Voices for Change - Water is something that we, in the Western world, all take for granted. It’s handed to us without request as we sit down at a restaurant, we run it while brushing our teeth, shaving, and cleaning dishes. We take long hot showers, ignore leaky faucets, and disregard broken sprinklers and lines. Because it’s free, we assume it always will be. Sadly, its supply is not endless.

Historically, the main role of women in film was in front of the camera and limited to stereotypical roles such as a love interest for the leading man or as a weak and frail "damsel in distress". While these roles are still prominent in many films today, the female character continues to evolve into more complex roles

Adoption: Giving thanks, giving hope. To see the smile on a kids face, when she knows she’s found a home, helps us to be grateful for all that we have.

War is a difficult subject, period. We all know what the word means, and know Veterans Day is national holiday. I wonder, though, who remembers the real history behind it. A quick refresher for us all:

We all know water covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, and our body is approximately 70 percent water. Just a couple of cool facts about just how deeply our connection is to our planet.

Growing up, “school” was always just a required part of life, somewhere I was expected to show up every day. As most parents like to tell their children, “you need an education to get anywhere in the world”.  But what experiences and information truly prepare us for the life we’ll lead as adults? For those of us fortunate enough to have had an opportunity to do so, we were in school Monday through Friday. In fact, it was against the law not to be.  Sure, some kids skipped school more than others, and of course, we all know about Huck Finn. And not to sound spoiled, since I did at least have a school to go to, but I didn’t enjoy it much.  Can’t think of many good times in those early school years. But I did manage to finish K-12, eventually got my BA and joined the work force.  Wasn’t that the original goal of education?  But more importantly, did I get the right education, a balanced education?

Storytelling has been around since the dawn of man.  Yes, they have evolved, along with the format, from campfires to scriptures, from books to films and television; but as the stories change, so does their platforms and values.  We are now living in a time of uncertainty, and the need for more socially relevant stories has emerged.  So too has CineCause, a new avenue of exposure for such content and their related issues.

Who thought learning about our health and food choices could be so entertaining? I know, I know, movies are supposed to quench our thirst to escape.  Most people go to the movies to turn off the thinking cap.  Here’s the rub, most of the escapist fare is flat out boring; and many of us are finally turning to filmed entertainment looking to get a full meal, to learn more about the issues, the people, and the places in the world we live in.