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SXSW Film Festival 2024 Review! An Army of Women is Julie Lunde Lillesæter’s debut documentary. Given that Julie is a trained cinematographer, she decided to produce, direct, and shoot the film herself. This film treats its subject matter head-on and deals with it profoundly so it manages to be very touching.
Marina, Hannah, and Mary Ruth have stepped into a class action lawsuit against the Travis County Texas, and the Austin police department. They are just three out of dozens of women who have suffered rape or other forms of violence in the Austin region. In every one of these cases, the APD has not managed to successfully prosecute a single rapist. Most of these women spend their lives in panic, fearing their rapists which is perfectly reasonable considering that anything could happen and their stalkers could take revenge but they still come to the meeting in hopes that something will change.
What Moore does is a significant hindrance to change, which is why Margaret Moore is the District Attorney for Travis County. Moore does defend herself, but the problem is that under her watch, the women had losable lawsuits. Irrespective of personal liability in these circumstances, so many (20) cases failed that it spurred an increasing number of women not coming forward to the police.
One of the most painful statistics presented in An Army of Women is, in the words of the authors, seared into my retinas. There is a yearly estimate of assaults committed that goes as follows: for every 1,000 cases of sexual assault made in a month, there are a staggering 10,000 that go unreported. That is a deeply chilling statistic. Numerous rape kits collected by various police departments are destined to gather dust without an arrest ever being made. There is great cause for concern, dear readers, but it gets better.
These rape survivors are the ones for whom the Austin Police Department had no answer and who once they were dead set to bring it to changes, made up the plot of this documentary. One of the great emotional victories is watching Moore lose her primary and simply concede. One of the more moving moments is the group standing and demanding an apology from the City of Austin for their atrocities made towards rape survivors.
An Army of Women is undoubtedly a motivational movie. Granted, countless victims of rape have yet to experience a proper day in court, but these women were successful. A couple of lawsuits spearheaded by Marina, Hannah, Mary Ruth, and other people dramatically changed how the Austin Police Department and its officers behaved. Such moments, when name-less citizens act for a cause, are very inspirational. At the end of the film, I could not hold back my tears. And neither will you, dear reader.
Additionally, An Army of Women is an inspirational story of resistance, empowerment, and strength. It is a feel-good and feel-heartened picture that terrifies you in its opening act. Lillesæter is a master and I, for one, cannot wait to see her other documentaries in the next few years. This film was not easy to make, and she made it with dignity and compassion, never once short-changing the women whom she profiled. For a first film, this is a phenomenal statement.
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