About The Film

 

When her mother is murdered by her father, Julie Ann Mabry is confronted by a life of hardship and poverty. Taken in by her evangelical relatives, she begins to adopt new religious convictions in an effort to reconnect with her mother. Slowly, the threads of her new life begin to unravel and Julie Ann is sent to prison. It is there she finds the freedom and community she had sought so long, yet it comes with a price.

 

The film presents composite characters of real life women who were interviewed and researched in South Bend, Indiana, mostly focusing on six girls who were interviewed at the Juvenile Justice Center.

 

The impoverished conditions and institutional sexism shown in Execution continues in Indiana today. While Orange Is The New Black has opened the door to discussing the complex prison system, The Execution of Julie Ann Mabry, made six years prior, shows how poverty operates as a prison itself, leaving many to experience structure, hot meals and safety for the first time in their life while being incarcerated.

About The Filmmaker

 

Katie Madonna Lee was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. Her films addresses complex issues, mostly describing the rust belt city culture she grew up in. The economic gap in the Midwest has shaped her perspective and made her committed to honest and raw storytelling in an honest and raw form. Katie Madonna spent five years researching The Execution of Julie Ann Mabry, and shaping the performances of the non-actors she cast whose real experiences and on-screen presence reflect the lives that inspired Julie Ann’s story.

 

Lee is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts film program, and has directed several short films as well as a children’s web show, Flabulous. She is currently developing another web series, Riot Grrrl, and a feature film, Ten Pin Saints.