By Kimberlee Bassford
In 1965, Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first woman of color in the United States Congress. Seven years later, she ran for the US presidency and was the driving force behind Title IX, the landmark legislation that transformed women's opportunities in higher education and athletics.
Mink was an Asian American woman who fought racism and sexism while redefining US politics, and her tumultuous and often lonely political journey reveals what can be at stake for female politicians that defy expectations, push limits and adhere to their principles. Not only did she encounter sexism within her own party, whose leaders disliked her independent style and openly maneuvered against her, but Mink's liberal views, particularly her vocal opposition to the Vietnam War, engendered intense criticism.
A compelling portrait of a iconoclastic figure that remains seldom spotlighted in history books, this film illuminates how Mink's daring to remain "ahead of the majority" in her beliefs enabled groundbreaking changes for the rights of the disenfranchised. A woman of the people as well as a pioneer, a patriot and also an outcast, Patsy Mink's intriguing story embodies the history, ideals and spirit of America.
Notes
~ Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
~ Festival International de Films de Femmes, Creteil, France
~ International Women's Day Film Festival
~ Reel Women International Film Festival
~ American Association of University Women (AAUW) National Convention
Awards
~ Hawaii International Film Festival, Audience Award for Favorite Documentary
~ Honolulu International Film Festival, Best Documentary, Gold Kahuna Award, Best Hawaiian Film
~ San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, Comcast Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
~ DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature
~ San Joaquin International Film Festival, Spirit of Humanity Award
~ Gate City Women's Film Festival, Blue Magnolia Award for Best in Festival, Zora Neale Hurston Award for Best
~ Documentary Film, Bennett Spirit Award for Most Positive Portrayal of a Woman
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