WILD LIFE is also a Bioethics Film for many reasons. Among those is the setting, i.e. the geography. Both Chile and neighboring Argentina lay claim to the region of Patagonia. Patagonia holds some of the world’s regions untouched by humans.
The back story of WILD LIFE is, Chile and Argentina are nations’ whose economies are tightly linked to mineral extraction and forest wood exports. As it happens, the same geographical region is also important for providing a significant portion of the earth’s atmospheric oxygen through tree and plant photosynthesis full September Williams full review click— here.
Join Us - - in Person or on the Book Passage Website
Paula Farmer is force of nature. Looking for a guide to reading and watching relevant new literature. Paula Farmer is a one stop shopping on paper, brick and mortar book store (Book Passage Marin), film commentary, regular Instagram shows with noted Authors and Activist in their films. And I’m not biased because she supports all of my creative work — but cause she’s really good at what she does.
I’ll be there virtually — join us— 3 Days of RACE IN AMERICA She has for several years done a major review of new books and dialog —with authors and readers, live or online. This includes a number of pop up type Instagram shows monthly — you can join in person , or often the chats available after online on the Book Passage website. This is already one of hardest few months of violence in my lived history related to race and class… and its only January. You don’t wanna go there? It means you really should Join us.
The symbolic demonstration occurred for four hours and two minutes—in recognition that those hours and minutes will eventually change the USA and history. Above all else above all else, Cedric O’Bannon’s film AN ACT OF UNITY is a ‘thank you’ from the filmmaker to Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, and African Americans for recognizing the reality of our parallel struggles— and that we can’t win if we don’t do it together…two steps forward and one step back is no longer tenable—if it ever was.
Belinda Hernández Arriaga and Veronica Castillo’s children’s picture book, LOVE AND MONSTERS IN SOFIA’S LIFE, is a bold and beautiful addition to the cannon of children’s literature. That boldness is in prose, art, and therapeutic concept. LOVE AND MONSTERS IN SOFIA’S LIFE acknowledges that adults can try to run away from the reality that their children live in a disparate world — but they cannot hide from it forever.
It is a children’s book for a child, but for parents, older siblings, friends, and teachers— it is a road map. It is a way to build an emotional safety net for children and families who are disproportionately affected, by forced deportation, incarceration, and early death. This book is not for “the faint of heart”.
As a Bioethicist — I am aware that writings on loss involving children usually are directed at parents who loose children. LOVE AND MONSTERS IN SOFIA’S LIFE acknowledges that there are whole generations of children who loose their adults, and siblings, who also need support and protection from the most virulent consequence of their valid fears, the allostatic load of oppression, and potentially devastating grief.
LOVE AND MONSTERS IN SOFIA’S LIFE is available in all the usual places including your local independent book dealer.This is the link for more information about Dr. Belinda Hernández Arriaga’s work.
A Thousand Cuts SPECIAL LIVESTREAM Q&A SUNDAY, AUG. 9, 2020 at 11 AM EDT Go Here You may submit questions for participants Christine Amanpour, director Ramona Diaz & Maria Ressa. Also, you can still see the film during its virtual opening period prior to the Frontline broadcast in January. Here is how:
If you are not familiar with the virtual cinema openings ( hardly anyone is) here is what to do for dditional information on seeing the film A Thousand Cuts - GO HERE: ahead of its FRONTLINE broadcast in January 2021. You will be asked to have your purchase credited to the theater you have chosen in your region, that is, he independent theater where you would have gone to see it near you. It may seem complicated but welcome to “The New Now” now.
More about the film A THOUSAND CUTS:
A THOUSAND CUTS is a film directed by Ramona S. Diaz (IMELDA, MOTHERLAND) and featuring the work of Philipino Journalist Maria Ressa ( CEO of news organization Rappler.)
Nowhere is the worldwide erosion of democracy, fueled by social media disinformation campaigns, more starkly evident than in the authoritarian regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Journalist Maria Ressa places the tools of the free press—and her freedom—on the line in defense of truth and democracy. Cl Click here: Theatrical Release Date August 7, 2020, USA nationwide virtually, Running Time: 98 minutes, Language: English/Tagalog with English Subtitles. Broadcast release —Frontline —early 2021. The theatrical release is virtual and the link above will take you to more information.
