Increasing research attention is being given to former felons, or returning citizens, after their release from prison. This paper contributes to that dialogue by exploring the documentary-making process of a grassroots organization founded by and for returning citizens and their families, and the contributions it made when it was completed in 1996, and continues to make today. Little is known about how community organizations can use the making of an organizational documentary to build the capacities of the organization, its affiliates, a neighborhood, and social change. By exploring the collaborations and challenges that took place during the local reintegration process back into family and community, the start and completion of the documentary in the mid-1990s was quite innovative. This article analyzes reciprocal tensions of service (Simmel 1908) reflected in the documentary when it was completed in 1996, and its continuing relevance to the growth of returning citizenship today.

越来越多的研究关注从监狱释放后的前重罪犯或回归公民。本文通过探讨一个由返回公民及其家人创立并为他们创建的草根组织的纪录片制作过程，以及它在 1996 年完成时所做的贡献，并在今天继续做出贡献，从而促进了这种对话。人们对社区组织如何利用组织纪录片的制作来建设组织、其附属机构、社区和社会变革的能力知之甚少。通过探索在当地重新融入家庭和社区的过程中发生的合作和挑战，这部纪录片在 1990 年代中期的开始和完成颇具创新性。