“From inside a California prison, a group of women convicted of murder is working to change the way we think about domestic violence. Jessica Bennett looks at a new documentary that tells their story.

When Brenda Clubine killed her husband in 1983, there were 11 restraining orders against him and a warrant for his arrest. He’d put her in the ER more than once—tossing her across the room, fracturing her skull, and puncturing her lungs. But “domestic violence” was scarcely on the public radar back then: local police considered it a problem to be worked out in private; there was no hotline to call and few shelters to escape to. So when Brenda says her husband locked her in a hotel room and told her to hand over her wedding ring—so it would be “harder to identify her body”—Brenda knew she had only one option: she had to kill him first.

Her husband, a retired cop who was twice her size, lay down on the bed, and Brenda saw her chance. “Everything started flashing before my eyes,” Brenda, now 63, remembers. “I started thinking about my son, and I thought, how could I have ended up here?” She grabbed an open wine bottle and swung it toward him, but he grabbed it. She backed up and swung again—connecting with his forehead. “All I remember from that point is grabbing my keys, my ring, my shoes, and running six miles down Colorado Avenue home.”

I never imagined that 10 years ago, when I started on the journey to create Sin by Silence, that we would be premiering on Discovery ID during October 2011.  What an incredible impact and opportunity to create real change throughout the country towards the crisis of domestic violence.

So, for the next 3 years, the film will be accessible in over 78 million homes!  WOW!  78 million opportunities to help save and change lives…this is a dream come true for the Sin by Silence team and the women of CWAA!!

“We are proud to bring this powerful documentary to television, to share with television audiences the harrowing stories of these women behind bars,” said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager of Investigation Discovery. “Instead of fighting a system that does not fully comprehend the complexities of abuse, the women of CWAA instead choose to fight to change laws for battered women nationwide. Through the premiere of this documentary, we hope to extend their message and champion their crusade to stop the cycle of violence.”

Click here to find your local channel for Investigation Discovery.

“When it comes to the issue of Violence Against Women, we shy away from it because it is difficult to face the ugly side of humanity. It is painful to think of, much less see, the women and girls in our lives suffering from violence simply because they were born female.

Yet every cloud has its silver lining, every tunnel has a light at the end of it, and every seemingly hopeless case has its seeds of hope.”

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to view the screenings list, buy your ticket, share the news and join in the impact on Constellation.tv – an incredible new platform that creates a “virtual movie theater” to connect docs with online audiences. Is this the future of connected film-making? Check it out!

Question: “When was the last time you went to an art-house?”
Answer: “Years ago. I watch everything online. I don’t have time to go to the cinema.”

The inevitable has begun, and as filmmakers we must consider the realm of digital and online distribution to reach a relevant audience. The article then goes onto describe how the majority of an entire generation under under 30, indie film consumers can only be found online. Let’s just call it was it is…the Hulu Generation!

Sticking with the Hulu Generation concept, we are dealing with a younger audience that is used to being connected through the “instant” concept – with the click of a button one can instantly access something on their laptops, on their Xbox, Netflix, mobile device, etc. So, if it’s not mainstream Twilight or Ironman, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see young adults paying for $12 movie tickets and a $10 popcorn and soda combo.

As filmmakers, we constantly have to be looking at finding our audiences. So, if our audiences are leaning more towards the “instant” rewards then maybe that is the direction we need to head. Creating more viral and grassroots campaigns surrounding our films. Creating more down-loadable features and projects that include a transmedia storytelling concept. Creating more high impact shorts that can thrive on the web and fit into a Hulu Generations attention span. Afterall, studies show that we have an average of 56 seconds to keep someone’s attention before they go back and send a tweet or change their Facebook status.

It really makes me wonder as I continue to type this blog that all the glitsy web features really have made us unsocial.  But, maybe that is an overstatement.  Social media really has become a phenomenon within itself.  Yet, without it….where would we be?  Would Obama really be president if he hadn’t embraced the web of younger generations?  Would “Paranormal Activity” created the cult following that it did without the use of social media sites like Facebook?

To some, the social media bug creates an avenue for people to know, whether they want to or not, what you are thinking and doing at all times of the day.  But, I’d like to think that social media is an avenue that can champion change.  Like the texting for Haiti campaigns that raised over $10 million dollars in one day.  Or the Facebook phenomenon of stating your bra color could help create commotion about breast cancer.  The web has become a worldwide ‘watercooler’ and I love it!  And I think Erroll Morris might change his tune when he is having to promote his next documentary.

I want my MTV. I want 200 channels with nothing on. But, when I change the channel and come across a rare gems of someone sitting in the interview chair and spilling their guts about their darkest secrets or triumph, that is when I’m on the edge of my seat. That is when I am contemplating my own life. That is when I am inspired to make a difference. Now, don’t get me wrong, I definitely get sucked into those Saturday marathons on VH1 where everyone is drinking, hooking up and fighting with each other. I understand the need for mindless entertainment, but I think we have taken this genre consume us. I feel like my mind is mush once it become 4pm and I still realize I am on the couch and in my pajamas. As opposed to getting fired up and wanting to change laws because of the injustice I just learned about.

It’s the amazement of being able to capture real life. It’s the empowerment of telling a story that can change someone’s life. It’s the one thing that reality TV just cannot, and will not, offer. I see the classic documentary genre seeping threw in new shows like ‘Modern Family’ or new movies like ‘District 9.’ Is the documentary style the future? Is that where things are headed? As for me, I can’t wait for the guido phase to die.

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.

The journey of my documentary Sin by Silence has had great press response to help spread the word.  From national to local coverage, here’s just a few of the highlights…

NBC interview in St. Louis, MO

Interview on KPPC – Patt Morrison in Los Angeles, CA

Click here to hear more.

Interview on Capital Radio in Sacramento, CA