Film: Women are solution to global poverty
ATLANTA, 3rd March 2009: In the war on global poverty, the most powerful weapons are sometimes the women.
– When you look at the most A Powerful Noise.” – You have to give them a voice in their societies, to have a say in how things are done, added he.
To note International Womens Day, the charity CARE USA is presenting “A Powerful Noise” in 450 American movie theaters as a special one-time screening, followed by a simulcast of a town hall meeting in New York.
Thigpen, and director Tom Cappello focused on three women activists on three continents to stand in for women worldwide. They are:
* Bui My Hanh, an HIV-positive activist in Vietnam. Her husband infected her, then died, but despite the shame associated with HIV in her country, she runs a support group for women and passes out condoms and AIDS information.
* Jacqueline Dembele, known as Madame Urbain, runs several girls schools in the slums of Bamako, Mali, rescuing girls who come from villages to the city and can end up as prostitutes or abused servants.
* Nada Markovic, a working mother of three in Bosnia, who runs an agricultural co-op and fair trade market for war widows and works to overcome ethnic divisions in her country.
Thigpen and Cappello finished the film last year and debuted it at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The theater evening will also include information on how attendees can help the women they have been watching, and a panel discussion that includes former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, CARE CEO Dr. Helene Gayle and actress Natalie Portman.
Even though “Powerful Noise” is about the struggles of women and is being pitched to a mostly female audience, Thigpen said he has been careful to avoid male-bashing.
– It is important that we do it in a way that is not pointing fingers or saying men are the problem. It is simply saying that women are the solution. There is a lot of men that support this effort. But in a lot of these countries there are deeply ingrained cultural beliefs, and that takes time to change, noted he.
The DVD will be released in July.
More information at www.apowerfulnoise.org
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