"Mental Health & Race" Film Series May 1-3 at Teachers College, CU

MANHATTAN VET CENTER COUNSELOR TO DISCUSS PTSD AFTER "STAND DOWN SOLDIER" SCREENING DURING "MENTAL HEALTH & RACE" FILM SERIES AT TEACHERS COLLEGE, CU Friday, May 1 - Sunday, May 3, 2015. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) April 28, 2015 - NEW YORK - In the context of its monthly program presented at Teachers College, Columbia University in conjunction with The Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs, the African Diaspora International Film Festival is pleased to present the "Mental Health & Race" film series, a selection of films that address issues of identity crisis, colorism and PTSD in communities of color all over the world.

Stand Down Soldier, to screen on Saturday, May 2 @ 4pm, follows the struggles of Sergeant Stacy Armstrong. After she returns home from three deployments suffering with PTSD, she and her husband find their 20-year marriage is about to be another casualty of war. Infidelity, addiction, and a tragic accident test the couple's commitment. This powerful film directed by and starring talented actress Jeryl Sales Prescott (The Walking Dead) illustrates vividly how veterans experience PTSD and the impact of that condition on their loved ones. The screening of Stand Down Soldier will be followed by a discussion with a counselor from the Manhattan Vet Center.

In the Stories of Colorism program, two Mexican filmmakers go behind the camera to depict stories of skin whitening. Dana Rotberg in White Lies sets her story in New Zealand during colonial times and Marina Gonzalez Palmier, in White Like The Moon, sets her story in late 1950's Texas.

White Lies, recently acquired by ArtMattan Films for US distribution after its New York Premiere in ADIFF 2014 is based on a novel by "Whale Rider" writer Witi Ihimaera. This New Zealand's entry in the 2014 Oscar competition for best foreign-language film is an intense drama that explores with great humanity and sensitivity such difficult topics as race relations, bleaching and abortion.

Other films in the program are Desirée (USA/The Netherlands), Supremacy (USA), Papa's Song ( the Netherlands and Curacao) and Mestizo (Venezuela).

For more information about the Mental Health & Race film series, to receive screeners and high resolution images please contact Diarah N'Daw-Spech at (212) 864-1760/ fax (212) 316-6020

The African Diaspora International Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. Support for ADIFF come from ArtMattan Productions; the Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs, Teachers College, Columbia University; the New York City Council in the Arts, WBAI and Public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

###

space

Other Related Press Releases