LATEST NEWS

The Full Frame Documentary Festival is accepting applications for the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant for first time filmmakers through February 5th. The grant covers travel and accommodations for the fest which takes place April 8-11, 2010 in Durham, North Carolina. The two selected grantees will have access to films, master classes and mentorship from experienced filmmakers. By “first time filmmaker”, they mean someone who is in the early stage of their documentary career and has not yet received significant recognition. Mai Iskander was a recipient of this grant in 2008 and now her film, Garbage Dreams, has gone on to win many awards and is receiving international attention. Garrett Scott was a filmmaker who made a distinctive mark in documentary during his short career. He directed Cul De Sac: A Suburban War Story and co-directed (with Ian Olds) Occupation: Dreamland, a film about U.S. soldiers in Falluja, Iraq, which was included in our Iraq Media Action Project. Filmmaker Magazine noted Garrett as one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film. For more information about the grant and instructions on how to apply, please visit Full Frame’s website. Deadline is February 5th.

2010 is starting off with a bang for the acclaimed documentary Garbage Dreams. Recently short-listed for an Oscar Award, the film will open theatrically in New York City January 6th through the 12th at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street). Director Mai Iskander will appear in person at the 6:30pm shows Wednesday, January 6 – Sunday, January 10. Working Films is also collaborating with ITVS’ Community Cinema Program to bring Garbage Dreams free of charge to over 50 cities across the U.S this month. We’re also coordinating a grassroots Garbage Dreams Tour aimed at advancing zero waste and recycling initiatives. Head to the theater if you’re in the city, find a Community Cinema event near you, or host a screening where you live.

Over the holidays I received an email from filmmaker Louise Vance of the film Seneca Falls which was a part of the Real Girls, Reel Change workshop last October. The film is about the journey of 9 teenage girls who travel from San Francisco to Seneca Falls, the birth of the women’s rights movement, to perform a play they created which celebrates the women’s movement. I was excited to hear that Seneca Falls will be broadcasting in March on two Public Television stations: KRCB in Northern California, home of the cast and filmmakers, and WXXI in Rochester, NY, home of the women’s rights historic sites. It will also be available to PBS stations around the country, many of whom will broadcast it for Women's History Month in March. Louise lists some ways you can help out:

1)  If you are an educator or active member or chapter head of an organization whose membership would be interested in seeing this film on public television, CALL your local PBS station and graciously inquire with program directors if they have heard about Seneca Falls. Ask if they plan to air it and when, and tell them you are interested in getting the word out to your organization to tune in, or organize viewing parties. If you can, offer to do some local publicity or PR - or set up a preview screening. What program directors want to know is that you can help deliver viewers to the program.

2)  CONTRIBUTE today. Believe me, we know money is extremely tight for everyone. But we need to raise $5500 to cover the out of pocket costs for this launch. Speaking from the heart now as an independent filmmaker, I simply do not have the resources to do this alone. Your tax-deductible donation of any amount will help.

For a donation of $100 or more, we'll happily send you a DVD of the film. Or, you can buy a DVD for a young person in your life or their school. Dads...moms...aunties...uncles...friends! It's a great bonding experience to watch Seneca Falls together.

3)  Email us to SET UP A SCREENING. Organizations can purchase a DVD with a viewing guide to hold fundraisers or screenings, to generate "buzz" before, during, or after the March launch.

4)  VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME. We truly need your energy, enthusiasm and time on the phone.  Do you have 4 hours you can devote to helping us spread the word?  Email us!

SILVERDOCS supports the diverse voices and free expression of independent storytellers and fosters the power of documentary to enhance our understanding of the world. Important Deadlines to remember when submitting your film(s): Early Deadline for Submissions is January 15, 2010 Regular Deadline for Submissions is March 12, 2010 Late Deadline for Submissions is March 19, 2010 They prefer you submit your film through Withoutabox. It's easy: fill out one master entry form and take advantage of quick entry, extended deadlines, and powerful submission management tools. There’s no extra cost to you, and by submitting, you’ll join Withoutabox’s global filmmaker community and stay in the loop about international exhibition opportunities. For the less technically saavy (and that's OK!), you may also download the paper application.

