PECKERWOOD

 Feature Film | Work in Progress

David spent 28 years in prison for murder, much of it as a leader in a violent white prison gang. But that was a long time ago. Now in his sixties and on lifetime parole, he lives a quiet life, tends his garden, and cares for his wife as she slowly dies from cancer.

When his parole officer discovers a few cannabis plants David has been growing to help his wife deal with the pain and nausea, he is arrested and eventually sent back to prison. But his biggest concern isn't himself. His wife can't live alone, and there is nobody left to take care of her.

From county jail and eventually the isolation of administrative segregation, David tries everything he can to get her help. His estranged daughter refuses. An old friend takes advantage of him. The prison system is indifferent. As his wife's condition worsens, David becomes increasingly desperate.

Eventually, he turns to the one thing he swore he had left behind: his old life.

David begins using the prison skills, reputation, and gang connections he spent decades trying to escape to get his wife the help she needs. In the end, his old life finally offers him a solution, but the price is his humanity.

Peckerwood is a dark prison drama about an old man who had already changed, only to find himself trapped once again in a world where violence, manipulation, and prison politics work when nothing else does. To save his dying wife, David must decide how much of the man he used to be he is willing to become again, and how much of his own life he is willing to throw away in the process.