Monthly Archives: February 2016

Amazing women: raising my daughter on LUNAFEST

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Everyone has inside of her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is. – Anne Frank, German-born diarist and writer

My daughter doesn’t fully know it yet, but she’s lucky that I’m part of the LUNAFEST East Bay Committee. The weekend before our monthly Monday meetings, she happily – most of the time – bakes cookies for me to bring. And everyone on the committee loves them. She thinks of this as doing a favor for her mom, but the act is really an extension of her giving self. She and her friends try to do monthly bake sales to raise money for the Milo Foundation, which rescues dogs and cats and finds their forever homes for them. So she’s exhibiting her giving self by baking cookies or a wine cake for a worthy nonprofit. Since she was very young, she has had a big heart for all animals and cares about the world, our environment.

Isabella getting ready to sell raffle tickets at the VIP event with classmates Wyatt and Mateo.

Isabella getting ready to sell raffle tickets at the LUNAFEST VIP event with classmates Wyatt and Mateo.

She also volunteers at our LUNAFEST VIP event held right before the evening’s screening of short films “by, for, about women.” While selling raffle tickets is not exactly what she wants to be doing on a Saturday late afternoon, she’s learning valuable skills that will serve her well when she’s a young adult – being assertive, presenting oneself before others, being persuasive. But most importantly at the VIP event, she’s listening and learning. It’s important to have great role models around you and to find out what they do, which expands your world of what is possible, what you can dream about, and how you can make that dream a reality. She’s surrounded by the wonderful, hardworking women on the LUNAFEST East Bay committee and sees their commitment to women’s health issues and in support of women’s creativity and their uphill battle in gaining equality in the filmmaking industry. Last year, we were honored to have two of the LUNAFEST filmmakers attend the VIP event and the screening. I am lucky because one of my roles with the LUNAFEST East Bay committee is to interview and write profiles of these talented and visionary women. Everyone’s life is different, the motivations come from myriad places of inspiration, and the journey, whether rocky or charmed, is the story itself.

Me, Isabella, and Rex in February 2012.

Isabella, Rex, and me in February 2012.

Isabella reading to her rabbit Pudding, February 2015.

Isabella reading to her rabbit Pudding, February 2015.

While Isabella doesn’t understand everything in these profiles, I share them with her to show her what is possible. I was particularly drawn this year to Hanna Maylett’s description of Jane Campion’s autobiographical film about the New Zealand writer Janet Frame, which was her inspiration as a filmmaker: “Campion’s film told about a woman’s vulnerability as a creative strength.” This speaks to me because aside from being a creative and artistic being, Isabella is passionate, compassionate, empathetic, idealistic, and sensitive. Sometimes – many times – those traits can be used against a person. That’s why I love this idea of a woman’s vulnerability being a creative strength. It’s a way of looking at and interacting within the world in a positive way. I’ve learned so much from interviewing these women, and I’m hoping Isabella finds the profiles interesting today and inspirational as she matures. I hope she remembers these women and their stories and their vision when she begins her journey of self-discovery.

Fascinated with her leopard gecko Puntos, 2011.

Fascinated with her leopard gecko Puntos, 2011.

Isabella and her rabbit May, November 2015.

Isabella and her rabbit May, November 2015.

December 2012 birthday girl with Rex.

December 2012 birthday girl with Rex.

In that same tact as older generations telling the younger generation what they lived without, what they didn’t have, I’m sincere when I tell her that when I was growing up, there were few role models and even fewer windows and doors to open that would show me a world far beyond my simple, rural upbringing. This, of course, will be lost on her right now because this is what she’s come to expect out of her young life. While it would be great to appreciate it at this age, it’s expecting too much. I know that somewhere all of this information is being stored in her head, and she’ll have that ah-ha moment when she discovers what her passion is, what her gift to the world will be.

Isabella with Rex on his last car ride, November 20, 2015.

Isabella with Rex on his last car ride, November 20, 2015.

LUNAFEST East Bay was especially honored last year to have Jeanne Rizzo, CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund, come to our VIP event and serve as our keynote speaker. Jeanne is dynamic and passionate about everything. She has done so much with her life. And if there were a handful of women I’d pick to have my daughter grow up around, one of them would definitely be Jeanne. Read about her and you’ll know why. Isabella knows we raise money for the Breast Cancer Fund. Her paternal great-grandmother and great aunt died of breast cancer. Her paternal grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. She understands the importance of raising funds for the Breast Cancer Fund to conduct research and advocacy work that will help “to prevent breast cancer by eliminating our exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation linked to the disease.”

May 2014, Isabella and her love of horses.

