SYNOPSIS:

BEING FREE is a family drama that illustrates what happens when a dark family secret is kept at all costs. This film can be made on a limited budget with minimal special effects and no stunts necessary. BEING FREE is a story about Frida “Free” Taylor, a woman who has been held and holds others “captive” by a secret she has kept since childhood. Free who was molested by her stepfather, Mitchell Juarez is dismayed to learn that Mitchell has been molesting her sister-in-law, Olivia Baez’s daughter, Lizzy. As the story unfolds, we see the damage that is caused not only by Free having kept the secret, but also by Free’s mother, Maggie Juarez having lived with the guilt, thereby denying Free any comfort or emotional support. Free’s son, Mason Taylor and her brother, Manny Juarez, have both grown up with two women who are inexplicably and constantly at odds with each other and themselves. When Mason learns of the sexual abuse, his anger is directed, unchecked at his grandmother. However, when Manny is told, his anger is aimed at Free. Both sons are wary of targeting their mothers with their anger, in a time-honored illustration of a son’s love and respect for their mother. There is also the Baez family, now damaged by Free’s need and Maggie’s insistence that the secret be kept. Olivia’s mother, Alicia like Maggie lives a life in denial via her strong religious beliefs. Olivia, unable to contain her maternal fury at not only Mitchell, but also Free and Maggie, unleashes her anger on her co-workers; almost destroying her law enforcement career. Lizzy, Mitchell’s current victim is caught between her need to be loved and the aberrant way in which Mitchell has “taught” her to seek it via his pedophilia. BEING FREE is a Freudian drama filled with familial secrets, the lies told to keep the secret “safe”, and ultimate freedom realized when the secret is finally and inescapably revealed. Free’s “release” is obtained and shared with Lizzy through the inevitable outcome of a decision made by a now transformed Maggie.

BEING FREE