A documentary about inmates making music in one of Africa’s toughest prisons just premiered at Tribeca, and it’s got some serious firepower behind it.

Jail Time Records follows the artists of Cameroon’s Central Prison of Douala, home to the first recording studio inside an African prison. Directors Dione Roach and Steve Happi spent time in the crammed alleyways of the facility, documenting inmates like Empereur, Stone, Transporteur, and The Guide as they transform into recording artists.

The film landed executive producers Taika Waititi and Rita Ora, along with backing from Artists Equity, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s production company. Waititi showed up for the June 6 premiere at AMC 19th St., joined by the directors and fellow EP Caitlin Alba-Rothstein.

It’s a bold subject. Prison docs aren’t new, but centering one around a functioning recording label inside a Cameroonian facility puts a fresh spin on both the music doc and incarceration storytelling. The film treats its subjects as artists first, not just inmates with a hobby.

For indie filmmakers, this is a reminder that the most compelling stories often come from the margins. You don’t need a Hollywood budget to find something worth documenting. You just need to look where others aren’t.