recorded 20 years ago, in which she reveals that a week and a day has passed since her own release from prison. An investor had pulled out of their fledgling clothing store business and they desperately needed an infusion cash to stay open. Rated: PG-13, for some strong languageRunning time: 1 hour, 21 minutesPlaying: Starts Oct. 9 Landmark Hillcrest, San Diego; in limited release where theaters are open; available Oct. 16 on Amazon Prime Video. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Time is a 2020 American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley.It follows Sibil Fox Richardson, fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year prison sentence.I got an amazing opportunity to interview Fox and her husband, in which I learned she is still the firecracker of a woman who loves her family through thick and thin. Now am going to watch it thank you, Thanks for narrating the story in interesting way thank you so much for this. Make no mistake about it, this power couple are using their mess-turn-message to bring greater awareness to the systemic issues of mass incarceration, while promoting civic engagement.The founders of Rich Family Ministries, The Richs, have committed their lives and their resources to not only bringing greater awareness, but also providing sustainable solutions to familys suffering from the hardships associated with crime and punishment.The Rich family hit the ground running and has shared their testimony with audiences far and wide. He and his wife own and operate Backatown Coffee Parlour, which is located in downtown New Orleans. I develop relationships with them, and thats how the projects come to fruition, says Bradley, who is currently in her native California, but has lived in Louisiana for the past 10 years. Click on your favorite retailer to preorder Time before February 7, 2023.2. And to those who are less aware of it, or dont feel that, that its an issue that affects them. But when you look at the statistics, white men are being shot up and killed by white police officers. Even with two decades of activism behind, they are a work in progress. For example, Bradley captures Fox calling the judges office to inquire about a ruling on Robs case. She speaks of her husband, Robert Richardson, whos in prison, noting she herself was released about a week earlier. Upon his release, his once-frozen-in-time, one-dimensional image is now fleshed, animated, lively, and free. Im kicking myself now that I didnt see it earlier, but here we are. Mr. Richardson doesnt deny that he did wrong. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. In 1997 Rob Rich, a first offender in Louisiana . By JAKE COYLE October 6, 2020. But Sibil Richardson said the couple. She got 13 . And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. But what was most profound about that scene is that people have come to me and said it wasnt till that moment that they understood how much was lost., There is another sense in which Bradley felt responsible when Rich handed over her home videos: In Louisiana specifically, where Katrina obliterated a lot of family history, a lot of people dont have their past documented any more. Filtered through the eyes of a newly free Rob, Bradleys cinematic rewind reminds the audience that time is both fluid and fleeting. Rich rarely looks more radiant than she does in those speeches, partly because we can see the effect of her words on her listeners most of them other Black women held rapt by her intensity of feeling and partly because of the unapologetic glamour with which shes presented. In June 2018 Governor John Bel Edwards granted clemency to Rob, 90 days later he was released. October 11, 2020 Early in "Time" Sibil Fox Richardson - you may know her as Fox Rich - is recording a video for her social media, announcing an upcoming talk she'll be giving. He was 30 years old when he was locked away in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, making his penalty a virtual life sentence. Piano chords flood the soundtrack, and images flood the screen: We see Rich hanging out with her boys at home, splashing about with them in a pool, lecturing them in the car and jostling next to them on a carnival ride. I think that films used to be made in black and white because we didnt have color films. Her journey is mesmerizing. In 1997 she and her husband Robert Richardson were convicted of a bank robbery in Louisiana. Black and White helped create sort of a uniformity and visual linearity that then allowed us from a narrative standpoint to really jump around in time in a more graceful way. That led her to Rich, who was effectively 18 years further down the same road. Technically, he is still not free, though: he will be on parole and under curfew for the next 40 years, Bradley points out. Its a visual choice that allows both time frames to gently blur while still remaining distinct, even as they are often tied together by the melancholy strains and surging arpeggios of Jamieson Shaw and Edwin Montgomerys score. Its not really about the crimes, its about many, many other things which we as a culture need to resolve if we want to live in a fair and just and equal society, and I believe that most of us do.. So the weekend that he came home and we had a welcome back celebration for him, we took Flat Rob out in the backyard and lit him up like a Christmas tree and thank God over and over again for the return of real Rob. SO TAKE A LOOK AT LAST NIGHTS RESULTS. Q: Fox when are you going on your speaking tour? The couple, whose birth names are Sibil Fox and Robert Richardson (they go by the collective FoxandRob), now help families of inmates navigate the justice system through the Participatory Defense Movement New Orleans, part of a national community organizing network. She. Both a breathtaking cinematic love story and a bruising indictment of American injustice, Garrett Bradley's Academy Award-nominated feature documentary debut traces the decades-long quest of Sibil Fox Richardson, an indefatigable mother of six and a fiercely outspoken prison abolitionist, to free her husband from the Louisiana State Penitentiary, You should let it, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Yet more rain expected to hit California in March. And its a question I always ask people that I, that I work with this? They lock into a passionate embrace in the back. Read: The films that understand why people riot. These works, in turn, influence audiences feelings of who should and should not be incarcerated, reproducing carceral logics even as they advocate for civil rights and reform. But mostly she waits. That the talk about white privilege, we just dont do that in our household because being a person of color has its privileges in society, and you just have to seek those out because you believe that they are yours right? TIME is directed by Garrett Bradley (Alone,America) and produced by Lauren Domino (The Earth Is Humming,America), Kellen Quinn (Midnight Family,Brimstone & Glory) and Garrett Bradley. In 1997, Richardson and her husband were arrested for bank . She is talking about the US prison system, of which she has some experience. One that I can kind of point to is that one of the things that I feel very proud of that we were able to accomplish through the generosity and participation of the family was being able to see how our forms of resistance to the system and to racism in America change from one generation to the next. 