Portland Women's Film Festival 2009

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.

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.