So I generally reserve this blog for new releases or films that I have not seen until recently, but this time, I am going to write about one that I am all too familiar with. In fact, it's one that I actually worked on. The motivation behind this is that it was recently aired on the Investigation Discovery network. The Director/Producer, who has been putting her blood, sweat, tears, and finances into it for the last ten years was kind enough to allow me to be a small part of it, and I couldn't be more proud of the success it has seen.
In my fourth year of undergrad studies and a communication/film major I was in need of an internship in the "field". My digital communications professor had mentioned that she worked at a studio fairly close to school (because the commute to L.A. from the O.C. was very unappealing to me) so I asked her if there was a position open there. She told me the only thing I would be doing there would be making copies and cleaning, BUT, she mentioned to me that she could use an extra pair of hands on the project she was personally working on, and since she was friends with the head of the department, if I was willing help her with her documentary, it would be able to count for the credits I needed. Little did I know...
When I first signed up to work with her I had no idea how much this project would change my life. If you refer to my other blog, you will see the documentation of some of the work I did for her throughout my internship. The internship turned out to earn me my first (and turns out my only real) job working in the industryI, where I continued to work with the physical and a little of the technical parts of the project. The entire time I spent around this project literally change both my perspective of the judicial system, as well as my outlook on life. From the shoots inside the prison walls in Chino, to meeting the inmates and having one-on-one conversations with them, to the photoshoots where I saw my friends and colleagues in blood, scabs, and scars, to editing actual audio collected from 911 calls from children effected by domestic violence, my eyes were opened and I realized that it wasn't something you JUST hear about on the news.... it was something that actually happened to people every day... to be physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by someone you love.
This documentary is more than just a story caught on film. It is a tool to help women (or men) who are living with this terror. It exposes the horror and fear that millions live with every day. It is a beacon of hope to those who have made the decision to stand up for themselves, often with dire consequences. Starting on this project I had no idea how effective and powerful it would become, but it has gone from being the brainchild of a brilliant woman trying to find the answers to help a friend in trouble, to an opportunity for those who have been through it to have a voice, those who are going through it to get help and recognize the signs before it happens. And though I played a very small part in helping this amazing project along in its early stages, I feel very honored and blessed to have been a part of it at all. Congratulations to Olivia, Avant Productions, and everyone else who worked so hard to help this film become what it is.
