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'40 Years a Prisoner': Release date, plot, trailer and all you need to know about HBO docu on Black people's movement

The documentary by Tommy Oliver follows Mike Africa Jr's fight to release his parents — two members of the MOVE 9 — from prison

BY NEETHA K

UPDATED DEC 3, 2020

In 1978, a standoff occurred between the Philadelphia Police Department and MOVE, a Black militant anarcho-primitivist group. This resulted in the death of one police officer named James J Ramp, and injuries to 16 officers and firefighters. Nine members of MOVE were charged with third-degree murder for Ramp's death became known as the MOVE 9. Each was sentenced to a maximum of 100 years in prison. They were Chuck, Delbert, Eddie, Janet, Janine, Merle, Michael, Phil and Debbie Africa. A report from The Guardian, however, noted that eyewitness accounts suggested that the officer could have been accidentally killed by another officer.

Debbie Sims Africa was just 22 when she was imprisoned. She was also pregnant. One month into her prison sentence, she gave birth to her son in secret within prison so she could spend some time with her baby before he would be taken away — jail rules prohibited mothers from being with their children. Three days after her baby was born, she informed the jailers of the baby's existence, after which the mother and baby were separated as the baby was sent to the outside world.

The baby, Mike Africa Jr, was the son of another of the MOVE 9 members, Mike Africa Sr. Mike Africa Jr grew up with both his parents in prison. For 40 years, he would fight for the release of his parents from prison. Debbie Sims Africa and Michael Sims Africa Sr were released on parole, several months apart, in 2018 after not seeing each other for nearly 40 years.

A new documentary that showed at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020 about Mike Africa Jr's fight to release his parents is set to drop on HBO later this year. Read on to know more about the documentary.

Release date

'40 Years a Prisoner' will premiere on HBO on Thursday, December 3, 2020.

Plot

The official synopsis for the film states: '40 Years a Prisoner' chronicles the controversial 1978 Philadelphia police raid on the radical back-to-nature group MOVE and the aftermath that led to a son’s decades-long fight to free his parents. Through eyewitness accounts and archival footage of the escalating tension that resulted in the controversial confrontation between police and MOVE members, the film illuminates the story of a city grappling with racial tension and police brutality with alarming topicality and modern-day relevance.

Filmmaker Tommy Oliver documents Mike Africa Jr’s decades-long investigation and research into what really happened the day of the siege, diving into the conflicting testimonies of those behind it and the effect of MOVE’s activism and way of life on the rest of the community.

Director

Tommy Oliver

Tommy Oliver is an actor and filmmaker who produced numerous short films and features. He directed the short films 'Second Chances' and 'Adjournment' and the feature '1982. '40 Years a Prisoner' is his latest film.

Producers

'40 Years a Prisoner' was produced by Oliver and his banner, Confluential Films. Executive producing are Derek Dudley, and Shelby Stone for Freedom Road Productions, John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius for Get Lifted Film Co, and Keith Gionet and Adam Platzner for Confluential Films.

'40 Years a Prisoner' features music from the Roots.