This film is currently being submitted to film festivals and has not had it's premiere yet.

Co-Director Andrew Johnson's Statement

I am not a filmmaker.

However, the moment that I checked into prison in Rio de Janeiro, I knew that, whatever it took, I needed to make a film. I was there to document religion in the prisons of the city from a sociological standpoint, but the first time that I heard, smelled, and felt what it was like to be inside these jails, I knew academic writing could not begin to convey the intense emotion in the cells.

I was even more convinced of this when I began to attend the prisoner-led worship services in the jails and knew that I simply could not communicate what I was experiencing. So, over the course of three years, my co-director Ryan and I shaped and formed the documentary that has become "If I Give My Soul" to try to tell even a small part of the stories that I came to know while researching behind bars.

At a time when the United Sates is having much-needed discussions about the role that race plays in our society, this film shows how similar race dynamics are playing out in Rio de Janeiro, and empowers several men from oppressed and shunned people groups a chance to tell their stories. We are excited to submit "If I Give My Soul" to your Festival for this reason and hope that you and your audiences will join us in this conversation.

We look forward to hearing from you soon,

Andrew Johnson, Co-Director, "If I Give My Soul"