LATEST NEWS

At the Good Pitch NY last month, Brett Gaylor briefly discussed how the Mozilla Foundation is working to connect filmmakers and technologists. I followed up with him to see what that meant and he pointed me to the Web Made Movies project. According to the website, Web Made Movies is Mozilla’s open video lab where they’re “bringing filmmakers and hackers together to explore how modern browser technology can reshape moving images on the web". So what does this mean? It basically looks like a mash-up of many different online tools ranging from Google maps and Wikipedia to Twitter and Flickr. Different points in the video trigger new information into the widgets displayed alongside of it. Still confused? The best way to understand this new tool is to watch it in action.

Web Made Movies has created tools to allow anyone to create their own interactive videos. To learn more about the tools and their plans for 2011, visit: webmademovies.org.

Cinereach is accepting Letters of Inquiry (LOI) for its Summer 2011 Grant Cycle. The not-for-profit film foundation and production company supports feature-length nonfiction and fiction films that are at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry, and vital subject matter. Grant amounts can range from $5,000 – $50,000 per project and can be awarded to support any stage of production, including research and development, production and post-production. There are two grant cycles per year (Summer and Winter). Within each cycle between five and fifteen projects are selected to receive support. The LOI submission deadline is Thursday, June 9 at 11:59pm (EST), and full proposals will be requested from select applicants by August 1.  Visit Cinereach's How to Apply page to get started.

Monica & David by Alexandra Codina May 19th 7:30pm At 92Y Tribeca (New York, NY) Closing out the 2010-2011 season, Monica & David is the love story of two adults with Down syndrome, and the family who strives to support their needs. Full of humor, romance and everyday family drama, Monica and David want what every adult wants—an independent life. Winner of the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, and an audience favorite at festivals around the world. Directed and produced by Monica’s cousin, first-time filmmaker, Alexandra Codina. After the screening, there will be a conversation with the filmmaker and a panel consisting of:

• Andraéa N. LaVant, Youth Development Specialist at National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth.
• Faye Ginsburg, David B. Kriser Professor of Anthropology; Director of Graduate Program in Culture and Media; Director, Center for Media, Culture & History; Co-Director, Center for Religion and Media
• Logan Levkoff, Ph.D, Sexologist, Sexuality Educator and Author

Don't forget to purchase your tickets from 92Y Tribeca before they sell out!

Monica & David by Alexandra Codina May 19th 7:30pm At 92Y Tribeca (New York, NY) Closing out the 2010-2011 season, Monica & David is the love story of two adults with Down syndrome, and the family who strives to support their needs. Full of humor, romance and everyday family drama, Monica and David want what every adult wants—an independent life. Winner of the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, and an audience favorite at festivals around the world. Directed and produced by Monica’s cousin, first-time filmmaker, Alexandra Codina. After the screening, there will be a conversation with the filmmaker and a panel consisting of:

• Andraéa N. LaVant, Youth Development Specialist at National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth.
• Faye Ginsburg, David B. Kriser Professor of Anthropology; Director of Graduate Program in Culture and Media; Director, Center for Media, Culture & History; Co-Director, Center for Religion and Media
• Logan Levkoff, Ph.D, Sexologist, Sexuality Educator and Author

Don't forget to purchase your tickets from 92Y Tribeca before they sell out!

Did you know that over one million kids drop out of high school every year in the United States? When I heard that number I was floored. Thinking of one million young people who won’t finish school this year is overwhelming. The good news? There is creative work being done across the nation to make sure all students complete their secondary education. The folks at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have just announced a bold, new initiative that brings together public media stations across the country, national non-profits like the America’s Promise Alliance, foundations - led by the Gates Foundation, celebrities, community based organizations and educators in a collaborative effort to make sure that every child in the Unites States graduates from high school. Last Tuesday, I eagerly tuned into a live stream of the American Graduate launch event, listening for ways it might intersect with Working Films’ own Reel Education project. Reel Education started with a convening held last February that brought together seven documentary film making teams with educators, non-profits and organizers to strategize about how their films can be used individually and collectively to transform education in the United States. Since then, we’ve been pursuing new ways to make sure their projects are embedded into the ongoing work of educators and activists that are closing the achievement gap, fighting for great arts education for all kids, making sure that high quality after school programming doesn’t get lost in budget cuts and - in general - working for educational equity and excellence. Both Reel Education and the American Graduate initiative are about using media resources to support the existing work of organizers and educators. I was excited to hear that the bulk of the work done through America Graduate will be community based. Through grants provided by the initiative, local public radio and television stations in 20 community hubs will partner with local organizations and schools to engage parents, students, teachers, and others in unique programs designed to lower the drop-out rate in their area. With Reel Education we are also looking to organizations who are leading the charge in the world of education to guide our ideas about how film and new media projects can be put to use. Organizations such as Teaching Tolerance, ASCD, PICO California, Teachers College, and the National Education Association are telling us exactly what kind of media they need and how they can put it to work. It takes a concentrated effort over the long haul to achieve change. During a panel conversation at the American Graduate launch event, Nashville Public Television President and CEO Beth Curley said, “We have been working on substantive, multi-year projects; rather than doing one documentary or one small project on something….” She went on to speak about how they will use their grant funding from CPB to expand their ongoing work related to new immigrants and multilingualism in several local schools. Her description echoes our approach with Reel Education and the other thematic work we’ve been doing lately. Social change doesn’t happen over night or with just one event or action; so the idea is to employ multiple pieces of media in service of education reformers in creative ways. That’s evident in the fact that the collection of films included in Reel Education includes documentaries that are completed and some that are still in production and slated for release in the next couple of years. With so many points of intersection with our Reel Education project I am energized and inspired by the launch of the American Graduate initiative. Congratulations to the folks at CPB, America’s Promise Alliance, the Gates Foundation and all of their allies on launching this amazing effort!

