40 YEARS A PRISONER Documentary

USA Premiere

Following the film, Film critic Gil Robertson leads a conversation with filmmaker Tommy Oliver.

On August 8, 1978, after a 15-month standoff, the confrontation between the Black liberation group MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department exploded in gunshots. Police officer James J. Ramp lay dead. Nine MOVE members, including the couple Michael Davis Africa and Debbie Sims Africa, were charged and convicted of third-degree murder of officer Ramp and sentenced to 30-100 years in prison. A month later, in prison, Debbie gave birth to son Michael Davis Africa, Jr., who was then taken away from her.

In this incredibly timely and urgent documentary, director Tommy Oliver revisits the volatile events of 1978. He also follows a determined, angry and extremely patient Michael Davis Africa, Jr. as he attempts to get his parents paroled and to unite the family — before it is too late. –Ken Jacobson