The 2010 Talking Pictures Festival invites independent filmmakers to submit their films to its second annual festival competition. Now in its second year, The 2010 Talking Pictures Festival draws audience members from the northern Chicago metro-area to this annual celebration of independent film from around the world. True to its name, screenings at The Talking Pictures Festival are often accompanied by discussions with filmmakers, guest speakers or community groups. They are seeking films that are thought-provoking, moving, vibrant, authentic, artful and informative... and that have an independent point-of-view that stands out in an era dominated by commercial media. All genres, styles and lengths welcome. Cash awards for winning film entries. "Early Bird" Deadline (lower entry fee): January 8, 2010 Regular Deadline: January 22, 2010 Entry form and more info at: www.talkingpicturesfestival.org The inaugural 2009 Talking Pictures Festival received much press coverage and attracted 1,100 filmgoers over the course of a long weekend. Check out the 2009 fest schedule and award-winners on the fest website: www.talkingpicturesfestival.org The Talking Pictures Festival is produced by Percolator Films, a non-profit film organization that also organizes the popular ten-year-old Reeltime film and discussion series. More info at: www.talkingpicturesfestival.org www.percolatorfilms.org

The IDA/Humanitas Award, a new prize for 2009, went to Mai Iskander’s Garbage Dreams.  The IDA/ Humanitas Award is given to a documentarian whose film strives to unify the human family by exploring the stories of human beings who are different in culture, race, lifestyle, political loyalties and religious beliefs in order to break down the wall of ignorance and fear that separates us. As you may know Working Films is directing the Garbage Dreams Tour, a community-based screening campaign aimed at demonstrating the true value of trash and the cost of throwing out the expertise of the Zaballeen, Egypt's "garbage people," who recycle 80% of everything they collect. The 2009 IDA Documentary Awards took place on Friday, Dec. 4 at 8 pm at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.

by: Lindsay Gibb, Reelscreen This past week the women behind Chicken and Egg Pictures, a New York-based hybrid film fund and mentoring production company for female filmmakers, were given the Loreen Arbus Award at the New York Women in Film and Television's (NY-WIFT) Muse Awards. Realscreen spoke with Judith Helfand, Julie Parker Benello and Wendy Ettinger (pictured, left to right) about the meaning of Chicken and Egg, what they're looking for in the projects they support and what plans they're hatching for the future. Last year the Loreen Arbus Award for Those Who Take Action and Effect Change was given to Kodak for its support of female cinematographers. This year Wendy Ettinger, co-founder of Chicken and Egg Pictures, says she's thrilled the NY-WIFT acknowledged her organization because it meant the awards show, which usually focuses on women in fictional films and television, was giving a nod to women who work on documentaries. To Judith Helfand, who also co-founded the company along with Ettinger and Julie Parker Benello, the honor made her reflect on the road she traveled to get to where she is today. When Helfand was 27 and working on her first film, A Healthy Baby Girl (which went on to win a Peabody), she went to Terry Lawler, now the executive director of the NY-WIFT but then part of the staff for Women Make Movies, for help with financing. "I had this meeting with her and she essentially said, 'You can do this. This is great. I really believe in this. I believe in you,'" remembers Helfand. Now, 18 years later, Helfand is on the other side of the table telling new female filmmakers she believes in them. "The only other thing that's better than having someone say, 'I believe in you' is being able to say that to someone else and really feel like you have the ability to help them." The core grant given by Chicken and Egg to women working on film projects is aptly entitled I Believe in You, and each year the organization gives out grants and mentoring hours to women filmmakers who are looking for assistance. In the almost five years the organization has been together, it has awarded over one million dollars in grants and has provided more than 2,300 hours of mentoring to 52 films. Ettinger, Helfand and Parker Benello hope to replicate these numbers within the next three years. The "egg" of Chicken and Egg Pictures was laid when Ettinger and Parker Benello were board members at Helfand's Working Films (which she co-founded with Robert West), an organization which helps filmmakers to develop outreach programs for their projects. At one of the board meetings the three of them put their heads together and hatched the idea to raise some money and start giving grants to women filmmakers. "Judith had the [idea] that it's not just about the money. It's about the mentorship and being in a community and not [making films] in isolation," says Parker Benello. "We launched a month or two later, and that first year [we] gave about $50,000 in grants." Another way they give back to the community is through awards such as the Emergent Women Narrative Directing Award they gave for the first time this year at SXSW, and their third annual Chicken and Egg event at Sundance where they bring together a mix of filmmakers and documentary industry members to showcase a few of the filmmakers they've supported and honor a woman in the field. Currently, Monica and David, a doc by Ali Codina which follows an adult couple with Down's Syndrome during their first year of marriage, is making the festival rounds and is currently awaiting word on its television debut, while William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe is currently in theaters and will be on 'POV' in the new year. Deep Down, a project by Sally Rubina and Jen Gilomen examines how the practice of mountain top removal in search of coal in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky is affecting a local community, and will be screening in Copenhagen at the UN Climate Change Conference and later on PBS. The funds for the grants given out by Chicken and Egg come mainly from women filmmakers of means and some smaller foundations that the team has brought on board, the largest of which they call "Nesters" who commit for $50,000 a year for three years. As far as what they are looking for from letters of inquiry, Ettinger says that not only is storytelling a huge factor in their decision, but also, a clear vision, passion and a willingness to be with the film over a long term are vital. Helfand adds that the inspiration behind the story is also important. "We look inside what's being offered to us and look at what this person is sharing with us, and at their background and what their interests are," she says. "It's a whole package. It's never just the reel they send us."

