STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
In 2017 conductor Amy Andersson read about Fannie Lou Hamer, an African American women’s right and voting rights activist. She became mesmerized by the story of how Hamer had been beaten and arrested for her activism and how she had possessed such dignity and strength as she tested on national TV in 1964.
And, after Andersson’s own parents, husband and a son died in a three-month span, she drew on that woman’s strength to tell the story of dozens of women who have fought for human rights over the decades
She told the story in a silent documentary using moving and still photos of historic women and historic moments in time when women had come together. And she called it “Women Warriors: Voices of Change.”
She showed it at the Alturas Institute’s Conversations with Exceptional Women conference last week in Ketchum to much acclaim. And the film will be shown again at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Sun Valley Opera House.
“When I met the film maker and learned more about ‘Women Warriors: Voices of Change,’ I knew we had to see this movie soon,” said Ketchum resident Connie Price. “What better date than the 20th anniversary of 9/11.”
The movie can be shown only if the proceeds go to a non-profit. Those behind the screening are partnering with the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience, which is a local organization founded Aimee Christiansen and now led by another woman--Lexie Praggastis.
The mission of the Institute is to build a resilient community, one where the Wood River Valley environment, economy and people thrive.
In that vein, the $20 donations are being accepted at the door with the money going to the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience.
The doors will open at 4:30 p.m. for drinks. The screening will start at 5 p.m.
The theater holds more than 325 people but tickets are being capped at 150 to provide social distancing. Masks are required during the screening.
Many of those who attended the Alturas Institute’s Conversations with Exceptional Women last week cited the film as their favorite part of the conference.
Amy Andersson paired with her Orchestra Modern NYC, the Riga Cathedral Girls’ Choir in Latvia and a team of award-winning Hollywood female composers to create a multi-media symphonic concert designed to give voice, hope and courage to women and girls around the world.
It has won the critical acclaim of many film festivals, garnering such awards as LA Independent Women Film Awards Best Documentary Feature and Berlin Indie Film Festival Best documentary.
For tickets, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-warriors-the-voices-of-change-special-screening-tickets-169664094875