‘I Got Flowers Today’

April 6, 2009

Cindy Sanabria is a Video Arts Technology (VAT) major, whose film, I Got Flowers Today, was awarded third place in a short film festival for community college students, sponsored by the Broadcast Educational Association (BEA).

The BEA is considered as a critical link between college faculty who teach radio and television professionals working in the broadcasting industry. BEA advances this interaction in order to produce employees with that unique combination of a liberal arts education and the practical skills essential for employment in the radio, television and electronic media industry.

Sanabria will receive a plaque at an award ceremony in Las Vegas, at the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which is taking place on April 21-25.

NAB is a trade association representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States.

Grateful to BMCC
The 32 year-old mother of two children, graduating in the spring of 2009, is grateful to the administration and faculty of the college including Senior Vice President Sadie Bragg, John Gallagher, the Director of the Media Center and Professor Philip Weisman, for sponsoring her trip to the convention where she will receive the award.

Sanabria says, “If it weren’t for BMCC I would not have been able to make this video. I am glad I came here. I have learned so much from the faculty. I am thankful I have been mentored and taught by so many phenomenal professors and instructors. Now I have this goal and I know where I want to go. I really didn’t have that much direction prior to coming to BMCC. I knew I wanted to make films, but now I really understand.”

She is not only a filmmaker, but also the Vice president of BMCC’s Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for community colleges, and an Ambassador for MoneyWorks, a financial literacy program for BMCC students, funded by several foundations.

Domestic violence close to home
Sanabria describes her short film as one about domestic violence. Originally, it was a film project for Professor Weisman’s class, where she was asked to produce a public service announcement.
 
“The reason I chose to do this piece is because I knew someone who was killed by her boyfriend last August,” said Sanabria. There was an article about the young woman in The Daily News and right beside the article was a poem Sanabria thought was written anonymously, but was actually written by Paulette Kelley in 1992 entitled, I Got Flowers Today.

According to Sanabria, the poem was so moving when she read it that she “was compelled to do an enactment of this poem.”

Sanabria admits, “I was a former victim of domestic violence. I was involved in a relationship where I was going through domestic violence for about a year, but I wound up getting out of that. It is an on-going issue that impacts both men and women. I chose to make this video as a statement. You try to convince yourself that this person loves you because they are doing it out of love. Violence is not an act of love. I want the message to be known that there are alternative ways to handle problems and that  the resolution doesn’t have to be violent. I want to stop the violence.”

Sanabria’s future goals
When Sanabria received an email from the BEA that she had won third prize, she was ecstatic, she says. “I was really happy, but it didn’t really sink in. I didn’t enter the festival to win and I didn’t think I would win. My goal was to get as many people as possible to watch the video. It’s the video that I am very proud of.”

After she graduates, Sanabria plans to pursue a film degree, perhaps get her MFA for film or even go for a degree that encompasses photography, film and writing—her three major passions.

Paulette Kelly’s poem, I Got Flowers Today

I got flowers today.
It wasn’t my birthday or any other special day.
We had our first argument last night,
And he said a lot of cruel things that really hurt me.
I know he is sorry and didn’t mean the things he said.
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.
It wasn’t our anniversary or any other special day.
Last night, he threw me into a wall and started to choke me.
It seemed like a nightmare.
I couldn’t believe it was real.
I woke up this morning sore and bruised all over.
I know he must be sorry.
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today,
And it wasn’t Mother’s Day or any other special day.
Last night, he beat me up again.
And it was much worse than all the other times.
If I leave him, what will I do?
How will I take care of my kids?
What about money?
I’m afraid of him and scared to leave.
But I know he must be sorry.
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.
Today was a very special day.
It was the day of my funeral.
Last night, he finally killed me.
He beat me to death.
If only I had gathered enough courage
and strength to leave him,
I would not have gotten flowers…today

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