Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc., Buffalo Documentary Project to Virtually Premiere ‘FIGHT FOR GOOD’ 7:30 PM, Thurs., April 22, 2021
Film shares COVID-19 pandemic experiences through voices of unheard women, men, children of color
BUFFALO, NY – April 19, 2021 – The Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. (CHCB, Inc.), in collaboration with the Buffalo Documentary Project (BDP), will premiere FIGHT FOR GOOD, a 20-minute film documenting the Federally Qualified Health Center’s efforts to provide continuous care to underserved patients of color in the face of inequity and systemic racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentary also explores the impact of FQHCs and doctors in the “Fight”; the leadership role of women of color; and the challenges presented by healthcare disparities.
In partnership with the Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State College, the virtual premiere will take place Thurs., April 22, 2021 at the Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave. Buffalo, and be available for free online viewing beginning at 7:30 PM at https://buffalodocumentaryproject.com/fight-for-good/ Online viewers can also enter a Zoom meeting “room” for a Panel Discussion scheduled to begin immediately thereafter. Zoom connection information is as follows:
Topic: Fight For Good Premiere – Community Health Center of Buffalo at the Burchfield Penny Arts Center
Time: Apr 22, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85741257204?pwd=MW8yMXYwQVQ5cXZYRFo3TkxVL0gxZz09
Meeting ID: 857 4125 7204
Passcode: 757352
Panelists include Dr. LaVonne Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, CHCB, Inc.; Dr. Kenyani Davis, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, CHCB, Inc.; Dr. Shilpa Kapoor, DDS, MS, BDS, Dental Director, CHCB, Inc.; Mani Mehrvarz, Founding Director, BDP; Maryam Muliaee, Art Director, BDP; and Naila Ansari, Interviewer, BDP. The discussion will be moderated by Karla Thomas, Director of Marketing, CHCB, Inc.
“In the summer of 2020, the Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. was approached by the Buffalo Documentary Project to explore the possibility of sharing our stories with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic that was plaguing the world and severely threatening the lives of the communities that we serve,” said Dr. Ansari. “Fast forward to the Spring of 2021 and we are both humbled and honored to benefit from the tremendous film-making artistry of the BDP team; and indeed, extremely grateful to have this opportunity to share the experiences and voices of our all too often unheard women, men and children of color. By dedicating ourselves to serving them, we stand with them. But much more than that, in body, mind and spirit, we are them.”
Founded by director Mani Mehrvarz in 2016, the Buffalo Documentary Project tells the untold stories of Buffalo and Western New York through documentary filmmaking. Maryam Muliaee, a media artist-scholar and educator based in Buffalo, serves as the art director, researcher and animator of Buffalo Documentary Project. Naila Ansari, an assistant professor (Theatre and Africana studies at Buffalo State College and an original and former principal dancer for the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, serves as documentary interviewer.
The film features interviews with Dr. Ansari, Dr. Kenyani Davis, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer; and Dr. Shilpa Kapoor, DDS, MS, BDS, Lead Clinical Dentist/Dental Director.
Each shares candid firsthand experiences, including describing personal and organizational challenges faced in providing treatment to COVID patients; difficulties faced by families; and the impact of racism observed and encountered in the broader healthcare system.
“By participating in this 20-minute film entitled Fight For Good; we have shared and learned by giving voice to our common humanity including our innermost fears of personal vulnerability and loss; our frustrations and hopes for a healthcare system that is on one hand truly miraculous, and on the other, afflicted with implicit bias and systemic racism; and ultimately, our unshakable belief that the fight for good is both righteous and winnable!” continued Dr. Ansari.
“We are truly blessed through the communications medium of film to have this opportunity to invite viewers to engage in what we believe are some of the most important conversations of our present time. We are but one. But with others, ‘we’ quickly become many. And as ‘many’, our power to affect change is infused with significance and possibility.”
About The Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc.
The Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc., under the leadership of Dr. LaVonne Ansari, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) operating four patient centers across Western New York in Buffalo (34 Benwood Ave.), Cheektowaga (934 Cleveland Dr.), Lockport (38 Heritage Ct.), and Niagara Falls (2715 Highland Ave.), in addition to a Mobile Healthcare Unit. As a National Health Services Corps site, CHCB, Inc. is committed to serving all patients, regardless of ability to pay; offering discounted fees for patients who qualify; and not denying services based on a patient’s race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation. CHCB, Inc. also accepts insurance including Medicaid, Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Focused on Patient Centered Medical Care. The Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. is also an LGBTQIF friendly organization. www.chcb.net
About Buffalo Documentary Project
Founded by Mani Mehrvarz in 2016, the Buffalo Documentary Project tells the untold stories of Buffalo and Western New York through documentary filmmaking. BDP has brought a team of artists, filmmakers, researchers and educators together to work and make films about Buffalo’s diverse communities, art, and culture. More info about BDP: http://buffalodocumentaryproject.com/
Mani Mehrvarz is the founding director of BDP, a filmmaker and media artist whose media installations and documentary films have been exhibited or screened worldwide since 2006. Mehrvarz completed his PhD in Media Study (2020) at the University at Buffalo where he taught both production classes and film/media theory seminars in the past five years. He is currently the creative director and lead designer of the UB Arts Collaboratory. https://manimehrvarz.com/
Maryam Muliaee is a media artist-scholar and educator based in Buffalo, New York, and the art director, researcher and animator of Buffalo Documentary Project. She received her PhD in Media Study (2020) in an art-based research program from the University at Buffalo where she has designed and taught courses in video art as well as film and cinema since 2015. Her work is multidisciplinary ranging from drawing and illustration to experimental video/animation, sound art and locative media. http://maryammuliaee.com/
Naila Ansari is an assistant professor of Theatre and Africana studies at Buffalo State College, and Founder of the Movement of Joy. She is a graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts program and an original and former principal dancer for the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble. A native of Buffalo, Naila also danced and performed works for the legendary Lula Washington Dance Theatre out of Los Angeles, CA. Most recently, Naila has two publications in Theatre Journal and has had her choreography performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. https://www.nailaansari.org/
About The Burchfield Penney Art Center
Established in 1966 on the campus of SUNY Buffalo State, the Burchfield Penney Art Center is dedicated to the art and vision of renowned American artist Charles E. Burchfield (1893–1967) and the distinguished artists of Western New York State. https://www.burchfieldpenney.org/
