A filmmaker who challenges the U.S. government's conclusion that breast implants are safe will screen her film and lead a panel discussion in a free event at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Feb. 26.
Carol Ciancutti-Leyva, an independent filmmaker who directed the documentary "Absolutely Safe," notes that 400,000 American women receive breast implants every year. The procedure is increasingly popular, even among high school teenagers, she adds.
The 81-minute film will be shown at 6 p.m. in room W100 of the Bruce Curtis Building, which is between the Economics and Education buildings. It is on campus along Broadway, across from College Avenue, southeast of the Economics Building. Attendees may park in the Euclid Avenue Autopark east of the University Memorial Center at Broadway and Euclid.
At a rally in Washington, D.C., during which women were calling upon the government to require more research on implant safety, Ciancutti-Leyva began filming. She was struck by the similarity of women's experiences. They shared "the same story, the same symptoms, the same despair from women from all walks of life, from all across the country. Was this coincidence?"
In her "director's statement" Ciancutti-Leyva notes her own mother's slowly declining health; her mother received silicon implants in the 1970s and within a year suffered the first of two implant ruptures. Gradually, her mother developed "mysterious symptoms" such as extreme fatigue, chronic rashes, fevers and joint pain, which Ciancutti-Leyva believes are related to the implants.
"I didn't set out to make a film that proved implants were harmful," Ciancutti-Leyva says. "My goal was to make a film that made us all think, question and debate not only breast implant safety but also the quest for perfection and beauty that we all confront at every turn."
In addition to interviews with breast cancer survivors, the film follows two young women who have chosen breast implants for solely cosmetic reasons: one is getting implants and the other is having hers removed.
The film features interviews with plastic surgeons, FDA regulators and outspoken scientists. It documents the labyrinthine FDA approval process for breast implants and investigates the influence of pop culture on societal ideals of beauty.
Joanne Belknap, a CU sociology professor and co-chair of the Chancellor's Committee on Women, organized the screening of "Absolutely Safe." Belknap noted her motivations for hosting the event:
"I'm appalled by how many of our undergrad women have breast implants," she said. "I'm convinced they aren't safe and haven't been tested sufficiently, and when I had breast cancer and a double mastectomy, some of the oncologists and surgeons I went to seemed to think there was something wrong with me for not wanting to get implants."
For more information contact Belknap, professor and associate chair of sociology, at 303-735-2182 or joanne.belknap@colorado.edu. For more information about the film visit .