Redemption Time

Redemption Time is a 70-minute multimedia concert film that weaves together the stories and work of two formerly incarcerated artists: the celebrated poet Jimmy Santiago Baca and renowned violinist Christian Howes.

Redemption Time combines spoken word poetry, live jazz, and visual storytelling into an inspirational cinematic experience.

The film traces the parallel journeys of poet Baca and jazz violinist Howes from early trauma and incarceration to artistic mastery and personal transformation. An inviting and inspiring multi-media conversation about justice, resilience, and the redemptive power of art with formerly incarcerated artists who reclaimed their lives through creativity and storytelling.

Read this insightful interview with Christian Howes about his life and the film: The Prison Yard Changed the Way I Hear the Violin

In addition to the film screening, the evening features a lively panel discussion focusing on the redemptive power of the arts and community, a live solo performance by Chris Howes and poetry reading by Francesca Bell, former Poet Laureate of Marin County.

Panelists include:

Manuelito Biag -  Ph.D. serves as the Managing Director of Education at the Courage Museum, an initiative of Futures Without Violence, opening in San Francisco's Presidio in Fall 2027. He leads the museum’s work with young people, educators, and communities to create healing-centered learning experiences that use storytelling, art, and design to build empathy, strengthen agency, and prevent violence. Through Generation Courage, the museum’s youth leadership and co-design initiative, he works with young people as creators, storytellers, and partners in shaping programs and experiences that explore harm, healing, belonging, and social change. He previously held leadership roles at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford University’s John W. Gardner Center, and helped launch the National Center for School-University Partnerships at the University of Mississippi. A published scholar and longtime choreographer, he brings together education, research, and creative expression in his work with young people and communities.

Dr. Jenny Espinoza serves as Executive Director of Back to the Start, an advocacy and storytelling non-profit aimed at raising awareness and galvanizing support for systemic change to dismantle the cradle-to-prison pipeline. She is a former Chief Physician and Surgeon in California’s prison system and was a primary care provider at San Quentin. Prior to that, she was medical director of a homeless clinic in downtown San Francisco. Dr. Espinoza has also been an educator throughout her career including serving on faculty at the University of California, San Francisco, where she completed her medical training. Additionally, Dr. Espinoza is a Leader in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Program, which is aimed at addressing root causes of health and systemic inequities.

Ali Moss is a hairstylist by trade, which means she originally signed up to work with hair—not the incarceration system. Somehow, the universe had other plans.

After being inspired to work with people impacted by incarceration by the first Serial podcast, Ali began facilitating writing workshops with The Beat Within, working with incarcerated youth at SF Juvenile Hall and adults at San Quentin. She recently began teaching NonViolent Communication at SQ with the program Healing Communication, helping people develop more compassionate, authentic ways of communicating and connecting.

Her work has taught her a lot about the power of being genuinely heard. Whether someone is telling you about their life from a salon chair or from inside a prison, there is something transformative about creating a space where people can be honest, vulnerable, creative, and fully human. Ali is passionate about building those spaces and challenging the systems and assumptions that make it so easy for us to stop seeing one another as whole human beings.

Rabbi Paul Shleffar is a teacher, author, and chaplain dedicated to contemporary Jewish spirituality and pastoral care. Since 2015, he has served as Jewish Chaplain at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, providing spiritual guidance and supporting rehabilitative programs. A former firefighter and EMT, he is also an author and translator.

The film traces the parallel journeys of poet Baca and jazz violinist Howes from early trauma and incarceration to artistic mastery and personal transformation. An inviting and inspiring multi-media conversation about justice, resilience, and the redemptive power of art with formerly incarcerated artists who reclaimed their lives through creativity and storytelling.

Read this insightful interview with Christian Howes about his life and the film: The Prison Yard Changed the Way I Hear the Violin