PBS North Carolina proudly presents—

A preview screening of Mama Bears and virtual discussion

About this Event

Celebrating Pride Month, we invite you to join us for a special screening of Mama Bears. The screening will be followed by a conversation moderated by Josh Clinard, associate producer at PBS North Carolina, featuring filmmaker Daresha Kyi and Sara Cunningham, a Mama Bear who appeared in the film.

Mama Bears is a film that follows the intimate journeys of two fundamentalist, evangelical Christian mothers who are now willing to risk losing friends, family and faith communities to champion their kids—even if it challenges their belief systems and rips apart their worlds.

Virtual Event Details:

• Date and Time: Tuesday, June 13, at 7 PM EDT

• Screening of Mama Bears

• Panel Discussion and Audience Q & A

• Link to join event will be emailed to you prior to the event

Moderator: Josh Clinard, associate producer, PBS North Carolina

Panelists:

• Daresha Kyi, director/producer, Mama Bears

• Sara Cunningham, Mama Bears, film participant

This is a free, virtual event but registration is required. Please reserve your virtual seat via Eventbrite. If you have any questions, email Karen Nowak at events@pbsnc.org.

The link to join the event will be emailed to you a few days before the event.

More about Mama Bears:

Spread across the country but connected through private Facebook groups, they call themselves “mama bears” because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people. Although some may have grown up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians, mama bears are willing to risk losing friends, family, and faith communities to keep their offspring safe—even if it challenges their belief systems and rips their worlds apart.

Mama Bears is an intimate, thought-provoking exploration of the journeys taken by Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley, two “mama bears” —whose profound love for their LGBTQ children has turned them into fierce advocates for the entire queer community — and Tammi Terrell Morris, a young African American lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance perfectly exemplifies why the mama bears are so vitally important.

About Daresha Kyi, director/producer of Mama Bears

Daresha Kyi is an Emmy Award–winning director who also writes and produces film and television in Spanish and English. A graduate of NYU Film School, Mama Bears is her second feature documentary. In 2018 she was commissioned by the ACLU to direct Trans In America: Texas Strong, which garnered over 3.5 million views online, screened at SXSW, and won two Webby Awards and an Emmy for “Outstanding Short Documentary.” Texas Strong is a stand-alone short that also serves as a proof of concept for Mama Bears.

In 2017 she co-directed and co-produced Chavela, a multiple award-winning documentary about iconic singer Chavela Vargas that was distributed domestically by Music Box Pictures, screened in over 40 countries, and was recently ranked the Number One Latin American Documentary of the Decade by CineArte magazine. She has also produced Dispatches From Cleveland, Kristina Wong’s How Not to Pick Up Asian Women, and Emmy-winning writer Kevin Avery’s comedies The Whizz and Thugs, The Musical.

Daresha’s films have been funded by ITVS, NEA, NYSCA, the Jerome Foundation, and numerous others. A former fellow in the Firelight Media Documentary, Chicken & Egg Eggcelerator, Creative Capital, and A Blade of Grass programs, Daresha has an extensive background producing content for FX, WE, AMC, Telemundo, and FUSE, among other networks.

When and How to Watch or Stream:

Mama Bears premieres on Independent Lens on Tuesday, June 20, at 10 PM, on PBS NC, online and on the PBS App.

This month, we celebrate the LGBTQIA+ innovators, visionaries and trailblazers who have broken barriers to help create a more inclusive world. Stories include a profile of a gender-fluid rock ‘n’ roll legend who defied societal expectations and a documentary about evangelical mothers who risk it all to advocate for their LGBTQ+ children. This diverse collection of stories strives to broaden our understanding of the past, celebrate our differences and renew our commitment to shaping a more just and equitable society for all.

Watch or stream LGBTQIA+ stories of joy, courage and resilience on PBS NC and the PBS App.