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The San Joaquin Children’s Film Festival
By Dawn | January 28, 2009
(NOTE: I wrote this at the festival and forgot to publish it!)
Today (1/17/09) I arrived in Stockton with my son Rigo and my nephew Teo on a mission to enjoy the San Joaquin Children’s Film Festival, screen GOING ON 13 and sell DVDs.
We are staying in a beautiful hotel on the delta (I think the same delta that had the lost sea lion!) and the boys have come prepared to watch movies and play xbox…it is a long weekend after all. They are great companions and really quite funny. They have already given out more than half of the postcards I brought! Great promo people for a children’s film festival!
We all went to see Darius Goes West. We all were moved by this story of a community of young men on the road to get Darius, a young man from Athens, Georgia with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), to the west coast and get his wheelchair pimped out by “pimp my ride.” The film made us all think about why some places are accessible and others are not and how people who use wheelchairs are seen (or not!) by non-wheelchair using people. My boys were refreshingly conscientious and reflective after seeing the film–WOW that POWER of FILM! I, for one, have decided NEVER to watch Pimp My Ride or MTV again (not tough but I LOVE PMR!!). The producers wouldn’t even consider pimping Darius’ wheelchair! How jacked up is that? With that simple move they could have educated a whole new generation about DMD and done a world of good towards raising awareness and finding a cure. Sometimes I wonder if all of the money and ego in the media just makes people ill!
Tomorrow we screen the film. There is a buzz in Stockton! I’ve met great people so far and the festival director, Sophoan, is just a great guy! A real visionary. It is an honor to be here. I’ve met a couple of people who’s family members are or were farmworkers. My mom and her family were all farmworkers and I truly appreciate the labor and sacrifices of their lives. I and most of my friends are really wimps in comparison.
Time to get the boys off the IV of TV! I’ll post tomorrow but check out the links!
Dawn
Topics: Birthdays, California, Central Valley, aspirations, being 13, documentaries, festivals |
Hi there. Are you able to send me another copy of the film? I never watched it in its entirety and thought that I’d finally do so in my Psychology of Women and Girls class in a couple of weeks, but now I can’t find my copy. Thanks so much if you can send me another
Posted by: Sharon Lamb on February 9th, 2009 at 1:24 am56 Dorset Hill Lane Shelburne VT 05482
If I find mine, I’ll send the replacement back to you. Congratulations,too! SHaron