Alfre Woodard is all smiles as she hits the red carpet at the special New York screening of her film Clemency held at the Whitby Hotel on Monday (December 9) in New York City.
The 67-year-old actress was joined at the event by co-star Aldis Hodge, the film’s writer-director Chinonye Chukwu, producer Bronwyn Cornelius, as well as Orange is the New Black stars Alysia Reiner and Adam Lindo.
Here’s the synopsis: “Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine William (Alfre). As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.”
“[Producer] Bronwyn Cornelius told me about this piece, and about this young filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu. Chinonye said, ‘It is from the point of view of the people that we charge to actually carry it out.’ We haven’t done those stories and talked out loud about the fact that the people that we charge to carry out these executions have a higher PTSD rate — or as high a rate — as people with multiple deployments on battlefields,” Alfre told Variety about taking the role.
“There’s differences in how the death row inmates are treated all the way down to their dying breath,” Aldis said of the film (via The Wrap). “Anthony was in that process for 15 years by the time we meet him in the film. One can only imagine how you find faith, hope and belief when you’re sitting there, waiting for death.”
