“The strength and power of The 5 Browns are remarkable. In this compelling portrait we learn that these musicians have not only survived the sexual abuse of a parent, but are using their story to illuminate the challenges facing many survivors of sexual abuse in the United States. It is a beautiful film about persistence and truth in life and art.”
—Julianne Moore; Actor, Advocate
“A beautiful portrayal of such darkness and yet such love. It felt so authentic.
The film made me feel less alone.”
—Bridie Farrell
Survivor, Olympic Speed Skater, Founder-NY Loves Kids
“A timely and profoundly moving film—a must see! Desirae, Deondra and Melody
Brown are modern-day heroes—brave and courageous advocates working to shine
a light in dark places to bring about long overdue change.”
—Mary Ellen O’Loughlin
Survivor, Advocate, The Foundation for Survivors of Abuse Board Member
“Well before the #MeToo movement and with the knowledge that their story would
blow up their family and possibly the future of The 5 Browns, these young women, supported by their two brothers, sought legal justice against the worst kind of sexual abuse. All sexual abuse is disdainful and horrific, but being raped by a parent, their father, over a period of years is beyond imaginable. Music was their salvation, the salve that
has helped them on their healing journey. The 5 Browns are heroes for telling the world that this kind of hideous abuse exists, that it can be fought, and that there is recovery.”
—CJ “Kit” Sumner, Survivor, Advocate
Words can’t express how completely blown away I was - it’s an incredible film. Brave, beautiful, thoughtful, important. With it Niles has achieved what so many storytellers hope to in this lifetime—a piece of work that breaks the silence, shatters the comfort and security most of us
take for granted and make us think about one of the deepest darkest stories of human suffering.
—Molly Raskin, Global Mental Health Advocate, Author, “No Better Time”
Ben Niles film, The 5 Browns: Digging Through the Darkness, shines a light on a incredibly difficult subject, offering a timely and profoundly moving look at sibling support and survival while offering a powerful message of healing and hope, telling the story from realization through advocacy in a blend of personal verbal, visual and musical reflections.
—Barbara Benedict
Executive Director, CASANYS-Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of NYS
“Ben Niles has taken an impossibly difficult subject, allowed us to feel
the pain of The Five Browns while we accompany them on their dark journey
into the light, and never once hit a false note. How they must have trusted
him to have opened up as they did.”
—Linda Nelson
“I was completely overwhelmed. It is a brilliant film, from start to finish.”
—Amy Knight, Author
“Such a marvelous blending of multiple stories filled with musical, intellectual,
visual and emotional interactions and reflections. I was unable to leave my seat
and watched it transfixed.”
—Jon Katzenbach, Author