Painted with My Hair is inspired by the paintings, poetry and letters of Donny Johnson, an exceptionally intelligent and talented US lifer, who has been locked away inside his country’s notoriously punitive prison system since the age of 18. At 58, Donny was released from solitary and had his first parole board hearing in April 2018. But for 24 years of his prison life, he was ‘buried alive’ in an 11-by-seven-foot concrete cell inside the Super Max Security Housing Unit of Pelican Bay State Prison, where creativity and the making of art were crucial to Donny’s survival. \n\nTogether with thousands of other long-time solitary confined prisoners, Donny was denied all physical contact with other human beings, and subjected to sensory and social deprivation. He was permitted to speak to visitors only via a phone through bullet-proof glass. Nevertheless, in 2002, against all the odds and through an initial ‘prisoners pen-pal’ contact and subsequent weekly correspondence with a New York writer and psychoanalyst, Stephen Kurtz, Donny began an intense and mutually transforming friendship. This relationship, expressed through over 500 letters, lies at the heart of this film. And while Donny revealed himself to be a fluent and incisive writer, even more remarkably, with encouragement from Steve, he became a dedicated artist – despite being refused access to conventional painting materials and forced to make brushes from his own hair, and to synthesise his pigments from the coloured sugar coatings of M&M’s and Skittles. \n\nAs Donny himself cannot be interviewed, his life and emotionally charged journey of self-discovery are presented in the film via quotations from his many letters, read by the award-winning American actor Stanley Tucci. Donny’s ‘voice’ thus becomes the driving force of the documentary, articulating its main themes and topics, from his childhood to the present. Interwoven with Donny’s own words are vivid and articulate contributions from people involved in his life, among them his mother Helen Grimes, his now close friend Steve Kurtz, and his San Francisco-based prisoners' rights lawyer Charles Carbone. A further emotional level is added through music, in the form of specially recorded jazz/rock improvisations for electric guitar and a few songs that have particular significance for Donny.\n\nDonny’s life is an example of one man’s resilience and personal transformation, achieved in defiance of a prison system that locks up more of its citizens – mostly the poor – than any other country. And this unusual and provocative film celebrates creativity and friendship as the essential routes to self-realisation for prisoners whose humanity is systematically denied. \n\nWhether ‘indefinite confinement’ continues to be Donny’s fate was determined by a parole board hearing held in California’s High Desert State Prison on 19 April 2018. Despite evidence of Donny’s rehabilitation while in prison, his parole was not granted, with even a second hearing denied for a further five years. While the hearing could not be filmed, the tension leading up to the board’s decision, and its momentous emotional repercussions for Donny, his family and everyone else in his life, constitute the moving last sequence of the film.
Source: BBC 4
Oooh Er Missus! The Frankie Howerd Story
Documentary about the life of Frankie Howerd, with help from friends and colleagues and including highlights from his TV and film career.
23-03-2024
BBC 4
Peggy Sue: Tales Of Rock And Roll
Peggy Sue Gerron Rackham, the inspiration behind Buddy Holly's famous song, is taken back by Arena to Lubbock, Texas, where she went to the same high school as Holly and where h ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Buddy Holly
Documentary looking at the short but brilliant career of legendary rock'n'roll star Buddy Holly. Features interviews with contemporaries and fans including backing band The Cric ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Byrne About Byrne
In this diverse and inventive autobiography, painter and author John Byrne travels from his youth, through his art school years to the period of his stage and TV plays, and on t ...
29-01-2024
BBC 4
The Orson Welles Story: Episode 2
Second of a two-part profile of Orson Welles, looking at films including The Trial, Chimes at Midnight, The Immortal Story and F for Fake and discussing his many unfinished proj ...
25-01-2024
BBC 4
The Orson Welles Story: Episode 1
First of a two-part film profile of Orson Welles, looking at his life and career in theatre, radio and particularly film. With Jeanne Moreau, John Huston, Peter Bogdanovitch, Ro ...
18-01-2024
BBC 4
My Way
An investigation of the appeal and power of the popular song My Way, which was written by Paul Anka and was recorded by many artists, including Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, El ...
01-01-2024
BBC 4
Frank Sinatra: The Voice Of The Century
Arena profiles crooner Frank Sinatra, acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century, from his early family background to overwhelming showbusiness success.
29-12-2023
BBC 4
Tony Bennett’s New York
Once dubbed the 'king of cool', a look at the man behind the silky voice as Tony Bennett - civil rights activist, jazz enthusiast, painter and New Yorker - takes a tour around h ...
15-12-2023
BBC 4
Billy, How Did You Do It? - Part 3
Director Billy Wilder discusses his career with German film-maker Volker Schlondorff.
14-12-2023
BBC 4
Oooh Er Missus! The Frankie Howerd Story
Documentary about the life of Frankie Howerd, with help from friends and colleagues and including highlights from his TV and film career.
23-03-2024
BBC 4
Cigars - Out Of The Humidor
Documentary which follows the story of the cigar - from the tobacco fields west of the Cuban capital of Havana into the factories where poetry and daily newspapers are read alou ...
22-04-2018
BBC 4
Buddy Holly
Documentary looking at the short but brilliant career of legendary rock'n'roll star Buddy Holly. Features interviews with contemporaries and fans including backing band The Cric ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Ken Dodd's Happiness
A tribute to Liverpudlian comic Ken Dodd, in which he discusses his 50-year career and the influences of his comedy style. Features film clips of his early performances and foo ...
28-11-2023
BBC 4
My Name Is Celia Cruz
The queen of salsa, Celia Cruz has been the most adored and dynamic singer in Latin America for more than four decades. Since she left Cuba at the time of the 1959 revolution wi ...
20-04-2018
BBC 4
Billy, How Did You Do It? - Part 3
Director Billy Wilder discusses his career with German film-maker Volker Schlondorff.
14-12-2023
BBC 4
The Vasulka Effect
An exploration of the life and work of video art pioneers Steina and Woody Vasulka. The film examines the artistic processes of the pair and their profound effect on the 1960s N ...
28-11-2021
BBC 4