LEADER 00000ngm  2200397 i 4500 
001    kan1139625 
003    CaSfKAN 
005    20140402113757.0 
006    m     o  c         
007    vz uzazuu 
007    cr una---unuuu 
008    150413p20152000cau039        o   vleng d 
028 52 1139625|bKanopy 
035    (OCoLC)908378030 
040    CaSfKAN|beng|erda|cCaSfKAN 
043    e-fr--- 
245 00 Big Mama. 
264  1 [San Francisco, California, USA] :|bKanopy Streaming,
       |c2015. 
300    1 online resource (1 video file, approximately 40 min.) :
       |bdigital, .flv file, sound 
336    two-dimensional moving image|btdi|2rdacontent 
337    computer|bc|2rdamedia 
338    online resource|bcr|2rdacarrier 
344    digital 
347    video file|bMPEG-4|bFlash 
500    Title from title frames. 
518    Originally produced by California Newsreel in 2000. 
520    Winner of an Academy Award in the Documentary Short 
       category, Big Mama depicts a devoted grandmother's 
       struggle to raise her orphaned grandson under the watchful
       eye of a complex and difficult social welfare system. Big 
       Mama follows 18 months in the lives of Viola Dees, an 
       African American grandmother, and Walter, her grandson, as
       she tries to raise him alone in South Central Los Angeles.
       Dees has taken care of Walter since the age of four, when 
       his father (Viola's son) died. Walter appears in the 
       documentary as bright and sweetly loving to his 
       grandmother, but also profoundly troubled, affected by his
       mother's prenatal drug intake. In the documentary, Walter 
       is nine, and Dees is turning 90. The film focuses on the 
       continuous battle against age discrimination faced by Dees
       and many like her. While contending with her own declining
       health and a bureaucratic and legal system that 
       continually threatens to force them apart, Dees fights the
       misconception that age supersedes one's ability to love 
       and care for a child. Big Mama candidly chronicles the 
       family when life deals them several blows. Dees suffers a 
       heart attack, provoking hostile behavior from Walter, who 
       burns their house down when he sets a magazine ablaze in 
       his room. When Walter is admitted to a psychiatric 
       hospital, the doctors determine that Dees is no longer 
       able to handle her grandson, and will not release him to 
       her until she agrees to place him in long-term residential
       care. After a challenging search, Walter is accepted at an
       appropriate facility and thrives during his year there. 
       However, when treatment is completed, social workers 
       conclude that Dees is too frail to care for him, and 
       Walter is returned to the foster care system. Sadly, Viola
       Dees died at age 91. Weeks after her death, the Los 
       Angeles Department of Children and Family Services sought 
       an eleventh-hour block of this film's release, citing 
       issues of Walter's privacy. The case was ultimately 
       dismissed and the documentary went on to win an Academy 
       Award. The strong connection and boundless affection 
       between these loved ones is captured in a compelling and 
       compassionate manner in this portrait of an ever-
       increasing phenomenon - children raised by their 
       grandparents. Update: In the wake of his grandmother's 
       death, Walter returned to the residential home for 10 
       months and was then moved into a foster home for six 
       months. He's now in a group home and, given his behavioral
       problems, faces little chance of being placed with another
       foster family. "Big Mama is a powerful film that brings to
       life the spirit and moral force of the millions of 
       grandparents and other kin raising so many of our nation's
       children." - Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President,
       Children's Defense Fund "The documentary serves as a 
       strong plea for reform and negotiation between 
       grandparents who courageously rear their orphaned 
       grandchildren and the state which questions their ability 
       to do so." - New Orleans Times-Picayune "There is no doubt
       that Big Mama deserves the Oscar it won." - The Christian 
       Science Monitor "A great teaching tool covering issues 
       that go across the lifespan. Terrific!" - Anita Rosen, 
       Council on Social Work Education "Viewers are left sharing
       Ms. Dees's hope that Walter will remember what she taught 
       him." - New York Times. 
538    Mode of access: World Wide Web. 
650  0 Grandparents|zUnited States|zCalifornia|zLos Angeles
       |xGrandparents raising children. 
650  0 Child welfare|zUnited States|zCalifornia|zLos Angeles
       |xFoster home care. 
655  7 Documentary films.|2lcgft 
700 1  Seretean, Tracy,|efilm director. 
710 2  Kanopy (Firm) 
914    kan1139625