New Documentary Puts Spotlight On Women's Rights

BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette joined filmmaker Kamala Lopez in Beverly Hills on Friday to host a private screening of the new documentary "Equal Means Equal."

The movie addresses gender inequality in America and features women's rights activists, leaders and survivors.

Lopez spent nearly a decade looking at women's rights. "when I found out women are still not equal in our Constitution, first it confused me. I thought I was crazy. I was like: 'Come on! That's not really possible.' Wait a minute. Not only is it possible, no body seems to know about it," Lopez said.

That is why she wanted to make a difference and set out to make the movie, featuring women's rights activists, including the "CSI: Cyber" star. Arquette brought wage inequality to the forefront after calling for equal pay during her 2015 Oscar acceptance speech, which inspired one of the toughest equal-pay laws in the nation.

"I'm happy that we spoke up. I felt like I was just opening my mouth and talking a lot of work a lot of other people have been doing for decades," Arquette said.

This film also examines sexual assault and rape, pregnancy discrimination, domestic violence, female poverty and homelessness among other female-related topics.

"Kamala started looking at all these issues, brought together all these incredible activists. And this movie is infuriating. I really look at it more than entertainment. It's a re-education," the star added.

Lopez admitted that it was eye-opening and got choked up as she said: "Mostly the little girls is the worst part because they're criminalized; they're abused then they're incarcerated; they're reabused."

The filmmaker said she hopes her documentary will help change laws and mind sets. "My message is that there is hope. There is an answer, and we're going to fix this, and we're going to get you equal rights."