The Work is a 2017 American documentary film following three civilians on a four-day group therapy retreat with men who are incarcerated at Folsom State Prison. The film is the directorial debut of Jairus McLeary and was co-directed by Gethin Aldous. Jairus McLeary produced the film with Alice Henty and his brothers Eon McLeary and Miles McLeary.

The Work centers on three civilians participating in a four-day group therapy retreat in Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California. The retreat is run by the Inside Circle Foundation, a non-profit organization of which James McLeary, the McLeary brothers' father and a psychologist, is chief executive officer and the retreat's organizer.^[3] Eon, Jairus, and Miles had volunteered in the program for over seven years, starting in 2001,^[4][5] and were eventually granted permission by Folsom's inmates to film there.^[3]

The film was shot in 2009 and 2010,^[6] and over 300 hours of footage was recorded by the time post-production began.^[7] Gethin Aldous, a "friend of a friend of a friend" of the McLearys, was brought in as a co-director in 2014 or 2015 after the McLearys insisted he do the program first. Aldous introduced the McLearys to editor Amy Foote, producer Alice Henty, and assistant editor Mike Vass who rounded out the post-production crew.^[6]

The Work premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017,^[8] and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature. The award was voted on by journalist Eugene Hernandez, film critic Ann Hornaday, and reporter Eric Hynes.^[9] The film's North American distribution rights were acquired by The Orchard and First Look Media's entertainment studio Topic on April 7, 2017, with The Orchard handling the film's theatrical distribution.^[1]

The film opened in New York City theaters on October 20, 2017, and in Los Angeles on October 27.^[10] The Work received a theatrical roll out in several other U.S. states starting on October 29 in Washington, with releases in 13 states spanning from October 31 to February 23, 2018.^[11][12][13]