May 2014, Isabella and her love of horses.

Isabella turned 13 this past December, and next month she will already be attending her third LUNAFEST. She’s been able to sit with friends of hers who are also attending with their moms for a mother/daughter night out. So Isabella’s seen a handful of short films – animation, documentary, fiction – written and directed by women who are driven to tell their stories and other people’s stories in their unique viewpoint. Isabella loves to write stories, so I know she’ll appreciate being around such creativity.

Our Leaning Tower of Pisa selfie, June 2015.

Our Leaning Tower of Pisa selfie, June 2015.

It’s a time for us. Even though I’m running around the night of the event, it’s something that we share and have memories of together. As she grows older and, like the tide, feels the inevitable pull elsewhere, I’m grateful to be sharing one of my passions with her.

Isabella's contribution to her class's Valentine's Day booklet, February 14, 2011.

Isabella’s contribution to her class’s Valentine’s Day booklet, February 14, 2011.

Our selfie after a day together in San Francisco, October 2015.

Our selfie after a day together in San Francisco, October 2015.

Anna Schumacher: exploring and experimenting through film

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Art is communication.
– Madeleine L’Engle, American writer, from Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

Anna Schumacher (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Anna Schumacher (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

When filmmaker Anna Schumacher attended the premiere of a Deaf-made film in St. Louis in early 2013, she met Annette Nitko, a Deaf breast cancer survivor. At the time Annette was diagnosed seven years ago, there were no support groups for Deaf and hard-of-hearing breast cancer patients at all in the country. So Annette started her own support group called Pink Wings of Hope. “I was very inspired by this story,” Anna said – and for two important reasons. Anna’s maternal grandmother, whom she was very close to, battled breast and lung cancer. When her grandmother passed away 15 years ago, she got involved with various cancer awareness/education, advocacy, and fundraising efforts, including being captain of her Relay for Life walkathon team. Anna is also fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), has deep roots with the Deaf West Theatre, a theatre group that presents its productions in ASL, and has many close friends and industry colleagues who are Deaf.

Amber Zion, the actress who portrays June, shares a laugh while taking a break from filming (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Amber Zion, the actress who portrays June, shares a laugh while taking a break from filming (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Anna and Ruan setting up the opening scene of Finding June (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Anna and Ruan, her director of photography, setting up the opening scene of Finding June (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Annette’s story made Anna think about how alienating it must be for a Deaf breast cancer patient to attend a support group with an interpreter, and it became the inspiration for her second short film. “On the one hand, you’re sitting in a room full of women who understand what it feels like to be in your position,” Anna noted. “But on the other hand, there is so much of what your life is like that they can’t possibly understand. There’s a disconnect.” In Finding June, she explores how we can be connected without language. Anna’s short film is one of six chosen for this year’s LUNAFEST, the national traveling film festival “by, for, about women” that raises funds for local charities and its main beneficiary, the Breast Cancer Fund.

Anna, Ruan, and Joel looking over a shot (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Anna and her colleagues Ruan and Joel looking over a shot (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

“I really hope that after people see this film, the next time they’re in line at the post office or at a coffee shop and see someone signing they will change how they view that person,” Anna said. “I hope to make people be aware of all the tiny moments that we so rarely pause at and have an ah-ha moment.” Referring to the scenes at the campfire and when the main protagonist, June, is holding her brother’s hand, Anna pointed out, “Those small scenes matter. There’s no start-to-finish with them, but they’re there.”

Cast and crew behind the scenes (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Cast and crew behind the scenes (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Finding Anna
The Kensington, California, native got involved in theatre when she was a student at Portola (now Fred T. Korematsu) Middle School in El Cerrito. “It was such a good place for me to feel connected, and it’s something that I carried with me to college,” Anna related. When she attended the University of California at Davis to pursue theatre arts, she found out what didn’t work for her. “I quickly realized that I, as an artist, didn’t really fit into a lot of mainstream and contemporary theatre,” she explained. While she respected those who did, she gravitated to the MFA students who were doing experimental theatre and had “more space to play around.”

“That spoke to me. We could mix media with our performance. You can have a show over video or have movement with dialogue – just more avenues to tell a story within one performance experience,” Anna explained. “I knew that I wanted to be a performer, but I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to look like.”

The cARTel team after the 5th No Budget Film Festival.

The cARTel team after the 5th No Budget Film Festival.

