“Media as a Global Diplomat” Videos and Recap

With a new administration in office, improving the U.S. image abroad and creating more opportunities for Americans to connect with people around the world through new technologies have taken on greater urgency in American foreign policy. President Barack Obama’s debut TV interview was with the Arab TV network Al-Arabiya. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has designated public diplomacy as a pillar of a new foreign policy.

To explore this critical and evolving topic, on February 3, 2009 the Independent Television Service (ITVS) International and the U.S. Institute of Peace co-sponsored a pioneering multimedia event, “Media as a Global Diplomat.” A constellation of luminaries in the field, capped by distinguished veteran journalist and moderator Ted Koppel, participated. To reach a global audience virtual beyond the physical meeting space at Washington, D.C.’s Newseum, a host of Internet-based innovations were used.

ITVS President and CEO Sally Fifer, along with USIP leadership, kicked off the day framing the issue of media’s potential as a key role in helping shape America’s image abroad.

The first panel, “Public Diplomacy 2.0: Rethinking Official Media” addressed shifting definitions of public diplomacy and explored how media can best serve American policy. Panelists agreed that policies and actions are the best determinants of attitudes toward the U.S. worldwide and that the U.S. must actively promote its core values of democracy, rule of law and tolerance. However, not surprisingly, opinions from representatives from the USG, Google, Al Jazeera, UN Foundation and others differed on the most effective mediums to transmit such messages.

The second panel, “The Global Media Marketplace,” centered on the challenges of mass media ownership and profitability in the Internet era. Participants from Abu Dhabi Media, National Geographic, MTV, the Hewlett Foundation, The New York Times and others discussed the viability of traditional media outlets such as television, the atomization of media outlets through the web and the need to bring global stories to a U.S. audience as part of the public diplomacy effort.

The ITVS International-funded, Golden Globe award-winning and Oscar-nominated film WALTZ WITH BASHIR was a highlight of the event. The animated documentary focuses on the reflections of Israeli veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. I led the post-film discussion, which focused on the importance of independent documentaries as authentic and credible forms of communication, and on the role of artists as cultural ambassadors. Much of the discussion centered also on the need for this communication to be two-way, and the power of the ITVS Global Perspective Project to connect audiences and media professionals around the world.

The event was heavily interactive and was streamed live around the world. Citizen journalists from all over the globe sent in questions for the panelists and used live blogging and “tweets” (using Twitter, a method of transmitting short text messages to numerous recipients via the Web or mobile simultaneously).

ITVS was proud to be a part of this exciting day and to support the role of independent filmmakers as thought leaders and artists.

- Tamara Gould
ITVS Vice President of Distribution

Check out the videos from the event below:

ITVS President and CEO Sally Jo Fifer gives opening remarks.

“Public Diplomacy 2.0: Rethinking Official Media” addressed shifting definitions of public diplomacy and explored how media can best serve American policy.

Want to see all the videos? › Continue reading

Tags: digital, film resources, Ted Koppel

Independent Lens Films on Zune, Xbox

How many ways can you catch Independent Lens? PBS and ITVS have recently partnered with Zune and Xbox for Indie Lens titles on the go. The Zune media player provides an ultra-portable way to watch programs and Xbox subscribers can take a break between games to download Independent Lens films onto their Xbox 360 console.

The following Independent Lens shows are currently available:

STILL LIFE WITH ANIMATED DOGS
PAUL CONRAD: Drawing Fire
THE LOSS OF NAMELESS THINGS
A DREAM IN DOUBT
THE CREEK RUNS RED
ADJUST YOUR COLOR: The Truth of Petey Greene

Go to the Independent Lens Channel on Zune >>

Visit the Independent Lens Channel on Xbox LIVE Marketplace >>

You can also get full-length Independent Lens films on Hulu and Snagfilms. Visit the video page and find out more >>

Tags: Xbox, Zune

In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs

“A few years ago, Bay Area filmmaker Dawn Logsdon learned a valuable double-barreled lesson: 1. Sometimes the best ideas for a documentary project can be found right in your former backyard. 2. Never overlook the teachings of a parent. The result of that knowledge is FAUBOURG TREMÉ: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, a moving and revelatory film…”
Read full review >>

“In her latest documentary, ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING, Tehrani brings to life the love-hate relationship between her parents’ countries.”
Read full review >>

“Independent filmmaker Margaret Brown wins the Truer Than Fiction Award at the Independent’s Spirit Awards for her film THE ORDER OF MYTHS, airing Feb. 24 on Independent Lens on PBS.”
Read more >>

“THE ORDER OF MYTHS: Margaret Brown does a deft job both presenting the history of the country’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration while vividly pointing out the enduring segregation between the city’s white and black social events.”
Read more >>

Tags: Mardi Gras, newspaper reviews, Wedding

International Report From the Field with Cynthia Kane

Alex Lee, director of DocNZ at the opening night festival launch party.

