Fight For Good
Documentary | 22 min | USA
VIRTUAL SCREENING
The documentary was screened at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State College, on Thursday, April 22, 2021, at 7:00 PM. The screening was followed by a discussion Panel live-streamed on Burchfield Penney’s Facebook page. This was the first event in over a year in Burchfield since Covid.
The event began with a greeting video message received from the NYS Assemblywoman, Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes; the Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino was also in attendance.
Watch the video message from the NYS Assemblywoman, Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes:
ABOUT THE FILM
Buffalo Documentary Project, in collaboration with Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc., presents a 22-minute film exploring the center’s work, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 disproportionately affects communities of color, highlighting the inequities of our healthcare system. The CHCB’s overarching mission is to reduce health disparities in our society and city. In “Fight for Good,” a CHCB executive and two physicians—all women of color—are captured in an unguarded style, revealing both their personal motivations and their higher goals.
FILMMAKERS
Director and Editor: Mani Mehrvarz
Featuring: Dr. LaVonne Ansari, Dr. Kenyani Davis and Dr. Shilpa Kapoor
Director of Photography: Matthew A. Nardone
Art Director and Researcher: Maryam Muliaee
Audio: Michael Bouquard
Interview: Naila Ansari and Mani Mehrvarz
Camera Operator: Joe Blodgett
Photography: Brett Roedel
Gaffers: Mark Pasqualotto and Kash Costner
STATEMENT
By Dr. LaVonne Ansari
In the summer of 2020, the Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. was approached by the Buffalo Documentary Project to explore the possibility of sharing our stories with respect to the COVID-19 Pandemic that was plaguing the world and severely threatening the lives of the communities that we serve. Fast forward to the Spring of 2021, and we are both humbled and honored to benefit from the tremendous film-making artistry of the BDP team. Indeed, we are extremely grateful to have this opportunity to share the experiences and voices of our all too often unheard women, men and children of color. By dedicating ourselves to serving them, we stand with them.
But much more than that, in body, mind and spirit, we are them.
By participating in this 22-minute film entitled Fight For Good, we have shared and learned by giving voice to our common humanity, including our innermost fears of personal vulnerability and loss. Herein are our frustrations and hopes for a healthcare system that is on one hand truly miraculous, and on the other, afflicted with implicit bias and systemic racism. Ultimately, our unshakable belief is that the fight for good is both righteous and winnable!
We are truly blessed through the communications medium of film, to have this opportunity to invite you to engage in what we believe are some of the most important conversations of our present time. We invite your perspective, input, and ultimately, your voice. We are but one, but with yourself, and others, “we” quickly become many and as “many”, our power to affect change is infused with significance and possibility.
Dr. LaVonne Ansari, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc.
Interview with the filmmakers: The Making of Fight for Good
BEHIND THE SCENES
PREMIERE EVENT
Watch the discussion panel at Burchfield Penney Art Center:
PREMIERE EVENT PHOTOS
Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, New York
photo credit: Jacob Vogan
Dr LaVonne Ansari 
Mani Mehrvarz, film director 
Maryam Muliaee, art director 
Dr Shilpa Kapoor 
NF Mayor, Robert Restaino 
Naila Ansari, film curator and interviewer 
Karla Thomas 
NYS Assemblywoman, Crystal People-Stokes 
Scott Propeack, deputy director of Burchfield Penney Art Center 
NF Mayor, Robert Restaino, Dr LaVonne Ansari, Diana Restaino 
from left to right: Mani Mehrvarz, Naila Ansari, Dr. Kenyani Davis, Dr. Shilpa Kapoor, Dr. LaVonne Ansari, Maryam Muliaee
NEWS / PRESS RELEASE
AARP Ohio virtually presents the 2021 film, Fight for Good as part of the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival. In addition, on Sep 17th, AARP Ohio will present a community conversation on health disparities within Cleveland and across the nation. Read more
WBBZ-tv: Fight For Good on air, Sunday, Apr 25, 10:30am & 7:30pm, May 27, 12:30pm, on Your Hometown MeTV Station Channel 67.1 on-air; Cable 5; FiOS 5; Dish 5; DirecTV67.
Buffalo Rising: Buffalo Documentary Project to Virtually Premiere ‘Fight For Good’
CHCB, Inc.: The World Premiere of FIGHT FOR GOOD
Burchfield Penney Art Center: CHCB in collaboration with Buffalo Documentary Project and Burchfield Penney will premiere Fight For Good
Buffalo Healthy Living: World Premiere of ‘FIGHT FOR GOOD’ in Partnership with Burchfield Penney Art Center!
The Challenger News: Buffalo Documentary Project Shares COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences Through Voices Of Women Of Color In Healthcare Leadership