This is one to see — my review will follow but I wanted my followers to have a chance to buy tickets from the link on the website for the virtual opening. It is a bone-chilling film and yet so familiar in these times of the USA.
A THOUSAND CUTS produced and directed by Ramona S. Diaz is about the work of journalist Maria Ressa. After studying molecular biology and theater at Princeton she applied for a Fulbright fellowship with which she completed her Masters in Journalism. She has been a journalist in Asia for nearly 35 years. Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the top digital-only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. As Rappler's executive editor and CEO, Maria has endured constant political harassment and arrests by the Duterte government, forced to post bail eight times to stay free. Rappler's battle for truth and democracy is the subject of A Thousand Cuts.
For her courage and work on disinformation and 'fake news,' Maria was named Time Magazine’s 2018 Person of the Year, was among its 100 Most Influential People of 2019, and has also been named one of Time's Most Influential Women of the Century. She was also part of BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 and Prospect magazine's world's top 50 thinkers.
SPLASH MOUNTAIN: INSENSITIVE FUN, Read and see this short film on the Curd Williams-Hertz blog, Unique Realms. As it happens, the entry includes a reference to a photograph of which I own a copy, and just finished hanging in the bathroom of my new apartment. It would seem an odd choice to those who don’t know me well, as other artwork in the room is a Miro poster supporting Human Rights, a copy of a child’s drawing where stick figures overthrow a military tank to end War. Though I do believe that access to clean water for bathing is a human right, this was a light-hearted way of making the point in my bathroom. However — the blog entry on Unique Realms, “Splash Mountain: Insensitive Fun” takes the Human Rights, including the eradication of racism dialog to the next step.. it shows honestly how lights go on in people’s heads that facilitate change that is often for the better. And when Disney reopens with the new Splash Mountain, and maybe you’ll see Curd there commenting on changes for a more just society.
In the film AN EXERCISE IN EMPATHY producer-director and journalist, Cedric O’Bannon features September Williams, MD, Author, Bioethicist, immortalizing her, February 2020 Visit to CSU-Chico. The visit was co-hosted by the CSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the School of Nursing. The work honors researchers, teachers, and healthcare workers on the frontlines of the SARS-CoVID19 Pandemic. For more info and Screener click HERE
I very nearly forgot to fill out my household’s United States Census, amid the struggles around the SARS-CoVID19 pandemic. Maintaining social distance is designed to save lives—not to save money and it will do so—if people work hard to adhere to it during the rising phase of this viral epidemic. The USA census is also designed to save lives. Of course, the devil is in the details of the application. But it starts by “We the people” making sure every member of our nations households are fully counted. It’s not about citizenship, but about the distribution of resources in accordance with humanitarian law which demands every nation provide certain things for those living in it. We see the hell on earth when nations stop doing that. By the way, It took me exactly 10 minutes to fill out the US census. Here is how the census is applied. It determines:
1) The way that federal money is distributed to the citizens of the country at local levels when things work at their best—based on the science of health, welfare and economic parameters—consistent with humanitarian law. That includes providing for local communities schools, roads, public services.
2) Funds for preparing for transportation and emergency readiness.
3) THE NUMBER OF SEATS EACH STATE HAS IN THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND YOUR POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. Have a look and please fill out the census and make sure every member of your household and your family, community and living soul in this nation is counted.
In that obscure way, that I often put things together, I was reminded about a film I reviewed 5 years ago, while completing the last question of the census, That question asks the race of each member of the household is counted. The question is as lousily written this year as those in the past. It mixes up the fallacy of race with ethnicity and nationality all over the place. The film reviewed was Black or White by Mike Bender. The review got picked up by Mixed Race Studies.
