Calling all film fans! Bring your family and help the Appreciating Diversity Film Series enrich the Piedmont Food Fest’s celebration of Bay Area diversity with five family friendly films.
ADFS will kick-off the Food Fest by exploring the many flavors of families with five short documentary films on Thursday, April 20, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Ellen Driscoll Playhouse.
Please bring your own family and friends to more fully experience the range of family diversity through themes such as adoption, homelessness, women’s issues, education, and gender identity. The films are appropriate for children ages 10 and up. As always, ADFS films are FREE.
Join ADFS for one or all five of these documentary films which will be screened starting at 7 p.m., in the following order. The five films have a total running time of about one hour.
Absolutely No Spitting. A Jewish mother and her multiracial 4-year-old adopted daughter explore their DNA profiles and what it means to have many identities and cultures in your genetic heritage.
A Concerto Is a Conversation. A virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer traces his family’s lineage through his 91-
year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The grandfather describes the development of his love for music as well as his ingenious methods of getting ahead that made it possible for his family to thrive then and for coming generations.
Almost Famous: The Silent Pulse of the Universe. In 1967, a young astronomer, Jocelyn Bell, made a breakthrough
discovery in astronomy, but as a woman in the sciences her role was overlooked and unfairly ignored. While Jocelyn was belittled and sexually harassed by the media, the Nobel Prize was awarded to her professor and his boss.
What You’ll Remember. The story of young Bay Area parents determined to give their four children a good life
despite moving in and out of homelessness over a period of fifteen years. While the family waited for stable, affordable housing, they nurtured and educated their children in resourceful, inspiring ways, creating a feeling of “home” even when there was no house.
Texas Strong. Kai Shappley, a 6-year old trans child in Texas, fights to be recognized and accepted by her devout
Christian family. Kai’s mother, Shirley, must deal with her church, while Kai navigates life at school, where she is
banned from the girls’ bathroom. Winner of the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Short Documentary.
The Appreciating Diversity Film Series is co-sponsored by the Piedmont Unified School District, the City of Piedmont, the Oakland and Piedmont Leagues of Women Voters, and the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee and viewers like you!
ADFS screenings and conversations are ALWAYS FREE.