FILM

Aurora Picture Show presents a Video Salon with Susanne Mason. Susanne Mason, an award winning filmmaker from Austin, will speak at a free video salon about her film, Writ Writer on Sunday, September 13 at 1 p.m. at the Aurora Video Library, 1524 Sul Ross.

Writ Writer illuminates the historic conflict that emerged in the 1960s when Texas prisoners, inspired by the Civil Rights movement, challenged inhumane prison conditions. It focuses on the story of self-taught jailhouse lawyer Fred Arispe Cruz and his protracted legal battle for the right of prisoners to assist one another with lawsuits.

Mason's feature film was the product of several years of research into the history of the Texas Department of Corrections between 1947-1978, and a lot of fundraising. Prior to her work on Writ Writer she served as associate producer of a variety of public television documentaries, including Are The Kids Alright? (2004 Regional PBS); Struggle In The Fields (1996 National PBS); Songs Of The Homeland (1994, National PBS); and Go Back To Mexico! (1994, Frontline, National PBS).

More recently, Mason wrote, produced and directed short documentaries about the history of Austin, Texas, for the Save Our Springs Alliance and Watershed Productions, including Town In Transition, a short doc about growth in the Texas capitol between 1950-1975. Mason's first film, Stories From The Riverside (1993), a 28-minute documentary that explores domestic homicide through the stories of three women incarcerated for murdering their abusive husbands, received a Silver Apple from the National Educational Film & Video Festival and a Director's Choice Award from the Black Maria Film & Video Festival, among other honors.