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Students Inspire Domestic Violence Survivors Through Film

Last year in Orange County 21 people die each year as a result of domestic violence and this year that count is rising. Orlando’s Harbor House is a place for survivors of domestic violence to turn when they have no place else to go.

Recently the Harbor House turned to Full Sail to help them tell the story of Barbara Moore one of the founders of the domestic violence movement in Central Florida.  Moore was a survivor of domestic violence herself who went on to help other survivors, first in her own home and later in the area’s first shelter.

Moore founded Spouse Abuse Inc., the predecessor of today’s Harbor House, in the 1970s, a time when there were no laws in place to protect the women who were sheltering other women.

“She’s the one who started the movement against domestic violence in Orange County,” said the Director of Development. “She and her friends risked their lives in some cases to protect other survivors.”

Film students Maria Beltran and Krystal Lim, members of the SPARK Department at Full Sail, were tapped to work with the Harbor House to create a video honoring Moore, who passed away 18 years ago. They enlisted the help of other Film students in their class to serve on the crew.

Beltran and Lim pieced together home movie footage from the 1940s, photos and interviews they conducted with Moore’s friends and colleagues to create the memorial documentary. Friends they interviewed for the piece included Former Mayor of Orange County Linda Chapin and Orange County District 9 Judge Alice Blackwell, who works with domestic violence cases.

The documentary tells the story of Moore’s life, as a child struggling with polio, as a young woman dealing with a troubled and violent marriage, as a devoted mother, and then as an advocate for other domestic violence survivors.

“We hope that people feel empowered by the video,” said Lim.

“During the process, learning who she was, it felt like there really is no excuse not to fight for what you believe,” said Beltran. “Not only did it inspire us as film students, it helped us grow as women.”

Beltran said that it was Moore’s father who was the inspiration for her courage. “Her father really encouraged her to do what she felt was right,” said Beltran. “She saw injustice, and it was almost like a natural instinct that she had to fight for that injustice.”

Now in its 31st year of existence, the Harbor House carries on Moore’s mission of serving battered women, assisting about 700 survivors and their children (40 percent of the shelter’s residents are children) a year. The shelter’s services include a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling and group therapy, legal advocacy, childcare, and a safe place to live.

Because many of their clients are “high lethality” cases, the Harbor House has special protection under the law, said the Director of Development. “No one is allowed on our property without our consent,” said Director of Development, “including local authorities.”

According to the Director of Development, the Harbor House is among the top 25 largest shelters for domestic violence survivors in the U.S., and clients spend six to eight weeks living in the shelter.

Since doing the documentary, Beltran and Kim have been asked to work on a PSA to inform Central Florida women of different nationalities about the Harbor House in their own languages. The PSA will be recorded in English, Creole, Spanish and possibly Vietnamese, said the Director of Development.

Carr said the Harbor House and its board of directors were thrilled with the documentary Beltran and Kim put together on Moore.

“I was absolutely in awe of how it turned out,” said the Director of Development. “These ladies were phenomenal. We’re very grateful.”

For more information on the Harbor House or to donate to the shelter, go to harborhousefil.com.

The crew for the Barbara Moore documentary included:
Director/Producer/Writer: Maria Beltran
Associate Producer/Editor: Krystal Lim
Director of Photography: Mark Anthony
Camera Operator: Robert Sloan
Sound Mixer: Joshua Collins
Script Supervisor: Yadira Flores
Music Composer: Tim Cheney
Graphics: Eric Timm

The Harbor House would like to acknowledge board member Cynthia Brumback, who inspired the idea for the Barbara Moore documentary.

- Christine Baker Janesko

Christine Baker | Online Editor/Writer | Propeller | Full Sail University
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