Mahalo for joining us!

PATSY MINK: AHEAD OF THE MAJORITY

Virtual Screening and Q&A with Filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford

“Fantastic film that should be shown in all high schools in the U.S. and especially in colleges that want to cut Title IX funding for women’s sports.”

3/31/21: As the highlights and struggles of Patsy Mink’s life unfolded in PATSY MINK: AHEAD OF THE MAJORITY, the audience was moved from cheers of victory, to disappointment, and for some, tears.  By capturing the highs and lows of Patsy’s life, Kimberlee Bassford produced a thought-provoking commentary on local and national politics and systemic injustice.

During the Q&A, Kim shared insight on her research and creative process involved in making the film with depth and sincerity.  Our audience’s feedback indicated a strong desire to learn more about Patsy and continue her legacy. Some of their heartfelt comments are highlighted below.

Mahalo to everyone who supported this presentation for your engagement and enthusiasm. And most of all, a warm mahalo to Kim!  To learn more about Kim’s work visit: Making Waves Films.

For those who missed the presentation or those who would like to view the film again, it is available via Vimeo on Demand at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/patsymink ($3.99 rental fee required).

Click here for a recording of the Q&A segment on HHF’s YouTube channel.

RESPONSES FROM THE AUDIENCE:

“I enjoyed the film last night. It captured well Patsy Mink and her impressive work for our nation and its people. Her terrific accomplishments continue to serve us well.  My gratitude and congratulations to Kimberlee Bassford of the film. May many folks be inspired by the film to follow Patsy Mink in service.”

“Thank you for making the video available to us. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing it. Regrettably, I only realized how forward thinking Patsy Mink was after her passing… Looking forward to more films of her life.”

“I often hear people referring to the park in Waipio as CORP. I always remind them that the park’s correct name is Patsy Mink Park!! Never forget!”

“I’m happy that I was able to vote for Patsy Mink. And I’m amazed at how little I knew about her overall. As a person of her generation I experienced a lot of what she did, but in a smaller arena. At one time I lost my state citizenship because my husband moved out of the state. When I went to enroll in Kansas State University, I found I had to pay out-of-state tuition even though I hadn’t moved in many years. When I talked to an attorney, he informed me that in the view of Kansas, I was chattel. Therefore my citizenship went with my owner, my husband. 👿👿👿 I was able to get permission from my husband to establish my Kansas citizenship, and because of my economic situation, I just went with that flow. Ever since then, I have regretted that I was unable to challenge the law itself.  However, what I have done as a result is contribute to NOW, to elected officials who fought on the behalf of women, etc. I guess we all work within in our own arena. Thank heavens for Patsy Mink & others who have fought the legal battles on our behalf. Thanks, Kimberly, for making the film. I’d like to see it again and I hope it continues to be widely distributed. Side note…I never thought of Patsy as a “woman of color”.  She was just my elected official who I was happy to have voted for.”

FILM SYNOPSIS:

PATSY MINK: AHEAD OF THE MAJORITY explores the remarkable political story of Patsy Takemoto Mink, an Asian American woman who overcame adversity to redefine 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, where she served from 1965-1977 and again from 1990 until her death in 2002.  A firecracker and a fighter, she continually pushed the limits of what was acceptable, speaking out early and persistently 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 and universities as the co-author and driving force behind Title IX, later renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, the landmark legislation that opened up higher education and athletics to women.

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

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.

“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. She was truly a force of nature.” – Franklin Odo, retired Founding Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.

Kimberlee Bassford, director/producer/writer

Kimberlee Bassford combines her love for storytelling with her background in journalism to bring the underrepresented stories of girls and women to the world. She directed and produced the documentaries Winning Girl (2014, The World Channel, Women Make Movies/Java Films), Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority (2008, PBS, Women Make Movies) and Cheerleader (2003, HBO Family, Documentary Educational Resources) and was a producer on two national PBS documentary series: Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? (2008) and The Meaning of Food (2005).  She has garnered numerous honors for her work, including film festival audience awards and grand jury prizes, a duPont-Columbia Award, Student Academy Award and CINE Golden Eagles.  Her work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, Women in Film, Film Independent, CNN, ITVS, Center for Asian American Media, Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc), Pacific Islanders in Communications and CPB/PBS.  She has also served on juries for the Hawai‘i International Film Festival, ‘Ohina Short Film Showcase and Guam International Film Festival and is a member of A-Doc, Brown Girls Doc Mafia,  Documentary Producers Alliance, Film Fatales, IFP and Women in Film.  Kimberlee holds a BA in psychology from Harvard University and a Master of Journalism from the University of California Berkeley. She owns Making Waves Films LLC, a documentary production company in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

Admission fees from this presentation support Making Waves Films and the education and advocacy programs of Historic Hawai‘i Foundation.

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