Couple to debut ‘Another Chance’ at GH Film Festival

Irene Torres

Maureen Reilly and her husband, Jim Reynolds, of Vaughn, made a video documentary that will be screening at ithe Gig Harbor Film Festival on Oct. 18. Photo by Ed Johnson, KP News

Interviews with offenders at the Washington Corrections Center for Women have been produced as a 30-minute video documentary about training to reenter the workforce after release from prison.

“Another Chance” has been selected to screen at the Gig Harbor Film Festival on Oct. 18 at the Galaxy Theater.

Maureen Reilly and her husband, Jim Reynolds, live in Vaughn and together run Seat of the Pants Productions as independent filmmakers.

Since 2001, they have produced short promotional and training videos for Kitsap Community Resources, the Navy shipyards, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and an early-learning clip for the Bremerton School District.

In the spring of 2013, they were invited to film the Gig Harbor Rotary awards ceremony.

There they learned about the Rotary Re-Entry to Work program and decided to film it as a short documentary.

Reilly interviewed women at the prison in Purdy for nearly a month. When she heard of their fears, she realized that it was too much of a story for a six-minute video.

“They don’t know how to support themselves legally. They’re scared of being outside. This program gives them the confidence and support they need to survive,” Reilly said.

She said she worried that the women would not want to appear on camera, but that the Rotarians have a good rapport with the offenders. Only the women who volunteered and were cleared by officials appear in the video.

Reilly said she would like to expand the story into a full 60-minute documentary to follow up with the women in the program. She wants to ask them how the classes helped them and how the Rotary scholarship fund made a difference.

“This is primarily Maureen’s project. She gets all the credit. She has managed all of the elements herself, and she’s done a great job. I am really proud of her,” Reynolds said.

The Gig Harbor Film Festival screened 42 films in 2012, and will show a similar number during the sixth annual festival Oct. 18-20 this year.

For tickets and information, call the office at (253) 851-3456.

View a trailer here: vimeo.com/74311548.