As abortion access continues to narrow across much of the United States, Spelman College created space Monday for students and the public to confront the issue through film, conversation, and lived experience. The historically Black college for women hosted a screening of the HBO documentary sho rt “The Devil Is Busy,” followed by a QA with director Christalyn Hampton and executive producer Soledad O’Brien. The 30-minute film, nominated for an Academy Award, follows Tracii (last name not disclosed), the head of security at Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta, over the course of a single day as new legal restrictions and constant protests surround the clinic. The 30-minute film, nominated for an Academy Award, follows Tracii (last name not disclosed), the head of security at Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta, over the course of a single day as new legal restrictions and constant protests surround the clinic.Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice The event was introduced by Shola Lynch, the Diana King Endowed Professor of filmmaking and director of Spelman’s documentary film program. Lynch, who leads the college’s effort to educate what she called “the next generation of narrative nonfiction storytellers,” framed the screening as both a professional opportunity and a deeply personal one for the students in attendance. Shot in a cinéma vérité style, the film offers a direct look at the daily reality inside the clinic. Patients arrive seeking abortions and other medical services, including routine checkups and preventive care. Tracii and the staff respond with a series of safety measures: checking the building for intruders, coordinating with security guards who escort patients in and out, and using numbered systems to keep identities private. Tracii also shares her own background, supports nervous patients and deals with protesters who gather outside, quoting scripture in a tone that the film conveys as judgmental rather than compassionate. Shola Lynch, the Diana King Endowed Professor of filmmaking and director of Spelman’s documentary film program. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice The QA was moderated by Simone Hammond, president of the Spelman Film Fusion club, and Lydia Scott, a junior documentary filmmaking major and the club’s vice president. Additionally, two Spelman documentary students also worked on the production of the film. Hampton, an Atlanta native who took her first dance class at Spelman before building a career in choreography and then documentary filmmaking, said the decision to center the film on Tracii came naturally once the crew arrived at the clinic. “The first person you meet is Tracii, because she’s the security, and she and I clicked,” Hampton said during the QA. “And then you have the protesters, and I was like, this is an interesting dynamic.” Hampton described an early moment on the job that made the dynamic unmistakable. During a phone call with her team, the noise in the background drew questions. “They were like, could you go somewhere where it’s quiet,” she said. “I said, no, that’s the protesters, and I’m in an office.” The film was shot entirely by a crew of women of color, a deliberate choice that Hampton and O’Brien say shaped both the access they were granted and the intimacy of the story they were able to tell. Nearly two-thirds of abortion patients nationally are Black or Latina women, according to the filmmakers, yet those experiences rarely receive sustained media attention. Hampton said the goal was to follow Tracii and the women at the clinic and “make it an immersive experience for the audience.” O’Brien, a veteran TV journalist marking roughly her 40th year in the industry, said the project grew out of a decision the team made well before the Supreme Court acted. “We knew that Roe v. Wade was gonna die, even though people would say we don’t know,” O’Brien said. “We knew.” The Ford Foundation provided early funding to help the team figure out what story to tell once the ruling came down. O’Brien said the project also represented a departure from her usual role in an era when, she noted, “journalists are so not trusted.”  Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, which took effect after the Dobbs decision, looms over the events depicted in the film, adding urgency to every interaction inside the clinic. The documentary highlights the challenges faced by clinics and the people who work to keep patients safe in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. During the film, a line from one of the women at the clinic captures the story’s on-screen stakes. “I never thought I’d have more rights 25 years ago than my daughter does now.” The post The Devil Is Busy: Spelman College screens Oscar-Nominated short on abortion access appeared first on The Atlanta Voice. ...read more read less