WWAF and Latchis present film on Nobel Prize winner

BRATTLEBORO - Windham World Affairs Council and Latchis Arts present “Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai,” a Spotlight series film on the first African woman and environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize, locally known as a former trustee for the School for International Training near Brattleboro. The film will be presented Thursday, August 5, at 7 pm at  the Latchis Theatre.
Windham County filmmakers Lisa Merton and Alan Dater, through TV footage and chilling first-person accounts, document the dramatic social and political confrontations of the 1980s and 1990s in Kenya and capture Maathai’s infectious determination and unwavering courage. Cinema verité footage of the tree nurseries and the women and children who tend them brings to life the confidence and joy of people working to improve their own lives and ensure the future and vitality of their land.
Winner of 14 international film festival awards, including the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights award at the Durban International Film Festival, and the audience award at HotDocs Canadian International Documentary Festival, “Taking Root” captures a world-view in which nothing is perceived as impossible and presents an awe-inspiring profile of Maathai’s 30-year journey of courage to protect the integrally connected issues of the environment, human rights, and democracy.
Free tickets are available at EventBrite. A $10 suggested donation will be accepted at the door with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Wangari Maathai Foundation. A live Q&A discussion with the filmmakers will follow the screening.