RETURN TO FOLSOM
DOCUMENTARY & CONCERT FILM
DIRECTED BY
PROPOSED CAST : STARRING
John carter cash / LUKAS NELSON / SHOOTER & STRUGGLE JENNINGS / PRESLEY TUCKER / SHELDON & SAM WILLIAMS / EMJAE ROSS
JOSH FRANER
SYNOPSIS / 60 YEARS AFTER JONNY CASH’S HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE “LIVE AT FOLSOM PRISON”, HIS SON RETURNS TO FOLSOM TO CARRY FORTH A LEGACY, GUIDING A NEW GENERATION OF OUTLAW SONGWRITERS AND INCARCERATED MEN ON A SONGWRITING JOURNEY THAT CULMINATES IN A NEW HISTORIC PERFORMANCE INSIDE THE WALLS WHERE MUSIC ONCE CHANGED THE WORLD.
the concept
CRIMINAL MINDS Outlaw country was born in prisons and courtrooms. Out of struggles with addiction, regret, rebellion and faith. It was never simply music, it was confession, survival and prayer set to steel strings. This film returns the genre to its original intent: where men sang not to be famous, but to become free.
In this premium documentary and concert film, we trace iconic and modern songwriters connecting with current inmates and writing songs that process pain.
We highlight inmates and artists raw, gritty stories that paint a portrait of the human condition. Where have they Walked The Line? Where have they been wounded? Where are they stuck? How does music connect us to universal truths and ultimately provide a pathway towards healing?
Walk a mile in someone’s shoes and we realize their story can be easily be our own.
The written songs culminate at a live performance at Folsom Prison that mixes Johnny’s original album with voices from new generations of songwriters.
Anchoring the journey is John Carter Cash, returning to Folsom as producer and steward of his father’s legacy. Guiding a generational circle of outlaw heirs and master songwriters as they collaborate, mentor, and bear witness to music’s power to heal where freedom cannot yet reach.
Johnny cash was and is the North Star, you could guide your ship by him.
-BOB DYLAN
FOLSOM ROOTS
Johnny Cash show us something simple and powerful.
Pain that stays trapped inside a person doesn’t disappear. Sometimes it leaks out as anger or addiction. Sometimes as choices that land a person behind bars.
Although Johnny was never an inmate himself, he knew what it felt like to be wounded, ashamed, and close to losing himself. And because of that pain, he recognized it in others.
Cash was famous for wearing pain on his back - embodied by black. His songwriting was how he survived. When Jonny sang honestly, people didn’t just hear him, they wanted to know him. And that connection healed him. When inmates at Folsom and other prisons heard his songs, they felt known too.
In 1968, he performed at Folsom Prison with a raw, gritty energy that was well received and became legendary.
strategic partners: emjae ross, Elevate hope
Emjae Ross lived it himself- in and out of prison and rehab, selling drugs. One day after a cocaine binge, he suffered a massive stroke. He lost the ability to speak, walk, use his hands.
But in that brokenness, something unexpected happened- music became his therapy. He started writing songs, forcing his fingers around a guitar and something rewired.
Within ten months, he had fully recovered when the doctors said it would take years.
Ross now works with inmates to find their voice through songwriting. He’s experienced healing for himself in helping others find their own freedom through the power of music. He developed trauma-informed songwriting therapy curriculum, created for incarcerated and high-trauma populations.
The program is scalable for statewide and national correctional rollout with the goal of replicable rehabilitation and reentry intervention across the US correctional system.
stylistic references
EXAMPLE: SOFT WHITE UNDERBELLY PODCAST : STORIES OF REAL PEOPLE EXPLORING THE HUMAN CONDITION
REFERENCE MEDIA
NICK CAVE: ONE MORE TIME WITH FEELING (2016)
Originally a performance based concept, One More Time With Feeling evolved into something much more significant as director Andrew Dominik delved into the tragic backdrop of the writing and recording of the album. Interwoven throughout the Bad Seeds’ filmed performance of the new album are interviews and footage shot by Dominik, accompanied by Cave’s intermittent narration and improvised rumination. The result is stark, fragile and raw.
Rock icons Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White from three different generations come together to discuss the electric guitar and their musical influences. The men swap stories and crank up their instruments.
BONO & THE EDGE : A SORT OF HOMECOMING (2023)
U2’s Bono and the Edge make a return to Dublin with Dave Letterman, reflecting on their journey as musicians and friends.
