Edgar Barens - Director

Edgar Barens grew up in Illinois and graduated from Southern Illinois University with an MFA in film production. Barens started producing and directing short experimental narrative films and documentaries in 1988.

His body of work includes documentary films, shorts and public service announcements, many of which have been screened at film festivals and broadcast nationally and internationally as well as distributed educationally.

Barens directs and produces documentary films that explore and make visible the many issues at play in the American criminal justice system. His film, Angola Prison Hospice: Opening the Door, distributed by the CMIL in Berkeley, California, has been instrumental in jump-starting numerous hospices throughout the United States correctional system.

He hopes his film A Sentence of Their Own will give society a deeper understanding of our growing use of incarceration and it's impact on families.

Filmography

A Sentence of Their Own, Director/Producer/Camera/Sound
(Documentary, Mini Digital Video, Color, 64 minutes)

Angola Prison Hospice: Opening the Door, Director/Producer
(Documentary, Mini Digital Video, Color, 26 minutes)

Prison Industries, Associate Producer/Camera
(Documentary, Mini Digital Video, Color)

The Empty, Producer/Director
(Music Video, 16mm, Color, 4 minutes)

Waseca Prison Town, Producer/Camera
(Documentary, Hi 8 Video, Color)

Why Not Love/Get Used To It, Director/Producer/Camera/Editor
(Experimental, 16mm, B&W, series of 5 @ :30 each)

Cuba: Cine Pueblo, Interviewer/Translator/Assistant Editor
(Documentary, 16mm, Color, Spanish w/English subtitles)

Sanctuary, Interviewer/Translator
(Documentary, 16mm, Color, 21 minutes, Spanish w/English voice over)

Soon Spring Will Come, Director/Producer/Editor
(Documentary, 16mm/Super 8, Color/B&W, 30 minutes)

Honey and Salt, Producer/Director/Editor
(Experimental narrative, 16mm, B&W, 14 minutes)

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