After graduating with a BA in theatre, Anna returned to the Bay Area but was still interested in continuing her education. She enrolled in an ASL class taught by Rory Osbrink at Berkeley City College and was “immediately hooked” on the first day. “I fell in love with the language,” she enthused. “It’s a very grammatically and syntactically complex language, but it’s a visual language. You’re actually painting pictures and playing with the physical space as you communicate.” And as a theatre person, it made perfect sense that she embraced ASL. Osbrink encouraged Anna to volunteer at the Fremont School for the Deaf, where she also took a Deaf studies class taught by Osbrink, who runs the school’s bilingual education department. In her cultural studies class, she was awakened to the marginalization of Deaf people and the concept of allyship, an evolving relationship built upon trust, compassion, accountability, and responsiveness between someone who is in a marginalized group and someone who is outside of that group.

Osbrink told Anna about Deaf West Theatre, whose productions are accessible to both hearing and Deaf audiences by way of double-casting via sign language or super-titles projected on the stage. She moved to Los Angeles and found work at the theatre group and later as an interpreter for a Deaf actor who was cast in the ABC television show Switched at Birth. While on set, Anna learned a lot about production, especially lighting. Through her connections with Deaf West Theatre, she was introduced to Ahimsa Collective, now called cARTel: Collaborative Arts LA, an arts and entertainment company that comprises a performance ensemble, clowning troupe, film and music festival, and an art party of commissioned installation work. Under cARTel, Anna worked as a performer, clown, clown-workshop teacher, and visual artist.

We, Seahorses official selection poster for the No Budget Film Festival.

We, Seahorses official selection poster for the No Budget Film Festival.

Becoming the filmmaker: We, Seahorses
When cARTel hosted the No Budget Film Festival, Anna decided to submit what would be her first short film, We, Seahorses, and enlisted the help of friends. “There was no pressure because nobody had spent very much money on their films,” she explained. Not only did cARTel offer her artistic freedom and support, but its filmmakers served as mentors for Anna. Her cast included Deaf characters, so Anna reached out to her Deaf friends, who pored over the script. Her friend, Ruan Du Plessis, who is also Deaf and a fellow filmmaker, served as her director of photography (DP). (He also was DP for Finding June.) Deaf filmmaker Jules Dameron served as script translator. The cast spent a long time breaking down who the characters were, how they might sign, and how they sign with various people. “Deaf folks who have a Deaf family have a different linguistic approach to language that those who have a more English-based language development, or a more oral-language background,” Ann explained. On the other hand, hearing signers who have Deaf parents sign differently that those who learned later in life. How ASL is used in conversation depends on these and other factors, including whom the signers are interacting with, which is also factor with spoken language.

Celebrating winning the Cinematography award at the 2013 No Budget Film Festival, left to right, We, Seahorses actress Lexi Marman and her husband Justin, Anna, and Ruan.

Celebrating winning the Cinematography award at the 2013 No Budget Film Festival, left to right, We, Seahorses actress Lexi Marman and her husband Justin, Anna, and Ruan.

“I enjoy the process of not feeling confined to a certain narrative structure or performance format – like a two-act play – all the time,” she said, of the process of writing the script. “I like thinking and knowing early on that you don’t always have to fit into that box.” Anna experimented with flashbacks, flash forwards, and frozen memories to tell the story of how we attach ourselves to things for better or worse and the difficult transition that follows when that attachment is severed. “I played around with the rules around making a piece of art beforehand, which made me feel confident in doing that in the film,” she explained. Anna’s first effort won a festival award in Cinematography with Ruan. The experience emboldened her to make her second film, Finding June, whose musical score was composed by her long-time best friend and fellow El Cerrito High School graduate Matt Takimoto.

Anna and Ruan looking over the shot-list for the day (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Anna and Ruan looking over the shot-list for the day (photo credit: Talia J. Photography).

Anna is currently in pre-production as an actor in a couple of films being made by friends. She is also working on two short films of her own – one explores the lives of several characters who cross paths throughout the queer community and the other is experimental, involving voiceover manipulation and music installations. This time around, she’s writing grants to fund her projects.

Filmmaker Anna Schumacher.

Filmmaker Anna Schumacher.

You are what you do
Anna has taken a circuitous route to becoming a filmmaker. When people ask if she’s a writer or an actor, she takes to heart what her friend Chase once said to her: “If you like the thing and you do the thing, then you are the thing.” This piece of advice has come in handy. “You don’t have to explain yourself,” she said, with this new mindset. And it’s the advice she offers to others: “Don’t make apologies for what you want to do and how you want to do it.” As a filmmaker, she’s experienced trying times, but Anna approaches these difficulties by acknowledging the uncomfortable feelings, saving them for future inspiration, and carrying on. “All those feelings will then be the next project – the next film or painting or music,” she said. “It’s all a big circle – the constant process to make the project that you want, which will show itself when it’s ready to show itself. This is not to be apologized for or explained away. You don’t have to convince anyone of anything.” With two successful short films under the belt, Anna, indeed, doesn’t need to persuade anyone of her creative capabilities.

