[act-ma] 2/27 Documentary and Discussion - SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR

[gen at lef-foundation.org]

Documentary Screening and Discussion
 
SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR
 
TONIGHT Monday, February 27, 2017 at 7pm at the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA
 
Director Deborah Esquenazi in person for Q&A with Sabrina Avilés, Festival Director of the Boston Latino International Film Festival. Co-presented by the DocYard and the [ UMB Film Series ]( https://www.facebook.com/UmbFilmSeries/ )
 
Trailer: [ https://vimeo.com/157645152 ]( https://vimeo.com/157645152 )
[  ]( https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F157645152&h=ATMmd7RDa_6EAix07Cb7_ieMZrmjfxFCtAtQ2XQcWFyWym8nzFa3p0ooael1xNdIdXYs1dAPjf2V50i6-OHefGyilgzRzjr1Yq0JzWWyHSHB3d5jVPW8Q1TTu_VRMvsusbfM&enc=AZMlNfJaDhAQfSCuMsfJrXRAbZoikWN48EBqsfPH5J4EwG6TLokmItuqtJ3-IKsv-tY&s=1 )
Tickets: [ http://www.brattlefilm.org/2017/02/27/southwest-of-salem-the-story-of-the-san-antonio-four/ ]( http://www.brattlefilm.org/2017/02/27/southwest-of-salem-the-story-of-the-san-antonio-four/ )
Facebook event: [ https://www.facebook.com/events/1412978175421348/ ]( https://www.facebook.com/events/1412978175421348/ ) 
 
World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and Winner of the Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best First DocumentaryFilm Details: 91 minutes, 2016, USA, color, DCP
 
UPDATE: The San Antonio Four have been exonerated! The film was cited among the factors that turned the tide in their favor! See this amazing work!
 
ABOUT THE FILM: Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four excavates the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez — four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas. The film begins its journey inside a Texas prison, after these women have spent nearly a decade behind bars. They were 19 and 20 years at the time that allegations surfaced.

As lesbian low income women of color, these women hold intersecting identities that make them the most vulnerable to incarceration and juror bias. This under-reported injustice is actually widespread: Latina women represent one of the growing populations heading into prison. In addition, most reported exonerations and wrongful convictions focus solely on men and cases involving women, let alone lesbian women of color are largely under reported. The film unravels the interplay of mythology, homophobia, and prosecutorial fervor that led to their indictment.

Prior to this feature screening, the DocYard will present the short film NOT ONE STEP BACK (18 min, 2017, digital video) from the filmmaking team behind the award-winning documentary BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN. Filmmakers Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley brought their camera to five days of protest at the North Carolina General Assembly in December 2016.