President Obama's mother to be focus of documentary

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http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSTRE5870JR20090908

President Obama's late mother is headed to the big screen in a feature-length documentary about her life.

"Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit" will show how Dunham raised her son in Indonesia and Hawaii as well as her pioneering work in the field of Third World microfinance, which assists small entrepreneurs, mostly women, in developing countries.

"She gave a lot of the backbone to our current president and his compassion to the people," said Mary Aloe, who is executive producing. "With these small-scale economies, she took a concept that was emerging just as women were getting their rights and got them to think outside the box. She is a fascinating woman, and she was ahead of her time."

Dunham died of cancer in 1995, aged 52.

The project will begin shooting early next year in Indonesia, Hawaii and Washington. The independent production is in talks to secure Obama's involvement.

[WeDidIt]

1. There had better be a deep scrubbing of the people involved

I wouldn't trust that this isn't a Birther production.

[Hekate]

4. Anne Dunham Soetoro was the real deal. Here's an article on her work...

I'd love to see a documentary that would tell us more.

Hekate

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/opinion/11dove.html?_r=1

August 11, 2009
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Dreams From His Mother
By MICHAEL R. DOVE
New Haven
PRESIDENT OBAMA’s late mother, Ann Dunham Soetoro, was famous for the good cheer and optimism that she preserved in the face of a complex and challenging world. Her personality went hand-in-hand with her career as an anthropologist in Indonesia and Pakistan, where she studied and worked with village craftsmen, slum-dwellers and countless others. I knew Dr. Soetoro as a friend and colleague for many years before her death from cancer in 1995. Though I only met her son once, briefly at her memorial service, I’ve watched him as he’s taken on the hardest job in the world, and often found myself wondering how her worldview might have shaped him. >snip<

[Clio the Leo]

2. And some of her batiks are on display at a DC museum....

..... was just reading this....

On Saturday evening, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia — where President Obama spent his early years after his mother married Lolo Soetoro and the family moved to South Jakarta — hosted a gala dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel honoring Mrs. Dunham's batik collection now on display at the Textile Museum in Northwest. The exhibit, titled "A Lady Found a Culture in Its Cloth: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks," continues through Aug. 23.

Batik, woven fabric used as clothing and wall adornment, is a central part of Indonesian culture dating to the 16th century. Mrs. Dunham, as a way of immersing herself in the Indonesian way of life, began collecting and wearing batik in the late 1960s and patronized the batik makers in small villages near her home.

Mrs. Dunham died 1995, and her daughter Maya Soetoro Ng (the president's half-sister, who was born in Indonesia and speaks the native language) inherited her mother's batiks and has loaned the collection to museums nationwide as a way of teaching the public about Mrs. Dunham's "ability to merge cultures."

And from that same article this....

(The President's sister Maya) took the stage with (her) 1-year-old (daughter) Savita in her arms. As she stood at the podium, little Savita, showing her uncle's gift for soaring oratory, cupped the microphone in her tiny hands and squealed with delight, much to the amusement of the crowd.

Little Savita was so loquacious, in fact, that her mother had to pass her off to her husband (University of Hawaii professor Konrad Ng) in order to complete her remarks without interruption.

So, how is Uncle Barack?

"He played with Savita vigorously last night around the dining room table, " Mrs. Ng told G2 during the gala's predinner reception, adding that the president's little niece seemed to be mesmerized by her uncle's "visage."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/10/green-glover-sister-and-niece-act/

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3. thanks for the link Clio the Leo

:hi: