Tapestries of Hope

After sold-out screenings in key markets during its recent nationwide theatrical release, the award-winning women/children's rights feature documentary "Tapestries of Hope" is back, by popular demand, for special encore/premiere shows. Tapestries of Hope is an astounding story told through the eyes of filmmaker Michealene Cristini Risley. The film is a powerful documentary that exposes the horrors of the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of young girls in Zimbabwe by men who believe it will cure HIV/AIDS.
Documenting the work of CNN Hero, renown child and human rights activist Betty Makoni and her organization, Girl Child Network, Tapestries of Hope follows the journey to healing taken by the girls who arrive at GCN daily. Caught in the crossfire of a country devastated by poverty, limited medicine and the increasing use of girls as charms to heal illness, Tapestries of Hope allows us to witness the resiliency of these girls who refuse to be defined by their abuse. The movie is scheduled to help raise awareness of the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) and urge audience members to contact their representatives.
Director Michealene Cristini Risley travelled to Zimbabwe to explore the rape and AIDS crisis in the country. She had previously befriended Betty Makoni, a born and raised Zimbabwean, and got to know about Makoni's organization, The Girl Child Network, which aims to re-empower abused kids and provides a network of protection for these girls.