Women in El Salvador are being imprisoned for miscarriage. They are sentenced up to thirty/forty years for aggravated homicide. In this country, abortion is illegal and they consider a miscarriage an abortion. In narrative feature film format, I plan to tell the true story of Cristina Quintanilla, a young Salvadorian girl who fights for her release after being wrongfully accused of murder for her eight month still-birth. I have personally interviewed with Cristina in order to write the script, and have obtained her life rights. This is such an important and relevant story to share, for women and men, to raise awareness around this injustice and hopefully inspire change within the realm of women's reproductive rights everywhere. In 2018, I made a short proof of concept film entitled LAS 17, which depicts the inciting incident of Cristina losing her child and being detained. I've shared the video in this application. My goal is to expand on this short by telling the full story, showing how Cristina became the catalyst for many future women who were successfully released from prison for miscarriage. This group became known as LAS 17, and has formed an active and progressive movement within the Salvadorian feminist collective.
The spaces I have selected are a foundation to recreate and represent the inhumane environments in which Salvadorian women are subjected to endure in prison life. I want to maintain as much authenticity as possible within a feasible local setting. The Industrial Warehouse location would be used to portray the prison room, where women are sent to practically live on top of each other, with thin mattresses laid out on the floor, no spacial privacy, or sanitary conditions. The additional Industrial Warehouse has a gated fence with barred wiring that looks very similar to the entrance of the prison where Cristina would have communications with her lawyer, Dennis Munoz. These scenes are essential to establishing their relationship and learning their plan to fight the court. The Underground Warehouse Cage is another representation of detainment, where Cristina and several other inmates are shoved into a small setting and expected to wait for their hearings. In these scenes, Cristina has just suffered her miscarriage and is still hemorrhaging. She spends six days in detainment, just trying to survive. This cruelty is just one of the ways women are inhumanely treated when convicted with criminal activity. Lastly, the courtroom where Cristina is seen being questioned by the prosecutor. A powerful scene in which we see her life slowly falling apart as she is ultimately sentenced to prison, leaving her three year old son and mother behind.
Peerspace is on a mission to bring people together. We believe it is impossible to achieve that goal unless we also fight for equality and access to resources in the communities we serve.
Having a space to gather, create, and exchange ideas is an important part of any movement. In order to magnify voices that are often quieted, Peerspace will sponsor venues for people who challenge prejudice and fight for social justice and equality.
Each quarter, we will sponsor space for three projects that are relevant to our community. These projects can range from fundraisers and educational initiatives to art exhibits and photo series.
