In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murder. There was no question that a 43-year-old man is dead and that she killed him. What mystified filmmaker Daniel Birman was just how common violence among youth is, and just how rarely we stop to question our assumptions about it. He wondered in this case what led a girl \u2014 who grew up in a reasonable home environment \u2014 to this tragic end?<\/p>\n
Me Facing Life: Cyntoia\u2019s Story<\/i> explores Cyntoia\u2019s history and her future. Without attempting to excuse her crime as youthful indiscretion nor to vilify her as an example of a generation gone off the rails, Birman simply follows Cyntoia through six years of her life after the crime, and searches for answers to persistent questions.<\/p>\n
The camera first glimpses Cyntoia the week of her arrest at age 16 and follows her for nearly six years. Along the way, nationally renowned juvenile forensic psychiatrist, Dr. William Bernet from Vanderbilt University, assesses her situation. We meet Ellenette Brown, Cyntoia\u2019s adoptive mother who talks about the young girl\u2019s early years. Georgina Mitchell, Cyntoia\u2019s biological mother, meets her for the first time since she gave her up for adoption 14 years earlier. When we meet Cyntoia\u2019s maternal grandmother, Joan Warren, some patterns begin to come into sharp focus.<\/p>\n
Cyntoia wrestles with her fate. She is stunningly articulate, and spends the time to put the pieces of this puzzle together with us. Cyntoia’s pre-prison lifestyle was nearly indistinguishable from her mother’s at the same age. History \u2014 seemingly predestined by biology and circumstance \u2014 repeats itself through each generation in this family.<\/p>\n
Cyntoia is tried as an adult, and the cameras are there when she is convicted and sentenced to life at the Tennessee Prison for Women. After the verdict, Cyntoia calls her mom to tell her the news.<\/p>\n
In the end, we catch up with Cyntoia as she is adjusting to prison, and struggling with her identity and hope for her future.<\/p>\n
Daniel H. Birman<\/strong> is the producer and director of Me Facing Life: Cyntoia\u2019s Story<\/i>. Previously, Birman produced the highly acclaimed documentary Brace for Impact: The Chesley B. Sullenberger Story<\/i>, which aired on TLC and the Discovery Channel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murder. What mystified filmmaker Daniel Birman was just how common violence among youth is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1264,1227,1293],"class_list":["post-142","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-race-ethnicity","topic-women-and-girls","topic-youth-and-family"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n