The documentary Silent Beauty, directed by Jasmin Mara López, is nothing short of an intensely powerful portrait of survivorship: how does one begin to heal from sexual assault while simultaneously grappling with the ripple effects of generational trauma? Silent Beauty illuminates the complexities of both individual and familial fragmentation and healing following the revelation that López was a victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her maternal grandfather. As the documentary unveils the rupturing of a child’s perception of domestic safety, it calls the audience to action to protect children from suffering at the hands of, in López’s cousin’s words, “a wolf disguised as a lamb.”
What is perhaps most striking about Silent Beauty is López’s inclusion of not just the family’s photographs and Super 8 footage but of the recording of the phone call with her grandfather in which she accuses him of sexual abuse. Notably, the conversation is not reenacted nor dramatized. Transcribed in white text on a black background, the conversation is chilling, but it is also evidence of López’s bravery: she stands her ground, demanding recognition and an apology as the perpetrator attempts to discredit his victim, insinuating her trauma is nothing more than a lie or a dream.
Combined with archival footage, López’s conversations with women including her mother and sister foster a sense of intimacy with the Mexican-American family. In a May 2022 interview with Filmmaker Magazine, López stressed the value and importance of their participation in the film, for “they all approach life with a ‘public service’ framing, so they saw this as an opportunity to reach others, especially people who experienced life the way we did... They wanted to help others and dropped everything, including the fears and shame they were made to carry, to support me in this.” Silent Beauty, then, is also a narrative about women supporting each other as they navigate generational trauma as well as backlash from family and community members who have been too slow or too cowardly to abandon their devotion to and support of a pedophile who once assumed a position of power and authority as a Baptist minister. Ultimately, Silent Beauty makes clear how documentary filmmaking can be a powerful tool for disrupting the cultures of silence and abuse that allow predators to traumatize without consequence.
What type of college/university professors would find this title valuable?
Faculty teaching literature, film, and women’s studies courses will find Silent Beauty to be a documentary worth assigning, particularly if the course has any emphasis on trauma studies and/or narratives of sexual violence and survivorship.
Does this film have Public Performance Rights available?
Silent Beauty does have Public Performance Rights available, beginning at $199 for public libraries and high schools.
How would audiences react to this screening?
While many viewers may find the documentary’s descriptions of sexual assault against children particularly upsetting, viewers will also be inspired by López’s courageous coming forward and her insistence upon protecting the children of her family. The documentary does provide its own content warning, but it is worth stressing its emotionally challenging content on syllabi and/or screening advertisements, prior to the film’s screening.