Southwest of Salem: Tribeca Film Festival Premiere Documentary Witch-Hunt of 4 Mexican- American Women Texas- Style
By Tio Louie Louis E. Perego Moreno
Documentary filmmakers are a special breed. It is often said that when they undertake a project it’s about self-exploration and for therapeutic reasons. But one factor that connects many social reformers is championing social justice. And like any good doctor, investigative exploration is key to telling a story. Here’s an interview with Deborah S. Esquenazi, a Cuban, female film director in Texas who incensed by the unjust allegations wrought on four San Antonio, Mexican-American women wrongfully convicted of gang-raping the young nieces of one of the women, motivated her to make this documentary film. What ensues is a Satanic witch-hunt in the early 1990’s, which erupts into a media frenzy anxious to feed on the public’s ignorance and misnomers fueled by homophobia.
In New York City, premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, I was transfixed by the courage and tenacity of a first-time film director who made a striking impression when speaking at two panels by Firelight Media. Aside from a cinematic feat, it was the impact the film had on human lives unjustly languishing in prison for over a decade, which Deborah helped crack open the case in conjunction with The Innocence Project of Texas that fought against all odds for the truth. The underlying and inspiring message behind and in front of the camera in any language and culture: courage.
TIO LOUIE: Beyond the obvious, why the name of Salem in the title of your documentary film for a story that takes place in Texas and describe if there is an affinity between the perspective of your film project and Arthur Miller’s revered 1953 theatrical production, “The Crucible” – about witch hunts in a Salem, MA. and false accusations by a 1692 community that is now experiencing a revival on Broadway?
DEBORAH S. ESQUENAZI: It’s the metaphorical stake – that Arthur Miller wrote about – burning women at the stake for being alleged witches. It was so clear to me when embarking on this film that this was what was happening to these women.
TL: Describe your journey in making this film from working at a progressive New York City newspaper, The Village Voice and how that and other jobs prepared you for this project?
DE: I started at The Village Voice as an intern. I had difficulty making ends meet, so I then worked additionally for an investigative firm where I learned a lot about my trade. But it wasn’t until I went back to Texas that I came into my own. It was five years of my life and heart working on this film. I delved deeply into researching for the film when the four women were already languishing in prison for ten years. The women and their families shot a lot of the footage before the women went into prison and I was given access to the material
(L-R) Loira Limba (VP, Firelight Media), Sonia Kännebeck (filmmaker for documentary, National Bird that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival), Deborah S. Esquenazi (Latina with Southwest of Salem, doc that premiered at Tribeca FF) and Cecilia Aldarondo, (Puerto Rican filmmaker that premiered her documentary at Tribeca FF, Memories of a Penitent Heart).
TL: An important element in the documentary films is “Speaking the truth.” What does “truth” look like to you now?
DE: Those four women made my job very easy – they did nothing but tell the truth. The justice system never looks at the truth. These women were disenfranchised and languishing with no resources. They were adamant to tell the truth no matter what. I don’t know what truth is, but we have to be brave to tell these stories and support one another. We’ve got to be braver.
TL: You came out a little later in life, how did that or this film shape the process for you – in other words, “What came first the chicken or the egg?”
DE: I clearly knew from a very young age that I was gay. I come from a Cuban-Jewish background and very conservative. My dad is in his 80’s. It was hard to come out. I was 33. I came out to the women in prison before I came out to my family. I was in a relationship with a woman who is now my wife. It was very sad that it took so long to come out. This was my coming out story. There was a lot of internalized homophobia that was also reflected in the jury for this case. I was scared to be around my nephews and nieces, because of the misperception that gays prey on children. Someone once approached me at Firelight Media and said, “I just came out and my sister said, ‘That’s OK, just don’t bring that shit around my kids.’ “ This is the story of four women who were railroaded by the state. But this is also my story about dealing with internalized homophobia.
TL: As an investigative documentary filmmaker, the media played a major role in how the women were portrayed initially and how the public responded. When a certain truth emerged years later during your filming, how did you wrestle with releasing it to the media or not?
DE: All parties took risks. There was a moment when Mike called from the Innocence Project that Stephanie (one of the nieces who as a child alleged to have been sexually abused, now grown at 25 years of age) was talking about recanting her testimony. It was a Saturday, we got up really early, my wife accompanied us, she is not even a filmmaker and she is filming Stephanie talking. Because I am a journalist, I knew that to reopen this case years later the media would need a kernel of exciting news. I toiled with this dilemma. Do I save this for the film or am I morally obligated to share something with the media that can help these women? I called up two different reporters and they asked if I could send the footage. I sent them a small portion and I am so glad I did. I have no regrets. It did not damage the film at all. It gave me a real reason in a real way to feel that I was helping by revealing something that would keep the story in the press.
TL: Tell me about funding and the travails in raising money for this film. How was the journey?
