Alumna's Documentary Gets Distribution

Black Girl in Suburbia, a documentary film by Pacific University alumna Melissa Lowery ‘09, is now available publicly through Women Make Movies, a distribution company for women in film.

The film chronicles the experiences of girls and women of color who grow up in predominantly white suburbs — as Lowery did in West Linn, Ore.

“There are a lot of assumptions about what you’re like, who you’re supposed to be,” Lowery said in a 2014 story in Pacific magazine. “There are lots of different experiences like that we talk about in the film.”

Lowery, who studied media arts at Pacific, has been sharing the film in discussion forums throughout the greater Portland area for the past few years and also has received critical acclaim with appearances at the St. Louis International Film Festival, African American Women in Film Festival, International Black Women Film Festival, and Portland Oregon’s Women Film Festival.

The 54-minute documentary is available for pre-order on DVD through Women Make Movies.