Tuesday, March 5

6pm

Vashon Theatre

Free, donations to Lushootseed Research accepted at the door.

“The Healing Heart of Lushootseed” is a short documentary that tells the extraordinary story of how a diminutive great-grandmother tenaciously gathered support from unlikely corners for her most ambitious project: to heal the heart of the world. Her mission, 1. Commission an original symphony that embodied the compassion and healing power of her ancestral culture, 2. Convince the Seattle Symphony to perform it, 3. Have the symphony performed around the world. “It’s a spiritual gift from my people, it comes in the form of symphony” - Vi “taqʷšəblu” Hilbert, Upper Skagit Tribal elder.

The Vashon screening of the film will happen Tuesday, March 5th at 6pm at Vashon Theatre, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker, Jill La Pointe - granddaughter of the late Vi Hilbert. Ms. La Pointe is the Director of Lushootseed Research (LR), a nonprofit founded by her grandmother in 1983, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Lushootseed language and culture. 

She says, “Making this film was truly a labor of love to honor our beloved late grandmother. There is still so much pain and suffering in our world that could benefit from the gift of healing. My grandmother's vision and her tenacity serve as an inspiring example, to never give up on your dreams and desires to help make the world a better place.”

Co-sponsors of the event include Backbone Campaign, Vashon Island School District, the Land Trust, the Heritage Museum, Vashon Island Unitarians, Vashon Nature Center, Vashon Wilderness Program, Vashon Climate Action Group, and Vashon Indivisible, as well as Meaningful Movies on Vashon. Organizers are grateful to Island GreenTech and the Vashon Theatre for allowing the use of the Theater to show this film. 

Admission to the screening and discussion is free, with donations accepted at the door.  All donations received at the door will be donated to Lushootseed Research, an organization that produced the film and is working on another documentary.