DE: This was a pitching challenge. Initially this was going to be a radio project. I was to do something quick. You can’t walk up to a prison and just do it. I needed clout behind me. The Innocence Project of Texas was already on board. But no one wanted to cover it. Initially, ten years into the story there was nothing new to tell. The Sundance Institute was the first one who took a leap of faith. Their name helped give a stamp of approval for a first-time filmmaker – there was almost no reason to give me money, but they saw the injustice behind this story.
TL: In this film you touched on culture and cultural conditioning, such as Latino, gay & homophobia. What impact do you hope this film has on people’s lives?
DE: Hopefully, there may be people in my life who have seen me taking a risk and that I have made peace with my own family, that hopefully this gives them some hope and support if they feel this is something lingering within them. I did experience depression before embracing my being lesbian. When I took a step back and embraced it, it made me a better filmmaker when making this film. Those four women who were in Liz’s apartment, made their own family – that’s why they were there when the charges arose. Cassie and Anna who were raising two children made their own family by connecting with Kristie & Liz. I now have a two-year-old son and a wife. This is about the family that we make. It’s much more healthy than denying who we are.
TL: Describe your relationship with Firelight Media, what they do and the difference they made in realizing your film?
DE: When I think Firelight Media, I become overwhelmed and moved with emotion. They’re about giving, sincerity and love – this is what Firelight has given their filmmakers. What they have done is unprecedented. I want to cry when I think of them. Of course, money is important to making a film. But they have created a family. I love the women and Stanley Nelson (the Founder). If I ever got the MacArthur Genius grant (currently set at $625,000, paid in quarterly installments over five years), I would want to do what Stanley does. He created an incubator for people who have little support and created this family of love. We are constantly e-mailing one another whether we are challenged or sharing news. We are so vulnerable and need this support. I felt I was taking a risk in telling these women’s story. The most important element that Firelight continued hammering into our heads was, “Your voice is an important one to tell this story.”
TL: Why is it important that Latinos showcase their project at a film festival like Tribeca?
DE: First of all, any story by and about people of color is important. It’s also about the way people are represented. When massive organizations and bastions say we are going to reflect our populations and risky stories, and give us a platform to showcase – it matters. I could spend hours talking about what funding and support for people of color are lacking out, but this is an essential step to the process.
TL: What doors have been opened for you that would not have been attainable before?
DE: I live in isolation. I live in Austin. I don’t live on either coast. But when people invest in this project they buy into the story. I was accepted into the Rockwood JustFilms Fellowship – it’s an initiative through the Rockwood Leadership Institute and the Ford Foundation JustFilms that is a cohort of documentary leaders in the creative and impact doc space that are working on ‘film as social change.’ It’s a scholarship through a nomination-only process by the Ford Foundation. It is an intensive leadership training program for documentary filmmakers and creating ultimately curatorial support for other people of color. I will undergo the process beginning June 2016 that continues for many months afterwards.
TL: Seeing the lack of opportunities out there for people of color and the impact on authentic storytelling about and from our communities, tell me how you are motivated to spread the wealth to benefit others to move their projects forward?
DE: I am an Artist-in-Residence at the Mexican-American Cultural Center in Austin, which promotes and presents Latino and Indigenous art of all kinds. In 2017, I will be putting together a film series of six films that deal with social & criminal justice issues facing people of color in the U.S. I hope that as part of this residency to promote the work of other filmmakers of colors as part of this initiative—that is the desired scope and hope!
TL: If you were to share $0.10 worth of wisdom, what is the biggest advice you would have for a first-time filmmaker as to steps to avoid that you learned the hard way?
DE: I really think that we have to surround ourselves with good, critical-thinking people and supporters. It’s challenging. It will push you to be a better filmmaker. It was also fighting my own fear that I didn’t have the same voice as an acclaimed Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker like, Alex Gibney, to tell this story. That it’s about being a woman, Latina and gay and realizing that there aren’t that many stories out there about us, but that we’re capable of telling them. Surround yourself with a supportive team.
TL: The pressure is on you now. You have completed your first, successful documentary project, what’s next?
DE: Exonerating these women is important to me. All four are out, but they need to stand trial again. I am starting another investigative film in a follow-up to another case with the Innocence Project that is federal in nature that hopefully involves the Supreme Court.
For more information on the film, it’s future journey and the ongoing case of the four women seeking exoneration: http://www.southwestofsalem.com
Louis E. Perego Moreno is founder & Executive Producer of PRIME LATINO MEDIA, the largest network of Latino multimedia-makers and actors on the East Coast that hosts the PRIME LATINO MEDIA Salón, metro-New York's only monthly network gathering in which over 60 narrative & documentary filmmakers, programmers, casting agents, TV & digital media producers and actors have been interviewed. An interactive content producer and educator who for the past 34 years has owned Skyline Features, a bilingual (English and Spanish-language) multimedia and educational production company developing documentaries, television programming and advertising commercials featuring Latinos, Blacks, Women, Urban Youth and LGBT. Created a non-profit video training program with 1,500 Latino and Black Youth that over the course of ten years produced 70 documentary shorts on social, public and mental health issues.
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