Director/Producer: Brigitte Leoni

On 14 February 2001, 17-year-old Alejandra was kidnapped on her way home from work in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. For seven days, she was raped by several men and her body was found on 21 February 2001 near a shopping centre. Norma, her mother, knew that women had been kidnapped in Ciudad Juarez since 1993, but she had no idea that her daughter could be one of them. So she left her job as a teacher to investigate as no one wanted to help her. For 23 years, Norma has been searching for the truth and fighting against those who are protecting her daughter's murderers. She has been attacked twice. But Norma refuses exile and continues to fight for all the "Alejandra" who have been killed in Mexico over the last 20 years. She is prepared to die for it if necessary. Norma's story is the true moving story of thousands of mothers in Mexico who are going through the ordeal of discovering the truth about their murdered children. The documentary voluntarily gives Norma a voice and denounces the irregularities of a judicial system that blames victims. Norma is an inspiring and resilient woman. After 23 years of struggle, her daughter's case has just been accepted by the Inter-American Court. If she wins, it will be a historic legal victory for all Mexican mothers and for the American continent. More than 20,000 women and girls have been murdered in Mexico since 2018, and 98% of cases go unpunished.

Biography:

Brigitte Leoni has lived and worked as a reporter in Nantes, London (BBC), Rio de Janeiro, Mexico and for the United Nations in Bangkok and Geneva. She was responsible for producing short documentaries for UN advocacy campaigns and directed numerous TV debates and film awards. She founded Parva Productions to focus on “True stories that matter”. Brigitte is currently working on two documentary projects: ‘‘Norma’’, a story of an incredible woman fighting against feminicide in Mexico and ‘‘Les Gardiennes du silence’’, a story about the wives of French conscripts who went to Algeria in 1959. 

Contact Information:

e: brigitte.leoni@parvaproductions.com
w: https://www.parvaproductions.com/