RESTORATIVE JUSTICE:
​Changing Hearts and Minds

How People Are Using Our Film:

Filmed over a two-year period, our new half-hour documentary "Restorative Justice: Changing Hearts and Minds" follows the local restorative justice movement as it takes root in Santa Rosa schools, the Sonoma County judicial and probation system and in the lives of victims, offenders, teachers, students, volunteers and parents.

Narrator Karym Sanchez is a former troubled youth who shares his story, revealing a need for restorative justice that wasn't an option when he was growing up as an undocumented minor living out of his car. His downward spiral hits rock bottom when he is expelled from school and arrested for stealing beer on the same day. As the story builds, we begin to understand his inspiration for working with youth today at Restorative Resources.

Director John Beck interviews everyone affected in the community, especially focusing on youth in the program, who share honest, candid thoughts about what they've learned from the restorative process. But it's longtime Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Arnie Rosenfield who offers one of the most revealing quotes in the film:

"In all the years I have been working in the juvenile and criminal justice system, restorative justice was the only thing that I saw that really had a chance of working for all the participants to experience some kind of positive outcome."

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Buy the DVD
​and Spread the Word

For only $9.99, you can buy the film and screen it for your community. The DVD features a Spanish translation with subtitles, post-screening discussion questions and photo gallery. We see this as a restorative conversation starter - a great way to introduce many of the concepts of restorative justice and then follow it up with a Q&A and panel discussion with community members.

Global Restorative Cinema

Minimize the map above and see all the people who have watched the film around the world. "Flag" symbols are those who watched online and "Circle" symbols bought the DVD.

"Restorative Justice: Changing Hearts and Minds" premiered in February, 2015 as part of a Restorative Justice film series in Santa Rosa. The TV broadcast premiered on PBS affiliate KRCB at 7:30 p.m. Mon., July 6, 2015.