Gabriel London is a documentary filmmaker and writer whose career has focused on criminal justice and human rights issues in America. As the founder of the documentary film production company, Found Object Films, Gabriel has produced and directed films that bring overlooked stories to a national audience, dealing with issues ranging from the death penalty to prison rape to climate change. In the process, he has used his work to participate in advocacy campaigns, work for which he was awarded a Soros Criminal Justice Award. His films have been broadcast nationally on networks ranging from MTV to SpikeTV and as part of film festivals including IDFA, Urbanworld Film Festival, and Live Earth.

In 2001, Gabriel teamed with Human Rights Watch to tell the story of the most vulnerable and victimized inmates behind bars, rolling out two films to accompany the No Escape: Prison Rape in America report. Together, the films and report went on to galvanize public support for policy change and in 2003 helped the US Congress to pass the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which was signed into law.

In the years since, Gabriel has teamed with Drew Barrymore on a youth voting documentary called The Best Place to Start and with Snoop Dogg on an autobiographical film about the streets-to-prison cycle of at-risk youth, Bigg Snoop Dogg’s Youth Authority.

Currently, Gabriel is developing a documentary on legendary Florida prison escape artist, Mark DeFriest, whose battle with mental illness has trapped him behind bars for thirty years and counting. In May of 2009 he will co-teach a course at American University’s Human Right’s Institute called “Criminal Justice Stories in Film.”

Blog Entries by Gabriel London

Hey, World Leader! See You in Copenhagen...

5 Comments | Posted October 1, 2009 | 04:38 PM (EST)


The current deadlock in climate change negotiations is alarming for those of us who think "Copenhagen" - also known as this December's United Nations Conference of Parties - will be the Olympics of climate change. Copenhagen is where humanity should rise to the occasion and leaders should sign a fair,...

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Global Warming Warning: All Weather is Local

Posted March 16, 2009 | 10:31 PM (EST)


In a case of bad timing, last week brought with it more below average temperatures in New York coupled with another chorus of headlines from scientists spelling out dire warnings about global warming. As scientists gathered in Copenhagen for an 'emergency meeting' reported that climate predictions of the Intergovermental Panel...

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The Beginning of the End?

Posted February 16, 2009 | 09:11 AM (EST)


Is this the beginning of the end? These are troubling times, indeed. But the end being heralded herein is not the "end of days." Nor the end of capitalism as we know it. And not even is it the premature end of the Obama honeymoon. The beginning of the end...

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DeFriest: Mental Illness Behind Bars

Posted October 31, 2008 | 12:52 PM (EST)


Mark DeFriest - a.k.a. "The Houdini of Florida", "Wendy the Punk" and "Wizard" -- has played many roles in order to survive the worst that American prison life has to offer. Yet at the beginning of his incarceration, it was not even clear whether he belonged in prison at all.

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