THE DEAD ZONE

THE DEAD ZONE journeys alongside four daring insiders across the South as they discover whether their efforts succeed or fail in a race against time to solve a deadly jail crisis.

PORTRAIT OF SYSTEM

THE DEAD ZONE is a feature documentary that unveils a hidden purgatory system and shines a light on game-changing alternatives to escape a deadly jail crisis. Taking place from the muddy Mississippi Delta to the Kentucky Bluegrass, we meet a man who lost his family while caught in legal limbo for six years, a courageous but no holds barred public defender, a reform-minded district attorney, and a progressive judge facing intense backlash. The film, currently in production, follows along as these reforms are put to the test in a race against time.

A man in a gray suit with a red tie and a gold watch is standing at a wooden podium with an open book, possibly in a courtroom or official setting. In the background, a woman wearing a red dress and a face mask is present, holding a purse.

Supported by

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Logo for Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund at Johns Hopkins University.
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PGA Producers Guild of America logo.
Logo for the Fund for Investigative Journalism with a blue triangle and a white oval shape on a dark background.

the SILENT CRISIS

The idea of “Innocent Before Proven Guilty” is a bedrock of justice dating back to ancient Rome. But everyday in America, 2 people die and 400,000 more languish in jail trapped in pretrial detention, the limbo between arrest and conviction. If you are poor, you remain jailed - guilty until proven rich. As fear of rising crime grips the nation, Americans feel a tug of war to preserve ideals of equality and justice-for-all while maintaining a sense of safety.

A rural landscape at dusk with a large utility pole and power lines, dark clouds, and a visible moon in the cloudy sky. Trees are seen in the distance.

BY THE NUMBERS

60%

People jailed because they can’t afford bail

400%

Increase in jail populations since 1970

400,000

Unconvicted people detained in jail every day

  • Close-up of a woman's face, focusing on her eyes, hair, and part of her nose, with a blurred brick wall background.

    Emily Thomas

    DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, CINEMATOGRAPHER

    Director Emily Thomas’ work is rooted in intimately documenting the human experience to bring light to pressing social justice and environmental issues with nuance, visual evidence, emotion and hope. Her award-winning films have been featured on PBS, the New Yorker, Vimeo Staff Picks and screened at SF Film Fest, Big Sky, Hot Springs, and D.C. Environmental Film Fest. Her work has been supported by the California Humanities, Berkeley Film Foundation and Saul Zaentz Film Fund. As a cinematographer, she has worked on films for Peacock TV, VICE, CBS, The Guardian, PBS, VOA, and Frontline. Prior to Lemon Tree she was a journalist reporting on crime, politics and breaking news, and was a human rights investigator. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and lives in Baltimore, MD.

  • Close-up black and white photograph of a person's face, focusing on their eyes and hair, with blurred background.

    NICOLE DOCTA

    PRODUCER

    Nicole Docta (she/her) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has focused her career on producing socially provoking BIPOC stories and managing their impact campaigns. Nicole was part of the producing teams on Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated THE JUDGE (TIFF 2017) and Emmy Award-winning BELLY OF THE BEAST (HRWFF 2020) with Director Erika Cohn, and duPont Award-winner THROUGH THE NIGHT (Tribeca 2020) with Director Loira Limbal. Nicole served as the Special Initiatives Producer at Firelight Media for three years co-curating the Beyond Resilience Series and helping to implement new artist programs to support BIPOC filmmakers. Nicole is also a USC CPD NextGen Creative Fellow, one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40, a Sundance Producer Fellow, and Impact Partners Producer Fellow.

  • Black and white photo of a man with glasses, short hair, beard, and mustache, wearing a jacket and looking at the camera.

    JASON POLLARD

    EDITOR

    Jason Pollard’s involvement in the film industry began as a young child when he accompanied his father, acclaimed film producer/editor Sam Pollard, to different edit rooms as Sam magically turned strips of celluloid into complex and wonderful stories. He has edited many acclaimed documentary films including SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and Netflix documentary GET ME ROGER STONE, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. More recently, he edited THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG for PBS, WHO KILLED MALCOLM X? and RAPTURE for Netflix, Tina Charles’ GAME CHANGER, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, and LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK AND BLUES which premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

  • Black-and-white photo of a man with dark hair and a beard, captured at an unusual angle, showing part of his face and hair in focus, with a blurred background.

    JOHN TONER

    PRODUCER

    John is co-founder of Lemon Tree Productions. He has led global community-based innovations to address human rights and racial injustice through the United Nations and led homelessness and youth diversion efforts throughout the south. He has worked on films for Frontline and The New Yorker as a consulting producer and as part of the development and production. team. As an expert in equity-based policy and storytelling, as well as a native Kentuckian with a deep understanding of the south, he brings both creative and cultural expertise to this story.

  • CAROLYN HEPBURN

    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

    Carolyn Hepburn is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer whose recent films include American Pain (2022 Tribeca Festival, CNN Films); Unfinished Business (2022 Tribeca Festival); The Return of Tanya Tucker featuring Brandi Carlile (2022 SXSW Audience Winner, Sony Pictures Classics); In The Same Breath (HBO Docs, Oscar shortlisted); The Velvet Underground (Cannes Film Festival, Apple+, Oscar shortlisted); The Mole Agent (Oscar nominee); A Thousand Cuts (Emmy, Gotham and IDA winner); One Child Nation (Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, Amazon Studios, Oscar-shortlisted); Life, Animated (Oscar nominee and winner of three Emmys); Weiner (IFC Films, Oscar shortlisted).

  • CAROLINE KESSLER

    EDITOR

    Caroline’s work is rooted in a belief that documentary can invite audiences into unfamiliar lives with empathy, nuance, and an openness to surprise. She brings an instinct for character, rhythm, and interior truth to the edit, shaping stories that feel immediate and intimate. Her recent credits include TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS (TIFF 2024), IF THESE WALLS COULD ROCK (DOC NYC 2025), UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Tribeca 2022), SEX DIARIES (HBO) and THE NEW YORK TIMES PRESENTS (FX). She is based in Brooklyn.

SUPPORT

The Dead Zone is seeking financial support to finalize production and bring this film to the widest audience possible. Please consider making a tax deductible donation via the Women Make Movies (WMM) 501(C)3 fiscal sponsorship or contacting the team below to support the film.

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