Just imagine: in 2029, the government will criminalize acting in violation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the film 'Punished' filmmaker Kees-Jan Mulder and Professor New Economy Godelieve Spaas investigate what the consequences of that decision might be. Who will go to prison? What have they done? And will punishment help to achieve the goals? We see four women who are in prison for very different reasons. What drove them to those acts, do they regret it or not, and what are their plans for their lives after the punishment?
With the film, the makers (Isolde Sprenkels, Ine Mols, Carla Bakker and Godelieve Spaas) put a discussion on the agenda about how we want to achieve the SDGs. Are coercion and rules the best way? Or can it be done differently? How drastic are the changes that are required of us? And what is needed to tackle the system at its roots? Spaas and Mulder confront the viewer with personal and intimate reflections on these questions, and in doing so, offering the viewer a mirror to engage in conversation with themselves and with each other.