My Mother's Garden, Screening and Discussion with Director Cynthia Lester

Screened at Slamdance, Silverdocs, Hotdocs, DocFest Sheffield, and the True/False Film Festival, My Mother's Garden documents how a mother’s hoarding disorder has affected her children, and the children’s eventual efforts to come to terms with it. While making "My Mother’s Garden," Lester also worked at GEMS (girls education and mentoring services), an organization that assists girls involved in the sex industry. Lester will discuss making independent personal films that address social and psychological issues, as well as her experiences dealing with conventional media outlets (MSNBC will run a shortened version of her film in April). Cynthia Lester is an alumni of the Film & Digital Media Dept. at UCSC.