From Our Soundbooth | November 28, 2017

On this episode of The Missouri Review’s Soundbooth podcast we sit down with Juliet Lammers to discuss her documentary Inside These Walls, co-directed with Lorraine Price.

Juliet Lammers is a filmmaker, writer, and producer. Juliet was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Frankfurt, Germany. She holds a BA in German Literature and an MA in Media Studies. Before becoming a filmmaker, Juliet worked in radio in Montreal, Canada. Juliet’s debut feature documentary film with co-director Lorraine Price, Last Woman Standing, was released in 2013 and has played select theaters and festivals internationally. The duo teamed up again to film her second documentary Inside These Walls which was released in 2016.

Inside These Walls is the story of Wang Bingzhang—the founding father of the Chinese overseas pro-democracy movement. Bingzhang is currently serving a life sentence in solitary confinement in China after his kidnapping from Vietnam in 2002. The documentary, spanning four years, tells his story and shows his estranged family working continuously to secure his freedom despite him leaving them to pursue activism for many years.

During the interview, Lammers discusses her relationship with the family, interesting facts that occurred while filming and the Bingzhang family’s complex and emotional relationship with their patriarch.

Interview conducted by TMR Audio Intern Taevosha Blackwell.