All We Carry: Film Screening and Panel Discussion – Fresno, CA

FIRM and the Big Red Church, sponsored by the Central Valley Community Foundation (CVCF) and CMAC- Community Media Access Collaborative, are organizing a screening of the documentary “All We Carry” on January 28, 2025.

The documentary follows a young family from Honduras as they navigate the challenges of their journey and the obstacles they encounter upon arriving in the United States. It highlights the arduous asylum system while showcasing how some individuals find supportive communities, even in unfamiliar places. The film captures the complexities faced by those forced to flee their homes in search of a better life.

Read more about the film here: ALL WE CARRY A feature documentary

We have invited the director, Cady Voge, to participate in the screening and join a panel discussion with local human rights activists and elected officials afterward.

Panel:

Misty Her, Superintendent, Fresno Unified School District

Misty was born in 1975 in a small Prisoner of War camp in Laos during the final phases of the Vietnam War. Fearing for the family’s safety after the war due to her father’s involvement in the US secret operations in Laos, the family fled to a refugee camp in Thailand. The family spent one year in the refugee camp before relocating to the United States in 1980. With no formal education and inability to speak English, her parents decided to settle in the Central Valley because of its agricultural opportunities. Misty’s passion for education was nurtured through the support of teachers and mentors in the Fresno Unified School District. Misty’s educational career progressed from being a classroom teacher to becoming the first Hmong Vice Principal and subsequently the first Hmong Woman Principal in the United States.  In 2011, she was appointed Instructional Superintendent for School Leadership and in 2021 she was selected as the Deputy Superintendent of Fresno Unified School District. In 2024, Misty was appointed Interim Superintendent for the District. Misty believes in the transformative power of education and is committed to inspiring hope and potential in the next generation.

Cady Voge, Director, Producer, and Cinematographer, All We Carry

Cady Voge is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist specializing in character-driven, longform, and vérité storytelling. As a filmmaker, she has shot, produced, and directed short films for NBC, The New Humanitarian, and other media outlets across the Americas, and her reporting has appeared in outlets such as the BBC, Wired, and Al Jazeera, among others. Cady met the participants of her debut feature documentary, All We Carry, while covering the migrant caravan in Mexico in 2018, for which her reporting was nominated for an Eppy. Before becoming a full-time storyteller, Cady directed an international peace education nonprofit organization for five years, which took her all over the world to lead facilitation trainings for university students.

Lourdes Medina (Lulú), Advocacy and Communications Associate, SIREN | Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network

Lourdes has been a proud resident of California’s Central Valley for over 35 years. An immigrant from Guatemala and the eldest of six siblings, she has dedicated her life to helping and empowering others. For the past two years, she has worked with SIREN (Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network), leveraging her bilingual skills and expertise to uplift her community.  

Passionate about advocacy, Lourdes is a strong voice for women, children, and environmental causes. A lifelong lover of the arts, especially music, she has been a DJ for 23 years on Radio Bilingüe, the FM community radio station in Fresno. Lourdes takes great pride in serving as a bridge for cultural expression and a champion for social justice in the Central Valley.

Rev. Simon Biasell-Moshrefi, Pastor, Big Red Church

Rev. Simon Biasell is the pastor at the Big Red Church and Co-Executive Director of Woven Coalition for Justice. For more than twenty years, Simon has worked to build radical hospitality within faith-based groups and is passionate about connecting and organizing community members to speak truth to power. Simon graduated from Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary with a Master of Divinity. He and his wife Natasha live in the Fresno High neighborhood with their two children, Paloma and Pax. Simon is a fourth-year doctorate student at the University of Dubuque, where his research explores how the next generation of churches can best serve their communities.

We will be serving warm ponche, pupusas, and a selection of other snacks for your enjoyment.