In 1988, an 18 year old man was driving home one night when he saw a broken-down vehicle and two of its passengers peering into the hood. Deciding to help, he pulled over and offered his car’s battery to jump theirs. That’s when he discovered that the people he had set out to help were not innocently in need of a battery jump, but predators looking for what they considered “fun.” Matt Kern had provided his friend, Carl, with a loaded gun, and Carl pointed that gun at the innocent man who was there to help. The soon-to-be victim refused to surrender his vehicle, so Carl pulled the trigger. The other teens with Matt and Carl fled in their car, and Matt and Carl fled in the victim’s. Soon the police tracked down the group involved in this murder. Matt, as an accomplice and as the provider of the weapon, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the state of Florida. At 15 years of age, he began his 60-year prison sentence.
“Saving Face” tells the detailed story of Matt Kern’s upbringing, rebellious teen years, and heinous crime. The documentary goes on to explain how he learned to thrive in prison and how, years later, he finally began to feel guilty for the crimes he committed both in and out of prison. With a supportive family that never gave up on him, an emotional and spiritual breakthrough in which he felt remorse, and a Bible to show him the way to forgiveness, Matt’s life was renewed. This documentary details the stories of Matt Kern’s rebellious life and the dark realities of prison culture before his spiritual transformation. While “Saving Face” is a story of a guilty man’s deliverance from his life of sin, it is also contains mature content, including homosexual prison rape, a sexual affair, gratuitous prison violence, drug dealing, and gambling. For this reason, The Dove Foundation awards this film the Dove “Faith Based” seal with cautions for sexuality and violence.