When a budding young artist’s friend is suddenly killed, he decides to seek revenge. Unless his family can confront their wounds to stop him in his tracks.

This one-of-a-kind feature film represents the work of 13 incarcerated writers from all over the US and was produced by a team of film professionals in New York City. It is available for free to incarcerated audiences in more than 12,000 facilities nationwide, with over 66,000 views.

“I think the film was beautiful and it truly encompassed the tumultuous landscape of the lives of people who are affected by violence and incarceration." - feedback from a currently incarcerated viewer

Influence: A Film in Verse has been selected as a part of the 18th Annual Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. 

*This event is particularly special to us because Pennsylvania is home to 3 of our film's writers, including the play written in one of our programs from which Influence takes its name.

Screening on Thursday, May 8 @ 8:15pm

at REC Philly

901 Market St. Suite #2120, Philadelphia PA 19107

Get your tickets here

Learn more about PIFF at https://pifffilms.tv

Our film festival strategy focuses on the festivals in writers’ home states, those which prioritized underrepresented voices, and areas with high potential impact for organizational growth. Submission fees range from $35-70. Any contributions above our necessary festival costs will join Shining Light’s programming budget. 

Through our tablet partnership with Edovo, “Influence” has been viewed by over 66,000 incarcerated individuals. Here are a few of their reactions:

"The storyline was great and I hope someone sees this and makes a different decision about their life."

"This film was very inspirational and made me cry! Thank you for sharing this with me and those of us who are incarcerated because I think it will shed light on the real events in life that lead us to the decisions we make within our family that influence who we become in life." 

"The film was beautiful and encouraged me to write poetry again. I crave more films like this."

More than a Film

While we know audiences enjoy Influence as a standalone viewing experience, it also represents a suite of active programming. 

Influence includes work from 5 Shining Light programs:

  • The SL Academy Foundations Course: Shining Light staff meet with a small group of residents at a partner facility twice weekly over zoom and work through modules ranging from self-regulation and character strengths to playwriting. (1 script featured)

  • Academy Extension Courses: Graduates of the SL Academy can pursue additional exploration and coaching in playwriting and spoken word from seasoned professionals through zoom meetings. (4 pieces featured)

  • Winter Writing CoLab: Participants are paired with a writing mentor who provides encouragement and rigorous feedback on a single work through 3 months of correspondence. (3 pieces featured)

  • The Loop: This magazine is published bi-monthly and regularly features creative writing selections from readers. A call for subscribers to submit their work for this special project offered the focused prompt of “Rising Above”. (3 pieces featured)

  • Tablet Programming: Shining Light courses offer self-guided opportunities on many of the topics covered in The SL Academy, greatly expanding availability and accessibility. One such course, The Spoken Word Lab, was published in 2022 and walks a writer through the technical and emotive process of writing and editing a compelling poem. (1 piece featured)