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Los Angeles Film Festivals Show They Have Heart in 2013
Life Changing Moments, a moving documentary about the medical mission of yankee surgeon Dr. Sherry Thomas to assist women in Uganda experiencing fistula has won two prizes at upcoming Southland film festivals: First place for the best Documentary Short at the La Cinema Festival of Hollywood and 3rd invest exactly the same category in the Sunset Film Festival of Los Angeles.
A public screening with the film is going to be held on the Sunset Festival on May 12, 6 PM on the White Fire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. For tickets go to: https://sites.google.com/site/sunsetfilmfestivallosangeles/tickets
Also, at the same location in Sherman Oaks, the film will be shown included in the LA Cinema Festival on July 3. For details and tickets, go: www.hollywoodcff.com/ This year, Dr. Thomas, that is additionally a urogynecologist with a practice inside the La area, traveled to Uganda in the invitation of renowned African singer and women’s advocate Halima Namakula. Ms. Namakula asked Dr. Thomas on her behalf assistance for impoverished ladies and their much needed surgeries for fistula repair.
I knew what life was similar to a third world country, says Dr. Thomas, but I wasn’t prepared for what health care was like. Once i realized how easy it was to fix these women’s problems, I had to help.
Dr. Thomas invited filmmaker Sandra Mohr and Los Angeles Times journalist Wendy Thermos along with her around the trip to make the a show in regards to the experience. The documentary follows Dr. Thomas’ efforts to provide free health care to Ugandan women struggling with fistula, a hole within the birth canal due to prolonged labor that has devastating consequences, both medical and social.
The nightmare of living with fistulas is rare under western culture as a result of our advanced medical care. In Africa, a minimum of 2 million women are living using this condition. Often, the would-be mother becomes an outcast in their own community because of severe incontinence, and is rejected by her husband and left to languish alone without friends. Uganda has the 3rd highest rate of fistula on the planet.
The film focuses on the medical and human journey of both an American and African woman through their experiences with fistula, showing how services in African countries match up against free airline. The 18-minute film can be looked at in the non-profit organization’s website http://LifeChangingMoments.org.
In providing this life-changing surgery for your women of Uganda Dr. Thomas herself were built with a life-changing moment, and founded a non-profit organization, Life Changing Moments, to assist more women in Africa.
The cost because of this type of surgery is only $50-$200 U.S. dollars per patient, Dr. Thomas said. And yet it is truly life-changing for women who is able to now be reunited using their families. Our online charity allows you to assist and is a terrific way to support this work continuing. Donations for the non-profit can be produced at http://lifechangingmoments.org/category/donations/
Contact: Shirley Louis, 818/991-0988 Life Changing Moments e-mail: lifechangingmoments.org(at)gmail.com website: http://LifeChangingMoments.org. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNIC-vkSlsg
