FREE screening of poignant, insightful, and topical films on themes related to diversity, inclusion and equity.

Third Season of Diversity Film Series Starts In October 2019

October's Kick-Off Features CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion

(Edmonds, WA) - The Edmonds Diversity Film Series begins its third season this month, with

the first screenings on Saturday, October 19h

at Noon at the Edmonds Theater. Screenings will

be offered FREE to the public and are scheduled for the third Saturdays of the month, October

through April (except December). Each screening presents a film, or films, related to different

topics or groups representing diverse populations and experiences. After each screening there

is a brief opportunity for comment and dialogue.

CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion kicks the season off on October 19th, a film about disabilities

portrayed within the Hollywood movie industry, featuring such Hollywood heavyweights as

Jamie Foxx, Jane Seymour, Ben Affleck and Geena Davis among others. Filmmaker Jenni Gold

explores disability story lines in film, television and advertising to see if the media have helped

societal inclusion for people with disabilities.

On November 16th, Lioness presents the untold story of the first group of women soldiers in

US history to be sent into direct ground combat, in violation of official policy. Told through

intimate accounts, journal excerpts, archive footage, as well as interviews with military

commanders, the film follows five women who served together for a year in Iraq. With

captivating detail, this probing documentary reveals the unexpected course of events that

began with using US women soldiers to defuse tensions with local civilians, but resulted in the

women fighting in some of the bloodiest counter-insurgency battles of the war.

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This movie will be followed by the short, Charlie & Sam. This movie delves into the World War

II generation and their life and wartime experience by showcasing a reunion of two WWII vets

for a final farewell.

With a break for the holidays in December, the Series picks up again in the New Year.

On January 18, 2020, The Florida Project, is an award-winning portrayal of a single mother and

children eking out an existence in the shadow of the most magical place on Earth, Disneyworld.

Six-year-old Moonee and her two best friends forge their own adventures, while Moonee's

struggling mom and William Dafoe as a kind-hearted motel manager, protect the kids from the

harsh reality that surrounds them.

On February 15, 2020, the movie 13th is a 2016 American documentary by director Ava

DuVernay. The film explores the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the

United States.” It is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution which

abolished slavery and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a

crime. DuVernay contends that slavery has been perpetuated since the end of the Civil

War through criminalizing behavior and enabling police to arrest poor freedmen and force

them to work for the state under convict leasing; suppression of African Americans

by disenfranchisement, lynchings and Jim Crow; politicians declaring a war on drugs that weigh

more heavily on minority communities and, by the late 20th century, mass incarceration of

people of color in the United States.

March 21, 2020 features In the Family. Beginning with her story of testing positive for the

familial breast cancer mutation (BRCA), Filmmaker Joanna Rudnick chronicles the lives of

several women currently undergoing the process of genetic testing -- following them from their

decision to seek testing, through the testing process, and onto the aftermath as they come to

terms with the information they receive.

And to wrap up the season, on April 18, 2020 two movies will be screened:

Fat Boy Chronicles, featuring an overweight teen who focuses on his goals of losing weight and

getting the girl of his dreams despite being teased and tormented by his classmates.

And the short, On Beauty. From Emmy-nominated filmmaker Joanna Rudnick (In the Family)

comes a story about challenging norms and redefining beauty. On Beauty follows fashion

photographer Rick Guidotti, who left the fashion world when he grew frustrated with having to

work within the restrictive parameters of the industry’s standard of beauty. After a chance

encounter with a young woman who had the genetic condition, albinism, Rick refocused his

lens on those too often relegated to the shadows in order to change the way we see and

experience beauty.

More detailed information about the films, including full synopses and movie trailers, is

available at diversity.edmondswa.gov All movies are free to the public and are screened at

Noon at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main Street, an ADA-accessible facility.

The Edmonds Diversity Film Series is sponsored by the Edmonds Diversity Commission, Rick

Steves’ Europe, MyEdmondsNews, the Edmonds Centers for the Arts, and the Edmonds

Theater.