‘An Army Of Women’ (SXSW 2024) brings fury and hope

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AN ARMY OF WOMEN

AN ARMY OF WOMEN SXSW 2024In SXSW 2024 doc AN ARMY OF WOMEN, a group of rape survivors in Austin, Texas, fight relentlessly for accountability.

In the film, a first-of-its-kind lawsuit filed years ago has gone ignored. Calling out the inaction of police, the acting Attorney General, and the city of Austin for their blatant inaction when it comes to prosecuting sexual assault. AN ARMY OF WOMEN is a microcosm of patriarchal rot.

“Our society doesn’t take rape seriously.” This statement from one of the lawyers on the case perfectly sums up the failures of our current justice system. Data does not lie. With only 10% of rape survivors reporting their assaults, only 1% go to trial, and of that 1%, only 0.07% result in a conviction. Good luck trying to get accurate numbers of reported rapes, even in a deep dive on Google.

Our Plaintiffs, some unnamed, read portions of their police reports. The similarities in systematic failures are disturbing and infuriating. One particular plaintiff gives the audience a poignant look into the emotional gaslighting of survivors. She still questions whether or not her case deserves to be attached to the lawsuit. “Do you give up? Or do you double down?”

AN ARMY OF WOMEN is inadvertently an ad for democracy. In the 2020 election cycle, the plaintiffs got behind a new Attorney General candidate and advocate, Jose Garza. He won, creating a path for the case to restructure and refile. But as the case progresses, age and experience have vastly different effects on each plaintiff. It unlocks a new level of ferocity for justice for all.

Julie Lunde Lillesæter pushes back the curtain of a broken justice system. The realities displayed in this film are the reasons women collectively want to scream into the ether. SXSW 2024 audiences will learn how close to home this case was. AN ARMY OF WOMEN inspires equal parts fury and hope.


Mar 8, 2024
2:00pm3:24pm
 

Directed and Produced by Julie Lunde Lillesæter 

Produced by Natalya Sarch, Arne Dahr

Co-Produced by Jessica Wolfson, Maria Willer, Bernhard von Hülsen

Executive Produced by Julia Dahr

 

A group of women in Austin, Texas, join forces to legally challenge the system that allowed their rapists to walk free. “An Army of Women” is the landmark story of women fighting to hold law enforcement accountable, with resounding relevance worldwide.

 

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Cleveland International Film Festival 2022 review: Anna Baumgarten’s ‘DISFLUENCY’ speaks volumes. #CIFF46

DISFLUENCY

SYNOPSIS:
After unexpectedly failing her final college class due to a traumatic personal event, Jane, an aspiring speech pathologist, retreats home to her parent’s lake house in the hometown she grew up in. Her older sister and friends, as well as an old high school crush, soften the burden of failure, inspiring her to embrace the carefree summer as she tries to sort out what to do next. She also rekindles an old friendship with her neighbor Amber, a single mother with a difficult toddler, utilizing her skills and knowledge to help her connect with her son. Jane, however, fights through PTSD and imposter syndrome as she attempts to piece together what exactly happened in order to unravel the emotional and psychological tangle that’s been haunting her as she finds a path forward toward the never-ending process of healing.


Writer-director Anna Baumgarten has a way with words. In her new film Disfluency, their weight is unfathomable. After flunking her final college course, aspiring speech therapist Jane navigates her next steps at her parent’s lake house. Struggling to reveal her motives for failure, she makes her friends and family her test subjects, studying how others use language. Jane slowly works her way to catharsis over the summer months, wearing every possible emotion on her sleeve. Disfluency is the perfect title for a film that’s bound to captivate a massive audience. Words have power and how we express them is life-changing.

Beautifully grounded performances make you fall for these characters. Discovering that actress Ariela Barer is Libe’s real-life sister makes so much sense now. As Lacy, she is hilarious, and I would be remiss not to mention her. Their chemistry is electric. Don’t assume for one second she only exists for comic relief. Lacy is a catalyst for healing.

PTSD is something that never truly leaves you. As a sexual assault survivor, I can attest to the flashbacks and how my trauma affected my relationships moving forward. It’s a permanent piece of my psyche. I understand why women don’t come forward, even to family. Not until #MeToo became mainstream did I reveal my hurt to family, and even that occurred via social media. Jane’s functionality in Disfluency mimics mine. PTSD is often an unseen burden.

