International Women’s Day is celebrated globally on March 8^th every year and for the fourth year here in Richmond Hill. The event will be presented at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts. International Women’s Day, Richmond Hill, is pleased to announce the Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection, the thought-provoking National Film Board Documentary by Lea Pool, Pink Ribbons, Inc. to take place on Thursday, March 8th, at 7:30 p.m. This is a must see, must attend evening!

The International Women’s Day event will commence with a silent auction. You will discover an array of beautiful merchandise and services donated by local and regional business owners who so generously donate to International Women’s Day and support the Women’s Support Network of York Region every year. The silent auction will commence at 6:15 p.m. and will end at 10:00 pm.

Tickets are on sale for $20.00 at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts –  www.rhcentre.ca

10268 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Box Office 905-787-8811

Following the film, we invite you to an Apres Cinema Reception offering light refreshments. Everyone is invited to browse the silent auction, make your final bids and enjoy conversation with other like-minded celebrants at this notable occasion.

Opportunities for sponsorship, silent auction donations, and/or general enquiries please contact:

Angel Freedman, 905-780-8119 www.angelfreedman.com

We look forward to celebrating International Women’s Day with you once again.

Please visit www.angelfreedman.com to watch the trailer for the film. Let’s fill the theatre with 631 people and enlighten everyone on the exploitation of the pink ribbon.

Press Release by the National Film Board

“Inspired by the book Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy by Samantha King, Pink Ribbons, Inc. shows how some companies use breast cancer cause-marketing to boost sales, while often contributing only a tiny fraction of proceeds to the cause. It also explores how companies that pollute or sell products containing dangerous chemicals are in on the action, too, using “pink washing” to polish their images, and even shaping the direction of cancer research. The end result is that the environmental causes of breast cancer have been largely ignored, with only a minuscule fraction of the funds going to prevention research.”

“Pink Ribbons, Inc. also takes us back to the questionable origins of the ubiquitous ribbon. Charlotte Haley was a 68-year-old American woman using peach-coloured ribbons to specifically call attention to the lack of funding for breast cancer prevention. When a cosmetics giant wanted in, Haley refused, because she believed that the company was out to boost profits rather than help women. But she couldn’t stop them when they changed the colour of the ribbon to pink.”

“Most heartbreaking are the sick and dying women who’ve been pushed to the margins because they don’t suit the triumphal upbeat image of the pink ribbon narrative, what author Samantha King calls “the tyranny of cheerfulness.”

“This is an intriguing doc [that] will have you talking long after the lights come up.” – Linda Barnard, Toronto Star