Sanctuary for the Abused

Thursday, August 01, 2013

"YOU LOOK A LOT LIKE ME" - Documentary on Domestic Violence

...about the documentary film, “You Look a Lot Like Me", a feature-length documentary focused on raising awareness about some of the complexities surrounding domestic abuse.

We have been in production for four years now, and during that time, my crew and I have traveled all over the country meeting with victims, survivors, abusers, advocates, and shelter and coalition directors in an attempt to create a film that effectively explores some of the complexities of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse in our society, while working to tear down stereotypes that still exist around this issue.

This film is important because it gives victims a voice. It gives them the chance to tell people, in their own words, why they didn’t “just leave.” It sends a message that victims and survivors of domestic abuse matter, that they are not invisible, and that they can, in fact, move on from their situations and help others to do the same.

Most importantly, it allows victims of domestic violence to see and hear that they are not alone in their situations and their feelings, and that help is out there, waiting.

The individuals you'll meet in this film are real people - real women and men sharing their stories - and, as you can imagine, they’re not easy stories to hear, or to tell. The stories you will witness in this trailer are taken from just a fraction of the interviews that will wind up in the final film, and we’re barely scratching the surface. The reality is that no one is immune to domestic violence. It exists in our poorest and in our wealthiest communities, and affects women and men of all colors, creeds, and orientations.
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Here are just a few of the numbers for you:

~ 1 in 4 women report being raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabitating partner, or date at some time in their lifetime.[1]

~ Approximately 4.8 million intimate partner rapes and physical assaults are perpetrated against U.S. women annually, and approximately 2.9 million intimate partner physical assaults are committed against U.S. men annually.[2]

~ In one 24-hour period in 2010, more than 70,648 victims of domestic violence and their children received life-saving services from local domestic violence programs. Domestic violence experts answered more than 23,522 emergency hotline calls. In one day alone, 9,541 requests for services went unmet, largely due to lack of funding.[3]

~ According to data from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), LGBTQ domestic/intimate partner violence reports rose 15% between 2008 and 2009, and it is a pervasive social problem at a time when LGBTQ-specific programs are losing staff or closing altogether due to the economic crisis.[4]
While this data is some of the most current available, it’s important to remember that, unfortunately, it potentially underestimates the magnitude of intimate partner violence, because domestic violence often goes unreported. If you do the math, the chances are pretty good that, even if you haven’t experienced domestic violence in your own intimate relationships, you do know someone who has. And it might very well be the person you’d least imagine when your mind calls up that image of a “victim” of domestic abuse.

It is our goal to have “You Look a Lot Like Me” finished by the end of this year, and we can’t do that without finishing funds, so we’re turning to Kickstarter, and to you, to help us raise the funds we need to make that happen. Our goal of $4,800 is the minimum amount needed to complete this project. And that’s if we all abide by our strict Lettuce-Only diets in the editing room!

Your donation today will be used to pay for things like: final shooting of survivor interviews, equipment rentals, final-stage transcription services, editing and post-production sound engineering, mastering fees, music and other licensing, DVD production ...the list really does go on and on.
In addition to some of our project-related rewards, we have some really wonderful art and wares to offer, thanks to some amazing artists from around this country and others, who care, like we all do, about ending all forms of violence in intimate relationships.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to visit. We really appreciate your support!

Chloe McFeters and the Crew of "You Look a Lot Like Me"

***For more detailed information on this project, or to learn more about the contributing artists (including samples of their work), please visit our website at http://tortoiseandfinch.com

Labels: abuse survivors, communication, documentary, domestic violence, just move on, leaving, victims