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THURSDAY, APRIL 5

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7 VOLUME 115, ISSUE 33 CEDAR FALLS, IA ‘Travelogue’ art gallery 2 Venezuela 3 ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ review 5 Women’s basketball 6 INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Chiang shows documentary in Lang GABRIELLE LEITNER/Northern Iowan

LEZIGA BARIKOR Staff Writer

Not many have the unique opportunity of watching a documentary with the filmmaker present, but that’s just what UNI students, faculty and community members did on Monday, Feb. 4, in in Lang Auditorium. Independent documentarian and producer S. Leo Chiang was invited to UNI through

the William and Stephanie Clohesy Documentary Film Series. Chiang was born in Taiwan and is now based in San Francisco. His work “A Village Called Versailles” landed an Emmy award nomination. His most recent documentary, “Out Run,” which was screened on Monday, gained him a Best Cinematography award at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Chiang spent the first three days of the week on UNI’s campus hosting film screenings, visiting classrooms and meeting with UNI students. He also met with digital media students from Hawkeye Community College. In addition to presenting “Out Run” and “A Village Called Versailles,” he showed his newest work-in-progress film, “Ma Liang’s Time Machine.” “Out Run” follows the world’s

campus who care about them even if they don’t know it.” This will be TWLOHA’s second year benefiting Covenant Clinic. The year before, the proceeds from the auction went to Black HawkGrundy Mental Health Center. According McDowell, the typical stay at Covenant Clinic Psychiatry’s youth in-patient unit lasts for a week at the most. “Basically, it’s their crisis intervention and getting them to the place where they feel safe and know they’re support[ed] and then getting them to out-patient,” McDowell said. “They do a lot of good work in terms of the youth in this area.” While the silent auction is taking place, there will be entertainment provided by the SingPins, as well as a new local band called Brooklyn Brain. The evening will also include an open mic portion where audience members are encouraged to recite poetry, sing, share their stories or

anything else they would like. Cookies and other refreshments will also be served. The benefit is TWLOHA’s biggest event of the spring semester. They host a 5K every fall, but the group is active throughout the year by holding weekly meetings in the Presidential Room of Maucker Union on Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. The group does different activities each night, such as painting canvases to donate to the art benefit. “We work on different coping skills,” McDowell said. “We talk about different mental health disorders. We do certain things like ‘share your story’ nights, so if people want to talk about their past, they can, and it remains as confidential as we can be. Basically, we’re there to be a safe space for everybody.” Last year, the benefit raised around $250. McDowell hopes TWLOHA can surpass that number this year. The starting bids will all be relatively affordable, with none being more than $10.

first — and at the time, only — LGBT political party. In a character-driven portrayal, Chiang’s film follows Bemz Benedito closely as she and her fellow Ladlad party members attempt to make history in the 2010 Philippine election. Benedito aspires to be the first transgender woman in the Philippine Congress. The film follows her, her trans campaign team and other supporters of their movement from their campaign to the day after the election. The film ends with interviews conducted three years after. Sophomore political communication major Elle Boeding attended the screening of “Out Run” and thought the film was very impressive. “I thought it was very inspirational,” Boeding said. “I liked how they followed them through.” Following the presentation of the film, there was a question-and-answer session with Chiang. Audience members asked him clarifying questions about his work on “Out Run.” Chiang was able to discuss a scene in the documentary with misused gender pronouns. A father used “he/him/his” pronouns for his transgender maleto-female daughter.

“Just to be fair, in English, they do kind of get their pronouns confused,” Chiang said. “A lot of it is in Tagalog there is no gender in the pronouns. So I don’t know if people did that maliciously, or carelessly or something that they’re not used to doing.” Chiang also had updates on the situations of all the main people portrayed in the film and the current political structure. In the film, Benedito and the Ladlad party lost the 2010 election, but in 2016, the Philippines did elect the first transgender woman to congress with Geraldine Roman. Chiang was able to give a broader context than what could be included in the film. During the time of Ladlad’s election, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld same-sex marriage. The LGBT community in the Philippines was disappointed in how Ladlad was refusing to campaign on the topic and played it safe instead. “We were afraid of creating controversy. It was a mistake,” said Raymond Alikpala in the documentary after the lost election in which he was a nominee. “As Ladlad’s leadership, we let Filipinos down.” See CHIANG, page 2

Mental health advocacy group hosts benefit ANNA FLANDERS Staff Writer

The UNI chapter of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) will host their annual charitable art benefit in the Maucker Union Ballroom on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. There will be a silent auction of pieces created by TWLOHA group members, UNI students and community members from the Cedar Valley and out of state. All the proceeds go to the Covenant Clinic Psychiatry youth in-patient unit. Donating to this cause helps TWLOHA in their mission to provide support for people struggling with their mental health. “I want people to know that there are a lot of people on campus who care about mental health,” said TWLOHA-UNI president Becca McDowell, a senior majoring in social work. “I know that a lot of people do, but they can’t necessarily find each other and let them know that they’re supported and that there are other people on this


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