Join us for a screening of the brand new short film Choices currently touring Kansas through a partnership between Free State Festival and Reprofilm. The 17 minute film will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Jess Jacobs and community panelists moderated by Women of Lawrence Film co-founder Laura Kirk.

This film will be shown in the Lawrence Arts Center’s large gallery in conjunction with the current exhibition, Making it Work.

Pre-registration is not required. All are welcome for an engaging evening of film and conversation. Cash bar will be available.

ABOUT THE FILM

The film stars Jess Jacobs, Paige Gilbert and Alysia Reiner

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Choices is part of the evolving conversation of women (and assigned female at birth people) finding autonomy against a backdrop of misogyny, misinformation, and the politicization of feminine bodies. Zazie is specific, yet universal. Her choice is simple but enormous. This decision goes far beyond a reproductive future; it’s a metaphor for the impossible choices we have to make daily, regardless of pregnancy or not. As a filmmaker, I’m interested in unlikely protagonists who are thrust into action and find themselves on the cusp of personal awakening. The pulse and constraint of Choices poses an exciting opportunity to educate without being prescriptive. I want to show Zazie’s struggle in fastidious detail to create understanding and empathy. So much of the abortion conversation is rooted in emotionally charged political referendums and religious ideology. I want to show a different side of that conversation through the details of reproductive health, the consequences of each decision, and the human experience of both. At the end of the film, we’re confronted with the reality that Zazie could hold lingering doubt. To me, that’s the beautiful and nuanced plight of choice and the heartbeat of this film.
– Erica Rose