“Follow the Silenced” to Premiere Saturday

by Sharon Rondeau

(Mar. 14, 2025) — Del Bigtree of “The Highwire” has released a substantial preview of a new film, “Follow the Silenced,” to be premiered at the Santa Monica International Film Festival Saturday for those who can attend in person.

The film will be shown, along with several others, between 11:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. PDT at the DGA Complex, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046.

For those unable to attend in person, streaming of the films is available on a-pay-per-view basis.

The documentary features the story of Brianne Dressen, a former preschool teacher who participated in the U.S. trial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, after which she became completely disabled. Despite the severity of her symptoms and inability to resume normal life, Dressen was determined to not only help others in similar situations, but also to elevate the issue in the public sphere.

In 2021, Dressen co-founded react19.org, which contains a myriad of reports of severe injuries and deaths occurring after Covid-19 vaccination as well as resources for those struggling to recover.

Information is also available to caregivers and physicians wishing to be part of the solution.

Dressen is the subject of the book “Worth a Shot?: Secrets of the Clinical Trial Participant Who Inspired a Global Movement” by Caroline Pover published in November.

“For the past three years, a film crew has been intimately documenting the lives of everyday Americans who have been seriously injured immediately following their COVID-19 vaccination,” the film’s website states. “In the process of documenting these diverse stories across the United States, the filmmakers uncovered a larger story behind a successful campaign to conceal the true scope of injuries from these vaccines.”

On Monday, co-producer Mikki Willis was interviewed by KHTS Radio during which he said the film’s purpose is to “give them [the vaccine-injured] a voice.”

Early in the conversation, one of the hosts revealed he is “permanently” injured from having taken the shingles vaccine in 2019.

Willis said Dressen and others “started to fight for themselves” as they collaborated over the internet about their vaccine reactions in the early days of their afflictions. “They went up against the FDA and all the corrupt forces that have been infiltrated by people that are doing the opposite of what those organizations are supposed to [inaudible] protect our health…We have footage of heads of FDA all in this film caught in lies, and to see the games they play and how they went out of their way to deny these people…the good news is because of the fight and the courage of this group, react19, there’s a lot of good change happening right now…”

Films to Willis’s credit are “The Great Awakening,” the third film in the series “Plandemic,” which has been made into a musical. He is also the author of the upcoming book, “Bad Medicine: How COVID Protocols Turned Hospitals into Death Traps.”

Willis is the founder of Elevate, a production company located in Ojai, CA, which says its “portfolio includes feature films, record setting network TV specials, commercials, and music videos for multi-platinum artists. Our clients include some of the world’s foremost scientists, futurists, evolutionary experts, and best selling authors. We are totally committed to using the awesome power of movies and viral media to activate real and lasting change – to bridge ancient wisdom with modern technology – to share stories that deserve a voice – to champion worthy causes – to amplify the good news of the world –  and of course… to ELEVATE!”

The other co-producer of the film, Texans for Vaccine Choice, seeks to have all vaccine mandates in Texas abolished.

Beginning in 2022, Dressen testified at roundtable discussions held by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) about her injury and the widespread censorship and denial she experienced. She has since filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca represented by Atty. Aaron Siri, who has litigated and won several cases against the CDC and FDA for the release of documents.

At 6:47 in his March 6 broadcast, Bigtree interviewed the film’s director, Matthew Lynn Guthrie, who said the film’s subject “is the most impossible story to tell because it’s a puzzle in ten dimensions.”

A “much bigger perspective” is needed to “build” a “discernible narrative” in a documentary, he observed.

Filming Guthrie said, began in August 2021 and concluded in late 2023, after he and colleague Tyler Lindsay spent “18 hours a day” working on it.

He described Willis as “one of the greatest filmmakers alive today.”

“I sat and cried with every single one of these people,” he said of the injured he interviewed.

“The truth matters no matter what it costs,” he said. “We didn’t care what it cost us.”

As to what its popular appeal might be, the film is “giving you the whole story,” he told Bigtree, going beyond the injuries the vaccinated suffered. “The film shows you what the government did.”

As of “late 2020,” he said, when “the nurses and doctors were getting the vaccine,” “injuries were already starting…” He cited “a number of emails” released from government officials, he said.

Some of the injured were brought to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Guthrie said, to have their adverse effects “treated and studied.” “Where was that in the news?” he posed to Bigtree. “When did the public get to find out about these things?”

Those who became ill sought to have U.S. health agencies fully inform the public of the risks of the shots, he maintained, not to deny anyone’s right to obtain them.

On Thursday, the Substack “A Midwestern Doctor” wrote of “Follow the Silenced”:

After watching it, I realized the documentary accomplished two things that are quite challenging to do: provide a clear window into what the vaccine injured are really going through and piece together how an inconceivable catastrophe like this could have ever happened

…Since the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines were quite poor and much remained uncertain, one of the industry’s greatest challenges thus was ensuring people would take them. As such, the standard protections were quickly eliminated (e.g., the regulators green-lighted the vaccines regardless of the issues brought to their attention, and the COVID vaccines were given complete immunity from lawsuits).

Also on Thursday, Dressen posted on her X account:

Over the last couple of weeks my body has been sitting on the edge, headed for a really bad flair, which finally happened.

The symptoms that came on were alarming, largely because they were all symptoms gone three years ago. It also was a hard reality check that I don’t actually have any control over my condition.

Just like everyone else with vaccine injury, I have days where I know I can do this! Then there are days where I am overwhelmed by the fact that my body is once again overcome by a barrage of painful symptoms.

Two days ago I made it from my bed, to the floor of my closet, then to the floor in the hall outside my bedroom, before just going back to my bed. Failed walking, even taking a shower. Brain vibrations were so bad I was counting down the hours until I could take meds to try to sleep.

Yesterday was a little better, a shower happened, but that was about it. A few phone calls but each and every word uttered, my brain buzzed a little bit more. So I finally broke down and looked way back to four years ago when this was going on and realized I was taking a few heavy duty drugs back then. The key was it made this nightmare bearable.

So I started up 5mg of Doxepin. This is a very powerful antihistamine and targets neuro inflammation in a specific way. I was shocked that last night my heart stabilized for the first time in weeks and the brain buzzing finally eased. I slept for the first time in a very long time.

Today my body is now in full recovery mode, exhausted from the constant battle between my heart and the vibrations. Both of which have finally dialed back a bit tonight, to be bearable. I guess I am sharing this because this has been a really challenging reality check. Our community often look to me for all the answers and hope, but I’m just like everyone else. The symptoms that came back definitely scared me, and forced me to realize once again that I do not have control over this disease.

Enduring vaccine injury goes far beyond conquering physical pain. It is equally mental and spiritual. The only way out is through. To surrender. To do my best to accept the present moment, and hope for better days.

Am I out of the woods? Not even close, but today was better than two days ago, and I have hope for better days ahead.

Following Saturday’s screening, there will be a “VIP” reception and panel discussion in which Willis, Guthrie, Dressen, entrepreneur and Vaccine Safety Research Foundation (VSRF) founder Steve Kirsch will participate, with Livio Sanchez moderating.

On his Thursday night broadcast, Kirsch hosted Guthrie and Willis to speak about the screening.