This film is sponsored by Bellevue Hospital. Other serious topics it raises awareness for includes verbal, mental, physical, sexual and emotional abuse; moreover, it includes references to drug and alcohol, postpartum depression and bullying.
Most impressive about this film is that filmmakers Michele Frantzeskos and Nancy Vazquez were from different walks of life, yet they shared the same vision, and got together, in an effort to compose this heart-wrenching script (on a sophisticated topic that is bound to be relatable to many of their viewers).
Aside from serving as writers and directors of the independent film, Vazquez and Frantzeskos also produced and edited the film. In addition, the ladies visited several schools in New York and New Jersey, in an effort to speak to children about bullying and violence.
The Right To Live centers around four couples: three straight married couples and one gay couple, where all of them find themselves in a group counseling session. That is where they meet other people whose compelling stories are told.
They wrote the original song “Wake Up,” in response to the suicides of bullying victims in Staten Island. The film has been nominated for awards for various film festivals (including the Hoboken International Film Fest), and it garnered an award from from Ed Romaine and Dan Paninco from the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County; moreover, The Right To Live was the recipient of the “Audience Choice Award” at the Northeast Film Fest.
