OUR MISSION
Our mission is to help people from diverse communities bring their perspectives powerfully to bear on public dialogues about a broad range of social issues that affect their lives. We use film, arts and other media as tools to educate and engage people, as well as to amplify the voices of those whose perspectives are not usually heard.
Many Threads is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. |
NEW PROJECTS
LIVING ALONG THE FENCELINE
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Living Along the Fenceline, an 80 minute HD documentary, tells the stories of seven women whose lives have been affected by the US military presence in their backyards. Their individual journeys of strength and courage represent the unheard stories of myriad communities across the globe that live alongside US bases and bear tragic hidden costs to their land, culture, and spirit.
The film connects the stories of women from Texas, Puerto Rico, Hawai’i, Guam, the Philippines, Korea, and Okinawa (Japan) and their efforts to create genuine security in their home communities. Award-winning filmmaker Lina Hoshino had unprecedented access to members of an international women’s network who recount their experiences in an accessible and profoundly human way.
Through the power of personal story this film also tells a wider story of the negative impacts of US bases on host communities. It shows the power and creativity of women’s activism in challenging prevailing assumptions about military security. Living Along the Fenceline offers provocative insights and information for audiences to think about these contentious issues in new ways. It lifts up alternative ideas of peace and security, embedded in the work of grassroots women leaders who are acting on their visions and beliefs.
Releas date: September 2010. Funders include:Puffin Foundation, Global Fund for Women, Henry Luce Civil Liberties Fund, and Women for Genuine Security. |
I GIVE YOU TO THESE KIND WATERS
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In this 56-minute, broadcast-length film, Lina Hoshino, an award-winning filmmaker, will turn the camera onto herself, revisiting her own past abortion through participating in a Buddhist ritual (the “Mizuko Kuyo” or “water baby” ritual) of dedicating “Jizo” to the aborted fetus. In this ritual, the unformed child is consecrated to the protection of a guardian spirit and returned, in the cycle of life, to the divine, oceanic region outside worldly existence. The filmmaker undertakes this journey at a turning point in her own life, having decided, at age 40, not to have children. Pursuing this ritual is, for her, a way to deal with her own reproductive decisions through a collective practice that allows for a sense of loss without judgment or punishment, while honoring and celebrating life. She does so through the lens of her own multi-cultural heritage and partly Buddhist roots, reflecting on how her ancestors treated abortion and on her involvement with the pro-choice movement in the U.S. during the 1980s. Release date: October, 2010. |
LEAP OF FAITH
This 20-minute documentary tells a little-known story of young white Christian teenagers who put their bodies on the line to protect Sebastopol’s Japanese Buddhist temple, Enmanji, from hate-related arson and vandalism during WWII. This project has received a generous support from California Council for the Humanities, Enmanji Temple, and Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League. |
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