When an unlikely duo discovers a pattern of illegal sterilizations—nearly forty years after being banned— in women’s prisons, shielded by prison officials and doctors inside the correctional system, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. Belly of the Beast exposes modern-day eugenics and reproductive injustice in California prisons, through intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people.
Kelli Dillon, who was involuntarily sterilized at the age of 24 while incarcerated, teams up with Cynthia Chandler, a human rights lawyer, to fight for reproductive justice at the world’s largest women’s prison, the Central California Women’s Facility. As they prepare to take Kelli’s case to court, they uncover a wide range of crimes occurring within the facility—from inadequate access to healthcare to sexual assault to illegal sterilization—the latter largely perpetrated against the facility’s Black and Latinx populations.
While prison doctors and officials contend that these forced sterilizations were in each person’s best interest and an overall social benefit, Chandler and Dillon call into question how these procedures continued for so long after being banned in California since 1979. Their joint efforts in exposing the atrocities carried out behind closed doors ultimately shed new, timely light on the systemic racism and violence impacting people of color in women’s prisons, in a fight for reparations and justice.
The Filmmaker
Erika Cohn is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director and producer who Variety recognized as one of 2017’s top documentary filmmakers and was featured in DOC NYC’s 2019 “40 Under 40.” Most recently, Erika completed The Judge, a Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated film about the first woman judge to be appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a courts. Erika co-directed and produced In Football We Trust, an Emmy award-winning documentary about the unique faith and culture that ultimately drives young Pacific Islander men into the NFL.
Produced by Angela Tucker
Christen Marquez
Nicole Docta
Executive Produced by Geralyn Dreyfous
Blye Faust
Mark Lipson
Patty Quillin
Doree Friedman
Diane Philips
Lois Vossen
Sally Jo Fifer
Co-Executive Producers Barbara Dobkin
Gretchen Sisson
Kristin Vogelsong
Co-Producer Brittney Shepherd
Consulting Producer Carrie Lozano
Supervising Producer Amy Shatsky
Edited by Tchavdar Georgiev, ACE
Jean Kawahara
Cinematography by Clare Major
Bianca Travis Cline
Composer Omar Fadel
Music Supervisor Tracy McKnight
Featuring (in order of appearance) Kelli Dillon
Cynthia Chandler
Theresa Martinez
Melody Nickles
Lizzy
Pamela Baker
Kanoa Pendang
Teresa Brown
Liz Lozano
Lilah Sperman
Sophia Sperman
Courtney Hooks
Corey Johnson
Dorothy Roberts
Kimberly Jeffrey
Robin Levi
Crystal Nguyen
Former OB Nurse
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson
Mychal Concepcion
Lynn Acosta
Associate Producers
Debbie McLeod
Jan Mazura
Nancy Blachman
Victoria Raiser
Eva Rendle
Aerial Photography Dane Christensen
Additional Camera Christen Marquez
Erika Cohn
Eve Cohen
Justin Zweifach
Mario Furloni
Mike Vargas
S. Leo Chiang
Zac Manuel
Additional Sound Claudia Katayanagi
Additional Editors
Hee-Jae Park
Ericka Concha
Erika Cohn
Consulting Editors Kate Amend
Ken Schneider
Sabrina Gordon
Assistant Editor
Hee-Jae Park
Julian Doan
Gabriel Stern Quintana
Investigative Producer Linda Himelstein
Additional Reporting Andrew Beale
Jonathan Jones
Lauren Capps Rosenfeld
Office Production Assistant Caroline Nelson
Production Assistants
Collin Nelson
Erica Christman
Kelsey Rivera
Lauren Schwartzman
Mason Philips
Additional Research Nataniel Johnson-Gottlieb
Yael Chanoff
Lisa Afanasieff
Nicole Edwards-Masuda
Joanna Rabiger
Interns Rachel Summers
Adam Essig
Maxime Coue
Savannah Milligan
Extras Adam Beehler
Ali Poulson
Allison Merrill
Angel Colebrook
Barbara Reinke
Ben Brown
Cameron Aragon
Carol Rogozinski
Celeste Andrrson
Chastity de Moors
Conrad Kreutzer
Diana Monago
Dominique LaJeunesse
Doug Willette
Francesca Oberg
Frank Parker
Ginger Flowers
Hanna Sauer
Jade Gottfredson
Jenicia Rios
Jenny Shaffer
Judy Day
Jule Marine
Kathryn Stone
Kimi Poulson
Kristi Woodham
Laura Oldham
Ludy Hamilton
Mark Jacson
Micah Richards
Michael Taylor
Peihui Wu
Sherry Allred
Stephanie Rose
Suzette Cannon
Tiana Rogers
Trent Taylor
Yvonne Ryans
Medical Consultant Jan Mazura
Post-Production Audio by Skywalker Sound
Titles and Animation Mindbomb Films, Inc.
