Rebel Nun: Interview With Sister Helen Prejean and Dominic Sivyer

A little after midnight in the early hours of April 5, 1984, Elmo Patrick Sonnier was pronounced dead from the electric currents of "Gruesome Gertie", the sardonic nickname given to Louisiana's electric chair. One of the witnesses of his execution that night was Sister Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun who had become Sonnier's pen pal, spiritual advisor, and friend in his final days.

On the drive home from the prison, Sister Helen had to pull over to vomit. Despite the fact her eyes were closed during the electrocution, a fire had lit inside her, making her vow to "never shut [her] eyes again" to the horrors of humanity.

That spark led to Dead Man Walking , Sister Helen's 1993 book, which spent 31 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and eventually secured Susan Sarandon an Oscar for her performance in the Tim Robbins-directed movie version. The film sent shockwaves through the nation and brought the conversation around capital punishment in the United States to the forefront of the public consciousness.

"Change the culture and change the consciousness" has long been a priority of Sister Helen's, and now, 29 years following the release of Dead Man Walking , Sister Helen's story returns to the big screen in Dominic Sivyer's Rebel Nun , which premieres at this year's Tribeca Festival.

Despite the fame that has followed her since, Sister Helen has stayed in the work. "I've been with seven people who've been executed," she tells me when we sit down to discuss this new documentary charting her life and work. She feels responsible that she must "bring people closer as a way of honoring their life and respecting their dignity".

"Universal [was] keen for about a year to make a film about the death penalty," Sivyer says.

It's unusual for a studio to actively seek out filmmakers with the intention of telling a specific story, so it feels fitting that the film's subject is as unconventional as its genesis.

"I find the perfect contributor is someone that wears their heart on their sleeve but doesn't know how good they are and doesn't necessarily want attention," Sivyer says. When I ask Sister Helen if it has gotten easier over the years to agree to be in front of the camera, she tells me, "It's not easy to say yes".

"She actually sent shockwaves through Universal because she'd send these group emails, and they'd be very upbeat," Sivyer tells me. "Then there was a PS: ‘I don't think the film should focus so much on me.’"

Sincerity is second nature to Sister Helen, who is as warm and welcoming in the interview as she is on screen. "I didn't want them to hold me up as the great American nun," Sister Helen says. "It's the death penalty that we got to expose, so people can understand and get close to it to end it."

"We'd have lots of conversations about why we needed to [focus on her]," Sivyer says. Eventually, Sister Helen understood that "if you can [talk about the issue] through the prism of a person, you got real interest".

When Sister Helen speaks, it mirrors her work. She chooses her words with intention and purpose, and she tells me, "My whole mission in life, my passion, my fire, is [bringing] people close to this thing because I know by now, the closer they get to it, the quicker they can see it, and then they're not for it anymore."

Rebel Nun rolls for barely fifteen minutes before we see that fire glowing in Sister Helen, who announces, jovially, "Despite everything I've seen, I wake up with hope. Call me an optimist, but I believe in the goodness of humanity".

Sivyer's film is interested in the light and shade that comes with a life spent doing meaningful work. Sister Helen may believe in that goodness, but she has witnessed the worst of humanity, and the documentary speaks poignantly on the issue at hand while acknowledging that, often, hope burns brightest in the darkest of situations.

There is a playful joy throughout the documentary that separates it from other films on the subject matter. "It's something that came naturally from being around Sister Helen. She's always cracking jokes," Sivyer says, "I actually think that's Helen's way of dealing with really difficult things."

Reflecting on this, Sister Helen adds, "When you're doing the work to help people to understand, there's a peacefulness in it. And even — at times — a playfulness because you're doing all you know to do. If I weren't doing that, I don't think I could ever be playful. It would just be too upsetting and heavy and wrong."

Sivyer learned on the job the impact of Sister Helen's work. "I'd seen Dead Man Walking as a teenager, and it had quite a big impact on me, but I didn't know much about Sister Helen's life outside of the movie," he says.

While Rebel Nun centers on Sister Helen, it also charts the ongoing case of Richard Glossip, a man on Oklahoma's death row with a compelling case of innocence. "I remember we did a rally for Richard Glossip outside the Oklahoma state Capitol, and Helen spoke at the event," Sivyer says. "It was so hot, and [Helen] hadn't eaten, and people just surrounded her really quickly. I remember someone came up to me and was like, 'I just want to say hi to her', and I sat and thought, 'I'm really lucky that I've spent this much time with Helen'."

Being close to people is the draw for Dominic Sivyer in his work as a filmmaker, "That is the joy of doing this job, that you can spend time with people and you can very quickly become on familiar terms with them."

Sister Helen feels similar about her own work. "When you're doing all that you know to do to get this story out for this life, this one human life that's worth a whole universe, it's a deep wisdom, it's a privilege, to be able to have access to this kind of knowledge of what life is about," she says.

"Without hope, the end has already happened," is uttered in the closing chapter of Rebel Nun . Such optimism feels like a commodity in our current climate, where a new headline lurks around every corner to dissuade us from trying our best to resist the status quo.

"It's so easy to feel overwhelmed," Sivyer acknowledges. "It feels often like, 'What's the point of me even trying to do anything? I'm not really going to get anywhere with all these things against me.' Whereas actually, Helen's story proves that if you do something small, and you keep chipping away at it, you will get somewhere."

Sivyer feels optimistic, saying, "I think it's really important to have some sort of focus in life. Otherwise, it's so easy to fall to drift". He acknowledges his personal battle with this, telling me, "When I'm not working, when I'm not on a film, I often feel really depressed because I have this energy inside me, and it does need to be channeled somewhere".

"[Young people] need to be engaged with real people," Sister Helen says. "I always tell them, start small".

"I really believe that [doing this work is like] currents in a river. And when we hit our current, it carries us," she says. "It's me doing the work, I know that, but I'm also carried by a current and a deep faith. A deep faith that good can conquer evil and that it's not hopeless. And I speak of hope as an active verb. You gotta be doing something, or you're not gonna be hopeful."

Rebel Nun screens on June 6, 7, and 9 at the Tribeca Festival.