Project Detail

Lady Lifers

Lady Lifers

Synopsis

For the first time in 30 years, a film crew gains rare access to Pennsylvania’s maximum-security women’s prisons. Inside, The Lady Lifers – a band led by former soul singer Naomi Blount – turn grief into music and defiance.
Though Naomi never took a life, she is serving life without parole. To have any hope of freedom, she must express guilt she does not feel – a cruel paradox of the justice system. As her music echoes beyond the prison walls and reaches the public, lawmakers and activists, the question remains:
Will her voice be enough to finally set her free - and to free those she left behind?
Official Selection Durban International Film Festival 2026

Details

Year
2026
Type of project
Features
Running time
56 min
Format
4k
Director
Jake J Smith
Producer
Jake J Smith
Executive Producer
Jake J Smith, Daniel Grixti
Editor
Jake J Smith, Daniel Grixti
Director of Photography
Daniel Grixti
Sound
Jake J Smith, Daniel Grixti
Principal cast
With contributions from: ‘The Lady Lifers’; Naomi Blount, Diane Metzger, Brenda Watkins, Joanne Butler, Deborah Brown, Lena Brown, Danielle Hadley
Other Lead Creative(s)
Adam Gee
Consultant Producer
Adam Gee
Illustration
Alison Moon, Daniel Grixti, Jake J. Smith
Music Supervisors
Daniel Grixti, Jake J. Smith

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

House of Chimera Ltd.

Jake J Smith

Sales Company

Film Sales Company

Carylanna Taylor (rights, festivals and screenings)
Jess Linde (general enquiries)

Page updates

This page was last updated on 21st May 2026. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

While They Watched While They Watched

Director: Jake J Smith

Year: 2015

Harness the power of hindsight. WHILE THEY WATCHED is a feature documentary set in the future about North Korea, that looks back at the collapse of the Kim dictatorship. The film questions the morality of the current inaction by regional and global powers towards the North Korean dictatorship.

A woman smiles during an interview Folk to Folk

Director: Saoirse Crean

Year: 2026

Led by renowned vocal coach Jennifer John, Folk to Folk follows a group of women in Liverpool who use traditional folk songs to build unexpected connections across cultures. As they learn and sing in Gaelic, Romansh, Boro and other languages, the sessions uncover shared themes that unite us. The songs rise like ghosts from the past, stirring memories, laughter and tears, and opening a safe space for the women to reflect together. “This project proves that music is a universal language. It allows us to feel, to be emotional, and when we do that together… that’s where the power lies” - Jennifer John

People drinking and socialising in a pub The Local

Director: Kim Hopkins

Year:

In an inner-city pub in Northern England, the lives of its regulars unfold through politics, love, loss and song, as a community holds on with quiet dignity in a world growing more divided and uncertain.