What started with a phone call from a friend crying out for help, turned into an 8 year journey to tell the stories of women convicted for killing their abusive husbands.  A film that could change the world, turned into a film that changed my life!

Sin by Silence brings the outside world into the California Institution for Women where in 1989, Convicted Women Against Abuse was created by inmate Brenda Clubine to help abused women speak out and realize they are not alone. Over the past two decades, the women of CWAA have changed laws for battered women and raised awareness for those on the outside.

Sin by Silence went on to be featured in People Magazine, win various festival awards, have an incredible online movement, and even go on a national tour which kept me on the road for over 3 months.

I remember at a screening we had at a shelter in St. Louis, MO while on tour and there was a statement that was framed above the entrance. “Everyday holds the possibly for a miracle.” That statement still runs through my head, even after having countless screenings since then.

A miracle?  Maybe it’s just courage. Maybe it’s just faith. Maybe it simply takes a friend reaching out to help another friend. Maybe it takes a community willing to make a difference for their neighbors. Whatever the “miracle” is that brought together the women of Lydia’s House that night to watch Sin by Silence was for a reason. We were able to share the message and stories of the film, and help empower those women in the choices that they had made. The choice to leave their abusive partner. The choice to go down a long, hard road towards independence. The choice to sit there that night and watch a film that I put my all into creating.

I feel as if I need to write the Lydia’s House quote down on a post it and read it to every morning. “Everyday holds the possibly for a miracle.” Everyday we have a chance to make a difference. Everyday we could tell a story that could change someone’s life.