Artwork courtesy of Chaunte Mahaffey (http://moonwatermedia.us/)

I’ve been hearing about David Alvarado’s documentary, Broken Silence, about child sexual abuse since January; and, I finally got to see part of it, along with 300 others (including a handful of support groups) at the special screening he had at the Denton Movie Tavern not long ago. Even though we only saw a shortened version (34 minutes taken from the movie’s full 122 minute feature-length), I have to admit what I did see was very impressive work for being someone’s first film.

Since we’re on the topic of first films, I had to question his reasoning behind choosing one of the most difficult subject matters on the face of the planet to tackle right out of the shoot. After talking with the gutsy director about his debut film, he confirmed that, no, he personally was never sexually abused as a child; however, as an adult, Alvarado was astounded to discover the number of close friends, family members, and personal acquaintances who admitted to being survivors of child sexual assault (CSA). Needless to say, the issue hit home. Because he had a hard time understanding the very issues with which his loved ones were struggling, Alvarado decided to make a documentary about CSA for the sole purpose of raising awareness about an extremely taboo subject no one wants to discuss.

As uncomfortable as this may be, please bear with me for a minute as I rehash the statistics on child sexual abuse to re-emphasize the importance of Alvarado’s documentary. According to the National Institute of Justice, approximately 60 million Americans are survivors of CSA. Out of those 60 million, one in every five women and one in every seven men were sexually abused as children; and, their attacker was more than likely a family member or someone close to the family. But wait, it gets worse. Those same 60 million survivors are 74 times more likely to engage in criminal activity, 50 times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, 24 times more likely to commit sexual assault crimes, and 6 times more likely to commit suicide as adults (NIJ, March 2005). Puts it in perspective, doesn’t it?

In September of 2005, Alvarado began his extensive search for a handful of CSA survivors willing to participate in the film – without hiding their identity. Despite only having watched approximately a portion of the film, I can already tell the lack of hidden identities is going to be the key element of Broken Silence’s future impact. Because the survivors are not hiding behind black boxes, blurred faces, or distorted voices bathed in shadows, their stories and their message are personalized tenfold.

Like I mentioned earlier, Broken Silence is not David Alvarado’s story. It is the story of CSA survivors Rebecca, Tara Lynn, Joanna, and Christopher, who were all brave enough to come forward and tell their own personal experiences of abuse in front of a camera; but, it doesn’t stop with their recollections. The four also address problems manifesting in their adult lives as a result of CSA, such as: self-esteem issues, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and anger management problems. Yet, the most intriguing aspect to stem from the accumulation of interviews is how every last one of them agree the most critical element in their recovery was education about child sexual assault – for everyone, not just the victims and their families.

OK, enough with the background info. It’s time for me to get off my soap box and start dissecting the film itself. For the most part, Broken Silence is dominated by talking-head interviews; however, Alvarado does throw in some observational and home movie footage to liven things up just a bit. Of course, the most memorable of these is the reenactment of Joanna’s weenie roast therapy. I don’t want to ruin what is probably one of the best moments in the film; but, I will say that after watching the last batch of depressing human interest documentaries from some of UNT’s grad students, it was very refreshing to see Alvarado include such a humorous tension breaker in the form of a “weenie roast.”

One of the main issues I noticed with David’s film was a lack of male voices. Granted, we were watching a short version of the full-length documentary; however, the majority of the film’s 34 minutes is spent with the female victims and only a very small portion devoted to one male survivor, Christopher. For that reason alone, I was glad to hear Jaron (from Men Against Violence) speak after the screening about the inaccurate number of reported sexual assaults involving male victims. David did assure me that more men are included in the longer version of Broken Silence addressing the male point of view as well as memory and recall issues.

Another missing element in Broken Silence is the lack of legal perspective and the varying degrees of punishment given to sex offenders. Every CSA victim interviewed in the film stated they do not feel their attackers received adequate punishment (if they were punished at all) for the crimes they committed. Interviews with legal professionals would definitely give the audience a better insight into the workings of the legal system and the reasons why CSA survivors do not feel vindicated. Granted, some of the victims may not like the answers they hear; but, understanding the problem may also help them open doors to change the system.

The last suggestion I have for improvement involves camera proximity during key portions of the interview segments. As Tara Lynn, Rebecca, and Joanna are walking us through the horrific details of their sexual assaults, the first thing I noticed is how the camera remains distant and static. Because the shots during this part of the interview are either long shots or medium long shots, each of the women never occupies more than half of the screen – if that much. Yes, I realize what they are discussing is extremely sensitive material; and, by no means should you physically invade their personal space with a camera. However, by physically distancing us from the victims, you are physically distancing us from the bigger issue at hand.

Because these victims were brave enough to tell us the nightmarish details of the crimes committed against them, the last thing you want to do is allow a full-length shot full of defensive body language to dominate the screen by creating a barrier during an already uncomfortable moment. Instead, try using the tension to your advantage by closing the gap just a tad to pull the audience into the emotional crescendo in order to heighten their awareness. It will make your message that much stronger.

Other than a few minor technical adjustments, I’d have to say Alvarado has done an incredible job handling an extremely difficult subject. So, what’s next for Broken Silence? According to Alvarado, he is planning on submitting the short version to the Austin Film Festival this August after he’s added the footage from the screening in the special features. He also stated that “organizations in Santa Barbara and Huntsville are already asking to use the feature length version of Broken Silence to use as an advocacy tool.”

In addition to an overwhelming positive public response from the 300 people in attendance, the first screening of Broken Silence also turned out to be cathartic for the victims as well. For Tara Lynn, the film inspired a new song; and, even though the film has a great original score composed by Dwayne Rice, it would be nice to hear Tara’s song included in the full-length version of Broken Silence.

Yet, the comment Joanna made to David at Cool Beans during the after party was by far the most convincing testimony as to the impact the film will continue to have on other survivors of CSA. After watching herself and the other victims relive the most terrifying events of their lives, Joanna ran up to David, gave him a hug, thanked him for making the film, and said, “For the first time in a long time I will be able to sleep tonight.”

Looks like Broken Silence turned out to be more than just another “educational video” after all. Nice job, David.