Big Sky Film Festival Preview: ‘Andrew After Angola’

This preview first appeared in the Feb. 16, 2023 print edition of the Montana Kaimin

Second chances in life after committing murder are rare, so when Andrew Hundley got his after 19 years behind bars, he knew he had to use it for something good.

Set against a muggy Louisiana backdrop, the 40-minute documentary “Andrew After Angola” follows Hundley’s journey before he killed Terri Pitre when he was 15, and after he was released from Angola, the local name for Louisiana State Penitentiary — the country’s largest maximum-security prison.

The film is intimate and empathetically honest. There are two main storylines in the film: Hundley’s personal story and the story of his work with the non-profit organization he founded called The Louisiana Parole Project, exemplified with people like Peter, a prisoner being released after 44 years.

The former, told between a series of interviews, highlighted newspaper clips, photos and audio recordings from his parole board hearings, doesn’t shy away from Hundley’s crime. It’s complicated, which is what the heart of the film really gets at. He knows there are some people out there who don’t think he should be free, let alone freeing other prisoners.

But the work he is doing with the parole project, teaching people like Peter the life skills to adapt to normal life again, is something special. Hundley has helped over 150 people, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch unfold on the big screen. Director and producer Will LaCalle knows how to make the audience care about these former inmates. Peter went away when his daughters were babies; now he just wants to get to know his grandchildren.

Hundley didn’t know if he’d ever drive the one way road to Angola a second time. Most people don’t. But now that he’s out, he keeps returning, in the hopes of giving more people like him a second chance.

“Andrew After Angola” will make its Northwest premier at the Zootown Arts Community Center on Feb. 20 at 5:45 p.m. and be available for streaming Feb. 20 to March 1.