Reproductive Justice - Peace is Loud

Read about how On The Divide filmmakers partnered with Peace is Loud to amplify voices in the fight for reproductive rights. In this blog, they share their journey, the surprising wins of their impact campaign, and how Peace is Loud continues to shape their approach to filmmaking and social change.

by Peace is Loud

Can you share the story of how you first became involved with Peace is Loud and how the relationship has evolved throughout the years? How has your filmmaking approach changed or been influenced by those experiences?

Maya and Leah: We connected with Peace is Loud through a relationship formed during Maya’s previous film project. Maya met Florencia at a panel, “This Film Kills Fascism,” hosted by Peace is Loud and The Future of Film is Female. After sharing about On The Divide, we heard positive experiences from other filmmakers and knew Peace is Loud could help us achieve our impact goals.

Making On The Divide was a seven-year journey, documenting the impact of anti-choice legislation on the Rio Grande Valley community. From the start, we wanted to highlight the stories of local organizers, often misrepresented in mainstream media. Telling these stories during a time of increased attacks on reproductive healthcare was challenging, but building relationships with organizations doing critical work made our transition into an impact campaign seamless. We trusted Peace is Loud to guide us in using the film to support on-the-ground efforts.

After working with Peace is Loud, we’ve begun new feature projects, considering impact from the start. We’re building relationships with aligned organizations to reach our target audiences and implementing care protocols for our protagonists—compensation, mental health, and legal support—just as we did with Peace is Loud’s guidance.

What was a win or a high point of the impact campaign that was surprising or unexpected?

Maya and Leah: It’s hard to fully measure impact given the many ways that people are influenced and touched. However, there was a scenario when one of our partners, Trust Women based in Kansas, used the film as a tool for an upcoming state election that would codify Roe v Wade into state law. They ended up winning the election and Trust Women credited using the film as a political tool for the success. Knowing that the film was part of this positive outcome was very meaningful especially given the fall of Roe v. Wade just months prior. Also, especially after working on a project for so long it was so amazing to see how energized student groups were who watched the film. There was something special about seeing a spark in someone who otherwise was unfamiliar with the topic now after watching the film was called to action to support the many organizations that we worked with on our campaign.

How did the passing of SB8 in Texas and the SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade during the On the Divide impact campaign affect your approach to care and support for the film participants?

Maya and Leah: When SB8 passed and Roe was overturned, we shifted our focus to helping our participants and supporting local organizations like South Texans for Reproductive Justice. We asked our partners and participants what they needed most at that moment. With Peace is Loud’s help, we raised over $20,000 for reproductive justice groups and distributed funds directly to our participants. The Valley had been in a post-Roe reality for years, and we knew grassroots organizations were having the greatest impact. So, we focused our campaign on supporting these groups directly.

What was your experience of sharing the On the Divide case study with other filmmakers in Collective Lens?

Maya and Leah: It was really amazing to be able to share our case study for On The Divide because it allowed us to reflect on what we were able to accomplish, what we learned throughout the process, and what we would’ve done differently. It was also great to be in a space with both filmmakers and those involved with reproductive rights because we were able to share knowledge and resources with each other. Sharing the impact journey for On The Divide was eye opening. It allowed us to look back on what our goals were when we started and what the impact campaign became. It was also great to see what we could do for future impact campaigns.

How did being part of the rePRO Collective Lens cohort group build on your past experiences with Peace is Loud?

Maya and Leah: When we worked on On the Divide, we didn’t connect with many filmmakers focused on reproductive rights. Being part of the rePRO Collective Lens cohort gave us that community. Peace is Loud joined our project during a volatile time, and the cohort gave us space to reflect and develop more effective impact strategies. It highlighted the importance of community-building from the early stages of production. The cohort reminded us that storytelling is essential for social change, helping connect grassroots work and personal narratives with larger audiences.

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Learn more about RePROFilm and Collective Lens: A Community Impact Space here. It’s an impact training program for a community of filmmakers committed to reproductive health and justice, equipping creators with community, and values-forward tools and strategies to position their films in solidarity of the reproductive health and justice movements.

This campaign ran from January–July, 2022.

Our impact campaign centered capacity and power building among local communities, and the creation and facilitation of nuanced dialogues about abortion to build bridges across literal and metaphorical divides. Working with groups like South Texans for Reproductive Justice, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice and Catholics for Choice, we supported their reproductive justice work and helped film audiences and others undertake courageous conversations about the intersection of religion, choice, and identity. Our hands-on partnerships helped to build power among the communities most affected by abortion restrictions and shift the conversation around choice in even the most contested arenas.

Services Provided

Campaign design
Strategic partnerships
Capacity building
Original resource creation
Grassroots screenings

Download the Impact Report

Our Partners

South Texans for Reproductive Justice: Organization based in the Rio Grande Valley that advocates for reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and access to reproductive health care.

Catholics for Choice: A nonprofit organization that lifts up the voices of the majority of Catholics who believe in reproductive freedom.

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice: A nonprofit that fights for equal access to reproductive health for Latina/x communities because all of us should have the power to make informed decisions about our bodies, families, and futures.

Additional Partners

Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, Avow Texas, La Frontera Fund, Fund Texas Choice, Sueños Sin Fronteras, Texas Abortion Access Network, Texas Equal Access Fund, Texas Rising, Kentucky Health Justice Network, Take Root, We Engage, Trust Women, Brooklyn for Reproductive and Gender Equity, ARC Southeast, Texas Youth Activist Alliance, Sister Reach

More from this Campaign

As part of this impact campaign, we developed a Healing Guide to accompany the film in partnership with South Texans for Reproductive Justice, Catholics for Choice, and the Latina Institute. It is available in both English and Spanish.

Healing Guide (English) Guía de Sanacíon (Español)

Film Credits

Directed by Maya Cueva and Leah Galant

Watch the Film

Watch the Trailer

This campaign ran from March 2018-January 2019.

The Bleeding Edge is a fiercely feminist, eye-opening exposé of medical devices’ devastating impact on women’s health from Oscar®-nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. At the heart of the film are the E-Sisters, a group of 40,000 women who sought safe and effective birth control with Essure, but were left with disastrous, life-altering results—and led a campaign to hold Essure’s multi-billion dollar corporate manufacturer, Bayer, accountable.

Before its release, the issue of medical device safety was underreported and largely unknown among the American public at large. We designed and executed an impact campaign to bring The Bleeding Edge and its crucial message to audiences who need it most: people at risk of harm and healthcare professionals serving as gatekeepers of patient safety.

A few highlights are:

Bayer withdraws Essure from the market

After years of steadfast refusal, Bayer caved to pressure from the imminent release of The Bleeding Edge and announced they would withdraw Essure from the market—just days after we screened the film outside Bayer’s headquarters at a protest hosted by the E-Sisters.

FDA publicly acknowledges flaws

After the film ignited a firestorm among healthcare and government insiders, the FDA finally acknowledged flaws in its device approval process.

Creation of website for patient safety and advocacy

In partnership with the E-Sisters, we created MedicalDeviceProblems.com, a website dedicated to informing the public about medical device safety. This site supports the E-Sisters’ new Medical Device Problems coalition, which brings together leaders of patient safety groups to advocate for systemic change to improve device safety.