If I Give My Soul

Directed by Andrew Johnson and Ryan Patch

In Brazil, inmates of prisons and jails are almost exclusively poor, black, uneducated males - society's lowest. In locations that have never been filmed and with stories that have never been told, this documentary examines how five Brazilian inmates have coped with this profound social stigmatization as well as Rio's brutal justice system by joining prison-based, inmate-led Pentecostal Churches. The film spotlights five prisoner's personal stories and uses social science methods to investigate if this religion is simply an "escape" for the oppressive conditions, if it's an elaborate show for the guards and justice system, or if their faith and experience represent something more.