Note: You can see Anna’s short film at LUNAFEST East Bay’s screening on Saturday, March 19th, 7:30pm, at the El Cerrito High School’s Performing Arts Theater. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

LUNAFEST: ladies’ night out

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Girls, y’all got one
A night that’s special everywhere
From New York to Hollywood
It’s ladies night and girl the feeling’s good
 – Kool & The Gang, from Ladies Night

Today is Galentine’s Day, a day where you meet up with your girlfriends at a restaurant and have a gals-only leisurely breakfast. No cooking or baking. No clean-up. Much-needed R&R. Who needs Valentine’s Day when you have Galentine’s Day? But once this special occasion day is over, it doesn’t mean you have to wait until February 13th to have an annual get-together with your girlfriends.

Think ahead to March 19th, and start planning a fabulous Ladies’ Night Out. Make a long list. Pick up the phone. Blast an e-mail. Send out a text. Gather all of your girlfriends and tell them about LUNAFEST – a traveling film festival of award-winning short films “by, for and about women.” LUNAFEST seeks to “connect women through film,” which makes it the perfect destination for you and your women friends.

LUNAFEST premiere, September 2013. An awesome women filmmakers' night!

LUNAFEST premiere, September 2013. An awesome women filmmakers’ night!

But the film festival is more than just a fun night out, though there is a lot of emphasis on fun. Established in 2000 by LUNA, makers of the Whole Nutrition Bar for Women, the film festival raises funds for its main beneficiary, The Breast Cancer Fund, a national organization dedicated to “preventing breast cancer by eliminating our exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation linked to the disease.” When organizations across the country host their LUNAFEST film festival, they also support local nonprofit groups. So when you attend, you’re supporting a community-wide fundraising event. The LUNAFEST East Bay Organizing Committee, in its ninth year, is raising funds for the El Cerrito Community Foundation and El Cerrito High School’s Information Technology Academy (ITA), a small learning community supported by the nonprofit organization, TechFutures. ITA integrates core academic classes with the technology field, comprising digital art, web design, and computer systems management.

LUNAFEST ladies' night at the 2014 premiere in San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts.

LUNAFEST East Bay Committee’s ladies’ night at the 2014 premiere in San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts.

For the third straight year, we’re hosting a dessert circle after the film screening. Local small-business Braxtons’ Boxes will be tempting you and your friends with cookies and cupcakes. Well-Grounded Tea & Coffee Bar (6925 Stockton Avenue, El Cerrito, CA) is graciously donating complimentary decaffeinated and regular coffee, completing the local community aspect of LUNAFEST in the East Bay.

Get inspired by the filmmakers’ unique visions and artistry. Support worthy causes and organizations. Seek elimination of breast cancer. Commune with your girlfriends. Meet new friends. Be a part of the local and larger community. Prepare to be delighted, touched, and engaged. All in one magical evening.

Women filmmakers and performers at the 2014 LUNAFEST premiere in San Francisco.

Women filmmakers and performers at the 2014 LUNAFEST premiere in San Francisco.

Doors open at 7pm, with the event starting at 7:30pm, at the El Cerrito High School’s Performing Arts Center, 540 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

 

Sarah Feeley: opening people’s minds through film

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A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.
 – Alan Rickman, British actor and director

Sarah Feeley at Well Grounded Tea & Coffee Bar, El Cerrito, CA.

Sarah Feeley at Well Grounded Tea & Coffee Bar, El Cerrito, CA.

In 2010, reporting of LGTBQ (lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer) suicides in the U.S. spiked in the media. The following year, a National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that a staggering 41 percent of transgender and gender non-conforming people had attempted suicide, compared to a national average of 4.6 percent. Furthermore, more than 50 percent of transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday, according to the national Youth Suicide Prevention Program. “It [the phenomenon] was so heartbreaking, that I really wanted to do something about it,” filmmaker Sarah Feeley told me in a recent interview. She wanted to know where the positive stories were, finding answers to the question: “Where are the parents who are lovingly and supportively raising LGBTQ youth?”

Still from Raising Ryland (photo credit: Mile Marker Entertainment).

Still from Raising Ryland (photo credit: Mile Marker Entertainment).

