JOSE GUTIERREZ JR.: THE STORY OF JIMI SIMMONS >>>

Tomorrow Gateways for Incarcerated Youth and the Olympia Film Society will screen a matinee premier of the critically acclaimed documentary film, Making The River at the historic Capitol Theater in downtown Olympia.

By no means is Making The River an average film or one that can be missed by those interested in humanity, social justice, the criminal justice system and the plagues of racism and poverty. Especially relevant to the Native American community, but informative and inviting to all, the film delves into and chronicles the life of Jimi Simmons, a Native American man who was raised in foster homes, juvenile facilities and later found himself in Washington’s belly of the beast at Walla Walla State Prison. It was at Walla Walla where the brunt of Simmons’ life experiences would culminate with the infamous Walla Walla Riot of 1979, where he and his brother would stand accused of murdering a prison officer.

With intimate interviews of Simmons, his peers, witnesses to his life and his supporters, Making The River is a story mostly untold from the voices that have mostly been ignored or silenced by prejudice and social ostracism. Simmons (who will be in attendance for a Q&A) testifies to the power of attitude, perseverance and courage in the face of a lifetime of relative hopelessness and negative circumstances that began before he could crawl as a child. 

The screening will be sponsored and screened by Gateways for Incarcerated Youth, a program that has since 1996 developed and supported programs that provide educational, cultural and self-esteem building programs for youth incarcerated at Green Hill and Maple Lane Schools and Brentwood Home for Girls. Gateways will donate all proceeds from the screening to their existing programs that fund GED-based or college credit programs. Gateways in partnership with The Evergreen State College and Grays Harbor Community College, offers access to higher education for students who in most situations are regularly release from incarceration to the community without stability and support.

“Making The River tells the stories of many of our young people from Tacoma, Spokane, Seattle â€" all over the state of Washington and the U.S. in general who have been dealt difficult ‘hands’ from the outset of their lives,” said a representative from Gateways. “We want to remind our community about the power of hope and hard work, and screening this film is a testament to the fact that our young people can change their own lives and release to the community as better decision-makers with more healthy options to choose from (than those that got them incarcerated).”

[Capitol Theater, Making The River, Saturday, April 11, 1 p.m. 206 Fifth Ave., downtown Olympia].