Life & Life : A Story of Redemption

Life & Life follows the journey of Reggie Austin, a jazz musician convicted of murder over forty years ago. With surprising honesty and depth, the film focuses on Reggie’s relationship with his fellow inmates, his efforts to reconnect with his family, and questions the practices of parole and sentencing through the musician’s story. Life & Life is the story of a struggle for redemption and hope against nearly impossible odds, accompanied by a soundtrack straight from Reggie’s heart.

« The problem of the massive incarceration in the U.S., racist at its root, is so huge it often feels overwhelming. Reggie’s story is a path into the deepest complexities of the issue. He is lucid about both the mistakes he did in his own life and and the inequities of our criminal justice system. He defies expectations and easy categorizations, which has led me to careful reflexion on the issues and deeper moral questions. To what degree do our prisons exist to punish perpetrators, protect the public, or reform those incarcerated? What should justice look like? Reggie can never bring back the life he took, but if he can bring change, it might be a redemption of its own. » NC Heikin