Film festival brings diversity to forefront

The second MOSAIC Diversity Film Festival, in conjunction with the opening of the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market, premiered Saturday at City Hall and marked 25 years of Diversity Theatre.

The topics of the films shown during the festival included aging, disability and race issues.

One of the films discussing disability, “We Are Phamaly,” was about a group of physically handicapped actors putting on a production of “Once upon a Mattress,” and another, “John and Michael,” dealt with homosexuality, Down’s Syndrome and the intimacy of same-sex relationships.

“Phoenix Dance,” also shown at the festival, was about a dancer named Homer who lost a leg because of cancer.

“As I started to get out of bed with one leg and out on my own, I started to embrace the dance of life,” he said in the film. “Who you truly are is forced to come forth when obstacles or challenges are had.”

This philosophy continued with the films about aging. One in particular, “Prescription for Time,” focused on an older black woman who was experiencing dementia and received false hope from a drug advertisement that claimed to extend life for 15 years.

After the films, Phil Stafford of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community led a discussion in which he talked about the perceived dangers that come with aging.

“We tend to fear a decline in independence and a sense of decrepitude creep upon us as we age,” he said. “If you were in this woman’s position, what would you do with 15 extra years?”

The last group of films displayed issues of race and isolation through people who dealt with homelessness, illegal immigration and depression.

“La Americana” was a film about an illegal immigrant named Carmen who left Bolivia to find work in the United States to provide a better life for her ailing daughter. She then went back to Bolivia after the Bush administration refused to grant immigrant amnesty.

After the film, there was a discussion on immigration policies facilitated by Christie Popp, staff attorney with the Immigrants and Language Rights Center of Indiana Legal Services.

“The way laws are now, it’s impossible for immigrants seeking a better life to come to the United States even if they just want to work,” Popp said. “People like Carmen have situations that seem impossible because of the restrictions set by the government.”

Sarah Combellick-Bidney said she was at the Farmers’ Market and came to the festival later in the day to see the films.

“This is great,” she said. “The festival is putting a human face on what people are going through. I think students need to know about stuff like this happening in their world and in their communities.”

For festival-goer Jordan Shifriss, a real connection to the human struggle is important in understanding issues within diversity.

“This is all about being connected to life, living life to the fullest, whether you have one leg, are blind or getting old,” he said.