Doc summit Panel

Stuart Page, Dan Shanan, Hans Robert Eisenhauer and Julia Overton.

Kia Ora (“hello” in Maori) from Auckland, New Zealand!

The DocNZ Summit has been lively and enlightening. Plus, it has grown exponentially in the year and half since Independent Lens’s Series Producer Lois Vossen and I came last.

I was greeted last Saturday evening by Doc Summit producer Alex Lee and DocNZ festival director Dan Shanan, and swept away to an amazing (and abundant) Chinese dinner in Auckland’s scenic circle district. Most of the international guests had arrived and joined us, including Grit Lemke, director of DokLeipzig; Hans Robert Eisnhauer, commissioning editor of ZDF/ARTE (and frequent co-producer with ITVS International); Christoph Müchern, director of the Goethe Institute in New Zealand; and Thomas Tielsch, German producer from Filmtank, who co-produced ITVS International’s THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM & OTHER STORIES. The Goethe Institute is providing a scholarship for a New Zealand filmmaker to go to Germany for three months to develop a documentary idea and observe the documentary industry.

The festival opens tonight in Auckland with the Canadian doc All Together Now and, beginning next week, will screen in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin for 10 days each as part of a nationwide festival to promote documentary in New Zealand and give others the opportunity to see some of the best work from around the world.

The first day of the summit looked at how documentaries can be repositioned and rebranded to give a better presence and longer life. Highly robust discussions focused on the future of documentary filmmaking in New Zealand and what broadcasters might do to create better opportunities for strands and funding––creating the first new steps at ways broadcasters, funders and “doco-makers” (as they say here) can work together stronger. Maori Television, TVNZ, Channel 3 and the Documentary Channel-New Zealand all were involved in these talks as well as some of the best filmmakers in New Zealand such as Annie Goldson, Leanne Pooley, Stuart Page and Robin Kewell.

Tuesday gave a new look into cross-platform and new forms of distribution possibilities. These panels were led by Wendy Levy of Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) and Sandi DuBowski of Films That Change the World. Sandi is also here to show his “doco,” A Jihad for Love, that he produced with Parvez Sharma. His next stop is Jerusalem where he will continue shooting a new project. Sandi also promises he will apply to ITVS for funding for the first time with this new film.

Day Three was the Big Pitch in the morning, the Goethe Scholarship Pitch in the early afternoon and the most energetic round of fast pitch meetings, aka “speed dating,” that I’ve ever encountered. We finished the day with the awards and opening night launch party where At the Death House Door (with Peter Gilbert to accept the award) and Don Roberto’s Shadow took the International Competition and The Last Western Heretic and Shustak won the New Zealand Competition Awards.

ITVS International’s SEA POINT DAYS took the Editing Award. Unfortunately, director Francois Verster couldn’t be here but sent a lovely note that was read at the ceremony.

It’s been a most amazing journey “down under” and as much as I am sad to leave, it will be great to be home again. We’ve making our way through Phase 1 of International Call 2009 and there’s lots to do in the coming weeks as we look to green light a whole new slate of untold stories with unique points-of-view from around our incredible and surprising world.

-Cynthia
ITVS International Programming Manager

Tags: DocNZ, film festival, New Zealand

The Chicago Cultural Center Presents ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING

A full house at the Chicago Cultural Center for the Community Cinema Screening of ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING.

It was a full house at the Chicago Cultural Center this past weekend at the Community Cinema screening of ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING, co-presented by Pasfarda Arts & Cultural Exchange, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and WTTW Channel 11.

Set against the turbulent relationship between the United States and Iran, Iranian-American filmmaker Marjan Tehrani captures the struggle and excitement of her brother Alex and his bride Heather as they plan a Persian Islamic wedding in Iran.

Many of the people in attendance were Iranian-Americans and very eager to discuss the various cross-cultural issues in the film with other Americans and share stories of their unique and common experiences.

It was truly amazing to see the film with an audience! One scene that particularly stuck out was when the parents of the bride and groom meet for the first time and the conversation turns towards politics. When Alex and Marjan’s father attempts to diffuse the tension by offering more food and wine, the audience erupted with laugher. The film’s approach of weaving tension and humor, travel footage with history and photojournalism into the documentary made it easy for anyone to understand the complex story and culture of Iran.

