Still Here

(2020)

Still Here VR is a groundbreaking interactive virtual reality experience exploring incarceration and the process of reentry in the US. The film, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, follows a composite character – Jasmine Smith – who returns to Harlem, NYC, after 15 years in prison. Her narrative is based on real life experiences and was crafted in collaboration with more than nine formerly incarcerated women from the Women’s Prison Association (WPA). Women are the fastest growing incarcerated population in the US with a 750% increase in numbers since 1980 – in 2017, there were more than 225,060 women in jails and prisons. 80% of women in jails are mothers and two thirds are women of color. The lives of these women are marked by more than the trauma of physical confinement - when released, they enter a social prison where they struggle to find jobs, affordable housing and to reconnect with family. Around 60% of women end up back behind bars within three years of being released.  AJ Contrast wanted to bring viewers into the story of incarceration in a deeply meaningful and impactful way. To accomplish this, we grounded Still Here in rigorous documentary journalism before branching out into non-linear, innovative storytelling that combined creative fiction writing with surrealism, cinematic visuals and immersive technologies.