Preview
'The Fire This Time'
(4 Black Women
Defend Themselves
Against Attack
Branded Criminals)
It's doc day on S&A. They just happen to make up the bulk of what I'm getting/seeing today.
This one is just as intriguing as all the others I featured earlier this morning/afternoon.
Titled The Fire This Time, and directed by Blair Doroshwalther, the feature doc appears to have been in development since 2009 (that's as far back as I was able to trace it), as the filmmaker and her production crew have been working diligently, with little money, earned from grants and donors here and there, in order to complete its long journey to completion.
Its synopsis reads:
One hot August night, under the neon lights of a gay friendly neighborhood in New York City, four young African American women defended themselves against an attack by an older man. Called a “Lesbian Wolfpack” in the press, these young women became immediate criminals before facing a judge and jury.
The women came to be known as the New Jersey Four, and were sent to prison for defending themselves.
The Fire This Time tells the story of the women’s trial and prison sentences, and the years-long fight by relatives and activists to get the women released, revealing how the media, homophobia, and racism all work together in American culture to stigmatize and victimize gay people of color.
A recipient of a recent production grant from the Sundance Institute, the film's website says that it's currently in post-production and looking towards completion in the Fall of 2012.
We'll be watching for it.
In the meantime, here's a promo:
The Fire This Time The Film from blair doroshwalther on Vimeo.