Sort by Subject: Abuse

#805: Abusive Relationships: Get Help, Get Out

Many teens think an abusive relationship is usually a guy hitting a girl and just beating her observes one of the many perceptive teens in this powerful program about abuse in adolescent relationships. What this young woman already knows and viewers will soon discover is that abuse comes in many different forms and it can be hard to recognize at first. Teenagers of diverse backgrounds including Native Americans speak frankly about their experiences with dating violence. What makes this program particularly unique are the stories from a male victim as well as siblings and friends. The program is organized into sections which first teach teens how to identify abuse and then answer these important questions: What happens next? Why not leave? When did you realize? How do you get out? Who can help? Where do you go from here? What would you tell others? This program raises awareness about the various resources available ? teachers counselors friends parents ? and also encourages bystanders to speak out. ...a great resource for engaging teens in discussion about dating violence and abuse. its honest, and its paced to keep teens interested. Its also one of the only videos that addresses the taboo issue of a male being abused by his female partner. Kerry Moles, LMSW, Director, Family Wellness Program, The Childrens Aid Society, NYC A winner for health classes and counseling sessions. School Library Journal *DVDs are also available on over 50 other topics of critical interest to teens. For full descriptions, transcripts, video clips, discussion guides, lesson plans and more on this and other topics, please visit our website, inthemix.org. For one day shipping orders or volume discounts please call 800-343-5540. Note: VHS copies are also available for some programs.

Children We Sacrifice,The

2000, 61 minutes, Color, VHS
Shot in India, Sri Lanka, Canada and the United States, and screened in 18 countries, this evocative, visually powerful documentary is about incestuous sexual abuse of the South Asian girl child. By interweaving survivors' narratives, including the producer's own story, with interviews with South Asian mental health professionals, and with statistical information, as well as poetry and art, THE CHILDREN WE SACRIFICE discloses the many layers of a subject traditionally shrouded in secrecy. Insights into the far-reaching psychological, social and cultural consequences of incest are accompanied by thoughtful assessments of strategies that have helped adult women cope with childhood trauma. The video also analyzes social and cultural resistance in South Asia and the Diaspora to dealing with incest's causes and its effects on its victims. This personal and collective letter from South Asian incest survivors and their advocates is both a validation of their struggle and a compelling charge to protect future generations of children better.

Chronic And Other Films

1993, 58 minutes, Color/BW, VHS/16mm
This collection of films from emerging filmmaker Jennifer Reeves includes THE GIRL'S NERVY, MONSTERS IN THE CLOSET, and CHRONIC. Innovative, perceptive, and powerful, each challenges filmic conventions. THE GIRL'S NERVY is a cut and paste study of the single frame and the eye's rhythms. MONSTERS IN THE CLOSET links stories of little girls and girl gangs with tales from the closet of adolescence. CHRONIC is an experimental narrative of one young woman living with "so-called" mental illness. Beautiful and skillful, it probes her misogynistic and violent surroundings for the motives behind her compulsive self-mutilation.

Close to Home (DVD)

It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of childhood sex abuse crimes in the United States and that 90 percent of the abusers are people children know, love or trust. Close to Home takes an unprecedented look at this crime and the complexities surrounding its disclosure when the offenders are trusted community members.
Running time: 79 min., Year released: 2007

Close to Home Discovery Health version (DVD)

This version, as seen on the Discovery Health Channel, differs from the original theatrical release at the Sundance Film Festival. It is now hosted by David Schwimmer and narrated by Robin Quivers, and has been re-edited for television broadcast with extended sequences. This version also contains updated statistics on child abuse. This expanded program ends with a roundtable discussion of the film by its participants as well as the filmmakers. (We recommend that educators purchase this version.)
Running time: 94 min., Year released: 2007

Columbus on Trial

1993, 18 minutes, Color, VHS
Inspired by the controversy surrounding the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of America, Portillo has fashioned a fanciful version of a courtroom were Columbus to return from his grave to stand trial. Cross-examined by the Latino comedy group, Culture Clash, Columbus is charged with atrocities against the Native peoples of the New World, including the rape and violent treatment of women. Satire and parody rule in this dynamic document about American history and colonization.

Downpour Resurfacing

28 minutes VHS 28 minutes DVD
Dr. Robert Hall generously opens his own story of child sexual and physical abuse to convey how he transformed their repercussions into a life of confidence and peace. Offering emotional wisdom and analytic clarity from his decades of personal and professional experience, Hall inspires hope in abuse survivors and other trauma victims alike. The intricate, lyrical imagery powerfully conveys the story as dreams do, echoing Hall's heritage and innovation in somatic therapies.

Foo Foo Dust

37 min.
The award-winning FOO-FOO DUST explores the relationship between a crack-addicted prostitute and her 23-year old junkie son living together in one room in San Franciscos Tenderloin District. The film invites the audience to witness a disturbing and intimate portrait of the destructive power of drug addiction, including a crack-induced screaming fit and a near-fatal heroin overdose. But what makes the film so powerful is its moving, poignant look at the intense love between a mother and her son living on the edge of society.

Laramie Inside Out (Home Use)

DVD/VHS, 56 Min., 2004
In October 1998,Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten and left to die. The horror of this murder pushed Laramie into the media spotlight and sparked a nationwide debate about homophobia, gay-bashing and hate crimes. Filmmaker Beverly Seckinger was compelled to return to her hometown to see how this event had altered the site of her own closeted adolescence. Along the way she meets "God-hates-fags" Westboro Baptist Church Reverend Fred Phelps, who condemns Shepard and all homosexuals to a merciless eternity in hell. But Seckinger meets many more students, teachers, parents, and clergywrestling with painful complexities, speaking out and taking action.

To Have And To Hold

20 min.
Men who batter women

Wong Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

2010, DVD, 80 min.
After playing sold out houses from Alaska to Los Angeles to New York City, to Yale, Kristina Wong's unforgettable one woman tour de force performance of "Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is finally captured in her first ever concert film through the thoughtful direction of Michael Closson. In this hilarious and whip-smart performance, Kristina takes a surprisingly raucous approach to addressing the high rates of depression and suicide among Asian American women, she tries to single-handedly save them all with her show! She fails fantastically at the task, creating hysterical laughter that descends into a sobering coda. It's one hell of a roller coaster ride! But don't worry, it's all fiction.