God Save Texas – Episode 1: Hometown Prison

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FREE ENTRY «It is one of three excellent films created under the title God Save Texas based on a book by Lawrence Wright – all of which illuminate the history and politics of the state in light of the filmmakers' own lives and families. (…) Hometown Prison focuses on Huntsville, Texas, where Linklater lived from 1970 (the year he turned ten) to 1981. He has already addressed his childhood experiences there in films like Dazed and Confused and Boyhood. (…) In the middle of the city stands a large prison that determines much of the communal daily life, and a vast network of correctional facilities extends in the surrounding area. The prison system is also the main employer in the city. Texas, Linklater reports, has the highest number of incarcerated individuals of all states; furthermore, more people are executed there than in any other state, and these executions take place in Huntsville. In other words, prisons are omnipresent in the landscape of Huntsville, and yet, as Linklater states: ‘At some point, you don’t really notice them anymore.’ Hometown Prison works against that.” (Richard Brody, The New Yorker, March 2024) Contributors and additional information: Director: Richard Linklater Writer: Lawrence Wright Cinematography: E. J. Enríquez, Graham Willoughby, Shane Kelly Music: Graham Reynolds Editing: Paul Greenhouse, Spencer Averick Cast: Richard Linklater, Lawrence Wright