IN EXCHANGE FOR FLESH To Make New York Premiere At DANCES WITH FILMS NY

The documentary short In Exchange for Flesh will make its New York premiere on Thursday, January 15, as part of the fourth edition of Dances With Films NY. The screening will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Regal Union Square, where the film will be featured in Shorts Block 2.

The 15-minute documentary centers on Corey Devon Arthur and Sara Kielly, both of whom are incarcerated, and examines the practice of strip frisks within the American prison system. Co-directed by Sandro Ramani and Corey Devon Arthur, the film draws on interviews conducted inside New York State prisons, recorded phone calls, and archival footage to document a procedure that is largely hidden from public view.

In Exchange for Flesh was conceived and developed while Arthur was incarcerated and was produced over a 15-month period. The film previously screened at the Double Exposure Film Festival in 2025.

“We conceived this film in a prison visiting room and spent fifteen months creating it in secret,” Ramani said. “We produced, edited and co-directed the film under carceral state surveillance. Our artistic goal was to reveal a system of power and humiliation that most Americans never see.”

Arthur added, “We made this film to hold the criminal justice system accountable. Prison officials claim the strip frisk serves a penological interest, but in reality it functions to dominate, humiliate, and control rather than protect. We hope to build a nationwide legislative effort to abolish the strip frisk in its current form.”

The film is executive produced by Emily Nonko and Rahsaan Thomas, edited by Ian MacInnes, with cinematography by Peter Peregrine, sound design by Gaelan Mullins, and associate production by Sara Kielly.

Arthur is an incarcerated artist, writer, and filmmaker from Brooklyn, New York. His work has appeared in The Marshall Project, Study and Struggle, the NYU Center for Law, Equality & Justice Annual Report, the Berkeley Art Center, and the Brooklyn Public Library.

Ramani is a Brooklyn-based documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on systems of power and incarceration. His films have screened at festivals, law schools, and community venues across the United States, including the Double Exposure Film Festival, The People’s Forum, CUNY Law School, and the Center for Art and Advocacy.

The screening will take place at Regal Union Square, located at 850 Broadway in New York City.