Faculty Film Series- “Days of Atonement” Shalom Gorewitz and Darryll Rudy

Warning:  This film contains profane language, reference to marijuana (legal for personal use in the state of Vermont), and descriptions of violence.

A docudrama about a convicted murderer, released from prison because he is dying of cancer.  During his remaining time his mission is to make amends with some of the people he hurt, including the sister of the man he murdered.  She demands $5000 to see him.  His former cellmate offers him one more job to raise the money.

This film was recorded with an Apple iPhone in and around St. Johnsbury Vermont.  Most of the performers are not professional actors and some of them have criminal records.  The film is based on improvised conversations and activities by a one person crew attempting to maintain social distance during the process of making the film.  There was only one take of each scene.

Shalom Gorewitz and Darryll Rudy were students at California Institute of the Arts at the same time in 1971-72.

Gorewitz studied media, Rudy was a theater major. Almost 60 years later they met in St. Johnsbury, VT.  Both have had good careers as artists and educators.  Gorewitz has been a professor at Ramapo College since 1982 and in addition to professional performance, Rudy often worked with prisoners using theater as a healing device.  During the pandemic summer of 2020, Rudy and Gorewitz decided to collaborate on this project that documents the last months in the life of a violent offender who has used positive, character building prison resources and unexpected freedom to seek forgiveness from some of the people he hurt during his youth.

Register Here for Live Q&A and for Link to Film