Press Releases

‘Beauty Mark’ will pull no punches, start conversation about silent epidemic of child sexual abuse

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2015) – Family & Children’s Place is partnering in production of a film about the toll and trauma of child sexual abuse, based on the real-life experience of one of the project’s producers.

The film, Beauty Mark, will tell the story of Angie, a young mother caring for her four-year-old son and alcoholic mother in a hardscrabble area of Louisville. When she learns her house is being condemned, she faces life on the streets with just $65 to her name, so she must get money. In her case, it must come from the only person she knows with any – the man who abused her as a child.

“There are stories that need to be told and films that need to be made,” said Pam Darnall, president and CEO of Family & Children’s Place. “Beauty Mark is both.

“It’s a gut- and heart-wrenching topic – child sexual abuse – but one that occurs daily here in Louisville and Southern Indiana and elsewhere. Yet outside the occasional headline, which leaves people saddened and stunned for a time, it’s a silent epidemic,” said Darnall. “We need to talk about it and this film will help start that conversation.”

Beauty Mark is an independent film and has set up a Power2Give page where people can help fund its production. The Louisville Film Society is fiscal sponsor of the project and contributions in support of the film are tax deductible as allowed by law. The society, a 501 (c)(3). There’s also a Facebook page, a Twitter page and a video short here: Youtube/BeautyMark.

Producers have pledged a percentage of proceeds to help fund work by Family & Children’s Place with Louisville area and Southern Indiana children and families hurt by abuse.

The film, written by award-winning filmmaker Harris Doran, stars Screen Actors Guild-award winner Catherine Curtin, from Orange is the New Black; along with daytime Emmy Award winner Eric Nelson, who appeared in a Walk Among the Tombstones with Liam Neeson.

It also stars Dennis Haskins, Mr. Belding in Saved by the Bell; Ashley Kate Adams, who appeared on Broadway and hails from Kentucky; daytime Emmy Award winner Sainty Nelson, who appeared in The Bay; and recent Juilliard graduate Auden Thornton as Angie. The film score is by Louisville’s Ben Sollee and will be filmed in the Portland area of Louisville.

“It’s a fact-based story that pulls no punches,” said Darnall, adding the hope is that it inspires viewers to talk about and help end child abuse but that it also encourages victims of abuse to seek help and shows that recovery is possible.

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About Family & Children’s Place
Family & Children’s Place protects Kentuckiana children, families and communities from abuse, neglect and exploitation, and helps move them from hurting to healing.  We serve nearly 5,000 children and families annually through trauma-informed and impact-evident services.  For more information about Family and Children’s Place, visit www.famchildplace.org or call 502-893-3900.