Southwest of Salem

Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh and Anna Vasquez, four Latina lesbians from San Antonio, were convicted in the late 1990s of sexually assaulting two young girls. It was the height of the “Satanic ritual abuse” panic. The film follows their fight to clear their names.

The story

Esquenazi first heard of the case from the journalist Debbie Nathan, a friend and mentor. In 2012 one of the two accusers recanted; she gave recorded statements to lawyers of the Innocence Project of Texas and, on camera, to Esquenazi.

The project began under the working title The Recantation. In March 2013 Esquenazi screened 45 minutes of footage at CineFestival in San Antonio, and in 2013 it was one of 29 projects to receive a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.

Support came from the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicken & Egg Pictures, the Astraea Foundation’s Global Arts Fund, the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Humanities Texas and the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media, among others.

The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2016 and was broadcast by Investigation Discovery that autumn, with FilmRise handling distribution.

On November 23, 2016 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared the four women innocent.

Laurels

• Peabody Award, 2016
• GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding Documentary, 2017
• Critics’ Choice Documentary Award, Best First Feature (TV/Streaming), 2016
• News & Documentary Emmy nomination, Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, 2017
• Outfest Los Angeles, Outstanding Documentary Jury Award, 2016
• Frameline San Francisco, Outstanding Documentary Jury Award, 2016
• Tribeca Film Festival, World Premiere, Viewpoints, 2016