Upcoming Community Cinema Screenings

Earlier this month, we announced the exciting line-up of Independent Lens films coming to Community Cinema.

Be sure to check out this year’s schedule of upcoming screenings. Join us in September for free screenings of D TOUR, which chronicles musician Pat Spurgeon’s search for a living kidney donor and the challenges with finding a viable match.

In over 50 cities nationwide, Community Cinema screenings are followed by lively panel discussions that bring together citizens, organizations and public television stations to encourage dialogue and action around important and timely social issues.

Visit the Community Cinema Web site to find screenings near you >>

Tags: independent film

Behind the Scenes: GOING ON 13

GOING ON 13 follows four urban girls of color over the span of four years, from their uncomplicated elementary school lives to the crowded halls of middle school, where they confront sex, chat rooms and the powerful influence of popular culture.

Check out the behind-the-scenes clip below where filmmakers Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Dawn Valadez meet up with two of the girls––now 18 years old––nearly two years after completing the project. Find out what has changed in the lives of these young women and their future plans.

GOING ON 13 will air this September on public television (check local listings).
A co-production of ITVS in association with Latino Public Broadcasting

Visit the GOING ON 13 website for more updates >>

Tags: behind-the-scenes, online video, urban life, women

In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs

“Like numerous makers of nonfiction film, [Bill] Benenson believes the critical platform for documentaries is television. Regardless of what happens to DIRT! The Movie in theaters, the film will be a part of next year’s Earth Day programming presented by PBS and ITVS, the Independent Television Service.”
Read full review >>

“SCARRED JUSTICE: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968 explores an inexplicably forgotten incident when black student protestors were killed by police. It’s an important work of historical reportage.”
Read full review >>

“Even atheists may find their world rocked by Nati Baratz’s UNMISTAKEN CHILD, a simple documentary about a Buddhist monk’s search for the reincarnated soul of his beloved teacher.”
Read full review >>

“I saw a good–no, a very good–movie the other day… It’s called THE ENGLISH SURGEON, and it’s about a brain surgeon who does pro bono work in Ukraine.”
Read full review >>

Tags: African American, environmental, Los Angeles Times, Military

Watch THE NEW AMERICANS on Global Voices on PBS WORLD

Tune in this Sunday, August 16 at 10:00 PM (check local listings) for the final episode of THE NEW AMERICANS on Global Voices on PBS WORLD.

This seven-part series, airing on Sundays through August 16, looks at the search for the “American dream” through the eyes of recent immigrants and refugees during their first tumultuous years in America. From Nigeria, India, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, each family has come with different hopes: to achieve athletic glory or high-tech riches, to escape poverty and persecution or to simply provide for their families.

Watch a preview:

Like what you saw? Download all the episodes on iTunes >>

Tags: immigrants, online video

Film Update: P.O.V. Interviews MADE IN L.A. Filmmakers

This week, select PBS stations are re-airing the ITVS program MADE IN L.A (check local listings). The 2007 Emmy Award winning film, which premiered on P.O.V., looks at the lives, struggles and personal transformation of three Latina immigrants working in garment factories and the impact of globalization.

P.O.V. recently interviewed filmmakers lmudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar to find out what happened to the film’s subjects—Lupe, Maura and Maria. MADE IN L.A. has gone on to screen around the world including festivals in Spain, Israel, Brazil and Korea. The film was also screened on Capitol Hill for a select group of Members of Congress involved in immigration reform and policy.

Visit the P.O.V. Web site for an update >>

Tags: Hispanic, immigrants, P.O.V.

Watch ITVS Films for Free on Hulu

It’s summertime, and for TV viewers everywhere that means the dreaded season of reruns and reality TV. But wait, we have a solution. ITVS currently offers 17 full-length programs available for free on Hulu.

Among the programs available is the highly entertaining film SHAOLIN ULYSSES: Kungfu Monks in America, which follows five Zen Buddhist monks who set out to make new lives teaching their craft in unlikely parts of America.

Check out SHAOLIN ULYSSES and other ITVS programs on Hulu >>

Tags: digital, Hulu, online video

At the Community Cinema Retreat with Sally Rosenthal of BETWEEN THE FOLDS

Sally Rosenthal, executive producer of BETWEEN THE FOLDS.

Community Cinema Regional Outreach Coordinators and Producing Partners practice their origami folding skills after learning about the film BETWEEN THE FOLDS.

Community Cinema is the largest civic engagement program in broadcast television, featured in over 50 cities nationwide. Screenings are followed by lively panel discussions that bring together citizens, organizations and public television stations to encourage dialogue and action around important and timely social issues. None of it, however, could be possible without the support of ITVS’s Regional Outreach Coordinators (ROC) and Producing Partners, who organize screenings in their local communities.

Last week, ITVS invited ROC’s and Producing Parters to discuss the upcoming Community Cinema season and meet with filmmakers and ITVS staff. Sally Rosenthal, executive producer of BETWEEN THE FOLDS, shares her thoughts on the experience.

The Community Cinema retreat was another reminder how fortunate we are to be part of the ITVS family. We are even more excited about the year ahead when BETWEEN THE FOLDS, which looks at the ingenuity of some of the world’s best paper folders, airs on Independent Lens and screens across the country as part of Community Cinema.

I was struck by the welcoming atmosphere, and pleased to meet other filmmakers like Jim Granato and film subject Pat Spurgeon of D TOUR; for me, that’s been a rewarding part of being involved with this project.

› Continue reading

Tags: independent film

Upcoming Screening of THE ENGLISH SURGEON

“Enthralling, astonishing… agonizingly human.”
- The New York Times

What is it like to have power over life and death, and yet to struggle with your own humanity?

THE ENGLISH SURGEON, an ITVS International film airing September 8 at 10:00 PM on P.O.V. on PBS (check local listings), tells the story of acclaimed British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh who confronts the dilemmas of the doctor-patient relationship on his latest mission to Ukraine.

The film recently opened in New York City and will have a special screening at 2:15 PM on Wednesday, August 19 at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine.

Check out the latest news on the film and more information about the upcoming special screening >>

Watch a preview:

Tags: medicine, P.O.V.

Watch THE NEW AMERICANS on Global Voices on PBS WORLD

Tune in this Sunday, August 2 at 10:00 PM (check local listings) for the fifth episode of THE NEW AMERICANS on Global Voices on PBS WORLD.

This seven-part series, airing on Sundays through August 16, looks at the search for the “American dream” through the eyes of recent immigrants and refugees during their first tumultuous years in America. From Nigeria, India, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, each family has come with different hopes: to achieve athletic glory or high-tech riches, to escape poverty and persecution or to simply provide for their families.

Watch a preview:

Like what you saw? Download all the episodes on iTunes >>

Tags: immigrants, online video

Apply for ITVS Diversity Development Funding: Deadline on September 25

Interested in film funding? ITVS funds, distributes and promotes new programs primarily for public television. We work with independent producers to create and present programs that take creative risks, advance issues and represent points of view not usually seen on public or commercial television.

The Diversity Development Fund provides up to $15,000 in research and development funding to producers of color to develop single documentary programs for public television. Projects should reach underserved audiences often overlooked by conventional programming. Projects must be in the research or development phase, and cannot have begun production. Producers must be U.S. citizens or legal residents.

The deadline for the Diversity Development Fund is Friday, September 25. Due dates are not postmark deadlines and all materials must arrive at ITVS by 5:00 PM.

Find more information about guidelines and how to apply >>

Have additional questions about the Diversity Development Fund? Email Kathryn_Washington@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x258.

Tags: film resources