Film Festival

Federal guidelines in the accreditation of health care facilities mandate that Health Care Providers identify victims of domestic violence. Though this indeed may be good clinical practice, it requires sensitive questioning during clinic, hospital, or emergency room encounters, which are exponentially more difficult to accomplish through interpreters and may be challenged by patients’ cultural heritage. This film sets out to provide training guidelines for health care providers in one immigrant population. Using a native Somali domestic abuse training team to identify specific cultural issues, the filmmakers were able to embed standard theory and a clinical approach that is culturally specific, to identify and treat victims of domestic violence. The film identifies specific steps toward cultural competence in the assessment of domestic violence, including sensitivity to immigration and financial issues, the use of interpreters, and formation of partnerships with local resources. The filmmakers, primary health care providers, were able to find student filmmakers for production resulting in minimal cost. This engaged inner city high school students in the topic itself, a secondary cultural gain. Using film to teach cross-cultural ideas is well accepted; finding the resources and financing is challenging but not necessarily a barrier. This education approach has produced a film that is specific to an unmet need, and the process rewarding.