BIFF CARES To Examine ADHD and Veterans Issues at BIFF2018
For the past eight years, the Beloit International Film Festival has devoted a portion of each Festival to films addressing issues and concerns in the community. Under the heading BIFF CARES, the films and discussions have dealt with a wide range of topics, from Homelessness to aging to smart phone addiction.
This year, BIFF CARES, sponsored by the Beloit Health System, will present films that will examine current issues relating to families in this community that look at ADHD diagnoses in children and the concerns surrounding the lives and the care of our veterans.
Desert Around Me: The ADHD Epidemic, a Challenge of Global Proportions is a unique approach to the discussion of the ADHD pandemic. Attention-Deficit/hyperactivity Disorder is a chronic condition that affects millions of children and often continues into adulthood. It includes a combination of persistent problems such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior and yet is treated in only half the diagnosed cases. The film is directed and written by Linda Sanders and incorporates footage from the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, where runners cover roughly a marathon distance each day for six days. The director notes that it provides “a compelling analogy to the daily struggles of an ADHD sufferer and his or her family. Both situations test one to the limit in order to adapt and survive.”
Making of a Soldier, the second feature length documentary produced by the Harlem Veteran Project at Harlem High School in Machesney Park, Ill. The 70-minute film follows Vietnam veterans’ experiences and is directed by Madeline Burke, currently a senior at Harlem High School, Chandlor Ralston, a Harlem graduate now attending the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Nicholas Stange, teacher and sponsor of the Harlem High School project.
Like the Vietnam war itself The film is a collection of many stories that come together to form a single narrative for those who experienced it. “Each story is unique and is a piece of a bigger picture” says Stange. “It provides a look at how everyone in the country was affected by the war, how they came home and readjusted to civilian life, and how the war continues to reach them to this day.”
The films will be shown separately and will be screened several times during BIFF. Tickets are $9 plus handling fee online in advance, or $10 during BIFF. For more information, please go to BeloitFilmFest.org.
The Beloit International Film Festival, celebrating its 13th season, is sponsored by the Hendricks Group in association with Beloit College and with additional support provided by Visit Beloit. Support for the Festival comes from area businesses and civic organizations, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Individual support for BIFF is provided through membership in the BIFF Founders and the Film Society of Beloit.
