Mitosis shows human potential lost to abortion

Abortion extinguishes unknown potential in unborn lives, newly released short-film Mitosis argues. In addition to demonstrating life’s value, Mitosis also showcases millennials’ ability to impact culture through film.

Eighteen-year-old Hannah Victoria directed Mitosis through Expressionistic Studios, the company she founded in January to tackle messy issues, like abortion, that most films ignore. Produced with $5,200 Victoria raised through a Kickstarter campaign, the studio’s first project tells the story of Anthony Oswald, whose cancer cure depends on a decision that’s not his to make.

A gap in pro-life media addressing the potential of unborn lives inspired Victoria to make Mitosis.

“I’ve always been passionate about the sanctity of life and wanted to capture that passion in an artistic, non-offensive way that everyone can connect with on some level,” Victoria told Live Action News. She previously won a Best Young Filmmaker award for her work on Small Talents.

And Mitosis already has found small success, drawing nearly 24,000 views since its Nov. 21 YouTube release. Victoria said she wanted her film to be free and available to pro-life organizations as a tool to reach their audiences, especially young people.

Thanks to the popularity of Vine, Instagram, and YouTube, film plays an important role in the pro-life movement’s ability to reach millennials. Not only are they more active on social media than older generations, they’re also un-jaded by abortion experiences that can cement pro-abortion views.

“If you get people to see it who are young … and think through [abortion] for the first time, it can be profoundly influential,” Pete Fraser, chairman of Regent University’s Department of Communication & the Arts, told me. “Film provides a unique opportunity to bring about a natural conversation that the other arts don’t have.”

For years, Hollywood films have fostered discussion on various issues, from boxing to racism. But according to Fraser, Hollywood has avoided films over the past 30 years that celebrate family and life.

Talented millennials like Victoria can help create films that promote the sanctity of life, said Kristina Hernandez, director of communications for Students for Life of America (SFLA).

“You’re going to have a lot of good ideas coming from millennials. They’re the ones that have grown up with this medium,” she said. Thought-provoking and gentle films like Mitosis especially impact audiences, she added.

SFLA frequently uses film to reach young people. Recently, it produced a film shedding light on Planned Parenthood’s claim that abortion only comprises 3 percent of its services to women. And SFLA wants to produce more films over the next year to reach broader audiences.

To be effective, Fraser said pro-life films could demonstrate the struggle and sacrifice associated with raising an unexpected child as well as the development of life in the womb. But effective outreach to broad audiences hinges on production quality and subtly conveyed truth.

“The bottom line is you always have to tell the truth,” he said.

Victoria wants more of her contemporaries involved in truth-telling about abortion.

“As young people, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, society’s popular opinion on the sanctity of life is directly affecting our lives in huge ways,” she told Live Action. “It’s time we, as the future leaders of this country, stand up for what we believe and make a positive difference.”