"Reflections of a Life", the award-winning short film written and directed by Kathi Carey, will be screening at the upcoming Baltimore Women's Film Festival. Kathi Carey also stars in the film with veterans Linda Gray ("Dallas") and Fredric Lane ("Lost"). The film, which screens during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is a love story about a woman who must face her life after the diagnosis of breast cancer and the tragic truth is that every day 112 women in the United States die from the disease. This short film dramatizes the personal challenges that accompany the diagnosis and treatment and will enlighten and inspire all who see it to overcome any personal obstacle and live life to the fullest.
Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) September 7, 2007 -- When filmmaker Kathi Carey wrote her award-winning short film Reflections of a Life to honor her aunt who died from breast cancer, she had no idea the impact it would have across the country. Her first surprise came when co-star Linda Gray (Dallas) shared that her sister, grandmother and great-grandmother all died from the disease and that as a young woman she struggled with the fear that it might be genetic, related to diet or the environment. Miss Carey, who produced, directed and plays the lead character, has traveled across the country to more than two dozen film festivals in the last eighteen months and will be in Baltimore with the film for the First Annual Baltimore Women's Film Festival which takes place on October 13 and 14, 2007. The film, which has been recognized with awards for its acting, directing, makeup and music, is a love story about a woman who has experienced and overcome her share of heartache, only to discover that she has breast cancer. Central to the theme is how this devastating news affects her relationships with her friends, family and lover.
As Kathi promoted the film her eyes were opened to the reality that every other person she met had a story that related to breast cancer, either through a family member or close friend. As people either saw or became aware of her film, they shared the most personal feelings and experiences about their own breast cancer journeys. There was the twice-widowed gentleman from Salt Lake City who was so touched by the film that he felt that, "everyone should see this film so they can understand how this disease affects women, whether they are ever touched by it themselves or not." Both of his wives had died from breast cancer. Then there was the Emmy-winning television producer whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. He shared that he had never spoken with his mother about her mastectomy but wrote, "The scene where Taylor looks at her new body for maybe the first time since her surgery really hit close to home. I've always wondered what my mother's reaction was and now I feel I have a vehicle, Reflections of a Life, from which we may be able to comfortably discuss her experiences. I can't wait to share this film with my mother." Although Miss Carey herself is not a breast cancer survivor the realistic makeup effects, supervised by award-winning makeup artist Marvin Westmore (Bladerunner), included in the film have astounded even medical professionals. There was a surgeon in Sedona who was convinced that the post-mastectomy scar had to be real. It couldn't possibly be makeup. But such is the quality of this intimate film.
Reflections of a Life is a short film and will be screening in the Dramatic Shorts Program on Sunday, October 14 at The Baltimore Museum of Art at 5:30 p.m. The inclusion of this award-winning movie in the Baltimore Women's Film Festival is a "good fit" since a percentage of all ticket sales from the festival go to support the Johns Hopkins Avon Breast Foundation. Miss Carey's plans for the future include expanding this project into a feature film by pairing it with two other short films about breast cancer, which she has written. The title of the feature is 1 in 9. These are the odds that a woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. And, as Carolyn Bray (breast cancer survivor), a journalist from Rhode Island, wrote: "Every woman (and any man who loves women) should see the film, whether a victim of cancer or not because, unfortunately, chances are they will know someone with the disease in their lifetimes, if they are lucky enough not to get it themselves." On October 14 we will have that opportunity to see this sensitive, intimate story about a woman and her journey.
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