In the not-so-distant, not-so-fictional world that Jabree Webber has created with her short film, It Happened One Night, we get to peek inside a world in which women’s reproductive rights have been stripped and Roe v. Wade is no longer.
Visit www.jabreewebber.com to learn more about the writer/director.
Logline:
In 2022, after Roe v. Wade is overturned, a woman struggles to find the care she needs after being sexually assaulted.
Synopsis:
TIA (an aspiring actress, early 30s, moderately accomplished) grapples with a tough reality after returning home from a scheduled procedure. Unbeknownst to her fiancé, DANIEL (30s, principled, and didactic), Tia’s choice inspires a point of contention for this couple who would otherwise be happily in love. With the pressures of the outside world rising, Tia and Daniel struggle to maintain their relationship and are forced to make a hard decision about their future together.
Director’s Statement:
Knowing firsthand how sexual assault impacts so many, I am doubly saddened after learning that women impregnated under such horrific circumstances will be denied their right to choose abortion. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT highlights a distressing decision for a Black woman with an unintended pregnancy in the aftermath of sexual assault: a #ProChoice film with a #MeToo conversation. In this film, I explore the influence of money and power as it pertains to sexual assault and the survivors’ livelihood. Additionally, I explore the topic of sexual assault and how it affects survivors in their day-to-day, interpersonal relationships. This film is important and timely as state legislators across America continue to pass laws banning abortions without any exceptions for rape or incest. The film links key issues of pro-choice and sexual assault as it illustrates a possible outcome for women in America as these new state laws pose a severe threat to overturning Roe V. Wade by the Supreme Court. As a filmmaker, I aspire to utilize my voice and talent to raise awareness. This film is a piece about social issues that affect the country as a whole.
Full List of Cast & Crew:
Writer, Producer, & Director: Jabree Webber
Tia: Paulina Bugembe
Daniel: Duain Richmond
Newscaster (voice): Kayla Rosenberg
Director of Photography: Sebastian Schrils
Editor: Megan McVey
Assistant Director: Lex Macon
Assistant Camera: Kayla Tong
Gaffer: Alexis McDonough
Grip/Electric: Perry Fallahi, Tiffany Mateo Tolentino
Sound Recordist: Nicole Thompson
Sound Design & Mixer: Assata Jackson
Composer: Jaimie Pangan, Mateus Freire
Production Designer: Tatiana Sitnikova
Production Assistants: Ines Delleville, Mariana Salvati, Rhayme Spencer
Trailer & Credits: Steven Markowitz
Manager for Writer, Director, Producer: Reena Patton
Academic Advisor: Everett Lewis
Research:
Stereotypes regarding African American women’s sexuality, including terms like ‘Black jezebel,’ ‘promiscuous,’ and ‘exotic,’ perpetuate the notion that African American women are willing participants in their own victimization. However, these myths only serve to demean, obstruct appropriate legal remedies, and minimize the seriousness of sexual violence perpetrated against African American women.
About 1 in 3 women have experienced some form of contact sexual violence — which includes rape, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact — in their lifetime. For non-Hispanic black women, 35.5% experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime; for Hispanic women, that number was 26.9%; for Asian Pacific Islander (API) women, it was 22.9%.
But not all women who want to report their experiences with sexual and domestic violence have the resources and privilege to do so.
Underreporting of sexual assault and gender-based violence among women of color is a significant issue because of the cultural and systemic barriers they frequently face in reporting their abusers.
Long before the #MeToo moment, black women weighed different survival strategies—sometimes turning inward and choosing silence, sometimes turning outward and choosing protest—in the aftermath of sexual assault.
SOURCES: Hollywood is having a #MeToo moment. Women of color have fought this battle for decades. Agnes Constante. African American Women And Sexual Assault Fact Sheet Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Women of Color Network, “Communities of Color: African American Women” 2014. One Year of #MeToo: The Legacy of Black Women’s Testimonies By Allyson Hobbs. This Is a Defining Moment for Women of Color Who Survived Sexual Violence [OP-ED] Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Marcela Howell, Jessica González-Rojas. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2012.
