BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//130.74.126.25//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.26.9// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Center for the Study of Southern Culture X-WR-CALDESC: X-FROM-URL:https://southernstudies.olemiss.edu X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Chicago BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Chicago BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20231105T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 RDATE:20241103T020000 TZNAME:CST END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20240310T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20250309T020000 TZNAME:CDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ai1ec-25994@southernstudies.olemiss.edu DTSTAMP:20240328T192240Z CATEGORIES;LANGUAGE=en-US:Documentary\,Film Screening\,Visiting Documentari an CONTACT:Afton Thomas\; amthoma4@olemiss.edu DESCRIPTION:
Visiting Documentarian Jasmín Mara López will screen her film “Silent Beauty” at Malco Theatre November 9 at 6:30 p.m.
\nJasmín Mara López is a Mexican-American f ilmmaker living between Los Angeles and New Orleans. Born in the U.S. with familial roots in México\, her childhood was affected by issues experienc ed on both sides of the U.S.- México border. This instilled in her a stron g passion for immigrant rights\, youth empowerment\, and social change. Ló pez founded Project Luz\, which taught Mexican youth to document stories f rom within their communities. Her audio documentary “Deadly Divide: Migran t Death on the Border” received the Society of Professional Journalists’ E xcellence in Journalism Award in 2015. López garnered support for her work from New Orleans Film Society\, Chicken & Egg Pictures\, Black Public Med ia\, Southern Documentary Fund\, Sundance Institute\, International Docume ntary Association\, Latino Public Broadcasting\, ITVS\, Firelight Media\, Creative Capital\, and others.
\nDirector’s S tatement:
\nIn 2019\, I was invited to speak at the Third Coast Conference for audio producers. The focus of my talk w as to share more about my journey into filmmaking while maintaining roots in radio. After sharing “Silent Beauty”\, a line of people waited to ask m e questions. Three of them were survivors of child sexual abuse. One of th em was Sophia.
\nSophia introduced herself as a survivor\, something she had never said out loud. She wanted to know more about my recovery so we kept in touch\, and I offered any advice or resour ces I could. Two years later\, I received the following message from Sophi a:
\n“I am really proud of myself. Before mee ting you\, and starting therapy and even telling my sister\, I feel like m y trauma was controlling me\, forcing me to relive my experience in secrec y and shame. At times\, I definitely still feel vulnerable\, but I feel st ronger and more in control of my trauma\, knowing that I am in charge of h ow I define it\, not how it defines me.”
\nL ike Sophia\, I was also an adult the first time I told my family that I ha d been sexually abused by my grandfather. I did so because I didn’t want a ny children to experience what I had. I learned a lot about my family and myself that year–who else was abused\, who would remain in my life\, and w ho would go. As difficult as it all was\, I stood strong and eventually de cided to make a film for other survivors.
\nI dr ew inspiration from films like Cecilia Aldarondo’s use of texture and proc ess in “Memories of a Penitent Heart”\; Rita Piffer’s poetic approach in “ Ghost Syndrome”\; Azadeh Navai’s use of light and simple potent imagery in “Remembering the Pentagons”\; and Tatiana Huezo’s ability to create beaut y out of pain in “The Tiniest Place.”
\nHealing justice has always been at the core of my work and “Silent Beauty.” My gra ndmothers have always lived in my artistic practices. They bring a gentlen ess\, a poeticism\, and a curiosity far greater than they were ever allowe d to pursue because they were women.
\nI’m proud to share our voices\, our songs\, our joys\, and the strength of women in my family in “Silent Beauty.”All the beauty that is a part of me.
\nMy grandfather filmed the majority of the archival fo otage\, depicting the perfect\, happy family life. I use that film archive to tell our truth. “Silent Beauty” is representative of a survivor’s expe rience: the reclaiming of a story.
\nI never wou ld have predicted that exactly eight years after disclosing to my family\, we would sit in a theater to watch the premiere of my first film\, our st ory.
\n— Jasmín Mara López\, Director and Produc er
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20221109T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20221109T200000 LOCATION:Malco Theatre Cinema Grill\, Oxford @ 206 Commonwealth Blvd.\, Oxf ord MS 38655 SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Visiting Documentarian: Jasmín Mara López URL:https://southernstudies.olemiss.edu/event/visiting-documentarian-jasmin -mara-lopez/ X-COST-TYPE:free END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR