{"id":4876,"date":"2014-07-21T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-21T12:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/?p=4876"},"modified":"2016-11-11T14:50:42","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T19:50:42","slug":"2014-human-rights-watch-film-festival-out-in-the-night-makes-a-strong-case-for-exposing-the-media-and-the-unjust-justice-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/2014-human-rights-watch-film-festival-out-in-the-night-makes-a-strong-case-for-exposing-the-media-and-the-unjust-justice-system\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 Human Rights Watch Film Festival: \u2018Out in the Night\u2019 Makes a Strong Case for Exposing the Media and the Unjust Justice System"},"content":{"rendered":"

An interview with the subjects of this impassioned documentary, and with the filmmaker who revisited the controversial case of \u201cThe New Jersey Four\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Featured image from left: Venice Brown, Terrain Dandridge, Patreese Johnson and Renata Hill.\u00a0 Courtesy of Indiewire.<\/em><\/p>\n

Author | Demitra \u2018Demi\u2019 Kampakis | Film Editor<\/p>\n

“I mean, when it becomes a matter of your friend not being able to breathe, then you realize it\u2019s us or him.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAttack of the Killer Lesbians.\u201d\u00a0 Believe it or not, this isn\u2019t the title of a 1970s pulpy exploitation film, but an actual headline featured in a 2007 New York Post article.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it is just one of the countless number of egregious newspaper \u201creportings\u201d that covered the now infamous case which serves as the subject of blair dorosh-walther\u2019s new documentary \u201cOut in the Night.\u201d \u00a0The film follows the story of Venice Brown, Terrain Dandridge, Renata Hill and Patreese Johnson, four African American lesbians who became known as the \u201cNew Jersey Four\u201d after they defended themselves against an assault on the streets of New York City\u2019s West Village.\u00a0 Late one night in August 2006, these Newark-native women were walking through the West Village when a man (29 year old Dwayne Buckle) standing in front of the IFC Center movie theater made a lewd remark; the first of a series of profane and unwanted sexual advances in which these women were the targets of. \u00a0Angry that they refused his advances by asserting their sexuality, Buckle\u2019s verbal harassment quickly escalated into a physical altercation.\u00a0 This frenzied four-minute brawl was captured on surveillance video by IFC cameras, and ended with Buckle in the hospital and the women in jail.\u00a0 That such a brief yet violent incident took place in front of an art-house theater in the late hours of the night and was captured via grainy security footage represents an interesting collision between objective and subjective truth\u2014one that blair\u2019s documentary explores; as it challenges us to consider how race, class, sexuality, and gender expression influence society\u2019s perception of violence.\u00a0 In short, \u201cWho has the right to self-defense?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after the film\u2019s NY premiere at The Human Rights Watch Film Festival, I had the chance to interview dorosh-walther, Renata Hill, and Patreese Johnson; who served the longest sentences after pleading not guilty, and for whom the film largely centers on.\u00a0 \u201cAt first I didn\u2019t know it was going to take me seven years to complete this project,\u201d noted blair, \u201cbut right after the incident occurred, the media coverage was just outrageous.\u00a0 Nobody knew exactly what had happened, but that didn\u2019t stop the outpour of ridiculous headlines.\u00a0 Many LGBTQ organizations and individuals would meet and hold discussions in which they voiced their concerns over these homophobic headlines: they wanted to know how to go about protecting yourself when you don\u2019t feel comfortable going to the police.\u00a0 But what really did it for me was this one New York Times article that struck me in its gross inaccuracy\u2026you know, there were many ludicrous and misinformed articles written on the case, but this was The New York Times!\u00a0 It all felt really weird and wrong, so I became an advocate during the first two years of the case.\u00a0 And interestingly enough, once these women\u2019s appeals trials began approaching in 2008, I noticed that there was almost no media coverage whatsoever (barely a few articles).\u00a0 That definitely weighed on me, and reignited my interest.\u00a0 So that\u2019s when I started reaching out to these women and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shedding light on the bizarre circumstances surrounding the August 2006 incident, \u201cOut in the Night\u201d chronicles the troubling, infuriating and unjust legal aftermath that resulted in heinously long prison sentences for these four women that were certainly fueled by the media\u2019s attempts to exploit and scandalize their act of self-defense.\u00a0 \u201cAt first none of us knew the extent to which things would escalate in such a dangerous and frightening way.\u00a0 But once the man started advancing towards us and actually inflicting physical harm through choking, pulling out our hair, etc., then the automatic survival instincts kicked in.\u00a0 I mean, when it becomes a matter of your friend not being able to breathe, then you realize \u2018it\u2019s us or him\u2019,\u201d noted Johnson during our interview, as she reflected on that critical moment of desperation that left her behind bars for a dozen years.<\/p>\n

