SXSW22: Zara Katz & Lisa Riordan Seville on ‘A Woman on the Outside’

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CHICAGO – Of all the films of the recent 2022 SXSW Festival, one documentary stood out as a profile of empathy. Co-directors Zara Katz and Lisa Riordan Seville presented “A Woman on the Outside,” an overview of a Philadelphia activist who advocates for prison reform while actually having – within her own story – three male family members in and out of incarceration.

After watching the men in her life disappear to prison, Kristal Bush channeled that struggle into starting her prison van service (Bridging the Gap), which keeps families together by driving loved ones to often faraway prisons. But when her father and brother return to Philadelphia after decades behind bars, Kristal has to figure out what it means to her and her family “on the outside” … including her mother Crystal and her nephew Nyvae, who she wants to adopt.

Kristal Bush is Profiled in ‘A Woman on the Outside’
Photo credit: SXSW.com

Directors Zara Katz and Lisa Riordan Seville began this project through their @EverydayIncarceration Instagram feed, morphing into a multimedia exhibition on the impact of women who support incarcerated love ones, which was shown at Brooklyn’s Photoville and other national and international photo exhibits. Zara Katz is a photo editor and filmmaker for editorial, documentary and branded content. Lisa Riordan Seville is independent reporter and producer focused on stories that explore how money, power and policy shape the lives of everyday people across the United States.

In PART ONE of an interview via Zoom, Co-Directors Lisa Riordan Seville and Zara Katz talks to Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com on the origins and approach to their unique look at a Philadelphia family in “A Woman on the Outside” …

In PART TWO, more perspective on the larger themes in the documentary …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor, Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com