It was great to see Kimberly Seals Allers at the California Breastfeeding Coalition Gala where Pauline Sakamoto of Mothers Milk Bank was honored for her amazing work in feeding babies and supporting mothers through the services of the not for profit Milk Banks. Kimberly is a journalist cum health and nutrition educator and activist. She is the author of THE BIG LET DOWN-How Medicine, Big Business, and “Feminism” Undermine Breastfeeding I had the opportunity to meet her while working on The Elephant in the Room: Bioethical Concerns in Human Milk Banking. Thanks to Pauline Sakamoto, I had the opportunity to interview Kimberly when THE BIG LET DOWN was first published and It was a reaffirming experience!
Kimberly Seals Allers is an award-winning journalist, author of five books, international speaker, strategist, and advocate for maternal and infant health. A former senior editor at ESSENCE and writer at FORTUNE magazine, Kimberly is a leading commentator on birth, breastfeeding and motherhood and the intersection of race, policy, and culture. She was the mistress of the ceremony at the gala and struck the right balance between honor and fun!
Read the book and go to the California Breastfeeding Coalition for your marching orders on promoting universal access to breastfeeding, legal and policy initiatives, and breastmilk for babies.
2020 — A time for the long view New Year is here. It seems particularly germane in these turbulent times— sadly I’m old enough to have seen worse. I’m grateful that I am going to have the opportunity to screen WHEN WE ARE ASKED: About Crossing Over at CSU-Chico hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion on February 12, 2020. The origin of the project was because of end of life issues for African Americans — which turned out to be the fountainhead of those issues in society at large. On our way, production funding was held up because the World Trade Center was bombed on 9/11. Now once again recent events causing mass grief, and a greater need for understanding and embracing our common humanity, call out from— war, political strife, and environmental degradation — to the project WHEN WE ARE ASKED: ABOUT CROSSING OVER.
It took a few years after 9/11 but we finally got to the teaching project drawn from three years of footage creating many hours of teaching trigger tapes for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that went on to help train people in Hospice and Palliative Care for years.
Now, many of the people who lived in New York and worked at ground zero are dying, beyond the thousands who died on the day of 9/11 and for whom we all still mourn because of the stuff sensless atrocities leave in their wake. The surviving victims of those attacks are beginning to dye early and badly. People who were first responders have denied the best care in some cases and struggling for coverage for their injuries. KEEP THAT IN MIND WHILE VOTING THIS YEAR.
Five years ago, my editor Sharon Karp and I went into the old footage and some new and created to create the feature-length documentary. WHEN WE ARE ASKED: About Crossing. We had realized how important it was that there was a cross-cultural exchange on death and dying which no one else had achieved with our small crew of three and editor waiting with bated breath for our footage at night. I will be screening this 2015 footage as a guest speaker at the Conversations on Diversity and Inclusion, a series hosted by the CalState-Chico’s office by the same name. I think you will want to support the center —they are doing good work.
Hi, I hope you are all well and beginning a holiday break!
For your Calendar:
September Williams MD-Writer- Filmmaker will be at California State University-Chico (CSU-Chico) speaking and screening her film When We Are Asked: About Crossing Over (WWAA), February 12, 202When We Are asked is a 360 view one-hour documentary narrative about End of Life Issues from the perspective of African Americans and those who are allied and provide care for those who are living until they die. She is presenting as a part of the CSU- CONVERSATIONS ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION series at 12 noon in room BMU 210 and a 6 PM full screening. For more venue information contact CSU-Chico office of diversity and inclusion For more on my screen work at IMDb and for recent film reviews I’ve written go to Bioethics.net.
I’m a great base camp gal. From my view—close to sea level as I can get without being a fish— I dearly love Henri Colt’s short story, ’Never A Coward’ It’s a tale of the complicated relationship between physical challenge in nature and the personal triumph of controlling one’s own demons, especially as we age.
