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Sheila and Joe | VII Insider Lecture

July 27, 2021
12:00-1:15PM EST



Join Julie Winokur and I as we present our short film “Sheila & Joe” on VII Insider followed by a Q&A with the subjects. 

“Sheila & Joe” is a love story that unfolds behind bars. This story is told through hundreds of letters shared by Sheila Rule, a former New York Times correspondent, and Joe Robinson, a man serving a prison sentence of 25 years to life. Despite a 20 year age difference, and undeterred by the physical barriers of prison, their love has unstoppable momentum. Intimate and nuanced, this short film visits the space between compassion and passion, revealing a man who transcends his crime and a woman who dares to break the rules.

Sheila & Joe premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2021 and received Second Place for Documentary Daily Life from Pictures of the Year International 2020. The film was published on NPR’s The Picture Show in 2021.