Patois Film Fest Presents: Big Charity

PATOIS: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival presents: BIG CHARITY ----------------- Join us for a panel discussion following the film with Monique Harden, Jacques Morial, Sandra Stokes, and filmmaker Alex Glustrom, moderated by Mary Howell. Sandra Stokes: A preservationist who serves on the board of many local historical and preservationist organizations, Sandra led the campaign to develop Charity into a 21st century hospital and save the historic Mid-City neighborhood. Mary Howell: A well-known civil rights attorney whose law office stands just one block outside of the LSU/VA footprint, Mary has spent more than 30 years representing victims of police misconduct, street musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, and other culture bearers and community members, including in the fight to save Charity Hospital. Monique Harden: Co-founder of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Monique has provided legal counsel and advocacy support to community organizations fighting significant environmental justice battles since 1996. Monique played a critical role in legal and community organizing strategies around Charity Hospital. Jacques Morial: Jacques has spent more than a quarter-century in the fields of community organizing, public policy analysis and development, and dispute resolution. In the years since Hurricane Katrina, he has dedicated his efforts to equitable recovery from disaster, including in the arenas of public health, public housing, environmental justice, and worker's rights, themes that run through the fight to save Charity. -------------------------------------------- Big Charity | USA | 2014 | 60min | Documentary Founded as a hospital for the poor, Charity Hospital began in 1736 as just a small cottage built on the goodwill of a dying French merchant. Operated by nuns of The Daughters of Charity and serving the city of New Orleans for close to 300 years, it gradually transformed into an enormous public institution - into Big Charity - and a longstanding symbol of compassion, a seemingly eternal place of safety and a beacon of hope in the community. Today the towering art deco building, closed abruptly after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, stands empty, and the community continues to suffer the devastating consequences of its absence. This documentary film includes never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews to tell the story of Charity Hospital, from its roots to its controversial closing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. From the firsthand accounts of healthcare providers and hospital employees who miraculously withstood the storm inside the hospital, to interviews with key players involved in the closing of Charity and the opening of New Orleans' newest hospital, Big Charity shares the untold, true story around its closure and sheds new light on the sacrifices made for the sake of progress. Directed by Alex Glustrom. --------------------------------- Founded by New Orleans artists and activists, PATOIS: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival is dedicated to nurturing the city’s human rights community, supporting the work of local organizers and organizations involved in these struggles, and providing a forum for artistic expression of local and international issues. PATOIS is back this year after a brief hiatus, ready to premiere new powerful social justice oriented films from around the world while highlighting brilliant local filmmakers and the vital grassroots organizations doing work in the city. WHAT: BIG CHARITY screening WHEN: 7:00-9:00 PM, Friday March 13th WHERE: Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center ADMISSION: $7