The
event is one of many programs being planned by diverse groups and to be
held in churches and on college campuses around the United States.
Odyssey Impact is collaborating with an array of key organizations and
influencers—faith communities, universities, seminaries and theological
schools, women’s groups, health organizations, NGOs, and more to help
elevate the voices of Black women and all women, empower survivors to
share their stories, diminish discrimination and promote equality.
“Odyssey
Impact’s initiative around Recy Taylor’s brave but brutal story is a
real opportunity to shed light on a dark corner of history and end the
cycle of silence and violence that persists today around sexual assault
and racial injustice—and a call to action to replace it with a positive
culture of healing, support, and tolerance,” said Nick Stuart, President
and CEO of Odyssey Impact and Transform Films.
Directed, written and produced by Nancy Buirski and co-produced by Transform Films, THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR
exposes a legacy of physical abuse of black women and reveals the
intimate role of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks in Recy Taylor’s story. A
24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, Recy Taylor was gang raped by
six teenage white boys in 1944 Alabama while walking home from church
one evening. Common in the Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear
for their lives. Black men—the husbands, fathers, brothers of the
assaulted—felt equally powerless to protect their women. Yet Recy Taylor
courageously identified her rapists. The NAACP sent Parks, its chief
rape investigator, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented
outcry for justice. An attempted rape against Parks was but one
inspiration for her ongoing work to find justice for countless women
like Taylor.
Odyssey Impact™ believes that powerful documentaries
with messages of social justice can motivate meaningful social change
by raising awareness, changing attitudes and inspiring people of all
faiths and good will to engage their communities on important issues in
their lives.
The national social impact initiative around
THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR
is designed to engage and inform the public about sexual violence
against women and underscore the historical trauma faced by Black women
during the Jim Crow South, and the structural racism still affecting
women today. The aim is to encourage a new dialogue and spark positive
change. To do so, Odyssey Impact has developed numerous resources and
discussion guides to accompany the film, which will be available for
download to help format and facilitate events by local grassroots
organizations. A community toolkit, surveys and local organizing tools
are additional components to assist with educational and community
outreach. For information, go to
www.odyssey-impact.org.
“By
taking a tactical approach to connect faith leaders, congregations,
students and other key audiences with tools to participate in candid
conversations about rape culture and race, Odyssey Impact hopes to
reframe the dialogue, promote healing for victims and spur real change,”
said Melissa Potter, Head of Social Impact and Communication, Odyssey
Impact.
More and more women are now speaking up after sexual
assault. This documentary tells the story of black women who came
forward when danger was greatest, and whose noble efforts to take back
their bodies led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and movements that
followed. They continue to resonate today in movements and significant
events that address rape culture, sexual aggression, gender violence and
racial justice—such as the worldwide Women’s March (2017), Black Lives
Matter, #MeToo and #ChurchToo.
The film is dedicated to the
countless women whose voices have not been heard. It is in memory of
Recy Taylor, who is featured in the documentary, but who passed away in
December 28, 2017, just days before her 98th birthday. Taylor has since
been declared a Civil Rights pioneer, following the film’s release and a
rousing tribute by Oprah Winfrey at the 2018 Golden Globes, a few weeks
after her death.
THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR has
earned distinction at film festivals around the world. It was nominated
for Best Documentary at the 2018 NAACP Image Awards and was awarded the
Special Prize for Human Rights Award at the Venice Film Festival (2017).
The film made its national television premiere when it was chosen by
STARZ to lead the channel’s launch of a documentary tier in July 2018.
THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR
(USA, 91 minutes) is directed, written and produced by Nancy Buirski,
and produced by Beth Hubbard. Produced by Claire L. Chandler and Susan
Margolin. Executive producer is Regina K. Scully. Executive producers
are Geralyn White Dreyfous, Amy Tiermann, Mark Trustin, CarolAnne Dolan,
Derrick Harkins, Nick Stuart, Barbara Dobkin, Bobby Kondrat, Jack
Turner. Editor is Anthony Ripoli. Director of photography is Rex Miller.
About TRANSFORM FILMS®
TRANSFORM FILMS INC.
is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Odyssey Networks, a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit organization that believes powerful documentaries with
messages of social justice can motivate meaningful social change by
raising awareness, changing attitudes and inspiring people of all faiths
and good will to engage their communities on issues important in their
lives and in society as a whole. Transform Films works with leading
independent filmmakers to produce documentaries that illuminate our
humanity by telling compelling, character-driven stories of compassion,
hope and the quest for a more just world. Transform Films, Inc. is the
affiliated production company of ODYSSEY IMPACT(TM) , which
strategically builds and executes social impact campaigns around
documentaries via mobilizing faith leaders, individuals and communities
around issues such as poverty, mass incarceration, gun violence,
intolerance, racial justice, hate crimes, and gender violence. Transform
films such as
NEWTOWN;
MILWAUKEE 53206;
THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR , and
LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING: NOTES FROM DUNBLANE
have garnered critical acclaim at film festivals around the world and
have aired on broadcast outlets such as PBS' Independent Lens, America
Reframed, STARZ Channel and Netflix. Recent accolades include the 2018
Peabody Award, the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival's Best Documentary Short,
the 2018 UNAFF Grand Jury Award for Best Short Documentary, and the 2017
Venice International Film Festival Human Rights Award. More info at
www.TransformFilmsInc.com.
About ODYSSEY IMPACT™
ODYSSEY
IMPACT(TM) , a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, believes that
powerful documentaries with messages of social justice can motivate
meaningful social change by raising awareness, changing attitudes and
inspiring people of all faiths and good will to engage their communities
on issues important in their lives and in society as a whole. The
organization is dedicated to strategically building and executing social
impact campaigns around documentaries by its affiliated production
company,
TRANSFORM FILMS INC.,
via mobilizing faith leaders, individuals and communities around issues
such as poverty, mass incarceration, gun violence, intolerance, racial
justice, hate crimes, and gender violence. Films such as
NEWTOWN;
MILWAUKEE 53206;
THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR , and
LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING: NOTES FROM DUNBLANE
have garnered critical acclaim at film festivals and have aired on
broadcast outlets such as PBS' Independent Lens, America Reframed, STARZ
Channel and Netflix. Recent accolades include the 2018 Peabody Award,
the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival's Best Documentary Short, the 2018 UNAFF
Grand Jury Award for Best Short Documentary, and the 2017 Venice
International Film Festival Human Rights Award. More info at
www.Odyssey-Impact.org.