Chelsea Alden‘s portrayal of Amber was also personal to me. From the sadness on her face to the eagerness to learn, I felt that performance and the care Alden brings to Amber. As a Mother of a neurodivergent son now in Kindergarten, his language delay was something I suspected early on. I remember the fear in my body when he failed his initial hearing test in the NICU. In the end, that wasn’t the issue after all. Lucky for us, his pediatrician flagged him at 18 months. Two weeks after his second birthday, he had five days a week of ABA and speech services. Now he’s a thriving, sweet, curious, and brilliant little boy. The screenplay utilizes sign language. Featured in an emotionally climactic scene that tears your heart out, it’s one of this year’s most impactful cinematic moments. 

Libe Barer, as Jane, nails every single beat, working through gaslighting, second-guessing, victim-shaming, depression, anger, and everything in between. The script gives Barer the space to explore all the complexities accompanying trauma. In a breathtaking monologue, Barer says it all, quite literally. It’s a wave of emotional nuance that packs one hell of a punch. 

With tight visual flashbacks and accidental therapy sessions in the form of slick dialogue, Baumgarten provides a conversation starter for many. It’s easy to see why it won Best Narrative Film at Oxford FF. Disfluency tackles the boundless intricacies of communication. It’s a must-see.


Screening information (VIRTUAL):
Sunday, April 10 at 11:00AM
Sunday, April 17 at 11:59PM

Ticketing information:
https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2022/disfluency?fbclid=IwAR0J0cyFMWDN56qzc0YXuzE-UtazQi9SWpwlxX_RmgDve9SJyMyxEZ3a6mU

ABOUT THE FILM:
Based on the 2018 award-winning short film, DISFLUENCY just won the 2022 Oxford Film Festival Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature, which followed last year’s 2021 Austin Film Festival Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature Film.

Director/Writer:                      Anna Baumgarten
Producers:                    Danny Mooney, Elaine Hastings Edell
Executive Producers:           Ben Wiessner, Jim Cummings, Alex Rudolph, Chicago Media Angels
Editor:                       Kevin Birou
Cinematographer:                 John Fisher
Music:                                     Nathan Alexander
Cast:                         Libe Barer, Ariela Barer, Chelsea Alden, Dylan Arnold,
Travis Tope, Kimiko Singer, Molly Hagan, Ricky Wayne,
Diana De La Cruz, Wayne David Parker
TRT:                                      95 min
Country:                      USA

DOC NYC Review: ‘AFTER FIRE’ proves that women in the military are not equal.

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Synopsis: Set in the military outpost of San Antonio, Texas, AFTER FIRE highlights the challenges faced by the fastest-growing group of American veterans: women, who now account for one in five new recruits to the U.S. Armed Forces. Demonstrating courage during their military service and resilience in its aftermath, Brittany Huckabee’s subjects candidly confront the fallout of their experiences on their personal lives as they adjust to the civilian world. The film throws a spotlight on the human toll of rape in the military, combat injuriesand bureaucratic dysfunction, telling a universal story about strength in the aftermath of trauma.
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Considering we have an individual heading into the highest office in the land that has repeatedly admitted on and off camera how much he disrespects women, how can we expect our female military personnel to feel any safer than they do now? With a long history of unreported sexual assault in the military, where 1 in 5 women reports PTSD, and 1 in 5 reports rape and MST or military sexual Trauma, how do we, as a country, ensure these brave people that we stand up for them? AFTER FIRE takes a peek into the lives of a few women living with the emotional and physical wounds of MST. The film addresses the gender inequality in an already broken V.A. system. The likelihood of a PTSD claim based on rape only has a 40% chance of being approved since the victims are held to a much higher standard of proof. How do these women survive after something so heinous? Mostly by putting on a brave face. One of the subjects explains that in the military you are, “trained to respond and react, and not to show any emotion about it.” So what happens in an environment dominated by men when only half of all assaults get reported to begin with, what can we do to change the system? We talk by listening. We start by believing. We start by standing up for one another. In this volatile moment in our American history, we need to start caring more about one another, come out into the light, and take action. AFTER FIRE shows us the slow torturous burn of keeping secrets and wearing emotionally scars on our sleeves. These women fight to protect us, the least we can do is protect them.2_after-fire_roberta-anthem

 RT: 90 Minutes
A Transform Films Inc. Production
World Premiere at DOC NYC in American Perspectives Section
Friday, November 11th at 7:00pm (IFC Center) – Premiere Screening
Monday, November 14th at 10:15am (IFC Center)
Film Subjects Expected to Attend Premiere: Valerie Sullivan, Roberta Castaneda, Laly Cholak, Kevin Sullivan