Achter de Tralies of Time

A documentary about growing old in the Merksplas prison. When we think of prisoners, we usually don't think of the elderly. Yet today, there are more and more 70-year-olds in prison. They often have health problems and require specialized care. The documentary was filmed entirely in the Merksplas prison over the period of a year. You see daily life in a closed world where time passes slowly. The film follows older prisoners, but also their caregivers and the medical staff who look after them.  We meet a prisoner who helps care for others, two nurses, and a director who is committed to a more humane policy. Together, they show how difficult it is to combine care and punishment. The film is not about these people's crimes, but about who they are today. They are people who have become particularly vulnerable in prison and are trying to deal with old age, regret, and hope. Achter de tralies van de tijd (Behind the bars of time) makes you think. How do we as a society deal with punishment? And what does that punishment still mean when someone has dementia and doesn't even know they are in prison anymore?  Post-screening discussion Afterwards, VRT justice journalist Dirk Leestmans and prison director Serge Rooman will talk about the film. They will delve deeper into the reality behind the walls and answer questions from the audience. About director Stijn Geenen Stijn Geenen is a sought-after researcher, editor, director, and storyteller who has collaborated with various production houses on the content of numerous meaningful films, documentaries, and television programs. Like no other, he knows how to find his way into hidden and closed worlds that fall outside the center of attention, to create a story that holds a mirror up to these worlds.   With this successful first documentary film, he sheds light on the shadow side of society. An organization by merksplas.NU , in collaboration with Femma Merksplas , Cultuur Merksplas , Avansa Kempen and the Regionaal Netwerk Dialoog Kempen   UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PERFORMANCE IS SOLD OUT. WE HOPE TO ORGANIZE A NEW PERFORMANCE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE