At the age of twenty-five, Judith Helfand discovered she had a rare cervical cancer. The logical cause was DES (diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic hormone that was marketed as a miscarriage cure-all. Helfand's mother had taken this wonder drug eight years before the FDA banned its use. After enduring a radical hysterectomy, Helfand returned to her family's home to recuperate. There she picked up her camcorder, and began a five-year video-diary documenting her reconciliation with the loss of fertility. An intimate and oddly humorous portrait, A Healthy Baby Girl also traces the renewal of love between a mother and daughter and goes on to outline Helfand's awakening as a political activist. In 1971, DES was banned as being carcinogenic and, ultimately, ineffective. The pharmaceutical industry well understood the risks, but forsook medical ethics in favor of corporate profits. Building on the intimate dimension of love and loss, A Healthy Baby Girl becomes a fearless exposé concerning women's health and corporate responsibility. (57 mins, Color, 16mm)Preceded by:Your Name In Cellulite (Gail Noonan, 1995). An outlandish animated work, hilariously satirizing the gap between a woman's natural beauty and the glamour industry's gross ideal. (6 mins, Color, 35mm) "swim, swim...": Talking to Sperm and Other Desperate Acts (Wendy Levy, 1996). The filmmaker's two-year bout with infertility is presented as consistently and unapologetically funny, except for the pregnant pauses. (11 mins, Color, 16mm)-Steve Seid