A filmmaker from Haverstraw will have her work featured next week at the Nyack International Film Festival.

Natalie Tulloch’s documentary, created while she was a graduate student at SUNY Purchase, focuses on blood shortages and the people who rely on donations the most. The American Red Cross recently declared a blood emergency as the national supply fell 35% from December to January.

The film also discusses how the nation’s history with segregation affected donations from people of color. In the documentary, Tulloch says many Black and brown people were turned away from donating because some believed their blood was tainted. “They just only accepted white blood,” she says. “And that's very recent. I believe there was a state, I think Alabama was recent to reverse that law. So there are still people that were alive during that day that would remember those times.”

The documentary premieres next Saturday, March 28, at 2:09 p.m. The festival begins this Saturday and runs through March 28 at Hotel Nyack.