Being Michelle (French Version)

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Note: This film includes hardcoded French subtitles

BEING MICHELLE follows the astonishing journey of a deaf and disabled woman who survived incarceration and abuse under unimaginable circumstances by a system that refused to accommodate her needs as a deaf person with autism. Michelle’s trajectory changed when she met Kim Law, a blind volunteer life coach who teaches classes to people in prison. Today, outside of prison, Kim and Michelle are doing the difficult work of unraveling Michelle’s history, of telling the story of Michelle’s traumatic childhood and her adverse experiences in the criminal justice system. With the support of Kim, Michelle realizes her own voice and strength. Throughout the film, Michelle’s artwork provides her own depiction of the trauma she survived as well as a means to her recovery. Ultimately, BEING MICHELLE is a story of redemption. It is about the bonds between women committed to thriving in a broken system, who are forging a path to healing that can only come through facing the truth and communicating it, together.

WUFT/NPR | Katie Hyson, Report for America
"It struck me so powerfully as a viewer, what a central role she had in the documentary and in telling her own story."

RespectAbility | Delbert Whetter, Board Vice Chair
"Stories about people with disabilities have long been told through the lens of those that lack our lived experience. In this film, we see Michelle's story. Her voice can be seen through her hands, her artwork, and those who Michelle loves and cherishes in her life."

Roger Ebert | Matt Fagerholm, Literary Editor
"Atin Mehra’s 'Being Michelle' centers on a wrongfully incarcerated woman, and finds inventive ways to have us view the story from her perspective as a deaf person with autism."

Disability Rights New York | Marc Fliedner, Civil Rights Attorney
"I believe that this film should be mandatory viewing for everyone in every court system in this nation. Michelle's story tells the story of the devastating impact of solitary confinement, the devastating impact of being uniquely vulnerable in prison and jail systems because you are a person with disabilities, and again, so resoundingly, the fact that we don't take time to communicate with each other and that just results in misunderstandings that rob people like Michelle of decades of their lives."

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Main credits

Mehra, Atin (film director)
Mehra, Atin (film producer)
Mehra, Mae Thornton (film producer)
Ricks, Michelle Romaine (on-screen participant)

Other credits

Editor, Randy Redroad; music, Fabien Bourdier, Leon Lacey.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Deaf People in the Criminal Justice System,Disability Justice & Rights,Human Rights,American Studies,Art Therapy,Trauma and Healing,Women's Studies,deaf,disabilities,sign language,ASL,criminal justice, disability justice,autism; "Being Michelle"; GOOD DOCS; "Being Michelle (French Version)"; GOOD DOCS

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