Redemption Time is a powerful 70-minute multimedia performance film featuring poet Jimmy Santiago Baca and jazz violinist Christian Howes—two formerly incarcerated artists who reclaimed their lives through art.
Combining spoken word, music, and visual art, the film invites audiences into a shared space of healing and transformation.
With searing honesty and artistic brilliance, Baca and Howes reveal the trauma of incarceration and the redemptive force of art.
Directed by David Gonzalez, Redemption Time is both an emotional journey and a call to reimagine justice, identity, and human potential.
Redemption Time seeks to inspire positive change by raising awareness of the importance of sentencing and prison reform, literacy, mental health, arts in education, trauma and recovery, and social justice.
Even in the face of adversity, redemption is possible, and creativity can be a beacon of hope.
Redemption Time is not only a unique opportunity to witness the convergence and testament of two remarkable artists who have overcome challenges…
“the lessons I learned in prison about life, music and survival, became seeds which bore fruit throughout the past many years of my work as an artist, teacher and mentor”
• For discussion
• inspiring change
• revealing and rewriting stories in your community
After 10 years in development, we are partnering with community organizations and educational institutions.
Let’s create an expansive experience together:
• Live performance
• Screening
• Curriculum-based workshops
• Panel discussions and multi-disciplinary residencies
Get in touch below to brainstorm ways that this project can serve your mission and community.
On April 19, 2026, at 4:00 PM, Trinity United Methodist Church will host a special screening event of Redemption Time, a 70-minute performance film featuring poet Jimmy Santiago Baca and Asheville-based jazz violinist Christian Howes — artists whose lives were shaped by incarceration and who now give voice to stories of dignity, struggle, and renewal.
Directed by David Gonzalez, the film blends spoken word poetry, live jazz, and cinematic storytelling into a powerful experience tracing journeys from trauma and incarceration toward healing, belonging, and personal freedom.
The event invites the community to reflect on themes that resonate far beyond the screen — belonging and isolation, judgment and dignity, harm and healing, and the possibility of second chances. Admission is free, with optional donations.
The program will begin with live music and poetry readings, followed by the film screening, a panel discussion, and a closing reception at Deep Time AVL. The reception offers attendees an opportunity to connect and reflect on the film’s themes with neighbors, artists, and community partners.
This event is part of Second Chance Month, a national campaign raising awareness about the impacts of incarceration while encouraging second-chance opportunities and community reintegration.
Community partners include Deep Time AVL, 12 Baskets Café, Asheville Poverty Initiative, the Buncombe County Re-entry Council, the UNCA Prison Education Program, and Trinity United Methodist Church.
Sunday, April 19, 2026
4:00–4:20 PM — Live Music & Poetry
4:20–5:30 PM — Redemption Time Screening
5:30–5:50 PM — Panel Discussion
5:50–6:15 PM — Reception
Location:
Trinity United Methodist Church
587 Haywood Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Film info and trailer:
https://redemptiontimeshow.com/
Redemption Time centers on two artists who emerged from incarceration to become powerful voices for change. The film confronts injustice while lifting up human dignity, creative resilience, and personal healing. Through an intimate blend of artistic forms and storytelling, the work explores universal tensions — belonging and isolation, judgment and dignity, harm and healing — while inviting viewers to look beyond labels and consider what it means to be human, to belong, and to begin again.
“Redemption Time transcends dualities… It’s a profound invitation into the deepest truths of our shared humanity.”
— Dr. Peter Candler, Author
Christian Howes
Producer, Redemption Time
chris@christianhowes.com
(614) 332-8689
Jess Godden
Community Outreach Coordinator
Trinity United Methodist Church
trinitywavl@gmail.com
828-253-5471 ext. 101
Previews of the full film available upon request.