Portland Women's Film Festival 2009

The epic story of a family forced to emigrate from Laos after the chaos of the secret air war waged by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. Kuras has spent the last 23 years chronicling the family's extraordinary journey in this deeply personal, poetic, and emotional film.

This film by local, self-taught, Latina Director, Rebecca Rodriguez was originally released in 2004, won the Best Feature Award at the Reel Women International Film Festival in 2005 and features a soundtrack by Matt Messina – recipient of the 2009 Grammy Award for “Best Compilation” on the JUNO Soundtrack. Rodriguez will be in attendance to discuss the film after the screening. A portion of the proceeds from the evening will benefit a local nonprofit domestic violence service provider. Synopsis: Lily lives a simple life in the Pacific Northwest, far from the dysfunction of her family. A high school dropout and painfully aware of her limited education, she spends hours at the library trying to improve herself. When her older sister Denise arrives from California with an abusive, drug addicted husband and two damaged children in tow, Lily is thrust into a present day version of her own childhood where she comes face to face with her demons and possibility of murder. It is a film about the darkness in a damaged soul, choices that can change everything, and love without exceptions. Sharon M. Vineyard, LMFT New Beginnings Educational Programs* This movie is an accurate portrayal of the effects of childhood abuse on adults that suffered as children. It demonstrates both poles of reactions as an adult in both sisters; one very obvious and not so obvious in Lily, but never the less the damage is there. The various behaviors that are common to unhealthy families are also demonstrated vividly; the cycle of abuse, the difficulty an abused woman has in leaving her abuser, how the children learn to turn a deaf ear, and the distorted thinking of an abuser, to mention a few. This is a thought provoking movie that has left each of my classes in which I have used it, bothered and reflective in their own actions. I plan to use this film as a regular part of my curriculum. I thank you so much for allowing me to use this film in my Batterer's Treatment Program and Child Abuse / Child Endangerment Program. It’s awesome in its purpose.

The Final Inch (37 min) dir. Irene Taylor Brodsky Nearly 50 years after a vaccine for Polio was developed in the United States, the Polio virus still finds refuge in some of the world’s most vulnerable places. Into India’s impoverished neighborhoods, The Final Inch follows the massive – and yet highly personalized - mission to eradicate Polio from the planet. One of history’s most feared diseases, now largely forgotten; Polio has become a disease of the world’s poor. A quiet army goes door-to-door, and slum to slum, to reach the last unvaccinated children. In all, The Final Inch explores how the final days of any endeavor are always the most challenging and is a profound testament to those working on the front lines of public health in the backwaters of our world. Everyone’s stories challenge our most basic assumptions about disease, poverty and our own health as a human right. Smile Pinki (39 minutes) dir. Megan Mylan Smile Pinki is a real-world fairytale about the journey of Pinki and Ghutaru, two children in rural India born desperately poor and with a cleft lip. The simple surgery that can cure them is a distant dream until they meet Pankaj, a social worker traveling village to village, gathering patients for a hospital that provides free surgery to thousands each year. Told in a vibrant verite-style, the film follows its two wide-eyed protagonists on a journey from isolation to embrace. In Hindi with English subtitles.

Director Ida Lupino’s acclaimed 1953 film, “The Bigamist”, is a thoughtful drama about a man divided between two wives: an infertile upper-crust career woman (staid Joan Fontaine), and a tough-talking working-class waitress (Lupino herself, in fine form). Edmond O'Brien stars as the salesman whose secret life threatens to implode under the weight of its own contradictions. The film is a dissection of '50s masculinity and study of male passivity anchored by O'Brien's self-searching voiceover. The film clearly illuminates the limited roles available to women in the context of postwar America.

Producing nearly 60 events per year, ranging from community outreach programs and professional development to pure networking; the public is invited to participate in the dialog about starting a Portland chapter of this global organization