So Sarah went in search of these parents and these families. Among the “amazing group of parents” she met, Hillary Whittington came forward, wanting to share her story, along with her husband, Jeff, and their child. Thus began Sarah’s journey to make the documentary short, Raising Ryland, which was chosen as one of six films for this year’s LUNAFEST film festival. When Sarah set out to make the film, she wanted to “make a difference in one child’s life,” which would define the ultimate success of the film.

The Whittington family (photo credit Vikki Dinh).

The Whittington family (photo credit: Vikki Dinh).

A year and a half into the project, CNN Films contacted Sarah. CNN Films and its partner CNN Digital Studios were looking to support new, original short-documentary content for their new programming effort. Raising Ryland was among the first three films released on CNN.com as part of the program. “CNN Films is very filmmaker-centric,” Sarah explained. “They supported my vision for the film through the entire process and were fantastic partners.” CNN shared the film internally and excitement spread across the organization, with the news department wanting to write a feature article on Raising Ryland. “It shows how powerful sharing a story like this can be,” Sarah pointed out. “We saw it happening right there at CNN.” On the film’s online launch date, March 18, 2015, CNN interviewed Sarah, and an article accompanied the film on the home page.

Seeing our reflection in the universe
The reaction to the film was “overwhelmingly positive,” according to Sarah. “In making this film, I recognized the emotional risk the family was taking and just how vulnerable they are by sharing their story,” she said. “What the Whittingtons did, by sharing their story, takes a tremendous amount of courage.”

Ryland's self-portrait of himself before he could talk.

Ryland’s self-portrait of himself before he could talk (photo credit: Mile Marker Entertainment).

Sarah was worried that the Whittingtons would be attacked for sharing their story. “I really wanted the audience to feel like it was a positive story that honored Ryland’s identity and Hillary and Jeff’s support,” she said. Some members of the transgender community, however, felt that Ryland’s parents had “outed” him to the world and thus endangered him, and questioned whether the film was in Ryland’s best interest. “One of the reasons Hillary wanted to share this story,” Sarah emphasized, “is because Ryland wanted to share his story.” When the family attended The Transgender Day of Empowerment in San Diego, Ryland, who was five years old at the time, asked his mother if he could go up and tell his story like the other speakers on stage did. “He’s just a remarkable, amazing child,” Sarah said, of Ryland.

A happy Ryland in sunshine.

A happy Ryland in sunshine (photo credit: Mile Marker Entertainment).

Ryland was born “profoundly deaf,” but wasn’t diagnosed until he was 13 months old. While some members of the deaf community may disagree with parents who choose cochlear implants for their children, Sarah explained, “Hillary and Jeff are a hearing family, and when they found out that Ryland was a candidate for cochlear implants, they wanted him to be able to have access to sound.” Interestingly, people with cochlear implants have reached out in support of the family’s decision, including trans-people with cochlear implants. At the heart of it, Sarah noted, “Everybody wants to see themselves reflected out there in the universe, and for people who have less mainstream identities, it can really be hard to find. That’s why stories like these are vitally important.”

Sarah on Mt. Hood.

Sarah on Mt. Hood.

A production company of her own: sharing stories, opening minds
In 2014, Sarah founded her production company, Mile Marker Entertainment, which grew out of her last two projects, My Side of the Sky and Raising Ryland. My Side of the Sky, which she sold to Hulu, was a six-episode television show profiling six teenagers who attend Windells Academy, a unique boarding school for skaters, skiers, and snowboarders. When My Side of the Sky was released on Hulu, she began setting up Raising Ryland with CNN Films. Sarah noted that she’s been fortunate to bring in work either with projects like Raising Ryland or more client-based work to keep her company thriving. Meanwhile, Raising Ryland has been making the rounds at film festivals, including Atlanta, Barcelona, Helsinki, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Melbourne. And Hillary’s book by the same name of the film is being published by HarperCollins this month.

Sarah Feeley.

Sarah Feeley.

At heart, Sarah says, “I’m a dreamer. I do think it’s possible if we raise our voices, we can make real and lasting change. The key is that you have to share your stories. As a filmmaker, I get the chance to work with people who are brave enough to do that. I hope that the stories that we tell make a lasting impact.” If the reception to Raising Ryland is any indication, Sarah’s hope will surely become a reality. “When people get a chance to experience a story or perspective that’s different from their own, it opens minds,” she said, with a nod to her short film. “On a very basic level, as humans, we all crave the desire to be wholly and authentically known for who we truly are. The world is a better place when all people can live open and honest lives.”

Note: You can see Sarah’s short film at LUNAFEST East Bay’s screening on Saturday, March 19th, 7:30pm, at the El Cerrito High School’s Performing Arts Theater. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.