Rousing doc about survivors is a potent call to action
In 2018, when the City of Austin, Travis County, and Austin Police Department were sued in federal court for mishandling sexual assault cases by a group of survivors, who were all women, it was groundbreaking.takes an intimate look at the women behind the lawsuit – lawyers and plaintiffs alike. The film chronicles their journeys through the lawsuit while highlighting the injustices that plague survivors who seek justice.
It’s a bittersweet search. As the years pass, we learn about the abysmal rates of prosecution of sexual assault cases from former district attorney Margaret Moore’s office and the lasting emotional damage it has caused survivors. It’s harrowing, but necessary filmmaking. There’s staggering bravery on display from the survivors and all involved, and their vulnerability and honesty provide the most moving parts of the film.
We are with the women for every triumph and every setback along the way, and watch as their lives continue as the court case slogs on. People move apartments, get married, and time passes – a haunting reminder of how long litigation can take before any meaningful progress is made.is a sincere documentary that can play like a legal thriller at times.
Oslo-based director Julie Lunde Lillesæter, who lived in Austin at the time of the lawsuit, has a deft hand as she leads us through the years and constructs a cohesive timeline from the beginning of the lawsuit in 2018 through a second lawsuit in 2022 and the eventual settlement of both. It’s a task that could have felt by the numbers, or cold and removed from the people at the heart of the trial, but in Lillesæter’s hands, it’s a compelling, even rousing watch.
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