Maris Curran found a creative partner in the documentary “Jeannette.” The personal feature, which was shot in a vérité style, captures the bond between director Curran and subject-turned-confidante Jeannette Feliciano who survived the Pulse Nightclub massacre. “Jeannette” centers on how queer single mother Feliciano turned to competitive bodybuilder to navigate her trauma and help heal other survivors. The film won the Audience Award at SIFF and an Outfest Jury Award during its tour on the festival circuit.
The official synopsis reads: “In the aftermath of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub mass shooting, Jeannette seeks support and healing through her community while she continues to coach fellow survivors at the gym. As her life begins to calm, Hurricane Maríahits Puerto Rico and Jeannette is thrown back into crisis mode. Skirting sensationalism to focus on the tenderness of healing, this portrait of competitive bodybuilder and lesbian single mother Jeannette unfolds as an intimate story of balancing the relentlessness of daily existence with the realities of living through trauma.”
Related Stories
Curran, who made her feature directorial debut with “Five Nights in Maine” starring David Oyelowo and Rosie Perez, produces “Jeannette” with Jon Coplon. Jen Rainin, Rivkah Beth Medow, Penelope Wong, and Crystal Gurin executive produce.
“When we met, Jeannette and I recognized something of ourselves in each other. We’re both tough feminine queer women who have dealt with sexual and physical violence. At our core, each of us was formed in response to violence we faced as girls and later women, and much of our adult lives have been spent trying to articulate the personal impact of violence and yet not be defined by it,” Curran said in a press statement. “At the end of the day, the film is a manifestation of a relationship Jeannette and I forged over four and a half years. The gaze of this film is from one woman looking directly to another.”
Feliciano added that making the eponymous documentary was part of her own healing process, and led her to ask how people can use their own past struggles to help others.
“I look at this film like I look at life — I want this film to inspire people to keep going, regardless of what they may be going through,” Feliciano said. “We are all warriors but it takes the strong mental willingness of never quitting. We all struggle, we are all going through something and I hope this film gives people an example of resilience for their own lives.”
Gravitas Ventures will premiere “Jeannette” on VOD June 17. Check out the trailer below.