Supervising Sound Editor Kim Foscato
Re-Recording Mixer Danielle Dupre
Digital Intermediate Colorist Luke Cahill
Online Editor Sean Meyers
Digital Intermediate Producers Matt Radecki & Greg Lanesey
Creative Directors
Chris Kirk
Syd Garon
Archival Research Rich Remsberg
Gideon Kennedy
Toni Bell
Advisors
Dorothy Roberts
Erika George
Paul Lombardo
Transcriptions Adina Mazer
Legal Counsel and E&O Clearance Donaldson + Callif
Music copyist, additional orchestration Dario Forzato
Music editor Erika Cohn
Orchestra and Studio Contractor F.A.M.E.S Project
Archival Materials Provided by ABCNEWS VideoSource * Bettye Lane * Getty Images * Hoover Institute Library & Archives *Joseph A. Gervasi * Kinolibrary * Pond5 * Reveal from Center for Investigative Reporting, Inc *Transit Film GmbH * Veritone Digital
Licensed Music “A Storm Is Coming” - Elias Music
“See What You’ve Done” Written by Mary J. Blige, Darhyl Camper, Jr., Denisia Andrews and Brittany Coney
Performed by Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige appears courtesy of Mary Jane Productions, Inc.
Special Thanks
Abby Ginsberg
Abigail Disney
Alex Docta
Alex Hannibal
Allie Dillon
Allison Barahona
Amanda Scheper
Anthony Dillon
Bay Area Video Coalition Media Makers Fellowship
Beth Levison
Bonnie Cohen
Carde
Colin West
Dawn Sinclair Shapiro
De’Anna Henderson
Eddie Fourcell
Elaine Riddick
Ellen Pasternack
Elise Smith
Eric Dillon
Gabby
Hakeem
Hannah McFaull
Hedgebrook Doc Lab
Helen
Hillary
IDA DocuClub
IDFA Forum
IFP Spotlight on Docs
Isha Chari
Jane Dorotik
Jean Tsien
Jeanette Johnson
Jen Bradwell
John Railey
Jordan
Kelly Duane de la Vega
Kristen G. Hilton
Kristi Jacobson
Kristi Woodham
Ladoris Cordell
Larry Womble
Leesha Gooseberry
Lisa Chanoff
Lucila Moctezuma
Marie Nelson
Michann
Milton Tabbot
Misty Rojo
N’Jeri Eaton
Nora Wilson
Pam Yates
Peaches
Rashida Harmon
Robbie
Robert Rosenthal
Ron Cohn
Sharon
Sheffield Meet Market
Susan
Produced with the participation of State of Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Utah Film Commission.
Fiscal Sponsors SFFilm
The Utah Film Center
Production Support Provided by Chicken & Egg Pictures
Fork Films
Funding Provided by Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
Perspective Fund
San Francisco Foundation - Bay Area Documentary Fund
Women in Film
Berkeley Film Foundation
Tribeca Film Institute - Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund – TFI Market Network Stipend
Koogle Foundation
Elizabeth Siegelman
Tara Health Foundation
Fund for Investigative Journalism
Tara Meehan
Bella Casares
From the Heart Productions
Eva and Bryan Shreir
Pacific Pioneer Fund
Lynn Feintech
Lisa Gelfand
Margot Golding
Erica and Steve Jamieson
Elizabeth King
Bridgette Lau
And others. A complete list available from PBS.
Belly of the Beast is a co-production of Belly of the Beast LLC, Idle Wild Films Inc., Black Public Media (BPM) and Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
This film was produced by Belly of the Beast LLC, which is solely responsible for its content.
(c) 2019 Belly of the Beast LLC. All rights reserved.