Video: Watch Italian Prisoners Dance To Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” Parody From Behind Bars

July 31, 2014

Prisoners at a jail in Italy have produced a video of themselves performing Pharrell Williams track ‘Happy‘. The video, which was made with the blessing of prison officials at the Casa Circondariale Luigi Bodenza prison in Sicily, also includes prison guards and staff. It starts with an inmate cleaning the floor and according to a message at the start of the video, proceeds to show that ‘even inside it is possible to take part in the global movement for happiness’. The movement was sparked by the Pharrell Williams’ hit song of the same name. An introductory message says: “It’s the story of a dream – to try to be carefree – even behind bars,” before the video starts, which is called ‘Happy Dentro’, or ‘Happy Inside’. Watch the video after the break …

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_sEBgzamv8]

It is the first of its kind known to be made inside a prison and shows inmates dancing along as they work out at the gym, use computers to keep in touch with loved ones or read books in the library. The film starts with a prisoner saying: “Today the sunlight is here, so take a break”. And although it might be the first Pharrell Williams music video in jail, it is not the first time convicts have been used a music video. In a rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘This is it – They don’t care about us’, 1,500 male inmates at Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Centre (CPDRC), a maximum security prison in the Philippines, emulated the dance moves from the original Thriller short film.

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