Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four

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Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four

Released Sep 14, 2016

1h 31m

Documentary

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12 Reviews

50%

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50+ Ratings

After being wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls during the Satanic Panic witch-hunt era of the '80s and '90s, four Latina lesbians fight against mythology, homophobia and prosecutorial fervor in their struggle for exoneration.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Without the sloppy presentation of the confounding facts at the end of the film, it would have been a more impactful film. But what it does succeed at is bringing attention to a case that should never really be forgotten.

Rated: B-

Mar 22, 2017

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Tells a miscarriage of justice tale that practically bursts with societal issues to address: homophobia, socioeconomic inequality, child abuse, trial misconduct, tabloid hysteria, junk science and innocence advocacy.

Sep 29, 2016

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Sheila O'Malley

RogerEbert.com

A powerful act of advocacy.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 16, 2016

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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

See this movie not just for its astonishing story but as inspiration to find a way to help these people and the legion of misunderstood, unfairly judged outsiders just like them.

Jan 5, 2021

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Alexander Ryll

Gay Essential

This gut-wrenching real-life drama presents an unfiltered look at what a myopic and prejudiced is capable of.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 15, 2019

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Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

Bringing together interviews with the main players, court transcripts and archive footage from the time, Southwest Of Salem is detailed and comprehensive but never drags. It's difficult viewing for all the right reasons.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 30, 2016

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Audience Member

Good. Just a little reminder of how careful you have to be around kids. I hope common sense will prevail in the future since these types of episodes can be frequent.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

The documentary itself is rather bland and drags on, but it is a fascinating story. Four women wrongfully convicted of molesting two little girls. Their guilt based on junk science, hysteria about Satanists and blatant homophobia.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Deborah Esquenazi

Director

Jim Butterworth

Executive Producer

Daniel J. Chalfen

Executive Producer

Julie Goldman

Executive Producer

Christopher Clements

Executive Producer

Deborah Esquenazi

Producer

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Synopsis

After being wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls during the Satanic Panic witch-hunt era of the '80s and '90s, four Latina lesbians fight against mythology, homophobia and prosecutorial fervor in their struggle for exoneration.

Director: Deborah Esquenazi
Producer: Deborah Esquenazi, Sam Tabet
Distributor: FilmRise
Production Co: Investigation Discovery, Naked Edge Films, Motto Pictures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 9, 2017
Runtime: 1h 31m

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