The lights are on. The crew is ready. The camera is rolling. The research has been done. But, what are you suppose to be ask? Where do you start in trying to get your story. The goal for me is to always listen! And that is one of the hardest things to achieve in the interview process. Your mind starts racing with “what is the next question,” “how am I going to rephrase the question to get the right answer,” “am I intruding too much,” “am I don’t being intrusive enough.” These are questions that always race through your head once the camera starts recording. But, we as documentarians have to listen!

The subject has given you their time. They have given you their trust. You have to make them feel comfortable. They cannot feel judged. This is a relationship. A commitment not only for you to tell their story, but for their story to be told. It’s time to just start listening and documenting real life instead of how you want life to be.

As for the interview process of Sin by Silence. Filming was under the worst conditions for production. Prisons are not very conducive towards the ideal interviews without a guard hovering over your shoulder. Prisons are not very conducive for helping to create a quiet environment for capturing audio due to the sirens, doors locking and guard announcements over the loudspeakers. Yet, I knew the stories of the film were worthwhile to capture. These stories must be told.

Month after month, year after year, I drove the 70 miles to be at every Convicted Women Against Abuse (CWAA) meeting. I listened to experiences that were living nightmares. I listened for the stories that emerged. And once we both sat in our interview chairs and the lights turned on, I knew that the listening had to continue. Of course I wanted to ask these women, “How did you kill him.” But, because I had previously spent years listen to their stories of pain, I knew that was the last question that needed answering. These women had a different story to tell! So, I let them talk and gently guided them from beginning to end, from victim to survivor, from criminal to empowered woman.

The end result was a documentation of several women’s epic stories as they began to discover hope and dignity. Many interviewees openly expressed gratitude for the freedom to tell “the whole story” to someone with whom they felt comfortable. A surprisingly large proportion of the women stated that this was their first opportunity to openly reveal their lives, their abuse, their experiences, and their perceptions.

The women of CWAA became stronger as a result of the interview process. Many of these women who used to remain in the background, now started to find their voice. An entirely new sense of purpose was given to the women of CWAA and a sense of empowerment came from finally being able to have their voices be heard. An empowerment that could lead to other women learning how to not follow in their footsteps. Empowerment that could push society to finally do something about the countless women being brutalized behind closed doors. All because…I listened!