That’s the premise behind Space to Breathe, a 21-minute Afrofuturist, science-fiction hybrid documentary that examines a potential future reality where there are no prisons or police. The film screens Sept. 26 in Renton. The precise location will be shared with those who RSVP for the free event.
A hybrid documentary is a film that incorporates experimental storytelling with traditional documentary elements to bend reality toward the narrative setting. The screening is a partnership between Elaine Simons and the nonprofit Represent Justice, which works with filmmakers, storytellers, and nonprofits to put together screenings and facilitate conversations that might lead people to take action around reimagining and reconstructing the justice system.
Simons gained notoriety in 2024 after Auburn police officer Jeffrey Nelson was convicted for the 2019 shooting death of Simons’s foster son, Jesse Sarey. The shooting occurred when Nelson tried to arrest Sarey. Nelson became the first police officer in Washington state convicted of murder while on duty. He’s currently serving 16 years in prison.
Since Sarey’s murder, Simons, a retired art teacher, has been focused on the pursuit of justice, police and prison reform, and fostering healing among impacted families.
“I am honored to kick off an independent documentary film series starting with this captivating and transformative film. I was awarded four films to show over this upcoming year. My goal is to bring together commUnity for courageous conversations,” Simons wrote in an email.
Simons added, “I chose to keep the location private and disclose via RSVP due to the topic and venue capacity.”
Represent Justice works with community organizations across the country as part of their “screening circle,” or network of hosts that have committed to facilitating these events and screenings.
Viannca Velez, communications and narrative director for Represent Justice, said the organization’s mission is to showcase films “that have system-impacted people at the helm of the storytelling in order to change the justice system, so they've had to have either a primary role in creating or writing the film, or being at the forefront of the film’s storytelling.”
Afrofuturism, a term coined in the mid-1990s, defines an artistic and literary movement that explores the intersection of Black history, sci-fi, and technology. Some of the most prominent Afrofuturists that have impacted popular culture include authors Octavia E. Butler (who lived in Lake Forest Park, Wash.) and Samuel R. Delaney, and, the “Godfather of Afrofuturism,” jazz musician Sun Ra. Space to Breathe was written and co-produced by Walidah Imarisha, directed by Juicebox P. Burton, and co-produced by Roger Guenver Smith, who also stars in the film.
In a statement sent to the Emerald, Burton said, "We made this film as a gift to organizers, to help them imagine a different world. To show that their hard work today is building a more free future. We're thrilled to have our Washington State Premiere [and] to be part of a community visioning on what a new world could feel like."
Nish Newton plays Sojourner, Space to Breathe’s protagonist. Newton, who is also an outspoken advocate against sexual, domestic, and gender-based violence, said they felt called to Space to Breathe because, much like an abolitionist, they’re familiar with hearing that the world they envision is impossible.
“So often in my field, there's this idea that it is just like a natural part of life or that this is something that many of us deal with, and that's just the way it is. But I don't believe that that's so,” said Newton. “I know that it's possible within our lifetimes to end gender-based violence, but I'm often met with so much doubt and a lot of barriers. And similarly, I think the conversations about prison abolition often go in a similar way.”
According to Newton, abolishing the prison system and ending gender-based violence can happen by 2070, "But it's almost like [we have to collectively choose] this pathway of what it takes for that truth to become bigger than the systems that we currently face.”
Newton believes that creating such a world is only possible if people are courageous enough to reimagine it, which is why they love Space to Breathe.
“The world that we know has been so tightly tethered to these seeds that have been really sowed by colonialism. [Being a part of this film] just felt like a really beautiful opportunity to just, for once, reimagine what a world could be like before that and after that, or despite of that or in spite of that.”
To attend the Sept. 26 screening of “Space to Breathe,” email esimonns8721@gmail.com to RSVP and receive information about the location. Attendees can participate in a post-screening conversation about abolition.
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