The Gnu’s Room will feature the POV documentary Off and Running on Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Off and Running tells the story of Brooklyn teenager Avery, a track star with a bright future. She is the adopted African-American child of white Jewish lesbians. Her older brother is black and Puerto Rican and her younger brother is Korean. Though it may not look typical, Avery’s household is like most American homes — until Avery writes to her birth mother and the response throws her into crisis. She struggles over her “true” identity, the circumstances of her adoption and her estrangement from black culture. Just when it seems as if her life is unraveling, Avery decides to pick up the pieces and make sense of her identity, with inspiring results.
This screening of Off and Running is co-sponsored by The Gnu’s Room, the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for Arts & Humanities and PBS. There is no charge for this event.
Immediately after the film a discussion will be moderated by Nancy Moody. Moody, from Montgomery, is the adoptive parent of two children, a son and daughter from Peru. Moody’s daughter, Amber, now an adult, will join in the discussion to offer both sides of the issues addressed in the film.