Belly of the Beast

Directed By Erika Cohn
Unscripted Feature Documentary

When an unlikely duo discovers a pattern of illegal sterilizations in women's prisons, they wage a near impossible battle against the Department of Corrections.

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
When an unlikely duo discovers a pattern of illegal sterilizations in women’s prisons, they wage a near impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. Filmed over seven years with extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people, BELLY OF THE BEAST exposes modern-day eugenics and reproductive injustice in California prisons.

Director/Writer/Producer Erika Cohn is a two-time Emmy, Peabody, and DGA award-winning filmmaker and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Recognized by Variety as one of 2017’s top documentary filmmakers to watch, she was also featured in DOC NYC’s 2019 “40 Under 40.” Recently, Erika directed/produced BELLY OF THE BEAST, an Emmy-winning, Peabody-nominated exposé on human rights abuses in women’s prisons, featuring Mary J. Blige’s Oscar-shortlisted song. Her work includes Peabody award-winning THE JUDGE (TIFF premiere), and Emmy award-winning IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST (Sundance premiere) and short films, WHAT YOU’LL REMEMBER and A SHOT AT HISTORY.

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