I’ve been wanting to watch this movie since I heard about it a couple of years ago but never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Last night I finally made it happen.
“Searching for Angela Shelton” is a curious film that is never quite what you think its going to be. This is one woman’s quest but she takes a lot of other people along for the ride. Angela Shelton (the film-maker) decides she wants to drive around the USA and meet all the other Angela Shelton’s that are willing to talk to her. Its all filmed in a straight-forward documentary style but what unravels makes for riveting viewing.

What the central Angela finds out is that, including herself, 24 out of the 40 Angela Shelton’s she talks to have been raped, molested or abused in their lifetimes. Her attempt to find out the state of American women by using her name as a tool to generate a random sample serves as a powerful setup for exploring violence against women.

While the other Angela’s provide a way for the film to move forward this is really the central Angela’s story and her journey through her own pain. Moving, funny, and brimming with courage I encourage everyone to watch this and to show it to at least one person who claims they don’t care about violence against women.

You should be able to find it in your local library system (I did!) or cool movie rental establishments.