JemisonRogge119
Los Angeles Film Festivals Show They Have Heart in 2013
Life Changing Moments, a moving documentary in regards to the medical mission of yankee surgeon Dr. Sherry Thomas to help women in Uganda suffering from fistula has won two prizes at upcoming Southland film festivals: First place for optimum Documentary Short on the L . a . Cinema Festival of Hollywood and 3rd invest the identical category in the Sunset Film Festival of L . a ..
A public screening from the film is going to be held at the Sunset Festival on May 12, 6 PM at the White Fire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. For tickets visit: https://sites.google.com/site/sunsetfilmfestivallosangeles/tickets
Also, on the same location in Sherman Oaks, the film will be shown within the LA Cinema Festival on July 3. For details and tickets, go: www.hollywoodcff.com/ Next year, Dr. Thomas, who's another urogynecologist using a practice inside the L . a . area, traveled to Uganda at the invitation of renowned African singer and women’s advocate Halima Namakula. Ms. Namakula asked Dr. Thomas for her assistance for impoverished ladies and their necessary surgeries for fistula repair.
I knew what life was similar to one third world country, says Dr. Thomas, but I wasn’t ready for what medical care was like. After i realized how easy it had been to repair these women’s problems, I needed to help.
Dr. Thomas invited filmmaker Sandra Mohr and Los Angeles Times journalist Wendy Thermos together with her around the visit to produce the a show concerning the experience. The documentary follows Dr. Thomas’ efforts to give free medical care to Ugandan women battling with fistula, a hole in the birth canal due to prolonged labor which has devastating consequences, both medical and social.
The nightmare of just living with fistulas is rare in the western world due to our advanced medical care. In Africa, a minimum of 2 million women are living using this condition. Often times, the would-be mother becomes an outcast in their 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 earth.
The film focuses on the medical and human journey of both a united states 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 viewed on the non-profit organization’s website http://LifeChangingMoments.org.
In providing this life-changing surgery for the women of Uganda Dr. Thomas herself had a life-changing moment, and founded a non-profit organization, Life Changing Moments, to assist more women in Africa.
The cost for this type of surgical procedures are only $50-$200 U.S. dollars per patient, Dr. Thomas said. And yet it's truly life-changing for women who is able to now be reunited using their families. Our online charity makes it easy to assist and is a terrific way to support the job continuing. Donations for the non-profit can be made 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
