Susanne Mason on her work-in-progress
“Return to Sender” (working title) is a longitudinal documentary I began filming in 2010 about the lives of men returning from Texas prisons. About a year into filming I decided to focus on Jorge Antonio Renaud. I met him through a mutual acquaintance, and had seen him in "Lions, Parakeets and Other Prisoners” (1987), a film about a prison writing program that spotlighted his early poems about prison life.
By 2008, he'd become a journalist, an author and an award-winning poet determined to put 27 years of incarceration behind him. My team and I have filmed for 15 years now, and are raising funds to finish the film. Join my mailing list for occasional updates on our progress.
My work
I’m an independent filmmaker and freelance archive producer and researcher. I love working with filmmakers on historical and social issue documentaries. "The Inquisitor," directed by Angela Tucker, is a recent favorite. My own films are about the criminal justice system and environmental issues. “Writ Writer” was broadcast nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens, and won the Silver Gavel from the American Bar Association. Barton Springs Uprising (2006) was commissioned by the Save Our Springs Alliance to revisit the famous city council meeting in Austin in 1990 that coalesced a community-wide effort to protect the Edwards Aquifer and its springs. My first short doc, "Stories from the Riverside," explored domestic violence and self-defense through the stories of three women incarcerated for killing their partners.
Films
Return to Sender (working title)
Barton Springs University (2016 promo)
Writ Writer (2008)
Barton Springs Uprising! (2006)
Stories from the Riverside (1991)
