Filmmaker Statement

Our short film "Sanctuary" unfolds in the midst of our current national reckoning with abortion access. We examine issues of political polarization and the nationalization of local government  through the story of Lebanon, Ohio—the first town to declare itself a Sanctuary City for the Unborn within the state. Despite its hyper-local focus on one community, "Sanctuary" points to a new reality of abortion rights across America—a patchwork degree of access or restriction based on geography and the political powers that control these regions. Krista Wyatt's experience takes us to the front lines of the abortion debate - away from the steps of the Supreme Court and into one small Midwestern town, revealing just how blurry the line between national and local politics has become. "Sanctuary" covers an aspect of this issue that is rarely discussed - the pro-life movement’s effort to influence local governments to quietly pass restrictions far stricter than state or national rulings.