The panel discussion that followed was both cathartic and informative. Panelists included filmmaker Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa, who taught in Tehran prior to moving to the United States in 1983; graduate student Aria Moazzen, who grew up in the United States and neither he nor his family have returned to Iran since leaving; University of Illinois at Chicago professor Norma Moruzzi, who is also an “arus” (bride), having married an Iranian and has spent time in Iran.

The panelists cleared up some of the misconceptions some Americans have about life in Iran. One attendee expressed surprise to see so many women in the film not wearing headscarves. Professor Moruzzi, who has written extensively about the topic, explained the wide variety of viewpoints and religious practice that coexist peacefully in Iran.

The event ended with many audience members wanting to continue the conversation. It was at least another hour of excited discussion in the reception area before the Cultural Center staff could turn out the lights!

Afterwards, I had a chance to speak with Shermin Kruse, co-founder and vice president of Pasfarda Arts & Culture Exchange, about her experience as an Iranian-American and what resonated with her about the film. Check out the video below.

- Naomi Walker, ITVS Regional Outreach Coordinator, Chicago

Tags: Chicago, Iran, online video, Wedding

Watch THE ORDER OF MYTHS Tonight on Independent Lens

The Hartford Courant: It’s Fat Tuesday. And in the documentary chronicling the carnival season in Mobile, AL, THE ORDER OF MYTHS on Independent Lens at 10:00 PM, Margaret Brown does a deft job both presenting the history of the country’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration while vividly pointing out the enduring segregation between the city’s white and black social events.

Check out the preview below:

Check out a clip from tonight’s broadcast below:

THE ORDER OF MYTHS premieres tonight at 10:00 on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings)

Tags: African American, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras

American Experience and ITVS Explore Civil Rights in A CLASS APART

Tonight at 9:00 PM (check local listings), American Experience, in a co-production with ITVS, will present A CLASS APART, a documentary that tells the little-known story of a group of Mexican-American lawyers and their struggle to get a fair murder trial for Pete Hernandez, a Texas field hand.

Houston Chronicle: “…films about Mexican-Americans and other Latinos who struggled and prevailed against segregation and discrimination are few and far between. That scarcity emphasizes the significance of documentaries such as A CLASS APART.”

Check out a preview below:

A CLASS APART premieres tonight at 9:00 PM on American Experience on PBS (check local listings)

Tags: American Experience, civil rights, Mexican American, Texas

In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs

“Few outside the industry realize the key role Canada, and particularly its biggest film festivals, play in getting some of these award-winning films off the ground. Case in point: WALTZ WITH BASHIR, the front-runner to take home the award for best foreign-language picture on Sunday night.”
Read full review >>

“New Orleans has problems for sure, but Fabourg Tremé reminds us that not only is it our obligation as a nation to restore it, but that parts of its history could be a model for a brighter future for the city—and for the rest of us.”
Read full review >>

Tony Cox of News & Notes talks with resident and journalist Lolis Eric Elie about FAUBOURG TREMÉ: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans.
Listen online >>

“FAUBOURG TREMÉ: Bravo. A masterwork! Fabulous story, delightful interviews, captivating footage.”
Read full review >>

“FAUBOURG TREMÉ: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans draws a poignant portrait of what may be the oldest black neighborhood in America … New Orleans Times-Picayune writer Lolis Eric Elie gently guides viewers through the neighborhood’s glorious past and inglorious suffering after Katrina, illuminating customs that distinguish New Orleans from every city on earth.”
Read more >>

“The roots of separation seemed to run as deep as the massive oaks that line the parade route. And while [THE ORDER OF MYTHS] illustrates the potential for change, it is obvious from its beginning to the dramatic, intriguingly open ending that change will be a long time coming.”
Read full review >>

Tags: Mardi Gras, New Orleans, NPR

International Report From the Field with Cynthia Kane

A crowd gathers around the registration tables at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC).

ITVS International Programming Manager Cynthia Kane reports from Australia––“the land of Oz”––about her first day at the Australian International Documentary Conference (ADIC) and the Adelaide Film Festival.

Barbara Tryuen, commissioning editor at VPRO, and Chris Hilton, Australian producer.

ABC Australia, one of the two national public broadcasters, hosted a party at the Adelaide Zoo where one of the special guests included a baby Bilby, which is the inspiration for a chocolate version given out at Easter (and as Cynthia notes, gives an idea of its cute-factor).

It takes virtually two days to get here, in reality about 18 hours, but you cross the International Date Line, so you feel a bit surreal and wonky upon landing. Then you realize it’s summer and festival season in sunny, dry Adelaide and your spirits begin to soar. On top of that, there’s the unending enthusiasm and warmth of Australian doc-makers and producers. What’s not to love about AIDC?

