Disability Reframed Community Film Series
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM Saturday, November 7, 2015
Location:
Main Library
449 Broadway
Lecture Hall
Cambridge
Contact:
Kate Thurman, ccpd@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4692 (voice); 617-492-0235 (tty)
Disability Reframed: A Community Film Series presents the FREE East Coast Premier of La Casa Linda
View, download and share the flyer for this event!
This film is open captioned and communication access realtime translation (CART) will be provided for the speaking portions of the event.
Living in the village of Chimayo, New Mexico, Linda Pedro became a pioneer in independent living for people with disabilities, and much more -- an advocate for disability rights, a fearless politician, an artist, and a leader who became the rock in her community.
Several decades ago, as a fledgling legal services attorney, Fred Woods represented Linda --who was paralyzed as the result of an auto accident -- in what started out as a custody case and ended up as a landmark in disabilities law. Now a documentary filmmaker and Cambridge resident, Woods started shooting a documentary about Pedro, La Casa Linda, almost seven years ago. "She was the most remarkable person I've ever known," said Woods.
“Linda died this past January at the age of 68. I'll remember her as generous friend who lived out her deepest values, never shied from the truth, and was a wonderful story teller," said Woods. “The film… is her story, told, for the most part, by Linda. It may change the way we think about disability, and about the traditions that define us as Americans.”
As a resident of her small village in northern New Mexico, Pedro immersed herself in her Hispanic heritage and in Native American ways to become a spiritual mentor and a political leader who challenged the corrupt local power structure. When drugs threatened to overwhelm her village she faced her greatest challenge as she turned to the community's oldest traditions to lead a campaign for renewal.
Woods has been an attorney, political consultant and film and video producer. Two of his television spots have won Best of Broadcasting awards from the New England Broadcasting Association and his short-form historical documentaries have been incorporated into exhibits by the National Park Service.
The first East Coast showing of La Casa Linda will be at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway on Saturday, November 7, at 2:00pm. This free event is sponsored by the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities and the Boston Mayor’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities, as part of "Disability Reframed: A Community Film Series," as well as by the City of Cambridge Employee's Committee on Diversity and the Department of Human Service Programs. Following the screening, there will be an audience discussion panel with the filmmaker and Robyn Powell, internationally recognized authority on the rights of parents with disabilities and their families. We hope to see you there.
Written and directed by Fred Woods
Music by Roger Clark Miller, the Jenny Vincent Trio, Lumbre del Sol
Filmed on location in Chimayo, New Mexico
Running time 1 hour
Join Disability Reframed: A Community Film Series and visit La Casa Linda on Facebook!
This is a scent-free event. Out of consideration for people with environmental illness and/or multiple chemical sensitivity, please refrain from using perfume or other scented products. For sign language interpreters or other accommodations, please contact CCPD by October 21 at 617-349-4692 (voice), 617-492-0235 (tty) or e-mail: ccpd@cambridgema.gov.
Disability Reframed: A Community Film Series is a collaboration of the Boston Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities and the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities. Hosted by the Cambridge Public Library.