Living the Truth: filmmaker Pratibha Parmar in Sonoma

Three noted documentary works from award-winning filmmaker Pratibha Parmar – featuring live appearances by the filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alice Walker – comprise “Living the Truth,” a special screening event on Saturday, June 3 at the Sebastiani Theatre. 

The ambitious program is presented by the Sonoma International Film Festival in collaboration with Musea Center.

Parmar has directed award-winning films for BBC, Channel 4, ITVS, PBS and European broadcasters.

“As a woman in Indian culture, as a queer woman of color, it’s embedded in my DNA to interrogate everything around me,” says the African-born filmmaker. “Once I became politicized, once I came out, once I had a community of people around me in which I could do that safely, I could engage and challenge.”

Parmar was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and lives between London, England, and Berkeley, California. She says she’s embraced her outsider status as a gift that opens up pathways to untold stories. “I have always been compelled to tell stories of people relegated to the margins of mainstream culture. I get excited by collaborating with like-minded humans creating moving images, building different kinds of worlds.”

The cinema showcase begins with the films A Place of Rage (52 minutes) at 11:15am, followed by Warrior Marks (54 minutes) at 2:15pm, and Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth (84 minutes) at 6:15pm. In addition to these screenings, Parmar will be recognized with the SIFF | MUSEA Center Women In Film award, accompanied by a $5,000 grant prior to the 6:15pm film.

“I am absolutely honored that Musea and SIFF have come together to host this day-long event around a selection of my films,” said Parmar. “I’m looking forward to sharing my work with audiences in Sonoma.” 

Alice Walker (above) is an internationally celebrated writer, poet, and activist whose books include seven novels, four collections of short stories, four children’s books, and volumes of essays and poetry. In 1983, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for her novel The Color Purple. 

A special, limited-capacity private reception with Parmar and Walker, who have been friends for nearly 30 years, is also scheduled.

The three-film cinema pass is on sale now for $99. The limited-capacity private reception with Parmar and Walker, which includes the 6:15pm screening of Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth, is available as capacity allows for $95. 

For event tickets, film synopses, and more information, visit Living The Truth Cinema Event.