World Premiere of “Rebel Nun” at the Tribeca Film Festival

Professor Jimmy Gurulé, founder and director of the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic, recently attended the world premiere of “Rebel Nun,” a documentary of the life of Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., and her decades-long struggle against the death penalty. The world premiere was held in New York City as part of the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary was produced by Universal Pictures.

Sister Helen is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic. She has been a frequent visitor to Notre Dame, having visited the Law School last spring semester. She also visited Notre Dame for a fireside talk in the fall of 2022.

The documentary details Sister Helen’s story of writing to someone on death row and then visiting him, which introduced her to the world of “capital punishment.” Specifically, the documentary highlights how her relationship with Elmo Patrick “Pat” Sonnier, a death row inmate who was sentenced to die in the electric chair of Louisiana’s Angola State Prison, dramatically altered the course of her life. In 1982, Sister Helen became Sonnier’s spiritual adviser and fought to save his life from the death penalty. Despite her valiant efforts, Sonnier was executed on April 5, 1984. Sister Helen was present to witness his execution. For the next four decades, Sister Helen has been a tireless advocate against the death penalty.

Sister Helen’s ground-breaking first-hand account of the death penalty was depicted in the highly acclaimed book, “Dead Man Walking,” which she authored and was originally published in 1993. The book has since been adapted into a movie, with Susan Sarandon portraying Sister Helen, and an opera.

Since Sonnier’s execution, Sister Helen has dedicated her life to opposing the death penalty. She has served as the spiritual adviser to seven other death row inmates who were executed by the State and witnessed their execution. The most recent execution involved Ivan Cantu. Sister Helen was by Cantu’s side when he was executed in Texas on February 28, 2024.

At the question-and-answer session after the world premiere, Dominic Sivyer, the Director of Rebel Nun, joined Sister Helen, referring to her as someone “touched by the Divine.”

“The documentary was powerful, provocative, and truly inspirational,” said Gurulé.

He added, “I hope that Rebel Nun can be shown at the University of Notre Dame after the film is officially released so that the students and faculty can attend this remarkable film.”