Appreciating Diversity Film Series will present an evening of short documentary films, to be shown one-time only in Piedmont on April 25, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.  Refreshments and mingling will begin at 6:30 p.m.  The evening is free to all—no reservations necessary.

Our guest speaker will be Michael Fox, documentary film instructor and film critic at KQED.org/arts, Oakland magazine, and The (East Bay) Monthly.  He will explore how effective stories are told through documentary films.

We will be screening two films by award-winning Bay Area director, Elizabeth Lo.  Her films have been presented in many venues, including Sundance, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and Docfest.  These moving short films shed light on poor communities in California as they navigate the effects of ever-increasing states of inequality.  Hotel 22 follows homeless people in the heart of Silicon Valley as they board a Palo Alto bus.  Mother’s Day examines the impact of incarceration on families, as it follows a bus bringing children to visit their mothers in a women’s prison.

Also on the program is the Oscar-nominated 4.1 Miles.  In this 25-minute film, Bay Area director Daphne Matziaraki follows a day in the life of a captain in the Greek Coast Guard.  Captain Papadopoulos and his crew are caught in the middle of the biggest refugee crisis since WWII.  Despite limited resources, they attempt to save thousands of migrants as they make the perilous 4.1 mile journey by sea from the Turkish Coast.

Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson was commissioned by Starbucks to create the short film “Story of Access.”  The film was shown to Starbucks employees following an incident of racial discrimination in which two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks.  Moving monologues from black Americans describe the emotional toll of having to live their lives aware that others see them as a threat, and the effort it takes to put those others at ease.

Mestizo is a Latinx term meaning mixed-race.  The short Mestizo, by Talon Gonzalez, poses the question, “who are you?” when your family is multi-ethnic, and the impacts on one’s identity.

An Evening of Short Documentary Films will screen FREE:

IN PIEDMONT Thursday, April 25, 2019

@ Ellen Driscoll Playhouse / 325 Highland Ave / Piedmont

6:30 PM Doors Open, Reception

7 – 8:30 PM Screening and Discussion