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A matter of life and death

by Robyn Israel

V iewers might recoil in horror when they first sit down to watch "Liberty: 3 Stories About Life and Death." The first scene in this compelling documentary spotlights Joyce Fulton in her Los Altos home, just two days before her death from a brain tumor.

That opening scene will undoubtedly unsettle those watching Pam Walton's film for the first time. But if viewers can get past the grim opening images, if they can handle looking at a woman whose body has been utterly ravaged by her illness, they will discover a film that celebrates life as it explores death.

"Let's face it. This film isn't for everyone," Walton said. "But I think the film has an appeal. It's about what makes life worth living, what gives life joy and meaning. A huge part of that is community, connecting with other people, loving other people, supporting other people."

The 70-minute documentary, set to screen on Sunday at the Spangenberg Theatre in Palo Alto, is divided into three segments, each devoted to the trials of three different women, who all knew each other. All are part of a larger circle of lesbian friends who primarily live in the Bay Area.

Part One, entitled "Death to Life," chronicles Fulton, who passed away in 1999 from a brain tumor at the age of 66. Her tale is told in reverse, with viewers first meeting Fulton in her last days, when she is so ill she can scarcely speak or breathe. Her surgery and radiation are depicted onscreen, giving viewers insight into her painful treatments. Then the film goes back in time, to the first few days after her diagnosis in 1997, revealing a vibrant, engaging woman who enjoyed sharing life with her partner of 20 years, Anne Prescott.

"I wanted to bring her back to life. It gave me a lot of pleasure to watch her get well," said Walton, whose last film, "Call to Witness," was broadcast on 15 PBS stations.

It was Fulton's illness that inspired Walton to make the film, as a means of coping with the imminent loss of a dear friend she had known for 30 years. The camera, she said, was like a shield that allowed her to observe Fulton without having to interact with her. Instead, it was Walton's partner and the film's associate director, Ruth Carranza, who interacted more with Fulton.

"I didn't do too well with her death at all," Walton said of Fulton, who had taught social studies at Woodside High School for 36 years (she was also named teacher of the year for San Mateo County and for California in 1994). "Joyce was transformed by that illness."

One poignant scene depicts Fulton at a barbershop in Los Gatos, where she is having her hair shorn prior to her surgery. Surrounded by her friends and loved ones, she lets her hair be cut in stages, playfully experimenting with different styles until she is finally bald. At that point, her friend, Carol Benoit, comes up to her and plants a kiss, sealed with red lipstick, on the back of her head.

"I just think that if I were faced with that situation, I might just want to curl up in a ball," Walton said. "Joyce didn't. She almost celebrated that event.

"Her death experience was very courageous. She wasn't at all afraid of being videotaped."

The second segment, "Life to Death," is devoted to Mary Bell Wilson, who died in August 2000 from lymphoma at the age of 79. If Fulton's story is about community and support in the face of death, Wilson's story is about an individual's seven-year struggle with cancer and the energy she showed in trying to stay alive. Much of the segment shows Wilson in her Woodside home, dancing to the music of Aretha Franklin as she enjoys the company of partner Kenan Neese and 10-year-old twin siblings Matthew and Christina Thomas, for whom she was an honorary grandmother.

Unlike Fulton's story, Wilson's story is told in chronological order, beginning four years before her death.

"Mary Bell was a good friend, but I didn't feel as badly about her death. She had a wonderful, full life, and was close to 80 when she died," Walton said. "For that reason, it made sense to tell her story in the correct, chronological order."

The film's final segment, "Life," takes viewers to New York City, where they encounter Nan Golub, a lively artist and painter who lives life to the fullest. Unlike Fulton and Wilson, she is healthy physically, but is still haunted by the sexual abuse she sustained as a child. Viewers discover a humorous woman who channels her anger and hurt into creative pursuits.

"She's one of the most alive people I know," Walton said. "She has a significant amount of pain in her life, but she doesn't let it destroy her."

Golub reminisces about Fulton and Wilson, whom she both knew when she lived in Woodside. She draws a whimsical "family tree" that shows the interconnectedness of all three women and their close community of friends. In so doing, she brings them back to life, reminding viewers of the full lives they led before their passing.

A secondary theme in the film is the Statue of Liberty, which figures prominently throughout the piece, both literally and metaphorically.

"It's kind of intriguing to put liberty and death together in the same title," Walton said. "(But) there is something liberating about death."

"Liberty" premiered in August at the 7th annual InFACT Theatrical Documentary Showcase in Hollywood, which automatically qualifies the film for Academy Award consideration. Its inclusion in the showcase came as a pleasant surprise to Walton, who feared the film would not appeal to a broader audience.

"It was very gratifying to know they liked it, to know they saw something in it besides this community of women. That was my fear -- (that) it wouldn't communicate with anyone outside of the people who knew Mary Bell and Joyce. But obviously it has."

Asked why "Liberty" has the capacity to resonate with a larger audience, Walton replied that part of it had to do with the film's structure, particularly the backward storytelling evident in the first segment.

"That's one of the things that makes it different, that gives it appeal. It keeps you drawn into the story," she said. "I love films that make me think, 'Oh, now I get that.' That sort of experience."

Not all of Walton's colleagues agreed with her decision to structure her film that way. She showed it to Bay Area filmmaker Deborah Hoffman ("The Times of Harvey Milk"), who found the beginning too rough and intrusive.

But Walton stuck to her guns.

"That painful beginning will make what comes later even more wonderful, in the sense that Joyce was such a wonderful, beautiful person."

Walton hopes to see "Liberty" used an educational tool for hospice and health-care professionals, as well as for university courses that address sociology, women's studies, gay and lesbian studies, and death and dying.

"It would also be a good thing for doctors to see, because they often don't view their patients with enough humanity," Walton said.

Walton is also planning to submit "Liberty" to a number of local festivals, including Cinequest, the San Francisco International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Alyce Myatt, a scout for PBS' "Independent Lens," has also expressed interest.

What: "Liberty: 3 Stories About Life and Death," a film by Pam Walton.

Where: Spangenberg Theatre, located on the Gunn High School campus, 780 Arastradero Road in Palo Alto.

When: Sept. 28 from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

Cost: A $20 donation is requested, though no one will be turned away. Proceeds will help offset the cost of the film.

Info: Call (650) 354-8220 or visit www.spangenbergtheatre.com.