Brian Lindstrom invites you to MOTHERING INSIDE & FINDING NORMAL

MOTHERING INSIDE / THE FAMILY PRESERVATION PROJECT
DIRECTOR: BRIAN LINDSTROM
PORTLAND, 2015

VISITING ARTIST—The Family Preservation Project at Wilsonville’s Coffee Creek Correctional Facility works to keep imprisoned mothers in contact with their children, the common-sense theory being that the family that stays together stays out of jail together. Through emotional testimony from participants and intimate observation of the time they spend with their kids, Lindstrom makes a strong argument for the FPP as a humane and worthwhile expenditure of public money. The State of Oregon disagrees, and the program will be phased out later this year. The film hopes to reverse that decision by publicizing the program and its benefits, which include a recidivism rate of exactly zero percent. MOTHERING INSIDE is a continuation of the cinematic empathy Lindstrom has demonstrated since his first films, KICKING and FINDING NORMAL. (30 mins.)

WITH
8/11/15 at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon.

FINDING NORMAL
DIRECTOR: BRIAN LINDSTROM
US 2007
Lindstrom’s powerful documentary takes an unflinching look at the daunting difficulties in overcoming addictions and the dynamic within Portland’s Central City Concern’s recovery mentor program. With a 70% success rate, the program’s strength lies in its ability to promote a strong sense of community and connectedness with peers and mentors, all former addicts committed to helping others as they help themselves. “The film is raw and real, filled with undeniable moments of pain and elation and human personality. It’s impossible to imagine a more honest look at this all-too-common world.”—Shawn Levy, The Oregonian. (77 mins.)

Brian Lindstrom, who teaches at the Film Center, will be on hand to discuss his films.