TRE MAISON DASAN to Premiere on Independent Lens

Told directly through the children's perspective, Tre Maison Dasan is an up-close and unfiltered look at the lives of three Rhode Island boys, each navigating childhood and adolescence with a parent behind bars. Each boy faces the pressure of growing up in a society that often demonizes their parents, provides little support for their families, and assumes "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Produced and directed by Denali Tiller, Tre Maison Dasan premieres on Independent Lens Monday, April 1, 2019, 10:00-11:00 PM ET (check local listings), and will also be available simultaneously for online streaming at pbs.org.

An estimated one in 14 American children is growing up with a parent in prison, and Tre Maison Dasan follows three of these children and their families. Tre is a charismatic but troubled 13-year-old who hides his emotions behind a mask of tough talk and hard edges. Maison is a funny, charming, hyper-articulate 11-year-old whose Autism Spectrum Disorder presents itself through his ever-active mind and deep love for those around him. Dasan, the youngest of the boys, is a shy and sensitive six-year-old full of CURIOSITY and empathy. Although their parents are incarcerated for serious crimes, their strong and caring relationships with their children shatter stereotypes about those behind bars and remind us of the plight of the over 1.7 million American children growing up with an incarcerated parent.

"As Tre, Maison and Dasan taught me about their worlds, I recognized that there was a need for a film that allowed children to speak for themselves, to elevate their voices in a way that fully represented their lives as they experience them," says filmmaker Tiller. "Through this participatory process, the audience is led through the ups and downs of life itself - an experience that is both riveting and personal, hilarious and heartbreaking, and values the complexity and nuance of these boys' different realities."

Visit the Tre Maison Dasan page on Independent Lens, which features more information about the film.

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