‘No Way Out But One’ Screened Again: A Follow-Up

Holly Collins with her American children in the Netherlands in 2005. | Photo courtesy of Garland Waller and Barry Nolan

On March 28, I saw No Way Out But One for the second time. This time the screening was sponsored in part by the CAS Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program as a part of Women Take the Reel, a film festival celebrating Women’s History Month through screenings of films written, directed, and/or produced by women.

The 6 p.m. screening included a Q&A featuring Professor Waller; Barry Nolan; Lundy Bancroft, an author and consultant on domestic abuse and child maltreatment; Dr. Eli Newberger, the Collins children’s former pediatrician at Children’s Hospital in Boston; and Holly Ann Collins herself. Robin Young of WBUR’s Here and Now moderated.

Since last December, the documentary has been screened at the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma (IVAT) Conference. It has also won several awards including an Award of Excellence for Feature Documentary from the Accolade Film Awards. At the end of the evening, it was announced that copies of No Way Out But One would soon be distributed to every member of Congress.

Throughout the Q&A, the panelists stressed that while Holly Collins’ story is unique, the situation from which she and her children escaped is not. A few of the panelists cited corruption in the family court system as a key problem; others pointed to lingering traces of misogyny in court practices. They all agreed, however, that we need to first raise awareness of the injustice in the family courts if we want to find a practical solution to the problem.

And Holly Collins? She wants to do more to help others who have been hurt by the family court system, but for now she’s enjoying the wonderful life she’s always wanted.

About Lauren Michael

Lauren Michael (CAS '15) is majoring in international relations and minoring in French. She's working on her Keystone project in the Kilachand Honors College--just ask her about Scotland! She adores The Mountain Goats, the Song of Ice and Fire series, Amsterdam, and a lot of other things. Her goal in life is to flood the Internet with corgis. Watch out. DFTBA!

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One Comment on “‘No Way Out But One’ Screened Again: A Follow-Up”

  1. Lauren, thank you for your commitment to exposing the story of how family courts in America often give custody to abusers. Your clear-headed and thoughtful writing makes such a difference as we reach out to media to get this story told. Thank you.

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