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     Bushra Azzuz, a beloved filmmaker and instructor at the Northwest Film Center died in 2019. Now, three years later, her final film has been edited and produced and debuts at Cinema 21 in an even that acts as both a world premiere and memorial service to a woman it seems everybody loved. I didn’t know her well, but I lived across the street from her for years and we would sometimes ride the bus together. She was great.

The film is a short documentary about a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream put on by inmates at Two Rivers Correctional Facility, in Umatilla. I go to the showing with a couple who knew her well. The theater is packed with friends and family, as well as a bunch of the former inmates who took part in the production. I see a bunch of former film center staff, people I haven’t seen in years. Big, bright paper flowers are handed out to everyone.

I feel deeply moved by the film, which, manages to avoid sentimentality while still making a great case for the ability of art to enrich our lives. After the credits roll, the man who directed the play gets up on stage, followed by the former inmates, each of whom gives a short speech of appreciation for Bushra and those who helped her complete her final project.  

            As we’re walking back to the car after the show, a woman pushing a stroller filled with garbage stops in the middle of the street and starts screaming. One of my friends approaches her and asks if she wants her paper flower. The woman looks confused but takes it and continues on down the street with her stroller without another word. In the car, my friend says she wishes she had another flower to remember the evening by, so I hand her mine.