FOR SAMA is a documentary film by International Emmy Award-winning Journalist and film director, Waad Al-Kateab. The project was brought to fruition with co-director Edward Watts. it was my honor to meet Waad and her husband, Dr. Hamid Al-Kateabwho is featured in this astounding work documenting about the core of what it means to resist the degradation of the human spirit with persistent humanity. My full review will follow shortly on bioethics.net. See FOR SAMA’s trailer is here on this blog. I am asking you to support FOR SAMA and human rights and the people in the war-torn Syria. You can increase the power of this film through your viewership. PLEASE SEE FOR SAMA’s WORLD BROADCAST PREMIERE this Tuesday. TOMORROW, November 19, 2019. Check your localFRONTLINEPBS/Channel 4 broadcast: HERE
There is a new very short film on mercury in your body from the Minamata Convention on mercury. There are a whole series of short films on the subject produced by UNESCO with the Convention secretariat. On YouTube under the tag #MakeMercuryHistory there are several short films that might answer questions you have about mercury. People are still asking me about it over the fish couters in various markets.
Remember Governments may come and go, and a million people are tweeting about the USA excutive officer while he gives a life feed speech in Mississippi — but heavy metals are here to stay so the Mercury Convention folks are working internationally to: contain mercury, reduce technology that uses mercury, find alternative technologies to replace them, remediate the environment and the improved or compensate lives that have been damaged by this particular heavy metal. Also, I’ve been updating the Mercury and Minamata Convention on Mercury page of my website. So have a look. And use that #MakeMercuryHistory.
The business of being a writer is much harder than that of being a physician — well on me anyway. They taught me how to practice medicine while have to teach myself or find those to teach me the trade aspects of being a writer.
I wanted to thank all of my family, friends and readers for the outpouring of greetings for my birthday and the support for my work you have shown. Though these are enormously hard times for the nation, the world, the ecology… I am heartened by the interest my peers and my children and therir peers have shown in making the world a better place — PLEASE MAKE TIME AND SPACE TO GET OUT THE VOTE FOR THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS — Which begin in February see https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/elections/2020-presidential-election-calendar.html.
The first Primary/Caucus is in February — only 4 months away. To make the world inch those two steps forward — even if we then go one step back—we have got to get out the vote. I’m looking forward to sharing reviews of 8 films over the next months before Christmas the will help you feel why I believe we really have to make this the focus for the end of the year year. I believe each film I’ve screened for this collection of reviews have profound implications bioethicaly and in terms of what my nephew, grandchildren and baby cousins will be facing. Though I am also busy working on Book II of the Chasing Mercury Toxic Trilogy- Weighing Lead. I consider getting out the vote as a part of that work — because the lead and the mercury cleanup work can’t properly happen under the current political circumstances in our nation.
Meanwhile keep an eye out for the film reviews in the pre film award season screenings — just a heads up —PLAN TO SEE THE FILM ‘JUST MERCY’ on Christmas Day. Everyday someone does the impossible and let it be me and you. I’ve screened Just MERCY and let’s just say —- we pulled off a film industry coup with our support of HIDDEN FIGURES openning on Xmas Day in 2016 — which financially helped fuel STEAM programs but we lost the momentum by loosing a government that cared about STEAM. Let’s support JUST MERCY and work and get a government back that believes in JUST MERCY.I write about films I want to support and I want you to help me support! …Oh yes, and if you haven’t, have a look at my new review on bioethics.net of the film: THE LURE OF THIS LAND directed by Alexandra Lexton. http://www.bioethics.net/2019/10/a-film-review-the-lure-of-this-land/
I really have to stop writing notes late at night! Thanks for reading.
THE LURE OF THIS LAND is a feature length documentary by Alexandra Lexton. Its world premiere was at the Mill Valley Film Festival October 5, 2019. Lexton is a consummate film professional, writer and narrative educator now stepping into the director’s chair. This work expresses a gentle passion for extracting primary motivating forces driving atypical protagonists. THE LURE OF THIS LAND (LOTL) is a filmic exploration of individual autonomy manifested by self-determination through the liberty of movement.
Some people find understanding through technical language and academic conveyance. But almost all people can learn through well-constructed Aristotelian Plot Curves.
Using accurate scientific, medical or other precise technical information to inform fictional narratives is not for the faint of heart. It does not mean “dumbing down” …