\"out<\/a>
Patreese Johnson being interviewed by blair dorosh-walther, with Daniel Patterson behind the camera, at Albion Correctional Facility. Image by Scott Gracheff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The film also highlights numerous examples of legal incompetency and courtroom corruption on behalf of the prosecution team and judge\u2014injustices that include yet extend far beyond withholding evidence and denying bail.\u00a0 In fact, at one point in the film it is revealed that these women were charged with counts of gang<\/i> violence, for no other reason than the simple fact that \u2018gang\u2019 is the legal term used for a group of four or more individuals.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter that none of these women had any gang affiliation whatsoever\u2014or that two were mislead into pleading guilty through the judge\u2019s incorrect explanation of the term \u201caccessory\u201d\u2014because the massive wave of media hysteria had already cemented.\u00a0 In the eyes of NYC journalists, these women were in fact \u2018gang members\u2019 part of a \u201cLesbian Wolf Pack.\u201d dorosh-walther notes, \u201cIt was the perfect storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the police officer that responded to the case and agreed to be interviewed for the film.\u00a0 Throughout the documentary his calm demeanor felt wholly reassuring, and there was a legitimate credibility in the way he articulated the incident with such objective neutrality noting how both parties contributed to the violent episode.\u00a0 Yet it isn\u2019t until the last moments of the film\u2014where his call to 911 dispatch is revealed\u2014that we discover the extent to which he fabricated his entire interview and testimony.\u00a0 Contrary to the officer\u2019s official statement that Buckle had suffered critical injuries resulting from a stab wound inflicted by Patreese Johnson, his 911 call tells a different story. “Not gang activity, it was a tiny little pen knife he got cut with\u2026not even blood on the scene.” Oh, and did I mention that this particular dispatch call was also never admitted as evidence?!<\/p>\n

\"out<\/a>
The New York Daily News headline following the convictions. Image via Out in the Night’s Kickstarter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Throughout the film, dorosh-walther cleverly weaves Buckle\u2019s court testimony (narrated through transcripts read by an actor) claiming self-defense with surveillance footage that shows him physically attacking the women, and the film\u2019s use of animation serves as a nice visual tool in picking apart the camera footage frame-by-frame.\u00a0 Despite a few moments that feel somewhat unbalanced, subjective and biased, the documentary as a whole makes a point to emphasize that no one is a victim.\u00a0 Rather than portraying these women as heroes, dorosh-walther is concerned with humanizing them as a means of exposing the harsh realities of a failed justice system, the devastating impact of gender-based harassment, and the media\u2019s accountability in producing a climate of blame and guilt that is further amplified by a subculture of racism, misogyny, and homophobia.\u00a0 By contrasting footage of tender family moments and the emotional toll faced by loved ones, dorosh-walther smartly illuminates the incompatibilities between private and public narratives.\u00a0 A refreshing indictment on sensational media, \u201cOut\u201d boldly reveals the lack of empathy and protection for targets of socialized crimes; and the gross power by which a public persona can quickly reduce the nuances, complexities, and humanity of an individual.\u00a0 Although the film could have spent less time dissecting the incident itself\u2014and instead address the years of courtroom battles and legal corruption with greater attention\u2014it does include powerful commentary on the effects of incarceration and the policing of gender in the prison system.\u00a0 The doc\u2019s occasional overreaching attempts to link the case to broader issues of gender discrimination can be forgiven because it ultimately succeeds in fostering critical dialogue surrounding issues of resistance and self-defense facing black women.\u00a0 There is a passionate sense of immediacy in the way dorosh-walther gives voice to LGBTQ people of color who continually face this type of institutional harassment and slander.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s certainly the hope that this film will help mobilize reform within the media and legal system, but I sort of feel like the realistic thing that will happen will be the onset of debate.\u00a0 Journalists will have varying responses because this case is so nuanced.\u00a0 But I\u2019m cautiously optimistic that the legal responses to self-defense will be re-visited with scrutiny because much of this case has to do with the context for why these women felt so threatened that night,\u201d remarked dorosh-walther.\u00a0 \u201cI think we still have a long way to go, because this isn\u2019t the first documentary out there that deals with these issues and I hope it isn\u2019t the last.\u00a0 Especially with the cases that get overlooked, we need more. People to stand up and speak about what\u2019s going on.\u00a0 And I think that we did what we needed to do,\u201d adds Renata, who concluded with this powerful remark: \u201cIt\u2019s hard not to feel angry and cynical after an ordeal like this, but I really try to focus my emotional energy on growing closer with my son and not taking my freedom for granted.\u00a0 One thing that this experience definitely taught me though is that there\u2019s no such thing as a \u2018safe space\u2019.\u00a0 After all, we went to the West Village for a carefree night on the town\u2014to proudly embrace who we were\u2014and never expected the sad irony of a homophobic bashing in such a gay-friendly neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

With its world premiere at last month\u2019s Los Angeles Film Festival, \u201cOut in the Night\u201d has also been screened at San Francisco\u2019s Frameline LGBT Film Festival, and will play at this month\u2019s OutFest in LA.<\/p>\n

Follow Demi:
\nTwitter: @DemionFilm
\nFacebook:\u00a0facebook.com\/demionfilm<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interview with the subjects of this impassioned documentary, and with the filmmaker who revisited the controversial case of \u201cThe New Jersey Four\u201d Featured image from left: Venice Brown, Terrain Dandridge, Patreese Johnson and Renata Hill.\u00a0 Courtesy of Indiewire. Author | Demitra \u2018Demi\u2019 Kampakis | Film Editor “I mean, when it becomes a matter of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2065],"tags":[1129,1128,335,105,590,1963,1135,177,413,174,76,82,81,267,1039,1127,1133,38,708,1132,1134,1131,1130,1136],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-4876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-2014-human-rights-watch-film-festival","tag-blair-dorosh-walther","tag-demitra-demi-kampakis","tag-documentary","tag-festival","tag-film","tag-gang","tag-gender","tag-human-rights","tag-identity","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbt","tag-lgbtq","tag-media","tag-new-york-times","tag-out-in-the-night","tag-patreese-johnson","tag-queer","tag-racism","tag-renata-hill","tag-sexism","tag-terrain-dandridge","tag-venice-brown","tag-violence"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/feature.jpg?fit=1827%2C1231","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6QBV8-1gE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4876"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7753,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876\/revisions\/7753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4876"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}