Founder/Executive Director
Fritzi Horstman is the Founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project (CPP) an organization dedicated to creating trauma-informed prisons and communities and bringing
creative inspiration to all men and women living and working in prisons. With 95% of the incarcerated men and women eventually returning home, Fritzi believes it is imperative that we address the chronic mental health issues in prison with common sense, compassion and urgency. In 2020, Fritzi directed “Step Inside the Circle” at California State Prison – Los Angeles County with 235 incarcerated men. The video has reached nearly 3.5 million views worldwide and has attracted over 900 volunteers to CPP. Fritzi and the team at CPP are in production, creating a 12-part series entitled “Trauma Talks” to be distributed to prisons in the US and abroad which launched in September 2021 endorsed by the former California Surgeon General, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris.
Fritzi produced HBO’s “The Defiant Ones” directed by Allen Hughes which has garnered several awards including a Grammy for Best Music Film. Her first feature, “Take A Number,” which she wrote, produced, and directed, debuted at the Slamdance festival and premiered on HBO. Fritzi received a Bachelor of Arts in Film and English from Vassar College.