Short Movie

Innocent Voice

"It is better to risk sparing the guilty than to condemn the innocent." -- Voltaire

Jailing the innocent is a problem in any free society.

In the United States there is an exonerated prisoner released every three days. Every three days someone who was wrongly convicted and spent time in a prison gets to come home to their loved ones and see the light of day as a free person.

The innocent cannot be fairly compensated for the years of their lives stolen by malfeasance, negligence, or bias in the system. If, of course, the falsely-accused are still alive.

Our goal is to focus attention on the issues facing women in society - women of all sexual orientations and races. Although the problems are disproportionately faced by the African-American LGBT population, they are felt by everyone.

Synopsis

A misdialed call connects Jane, a straight former model, and Nikki, an African-American lesbian from NY. As they open up and let their guard down, Jane admits that she is a rape victim and contracted HIV as the result of the attack when she was young. Nikki is shocked by what she hears and shares her own story about the gang-rape that left her pregnant years earlier. They also admit to each other how they dealt with their attackers. Jane finds herself feeling more and more affection for Nikki, which is mutual. They set a date to meet but this will never happen because they are both serving time in different prisons on charges of murder against their attackers. Nikki is fighting for her freedom under NY law the best she can, and is desperate to get out of the life sentence she was given. Jane, however, is heading to her execution in Florida on that very day.

Cast, Producers, and Participants

Victoria Unikel

WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Writer, director, composer, producer - An award-winning artist (MOSAIC Federation), actress, composer, director, screenwriter, and producer of International motion pictures and TV shows.

Gene Avakyan

CO-PRODUCER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Recipient of awards from City of Los Angeles ITA, Mayors and City Attorneys Offices and MOSFED Federation, Gene is currently consulting the FAA and producing projects with VUGA Enterprises, where he is a co-founder along with Victoria Unikel.

Holliwood

LEAD ROLE

A seasoned model, published author, teacher, activists through her initiative Project X- Nonviolence, and more, Shaunna “Holliwood” Spivey Spinner, spends her days showing others how to break the mold and change the world.

Henry Lipatov

LINE PRODUCER, VFX SUPERVISOR

Award Winning Director, Producer, Visual Effects Supervisor. Awarded at Cannes and other festivals. Crafted VFX for music videos of J Lo, Eminem, Chris Brown, and others.

Moby

MUSIC AUTHOR

Music Author - American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. Moby is donating his song Wait For Me to be used in the closing titles of the picture. (mobygratis.com)

Mike Semanchik

MATERIAL SUPPORT & ADVICE

material support & advice - In 2012, California Lawyer Magazine recognized Mike’s work with the California Lawyer of the Year award. In 2014, the San Diego Daily Transcript recognized Mike as a “Top Attorney.”