Filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman plans one last large film screening

Emailed Menlo Park-based filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman: “After 40 years of filmmaking, I am hosting what will probably be my last large film screening on January 31 in Palo Alto.  The event – MEETING CHALLENGES – celebrates the accomplishments of people who surpass expectations.”

The event, co-hosted by Abilities United, will include a premiere, plus three classic shorts. It will take place at Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Rd., from 2:30 to 4:30 pm.

“I’ve been in production for 40 years nonstop — 30 films, five trips to Ethiopia (created five films about Ethiopia), three trips to India, screening tours of Russia and Ukraine, screening tours of Mexico/Brazil/Chile and much, much, much more. I need to step back and breathe deeply and not just keep on keeping on.

“After this event, I will use the next few months to wind down and make Concentric Media primarily a digital and virtual company. I do have one other film in progress, and it will not be released with a big premiere. It will be shown to smaller audiences.”

The premiering film is The Annie Gill Story about a woman who was in a near fatal car accident, which left her blind and brain damaged. While she was in a coma, her father sang to her every day. When she awoke, her beautiful singing voice was intact. Following the screening, Annie Gill and her father will give a mini-concert.

The three short films are: Breathe Easy, which documents a woman living an active, positive life with the handicap of service COPD/emphysema; Shattering the Myth of Aging, which follows an energetic and athletic man in his 70s as he participates in the Senior Games; Moment by Moment: The Healing Journey of Molly Hale, the story of a determined woman’s physical and psychological recovery from a severe spinal cord injury suffered in an auto accident. Note: Molly and her husband Jeremy will be on hand for a question and answer session.

Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to info@concentric.org by January 26, providing your full name, email address and number of people in your party; seating is limited.

Photo of Dorothy Fadiman by Scott R. Kline