SYNOPSIS

Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority explores the remarkable political story of Patsy Mink, an Asian American woman who, battling racism and sexism, redefined American politics.

Small in stature but a giant in vision, she began her life on a Maui sugar plantation and rose to become the first Asian American woman and woman of color in the United States Congress. A firecracker and a fighter, she continually pushed the limits of what was acceptable, speaking out against the Vietnam War and entering the 1972 presidential primary, making her one of the first women to seek the nation’s highest office. She transformed America’s schools as the co-author of Title IX, the landmark legislation that opened up higher education and athletics to women.

The film goes beyond Mink’s accomplishments, however, to reveal a woman whose political journey was lonely and tumultuous. Dispelling stereotypes of the compliant Japanese female, she battled sexism within her own party, whose leaders disliked her independent style and openly maneuvered against her. Her liberal politics, particularly her vocal opposition to the Vietnam War, engendered intense criticism.

As Franklin Odo, Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, states: “Patsy Mink offers a phenomenal political story, because she was so outside what you would expect of a woman, of a Japanese American and of a member of Congress.” Simultaneously a woman of the people and a pioneer, a patriot and an outcast, her story proves endlessly intriguing, and one that embodies the history, ideals and spirit of America.

In Competition for Best Documentary Feature Film

OTHER SELECT FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

• Winner, Audience Award, 2008 Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival
• Winner, Best Documentary, 2009 Honolulu International Film Festival
• Official Selection, 2009 San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival

DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY
KIMBERLEE BASSFORD WILL RECEIVE THE 2009 SPIRIT OF HUMANITY AWARD FROM SJIFF

Kimberlee Bassford is an award-winning independent filmmaker from Hawai‘i who has a passion for social issue and cultural stories. She produced, directed, wrote and co-edited Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority, a one-hour documentary for national public television that explores the life and times of the late U.S. Representative Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color in Congress and co-author of the landmark Title IX gender equity legislation.

Most recently, Bassford was a producer on Unnatural Causes (2008), a four-hour national PBS documentary series and public engagement campaign that investigates our disturbing socioeconomic and racial disparities in health. She was also a producer on the three-hour PBS documentary series The Meaning of Food (2005), which explores the social significance of food in the United States.

Bassford had her directorial debut with Cheerleader (2003), a short documentary that follows a squad of young, bright-eyed California cheerleaders on its quest for the national cheerleading championships. The film aired on HBO Family and won the Student Academy Award in Documentary and CINE Golden Eagle. It also screened in film festivals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and New Zealand, including the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. The film has educational distribution through Documentary Educational Resources.

Bassford is a graduate of Punahou School and holds a BA in psychology from Harvard University and a Masters in Journalism from the University of California Berkeley. She owns Making Waves Films LLC, a documentary production company in Honolulu.

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SHOWTIMES

SPIRIT OF HUMANITY AWARD TRIBUTE AND FILM
FRI. 5/15 at 6:00PM
Stockton Empire Theatre

CAST AND CREW

Screenwriter: Kimberlee Bassford
Executive Producer: Marlene Booth
Producer: Kimberlee Bassford
Cinematographer: Michael Chin
Editor: Jean-Philippe Boucicaut, Kimberlee Bassford
Sound: John McFadden, Paul Rusnak
Music: Joel Goodman
Narrator: Jody Mishan

SOURCES

Print Source: Making Waves Films
www.makingwavesfilms.com