by: Lindsay Gibb, Reelscreen This past week the women behind Chicken and Egg Pictures, a New York-based hybrid film fund and mentoring production company for female filmmakers, were given the Loreen Arbus Award at the New York Women in Film and Television's (NY-WIFT) Muse Awards. Realscreen spoke with Judith Helfand, Julie Parker Benello and Wendy Ettinger (pictured, left to right) about the meaning of Chicken and Egg, what they're looking for in the projects they support and what plans they're hatching for the future. Last year the Loreen Arbus Award for Those Who Take Action and Effect Change was given to Kodak for its support of female cinematographers. This year Wendy Ettinger, co-founder of Chicken and Egg Pictures, says she's thrilled the NY-WIFT acknowledged her organization because it meant the awards show, which usually focuses on women in fictional films and television, was giving a nod to women who work on documentaries. To Judith Helfand, who also co-founded the company along with Ettinger and Julie Parker Benello, the honor made her reflect on the road she traveled to get to where she is today. When Helfand was 27 and working on her first film, A Healthy Baby Girl (which went on to win a Peabody), she went to Terry Lawler, now the executive director of the NY-WIFT but then part of the staff for Women Make Movies, for help with financing. "I had this meeting with her and she essentially said, 'You can do this. This is great. I really believe in this. I believe in you,'" remembers Helfand. Now, 18 years later, Helfand is on the other side of the table telling new female filmmakers she believes in them. "The only other thing that's better than having someone say, 'I believe in you' is being able to say that to someone else and really feel like you have the ability to help them." The core grant given by Chicken and Egg to women working on film projects is aptly entitled I Believe in You, and each year the organization gives out grants and mentoring hours to women filmmakers who are looking for assistance. In the almost five years the organization has been together, it has awarded over one million dollars in grants and has provided more than 2,300 hours of mentoring to 52 films. Ettinger, Helfand and Parker Benello hope to replicate these numbers within the next three years. The "egg" of Chicken and Egg Pictures was laid when Ettinger and Parker Benello were board members at Helfand's Working Films (which she co-founded with Robert West), an organization which helps filmmakers to develop outreach programs for their projects. At one of the board meetings the three of them put their heads together and hatched the idea to raise some money and start giving grants to women filmmakers. "Judith had the [idea] that it's not just about the money. It's about the mentorship and being in a community and not [making films] in isolation," says Parker Benello. "We launched a month or two later, and that first year [we] gave about $50,000 in grants." Another way they give back to the community is through awards such as the Emergent Women Narrative Directing Award they gave for the first time this year at SXSW, and their third annual Chicken and Egg event at Sundance where they bring together a mix of filmmakers and documentary industry members to showcase a few of the filmmakers they've supported and honor a woman in the field. Currently, Monica and David, a doc by Ali Codina which follows an adult couple with Down's Syndrome during their first year of marriage, is making the festival rounds and is currently awaiting word on its television debut, while William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe is currently in theaters and will be on 'POV' in the new year. Deep Down, a project by Sally Rubina and Jen Gilomen examines how the practice of mountain top removal in search of coal in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky is affecting a local community, and will be screening in Copenhagen at the UN Climate Change Conference and later on PBS. The funds for the grants given out by Chicken and Egg come mainly from women filmmakers of means and some smaller foundations that the team has brought on board, the largest of which they call "Nesters" who commit for $50,000 a year for three years. As far as what they are looking for from letters of inquiry, Ettinger says that not only is storytelling a huge factor in their decision, but also, a clear vision, passion and a willingness to be with the film over a long term are vital. Helfand adds that the inspiration behind the story is also important. "We look inside what's being offered to us and look at what this person is sharing with us, and at their background and what their interests are," she says. "It's a whole package. It's never just the reel they send us."