Patrice The Movie
My work in documentaries and creative works creates awareness around manifestations of systemic, intergenerational and present trauma and promotes healing around possible moments of activation that subjects may experience in filming. I work with film teams to analyze and unpack privilege and power dynamics between filmmakers and subjects and coach and crew from pre-production and beyond to on trauma-informed filming from a social justice lens.
My work with Patrice The Movie lived in the process of our work that unfolded over time as we built a trusting and truly safe relationship. Patrice's traumas were memorialized through her art and made public which allowed for a witnessing of both individual and collective trauma that was named and noticed. Often individuals who are marginalized by society struggle to find meaning when the trauma is overlooked or dismissed and/or positioned as an individual deficit. Working with Patrice and the producers allowed for a restructuring of meaning making. It allowed audiences to witness the impact of systemic trauma and reflect on the ways we may have been complicit.
On set, I used relaxation and grounding techniques when Patrice became activated. I taught the producers how to help keep Patrice in the present, pause, reset and continually remind her that she is safe. I emphasized her protective factors and encouraged her to lean into the community that supports and loves her and Garry.
Finally, this project was a crash course in Disability Justice and in particular, all the ways that society is not set up for people with disabilities. I was continually humbled by the learning that took place and by the ways in which safety developed over time.
“Ableism must be included in our analysis of oppression and in our conversations about violence, responses to violence and ending violence. Ableism cuts across all of our movements because ableism dictates how bodies should function against a mythical norm—a non-disabled standard of white supremacy, heterosexism, sexism, economic exploitation, moral/religious beliefs, age and ability. Ableism set the stage for queer and trans people to be institutionalized as mentally disabled; for communities of color to be understood as less capable, smart and intelligent, therefore “naturally” fit for slave labor; for women’s bodies to be used to produce children, when, where and how men needed them; for disabled people to be seen as “disposable” in a capitalist and exploitative culture because we are not seen as “productive;” for immigrants to be thought of as a “disease” that we must “cure” because it is “weakening” our country; for violence, cycles of poverty, lack of resources and war to be used as systematic tools to construct disability in communities and entire countries.”