Finding Our Voices is a hopeful and uplifting, yet still substantial and very important work about surviving sexual abuse. There is barely any graphic content or detail about past trauma, as this documentary’s focus is more about channeling those emotions through art and healing through creating support among survivors and an atmosphere where they are believed. Finding Our Voices explains some of the connections between art and processing trauma in a relatable and understandable way, showing how art can be a cathartic outlet for expressing repressed memories and emotions.
Directors Maggie Hartmans and Brittany Hart have made a film about vulnerable women who, even when they opened up about their mental health, still found that they couln’t open up about their experiences with sexual abuse. Considering the heavy and stigmatized subject matter of Finding Our Voices, you’d expect the film to be disturbing, but I found it quite the opposite. It was one of those mental health movies that for me showed the power of resilience, and that recovery is often possible through the help of support groups and art therapy for individuals who have gone through even the most unimaginable horrors that they feel they can’t voice to anyone else.
Finding Our Voices plays on World Mental Health Day, 10/10, at Mental Filmness!
Get your free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/mental-filmness-54312030423
