A Powerful Noise goes inside the lives of three women to witness their daily challenges and their significant victories over poverty and oppression. Their stories are personal yet illustrate larger issues affecting millions of marginalized women worldwide. And after the showing on International Women’s Day, join a tele-panel with some of the country’s leading activists and experts.

When: Thursday March 5, 7:30 PM
Where: Castleton Arts Cinema 6020 East 82nd Street in Indianapolis (showing at other theatres around town, find out where here.

Why does Provocate think you should attend this event? The movie is great, and a discussion afterward is a fine idea. Provocate doesn’t even have a problem watching Madeleine Albright and Natalie Portman talk with each other. But the conversation after the film ought to be about the many local groups that are doing great work with women around the world. Check back with Provocate to find out when those conversations will take place.

From the film’s very comprehensive website:

Hanh is an HIV-positive widow in Vietnam. Nada, a survivor of the Bosnian war. And Jacqueline works the slums of Bamako, Mali. Three very different lives. Three vastly different worlds. But they share something in common: Power. These women are each overcoming gender barriers to rise up and claim a voice in their societies. Through their empowerment and ability to empower others, Hanh, Nada and Jacqueline are sparking remarkable changes. Fighting AIDS. Rebuilding communities. Educating girls.

Hanh learned that she had contracted HIV after her husband and daughter died from AIDS. Bouncing back from despair, she started a self-help group in Vietnam, called Immortal Flower, to give people living with HIV/AIDS a place for support, counseling and health care

Nada is a working mother of three children. As a refugee, she survived the Bosnian War. Her women�s association, Maja Kravica, is helping ease hostilities between Serbs and Bosniaks in a region marred by war crimes and massive destruction. Nada is building an agricultural cooperative to offer employment opportunities for war widows, and fair trade markets for families to sell their crops and livestock.

Jacqueline, better known as �Madame Urbain� fights forced labor practices in the slums of Bamako, Mali. Madame Urbain stands up for the rights of powerless girls who are often abused in the workplace or on the streets of the big city. Her organization, APAF, provides girls a basic education, teaches them vocational skills and places them in safe jobs.

A Powerful Noise takes you inside the lives of these women to witness their daily challenges and their significant victories over poverty and oppression. Their stories are personal yet illustrate larger issues affecting millions of marginalized women worldwide. A Powerful Noise is a meditation on the inherent potential of women to change the world.

On Thursday, March 5, 2009, A POWERFUL NOISE Live will appear in 450 movie theatres across the United States. This one-night event will feature the acclaimed documentary followed by a town hall discussion broadcast live from New York City to each theatre. Panelists include:

Madeleine K. Albright - Former U.S. Secretary of State and Principal, The Albright Group LLC.

Natalie Portman - Actress and Activist.

Christy Turlington Burns - CARE advocate for maternal health and contributing editor for Marie Claire Magazine.

Nicholas D. Kristof � Columnist, The New York Times.

Helene D. GaylE, M.D., M.P.H. � CARE President and CEO.

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