Angela Shelton’s strength and happiness vibrated off her summer blue hoop earrings and matching hair clip, while her green shirt matched her green eyes and glowing smile as she stood before the crowd inside Foellinger Auditorium Monday night.

Shelton said there were times when she wouldn’t have thought to dress in bright colors, but instead to dress in her usual dark clothing with matching punk lipstick. But this was all before her healing came.

In the midst of Sexual Awareness month, the UIUC and Champaign County Chapters of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Illini Union Board Women’s Lectures Committee hosted a free movie screening of Searching for Angela Shelton to raise awareness of sexual assault.

Lea Marcou, senior in LAS, and Stephanie Rehani, freshman in LAS, helped organize the screening as members of the University Chapter of NOW. Rehani said Shelton was very inspiring and made her want to become an activist so she can help discuss the issue in hopes of preventing it.

“People take the attitude that it will never happen to them. I think people will be surprised on how common (sexual abuse) occurs,” Marcou said.

Shelton, who was molested by her father, decided to make a documentary on every woman named Angela Shelton who ever had been sexually assaulted. She said 24 of the 40 Angela Sheltons that responded to her phone calls and agreed to take part in the film were either raped or beaten once.

Shelton said she believes the only way to stop and prevent sexual abuse is to talk about it. She is one of many women who have taken a personal and tragic experience and turned it into a beneficial and positive aspect for women to learn from and protect themselves.

Shelton said the film actually led her to confront her own father, which ironically happened on Father’s Day. Because her father threatened to sue her if he was featured in her documentary, Shelton and the producers decided to blot his face. However, Shelton said the threat actually gave her film more power because sexual assault victims told her later that they envision the blurred face to be their perpetrator in their minds, which helped them in healing.

IUB advisor Natalie Davis said the organization helped fund the presentation because Shelton also stresses that sexual abuse is not only a women’s issue. Shelton said she has gotten responses from men who were abused, as well.

Davis said men rarely want to talk about being sexually abused because of how society defines sexuality and because it makes them feel like lesser men.

Shelton said she is overwhelmed at how people have responded to the film. She said people have called and said, “I didn’t kill myself today because of you.” Because of such reactions, she said she knows the movie is bigger than her.

“This is God’s movie,” Shelton said.

Alexis Cervantes, junior in LAS, said she came to watch Shelton’s film because she is minoring in gender and woman studies and wanted to get a better understanding of the issue.

“I just wanted to relate to the issue on a personal level because it’s a lot better than reading facts,” Cervantes said.

Shelton said she believes the film is “a cathartic piece that serves as the stepping stone for survivors to heal.” She said the film profiles horrifying experiences that might depress and sadden the audience. But she said she didn’t want the audience to dwell on the pain.

“I’m standing here and I’m still alive,” Shelton said.