"We're here at Power Shift. We get down to business. We get down to action." - JOSH FOX, Director of Gasland

Before a packed house of 8,000 youth climate activists, Gasland Director Josh Fox welcomed the enthusiastic crowd with his banjo and a call to action. Josh’s message was simple - natural gas is not a transition fuel away from coal, and we must stand united for truly clean alternatives. Josh was at Power Shift, a national gathering of over 10,000 high school and college climate justice organizers. Along with fellow filmmakers, Josh introduced students to Reel Power: Films Fueling the Energy Revolution.

Reel Power films were screened throughout the weekend of Power Shift, culminating in a filmmaker panel. A discussion on the ways film screenings can be used to generate action at the grassroots level energized both the crowd and the directors. The Reel Power team left inspired by commitments from some of our country’s brightest youth leaders and can’t wait to start working with more college campuses to bring screenings and actions that support the movement for a sustainable and just energy future. Will you join us? To connect with Reel Power and learn how to set up screenings on your campus or in your community visit the Reel Power page.

The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, in partnership with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, is bringing the Good Pitch to NYC on May 20th 2011. The pitch will be hosted at the Ford Foundation as they join the Tides Foundation, the Fledgling Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Impact Partners, Crosscurrents Foundation and a number of anonymous donors as supporters. Working Films will continue to provide campaign development for the invited filmmakers. Eight documentary projects were selected out of hundreds of applications. The selected filmmakers and their projects are: Gideon’s Army Dir. Dawn Porter Gideon’s Army is the story of new public defenders working in the South. With long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads, many will not last. But now they have an advocate. Super-lawyer Jonathan Rapping, founder of the Southern Public Defender Training Center, is revolutionizing criminal defense by mentoring and supporting those who represent the people society would rather forget. We The People Dir. Soniya Kirpalani United Arab Emirates, 2010: 17 Indians are given the death penalty for murdering 1 Pakistani. Further investigation reveals 1,785 more Indians languishing behind bars, 200 of whom face capital punishment. As Arab defense teams and India’s Lawyers for Human Rights challenge the Sharia Law Processes, We The People highlights the plight of migrant workers in repressive environments. Who Is Dayani Cristal? Dir. Marc Silver An anonymous body is discovered in the Arizona desert. The only identifying feature is a tattoo reading ‘Dayani Cristal’. To unravel the mystery we must go on an epic journey beginning in a tiny Honduran village and ending in the corridors of power in Washington. Who Is Dayani Cristal? is a groundbreaking fusion of drama and documentary, starring Gael García Bernal, one of the most exciting actors of his generation. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Dir. Alison Klayman Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is an intimate portrait of an international art star during two tumultuous years of his life. A “dissident artist” in the headlines, an online god to liberal Chinese netizens, Ai Weiwei blurs the boundaries of art and politics. But can an artist change China? Untitled Partners In Health Documentary Dir. Kief Davidson Partners In Health is a remarkable global public health organization, insisting on quality health care as a basic right. This film delves deeply into their methods and beliefs, exploring the controversial characters that refuse to ‘choose one life over another, when there is all this wealth in the world.’ Brooklyn Castle Dir. Katie Dellamaggiore Amidst financial crisis and unprecedented public school budget cuts, Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn, New York, has assembled the best junior high chess team in the nation. Brooklyn Castle follows five young teens for one school year as they struggle, grow and challenge themselves both on and off the chessboard. Not In Our Town III: Light in the Darkness Dir. Patrice O’Neill Not In Our Town III: Light In The Darkness follows a community in crisis after the fatal attack of a local immigrant resident. Stunned by the violence, diverse community stakeholders openly confront the crime and the divisive atmosphere, and commit to ongoing actions to prevent future hate crimes and intolerance. Crime After Crime Dir. Yoav Potash Crime After Crime is the exclusive documentary on the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler from prison two decades after her connection to the murder of the man who abused her. The film premiered at Sundance 2011 and has been acquired by OWN. Debbie’s Campaign is the accompanying campaign designed to spark public awareness and changes in domestic violence law. Check out the activity that happened on twitter during the Good Pitch: To receive updates on future Good Pitch events, please join our email list. For more information about The Good Pitch, visit workingfilms.org/goodpitch.

"New generations of people in this country should see disability as just a natural part of the diversity of our culture." - Filmmaker of Including Samuel, Dan Habib Including Samuel: The Power of Youth brings us behind the scenes of a youth summit, inspired by a Working Films strategy meeting and co-organized by filmmaker Dan Habib. This summit created an audience engagement campaign for Including Samuel that has extended the life and reach of the film. Teen-focused and teen-led, the "I am Norm" campaign was developed by young people for the full social and educational inclusion of people with disabilities. This peer-to-peer effort demonstrates how to empower youth in a way that is truly authentic and meaningful. As you will hear in the video, Working Films collaborated previously with Habib and the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, to shape the overall audience engagement plan for Including Samuel. The idea of a youth summit is one of the ideas that were sparked at this meeting. IMPACT is a series of videos created by Working Films and The Fledgling Fund focused on spotlighting film campaigns that ignite social change. Previous videos include “Deep Down: Make it Local,” “No Impact Man: Activating Your Audience” and “IMPACT: A Funder’s Perspective.” For more information, go to https://www.workingfilms.org/impact and http://www.thefledglingfund.org/impact.