Film Presentation
The Burning Bed
Wed, Nov 4, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
60 pesos

The right to a life free of violence
By Trish Snyder

My husband and I spent the summer watching Netflix movies about women, violence and empowerment. With 70,000 or so choices on Netflix, why would a happily married couple choose this topic?

I had volunteered to put together a film series on this topic to benefit the domestic violence program at CASA (Centro Para los Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende) and thought this would be a good way to get others in San Miguel interested. I know films are a good way to generate interest as well as provide entertainment.

From the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, I emailed and phoned friends who might suggest films or who would help me network with others who could make suggestions. I talked with Women’s Studies professors, domestic violence professionals, film buffs and movie critics.

Some suggestions were just way too violent and depressing to watch all the way through—forget Rape in the Congo, Born into Brothels. And how could a movie such as Frankie and Johnny be about women and violence? It’s a romantic comedy. Or Waitress? The New York Times says it’s “A movie that leaves you feeling good.”

I hit the jackpot when I met Kit Gruelle. She’s worked in the domestic violence field for years, including training police departments in California, advocacy in North Carolina and counseling. She has just produced a 20-minute documentary called Private Violence that’s been funded by major foundations and will soon become a full-length film.

We met over coffee. After just a few minutes, Kit expanded my awareness about how our society looks at domestic violence. “Why is it that we expect the woman to leave a bad situation,” she asked. “Why do we blame the woman?” When I told her how my husband Dick watched the movie Urban Cowboy on television and thought we had to add that film to our list, Kit pointed out how domestic violence is woven into the fabric of our life. We don’t even notice it until someone points it out—or until our awareness is turned on.

Domestic violence rates in Mexico are very high. Home is where the heart is, but for more than 60 percent of Mexican women, home is filled with broken hearts. Nearly two thirds of Mexican women have suffered from domestic violence at some point in their lives.

CASA’s domestic violence program provides educational workshops, counseling, temporary shelter and legal support to adults and children in need. It is often after the workshop sessions when women come forward to ask for more help. In extreme situations, the doorbell rings at the CASA hospital emergency entrance and a mother is there with her small children asking for a safe place to stay.

We invite you to get your awareness “turned on” with our film series that kicks off with the 1984 film The Burning Bed. Farah Fawcett’s riveting performance about a woman who takes incendiary revenge on her brutal husband earned her an Emmy nomination. Based on the true story of Michigan housewife Francine Hughes, it’s a courageous story of a woman pushed to the edge. Her case was prosecuted with the utmost vigor of the law and made legal history.

Upcoming films in our series include Frankie and Johnny and Waitress. Films about women, violence and empowerment will be screened through January 2010 and will culminate with the San Miguel Walk Against Violence on January 24, 2010. Proceeds of the film series will be shared with the Biblioteca Publica and CASA.