SXSW Film Preview: Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo

When we think of rodeos, there are certain images that are conjured in our minds: bucking broncos, clowns with a death wish, carnies, funnel cakes, heck even a Garth Brooks song or two; all relatively joyously-benign things, right? Never once have shackles and handcuffs flashed across the screen of our minds, but then, we didn't grow up in Oklahoma.

Welcome to the strange world of our neighbors to the north. Filmmaker Bradley Beesley has once again captured one of the bizarre subcultures that can only be found in Okie territory, where the prison rodeo has been a staple of mass entertainment for almost 70 years (well, admittedly, there is a prison rodeo in the great state of Louisiana as well, but they don't let the ladies participate). Creator of the incredibly intimate rock-doc The Fearless Freaks, as well as the SXSW 2001 Audience Award winning documentary Okie Noodling (people catch fish by using their hands as bait. Not. Joking.), Beesley certainly has a keen eye for interesting situations and a gentle touch with his questioning, massaging information of the most sensitive nature from his subjects.

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo appears to be a more political film than any of his past ventures, considering that Oklahoma incarcerates women at a much higher rate than any other state in the union, and most of these arrests are a direct result of the so-called War on Drugs. However, it is not his first work to focus on women voluntarily participating in a brutal sport that could leave them broken and bloodied (Beesley is responsible for the 2006 A&E series Rollergirls, which chronicled the day-to-day lives and bouts of our very own hometown banked-track-bruisers). Sweethearts follows a group of convict cowgirls as they prepare not only for the competition against the male prison teams, but also as they search out and meet estranged family members, sit through parole hearings and as they try to find a way to do their time, which will last a lot longer than any eight second bull ride.

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo will have its World Premiere Saturday, March 14th, at the Paramount. For more information, check out the SXSW Film Festival schedule.