2/27/19

The work
I was moved this week watching white male workers testify about how they connected to Councilwoman Carmen Castillo's story at our festival premiere at Big Sky Film Festival in Missoula, MT. This is the impact we didn't plan on, but may be the most important. Thanks to stellar cinematographer Nikki Bramley for these photos.

​What I'm thinking about
People often say to me, "well the Philadelphia Eleven is a story about white women..." While the women ordained Episcopal priests on July 29, 1974 are white, it is not a story only about white people. No story is about one group of people, because as humans we are all connected. In this case, the church that invited the women to be ordained against Episcopal Church rules, at great risk of losing financial support, was the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was (and still is) a predominantly black church, led by The Rev. Paul Washington. The sermon was delivered by Charles Willie. The procession was led by Barbara Harris, who went on to become the first female Bishop. These key figures all happen to be black. Imagine trying to tell this story as a story about white women. How does that shift the story? 

Needless to say, we are doing some deep work to figure out how to best weave all of these narratives into The Philadelphia Eleven film. Stay tuned for more updates and a big launch in May!