BEI BEI

When a newborn baby dies after her mother attempts suicide while she’s pregnant, is the mother guilty of murder? BEI BEI documents the case against Bei Bei Shuai, a Chinese immigrant whose 2011 prosecution brought international attention to the state of Indiana over the legal concept of feticide and its use to criminalize women who attempt to terminate their own pregnancies. The filmmakers follow Shuai from her release after 435 days in jail without bail to the ultimate resolution of her indictment.
The film provides intriguing insights in the strategy deployed by defense attorney Linda Pence in the court of law and public opinion, and it illuminates the unexpected political motivations of the lawmakers and prosecutors behind the case. But the portrait of Shuai is the most important element of the film, serving to humanize the stories of the hundreds of women who have since been charged with murder under similar circumstances. — Chris Bucoy Brown

Expected attendees: Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt (Co-Directors) for Fri, May 10 screening.

Co-presented by: Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Asian American Journalists Association – San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, Chinese for Affirmative Action

Preceded By

PERIOD GIRL

PERIOD GIRL follows Nadya Okamoto, a 20 year-old Harvard sophomore who started the non-profit PERIOD Org, which distributes free menstrual supplies to homeless people across the country, as she opens up about some of the personal trauma that helps fuel her work.