Arts & Culture

Exploring 'Off And Running'

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Rachel Ferguson

Published February 10, 2010 at 6:50 AM PST

This story was published more than 14 years ago.

Filmmaker Nicole Opper's documentary "Off and Running" is a story about an African-American teenage girl's search for her birth mom as she is being raised by her Jewish, lesbian adoptive parents.

The film "Off And Running" will play at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival on Monday, February 15, at 8 p.m., 2010, at the AMC La Jolla.

Maureen Cavanaugh: The search for identity is a common theme in coming of age films, but it's seldom as complicated as in the documentary "Off and Running." In the film we meet an African-American high school track star who is searching for her birth parents. But in the meantime, her non-traditional adoptive family is becoming worried that she's pulling away from them. Her parents are two white, Jewish lesbians and her brothers are of different races.

The documentary "Off and Running" has won a host of awards at film festivals, and now it comes to the San Diego Jewish Film Festival.

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The director of the film is originally from San Diego.

Guest

Nicole Opper, documentary filmmaker of "Off and Running."

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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