Prison for Profit

The Mangaung Prison opened in 2001 as South Africa’s first privately run penitentiary. Its operator, the multi-billiondollar British security firm G4S, promised the most humane treatment and the best facilities for its nearly 3,000 prisoners— and naturally at the lowest cost. It soon became clear that this was mostly sales talk. Leaked surveillance videos and testimonies from guards and former prisoners reveal stories of excessive violence, neglect and unimaginable forms of torture. Prison for Profit shows how this
profit maximisation system works, and what happens when governmental tasks like detention are outsourced to powerful
international corporations. And what are the negative consequences for society at large?

The screening will be followed by an online Q&A with the filmmaker, Ilse van Velzen.

In cooperation with Lumière Cinema