The 2018 Milwaukee Film Festival has finally arrived! From October 18th through November 1st, tens of thousands of film fans will converge on Milwaukee-area movie theaters for more than 300 showings. Ex Fabula is a proud community partner of the festival, which is celebrating its 10th year.
In fact, if it weren’t for the Milwaukee Film Festival, Ex Fabula would never have been born, as it facilitated the meeting of founders Megan McGee and Leah Delaney! On Saturday, October 27th, Ex Fabula and Milwaukee Film Festival are teaming up for a special workshop, Resilience Through Storytelling (please RSVP on the Facebook event page). This weekend’s stories are a perfect primer for that event, from tellers who are at once tough and tender, and vulnerable yet upbeat – the very definition of resilient.
When her mother unexpectedly passed away and was buried on her 28th birthday, Tracy never thought it would only be the beginning of a series of unfortunate life events. As she told the audience at the "Forgotten" StorySlam in April of 2016, the following year and a half was awful – from learning a troubling family secret to the discovery of a cancerous lump in her neck. Then one day, waiting for the flu-like symptoms of yet another chemo treatment to kick in, Tracy felt a healing presence come over her like a warm hug of strength and resilience. She knew it was her mom’s grace, helping her through a tough time.
Our second teller, Lisa Williams, moved to Milwaukee from Chicago with a friend and her young son in 2001. Escaping homelessness, PTSD, depression and anxiety, this move was her chance to start over, she shared at the Doors Open Milwaukee 2016 "Milwaukee Neighborhoods" StorySlam.
During another bout with depression, Lisa decided to seek help and take her life back. She went back to school, enjoyed the short bus commutes, and earned a Bachelor’s degree. She became a lead supervisor at a local nonprofit, proudly saw her son graduate from college, and bought a house. Lisa credits Milwaukee – with all its quirks, including Grand Avenue’s unicycle bear (now on display at the Milwaukee Public Market) – for saving her life.
Listen to these stories of resilience here:
Our November StorySlam with the theme of "Caught in the Act" will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9th at Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, 1920 S. 37th St. in Milwaukee.
