PBS’s documentary strand ‘Independent Lens’ has acquired broadcast rights to the feature-length documentary Tre Maison Dasan, directed by Denali Tiller and produced by Rebecca Stern, to air on the network during the 2019 spring season.

Produced in association with Shine Global, Tre Maison Dasan is a story that explores parental incarceration through the eyes of three boys. Following their interweaving trajectories through boyhood marked by the criminal justice system, and told directly through the child’s perspective, the film unveils the challenges of growing up and what it means to become a man in America. Hilarious, heartbreaking, uplifting and ending with tremendous hope, Tre, Maison and Dasan’s lives are stories of growing up, struggle, loss, empathy, positivity, resilience and unconditional love.

“Tre Maison Dasan reveals how our country’s mass incarceration problem impacts entire families — especially the most vulnerable, children,” said PBS’ Lois Vossen, executive producer of ‘Independent Lens,’ in a press release. “Intimate and accessible, it’s also part of our ongoing series of films looking at criminal justice in America. We’re proud to support Denali and the entire filmmaking team as part of our decades-long tradition championing women directors and producers to create gender equality behind the camera.”

“I made this film in collaboration with Tre, Maison, and Dasan as it was important to me to center and empower the voices of the children directly,” added director Tiller. “We are very excited to present Tre Maison Dasan on public broadcasting so that it can be accessible to communities who don’t have access to other types of programming, including incarcerated populations in prisons and jails across the country. We are thrilled to be working with [U.S. documentary funding body] ITVS to bring this film, and the children’s voices, to people and families affected by the prison system, and to those who hold the keys.”

Tre Maison Dasan is produced in association with Pilgrim Media Group, Shine Global, Chicken and Egg Pictures and Sustainable Films.

Rebecca Stern and Craig Pilligan serve as producers, with Andrew Freiband and Patty Quillin executive producing, Andrea van Beuren co-executive producing, and Susan Maclaury, Albie Hecht, and Sarba Das co-producing.