'All In' Directors: Stacey Abrams And Georgia . Our young men are at that age right now, where they are ready to kind of ready take it to the streets, they see all of the in justices and things that are going on. And its proof that in the end, love really does conquer all., Dr. Most of all, perhaps, Time is held together by Richs remarkable voice soft and raspy in the older clips, deeper and more declarative in the more recent ones. Photograph: Amazon Studios. Besides, she adds, dont you think that emotions are facts? You keep a family together for two decades in this institution. And that feeds into ideas around the importance of the black archive in America. Times conclusion provides both joy- and grief-filled catharsis with Robs release from prison, an unanticipated climax that required Bradley to reassemble her crew five months after completing shooting. Director Garrett Bradley explains why she told one familys story and kept filming during their most intimate moments. So I was sort of moving forward. Another more lasting reason is time itself. A very interesting topic for a documentary, a touching story indeed. We are out of prison, Ms. Rich said. Q: For Fox,were you always making home videos? I had never heard of this documentary, but after reading the interview I am especially struck by Foxs heart and love for life. Garrett Bradley (pictured above) met Sibil 'Fox' Richardson - a Louisiana-based entrepreneur, activist and mother of six boys - while making her 2017 New York Times Op-Doc Alone.The 12-minute black-and-white short gives us a glimpse into the life of Alon Watts, a young Black woman in New Orleans, as she prepares to marry her incarcerated partner. But Rich refused to let the system break her family apart. But Bradley also shows how Fox and her sons resist this temporal fix by going about their daily livesgetting ready for work, being honored at a white-coat ceremony, exercising, speaking at a university about prison abolition, participating in student debates, practicing French vocabulary. The documentary Time directed by Garrett Bradley is an impactful and important film that sheds light on the devastating effects of mass incarceration on families. NEW YORK (AP) For the 21 years while Sibil "Fox" Richardson's husband, Rob, was imprisoned, they were, she says, "a telephone, letter-writing, visitation, just-stay-alive and keep-your-head-above-water couple.". Fox Rich is a fighter. So thats the other thing that were hopeful for is that people will be able to be made to call it to action if you would. Affectionately known among their peers as FoxandRob, Sibil Fox and Robert Richardson are a popular New Orleans based couple who endured and survived 21-years as an incarcerated family and are the executive producers and host of A Conversation with FoxandRob, a game changing commentary on YouTube. The hope is, I should also clarify that the intention in making the film doesnt change and what you hope, how will function in the world, right? The dramatic moment crescendos when she slams her hand on her desk, cursing and critiquing the racial politics she has to contend with. Its just not a sensational story about white people shooting white people, or black people shooting white people is far more sensational to talk about a white cops shooting the black guy dead in the streets. I am def going to check it out!! A quest for justice filmed over two decades. Not necessarily in the context of her film (although it enabled it to become a feature), but in the trust Rich was placing in her, to safeguard her memories. In 1997, husband and wife Sibil Fox Richardson and Rob Richardson, attempted to rob a bank. We wanted them to be into the streets to fight for something that they felt was right. WELL, WHILE YESTERDAY WAS A BIG DAY FOR CARNIVAL, IT WAS ALSO A BIG DAY IN POLITICS. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. And last but not least, I think that were hopeful that they will realize that love is still is still possible for the people that seek it. Those are three different sort of trackable forms of resistance and means of responding to an ongoing historical issue in our country that are purely from and reflective of an entire family in a generation multiple generations. The shot cuts to a montage of home-video footage rolling in reverse. 16.6K followers. Richardson's life was the. Thanks for this Q&A which brought me even closer to this documentary. Sibil Fox Richardson's husband, Rob, is serving a 60-year prison sentence. But one of them to the point in terms of the color spectrum, was at the materiality in the spectrum of color that existed within the archive, really varied and was very different from what our modern day footage looked like. As my wife says so beautifully, she says that love is the most divine chemical in the universe and it destroys it overcomes it takes over anything that is not of itself. Top 'SNL' sketches so far Every best picture Must-see music docs See all the celebrities. Upon Robs release the couple started Rich Family Ministries whose mission is to change lives and laws through love. Her mother should be proud its something in the core of her soul that she is blessed with. And it really felt to me that it actually it made the the difference in time really stand out. So not only was it impossible for us to get into the prison itself, to film it, and to show what was happening in there simultaneous to the familys experience; but even shooting, bringing a drone over that property at a plant property, land could only capture a fraction of the magnitude of that. This recognition says stories of this kind matter, Ms. Bradley said. And the devastating loss they feel is somehow made more acute, rather than less, by the very real counterpresence of joy, success and fulfillment in their lives. By this point her husband has served 20 years of that sentence, and shes spent a lot of time petitioning for his release, filing appeals and making endless phone calls on his behalf. 47 mos. You have to check with us on Monday. Yes, maam. Rob:I think one of the things Garrett managed to do well in the film is that there was a point where when she describes about the mistake that Fox and I made and that our lives would never be the same as we were entering into Angola ferry right? When one of her players was arrested, Bradley became close to his girlfriend, named Alon. Now Freedom, one of her twins, is a political science student, studying the criminal justice system with a view to having a hand in transforming it. Throughout the two decades, Fox remains steadfastly devoted to her husband. Foxs footage ranges from the momentous to the mundane: their six childrens playdates, family gatherings, speaking engagements, birthday celebrations, car rides, school activities, and confessionals. 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