Burning The Village

We’ve heard “it takes a village” to raise a child and that new motherhood is the “most joyous time in a woman’s life.” Cue: Record Scratch! “Burning The Village” boldly examines these mantras by delicately weaving the stories of three American families with varying degrees of mental health decline after the birth of their children. Additionally, psychologists, authors and educators present the American culture of new parenthood as detrimentally lacking in social & policy supports. Instead of joy, new families describe isolation, shame and dire stigmatization during a crucial time in their families’ lives. All of the voices in the film illustrate a wider swath of mental health challenges sparked by having a baby than what is typically swept under the rug as the “baby blues”. “Burning The Village” raises awareness, outlines warning signs, clarifies symptoms and offers help to the almost 600,000 families a year who suffer from a perinatal mood disorder…all in the hopes of building stronger villages of support for new families in America. Coming soon to a village near you.

  • liz mcbee
    Director
  • liz mcbee
    Writer
  • liz mcbee
    Producer
  • Paula Grech
    Key Cast
  • Adrienne Martini
    Key Cast
  • Thomas Soukakos
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    51 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 17, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    125,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital - HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
    Middlebury, VT
    United States
    August 29, 2021
    New England
    Official Selection
  • LA Femme Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    October 17, 2021
    Los Angeles
    Official Selection
  • Awareness Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    October 31, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Sherman Oaks Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    November 14, 2021
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • None to date
Director Biography - liz mcbee

Liz McBee has been working in film production for over 25 years. She stepped out of film school and onto the dusty, West-Texas set of Merchant and Ivory’s Ballad of the Sad Café as a lowly PA. Moving from her hometown of ATX to NYC, she cut her filmic chops producing independent features, documentaries, and commercials in the Big Apple. The San Francisco Bay Area beckoned and after relocating, her (co-)directorial debut Javelina, A Desert Stew, a short documentary, had an award-winning premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Since then, she has produced innumerable commercials, marketing campaigns, and TV segments for clients such as Martha Stewart Living, Levis, Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, YMCA of San Francisco, Open Door Legal, Teradata, Cisco, Kaiser Permanente, and Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Inspired by her love of creating community and fostering artistry, she opened loop360films, a start-to-finish film production company dedicated to showcasing individuals and organizations that make a difference in their communities. In recent years she has enjoyed dabbling an Art Department Coordinator for films such as The Last Black Man In San Francisco. She is currently writing her first, TV Series Pilot, Surrender, a story about 1965 unwed mother’s in Texas. Liz splits her time between the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas.

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Director Statement

Our society could do wonders for those suffering from mental illness by removing the stigma and offering social, familial and health industry supports to those in need. One person at a time and one village at a time.