Opening night of the conference, ABC Australia, one of the two national public broadcasters, hosted a party at the Adelaide Zoo where our special guest stars were marsupials and sticky bugs, magnificent gum trees and plants only to be found “down under.” My favorite was the baby Bilby (note: they don’t give chocolate bunnies for Easter here. They give chocolate Bilbies––that gives you the idea of his cute-factor.)

Conference director Joost den Hartog has once again brought in some of the world’s best commissioning editors – Simon Kilmurry from P.O.V.; Greg Sanderson of BBC Storyville; Tabitha Jackson of Channel 4/More 4 – UK; Barbara Tryuen – VPRO Netherlands; and Hans Robert Eisenhauer, ZDF-ARTE Germany to name just a few. Plus, there’s the team of commissioners both from ABC and SBS, Australia’s other public broadcaster and frequent co-producer with ITVS International. While the big public pitch isn’t happening this year, they’ve created several smaller pitching sessions and the MeetMarket is going full swing.

ITVS is well-represented at the Adelaide Film Festival, which officially opens tonight with SOLO, SEA POINT DAYS, UNMISTAKEN CHILD and GOODBYE SOLO. Rachel Perkins also led a session about the making of THE FIRST AUSTRALIANS, which will air on National Geographic in the United States and first aired in Australia in December. She is currently working to make the film part of the official school curriculum to change the way Australians learn history. In addition, Pamela Yates and Paco de Onis are here with The Reckoning and will do a master class with Peter Wintonick who is moderating on Friday. Mark Atkin, Heather Croall, Frank Boyd and Sandi Dubowski are presenting Crossover Lab. And San Franciscan Wendy Levy is here representing Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC).

Oz producer Susan MacKinnon is here with several projects and she is one of many who have submitted already this year to International Call 2009. Speaking of which, I brought an extra suitcase with proposals and works-in-progress as the International Programming team has dove in headfirst into Phase One of the Call. Note well: there’s no complaints here; it’s truly our favorite times of year reading and reviewing. We’ve got a record number of submissions and some truly fantastic projects, the international independents are making our job harder every year as the Call grows.

Saturday, I go onto New Zealand for DocsNZ, and will check in again from Auckland.

-Cynthia
ITVS International Programming Manager

Tags: Australia, film festival, independent film

San Francisco Public Library Presents ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING

A crowd gathers for a screening of ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING at the San Francisco Public Library.

Filmmaker Marjan Tehrani with her father and stepmother, who both appear in her film.

Last night I had the opportunity to show my film ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING in San Francisco. The film chronicles my brother Alex’s return to Iran with his American wife Heather to have a traditional Persian wedding.

This was the first Community Cinema screening that I attended and it was incredible to return to my hometown for this experience. The room was packed with many familiar faces but most notably, an overwhelming amount of Iranian-Americans in attendance. Though the film has many universal themes––such as being of mixed identity or in a multi-cultural marriage––it was amazing to see the Iranian-American crowd take in the small nuances of the film that others missed when the film screened in other art house venues around the country.

I also had the unique experience of seeing the film with some of my family in the audience––my father and stepmother were both there and brought along other extended family members. Although they have seen the film, it was the first time that I have screened it with them amongst an audience. For me, this was an interesting experience because not only is this film really personal on many levels, but there is a very tense scene where Heather’s father and his wife meet my father and his wife for the first time. The cordial dinner meeting quickly turns from polite to not so polite as the focus of the conversation shifts to Iran/U.S. past and current politics. This is one of the most important scenes of the film for me that clearly shows the tensions that exist between Americans and Iranians today and allowed me to weave archival history into the film in a seamless manner. However, it was quite an experience to be in the room with my family and others while this was playing! The audience was very much a part of this intimate scene as they laughed and verbally let out signs of discomfort.

All in all, last night was a really special experience for me. After the last several years of putting this film together, I really felt like people in the audience got the subtle nuances that I was hoping to get across about being of mixed identity and carrying the weight of two countries in political turmoil. Iranians seemed to appreciate being able to connect with parts of Iran that they fondly remember and Americans seemed to appreciate being invited along on this intimate journey with Alex and Heather to experience Iran through their own eyes. My hope is that people left the screening with a slightly different perspective of Iran than they walked in with and that this will contribute to paving the way for improved relations between Iran and the United States.

-Marjan Tehrani, filmmaker of ARUSI PERSIAN WEDDING, premiering Tuesday, March 17 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings)

Check out upcoming Community Cinema events in your area >>

Tags: Iran, San Francisco, Wedding