Bella, the movie: abortion, adoption, and love
There’s a new independent film out that compassionately deals with abortion and adoption: Bella, winner of the Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice Awards. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve read good things about it. Below is an excerpt from the movie review at Focus on the Family’s Plugged In Online. You can also find information at the review about the movie’s (apparently minimal) objectionable elements.
Eduardo Verástegui [the lead actor] knows his little film (he also co-produced it) won’t dominate the box office. But he doesn’t mind. “I was caught up in the stardom and money of this business, like so many actors,” he told us, “But I was drawn to do this. To just do something worthwhile.” Thus, he and his fellow producers stepped away from successful careers to pursue an independent film with no guarantees. He said with emotion, “What I’d love to see happen with this film is to someday have this 12-year-old knock on my door and say that her mother was going to have an abortion. But she saw this film. That would be my Oscar.”
He continued, “This film is for the Ninas of the world. This film is not for the people who already agree that life is personal and has dignity. I want to touch the girls who come from broken families who don’t know anything about all these important issues—and next thing you know they find themselves pregnant and they think it’s fine to just go and have an abortion because that is what they have been taught. I want to reach them and embrace them and love them through the film and then by that they can choose what is best for them, which is to have their baby.”
Bella’s pondering of love and true values may just be vivid enough to accomplish the things Verástegui hopes it will.
I encourage you to get the word out about this film. It doesn’t have a huge promotional budget, so it’s success will depend largely on blogs and word-of-mouth.
HT to Tim at The Wrestling Mat.
:: posted by josh ::