Colonie – Bellevue Woman’s Center, a service of Ellis Medicine and the Capital Region’s only inpatient facility dedicated tothe care of women and infants, will host a screening of 40 Weeks, a new, independent film directed by Christopher Henze, on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Colonie Center Regal Cinemas.

The film tells real-life pregnancy stories of a diverse group of women and families and was produced by a team of award-wining talent, including Executive Producer Kurt Engfehr (Bowling for Columbine; Fahrenheit 9/11; Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead), Casting Director Lisa Singer (The Bachelorette, Queer Eye), and Editor April Merl (2012: A Time for change, The Yes Men Fix the World).

The seed for 40 Weeks was planted when Dominique Debroux, wife of director Henze, became pregnant. She was an older mom-to-be with a busy career, her family was far-flung and most of her friends’ childbearing days were long over.  Feeling somewhat isolated, she sought a community to connect with.  And so, Big Belli LLC was conceived by Debroux and Henze to produce a movie and create a web-based extension of filmed information to empower, educate and create a sense of community forexpectant moms. 

“Bellevue Woman’s Center  is partnering with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing to help women in the community have the healthiest possible pregnancies,” said Karen Lantzy, administrative director, women’s services at Bellevue Woman’s Center. “Many women are not aware of the importance of allowing their pregnancy to progress to term whenever possible; 40 weeks is the first documentary to follow the emotional and informational weekly milestones of pregnancy.”

The film is being shown in theaters through a partnership with Gathr, a Theater On Demand (TOD) film distribution company. Gathr’s Theatrical On Demand® is an online crowd-sourcing approach that is rapidly changing film distribution by growing the largest independent film community of moviegoers in the world. Some of Gathr’s biggest successes have been films that tell the stories of women and girls, often ignored in the big-budget blockbuster world of Hollywood feature movies.

Screenings are organized by local hosts and the public is invited to attend.  Tickets are $12 per person and can be purchased at http://gathr.us/screening/9312

Community members are also invited to sign up to learn about opportunities to meet the families featured in the film. To discover more and watch the videos, visit www.40weeksthemovie.com