IN THE BONES

A film by Kelly Duane De La Vega
2022, 96 minutes

No. 360
Documentary

Description

"To understand the world, you must first understand Mississippi." - William Faulkner

IN THE BONES is an intimate and immersive journey through Mississippi, filmed in the year leading up to Mississippi’s 15 week abortion ban, revealing the culture that overturned Roe V. Wade. This lyrical film shines a light on the weight women live under in this country, and the resilience expressed in their everyday acts of survival through the unfolding lives of a cast of characters who live within a system that is not built with their well being in mind. A white family from the Mississippi Gulf Coast works to heal the trauma of teen pregnancies and absent fathers; a skilled Black cowgirl from the Mississippi Delta teaches her daughter self-reliance in their resource-deprived region; and in the State Capitol, a Black female politician reaches across the aisle, partnering with white Republican women to attempt gender parity.

Mississippi has the highest female poverty rate and wage gap in the United States and has the lowest female life expectancy in the nation. IN THE BONES draws connections between these regional policies and the issues that affect women and children across the nation.