Archive for November, 2009
Vanessa Gould Tours Los Angeles With Her Film BETWEEN THE FOLDS
Director of the Community Cinema documentary selection BETWEEN THE FOLDS Vanessa Gould spent the past few days at a series of screening events for the film in the greater Los Angeles area. In addition to the two unique screening and folding events at the historic Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and at the Frida Kahlo Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, Ms. Gould attended a very special screening of the film at the LA County Sheriff’s Pitches Detention Center for close to 200 inmates. She shares her deeply moving visit with us. [No photographs were allowed in or near the detention center for security reasons.]
Vanessa Gould (producer/director) of BETWEEN THE FOLDS
As we walked into LA’s Pitches Detention Center, the sky was deep blue and a long flock of birds flew calmly with the wind above. The series of heavy gates and barbed wire fences ahead gave me a pit in my stomach. Behind the barriers, I soon saw men of all ages – hundreds in royal blue jumpsuits – working, standing, exercising outside.
I was there with Desiree Gutierrez, the ITVS National Community Cinema Coordinator for the Southern California region, to answer questions about BETWEEN THE FOLDS, which a group was watching as we arrived. I had strong doubts as to whether they’d connect to a film about paperfolding, worrying it was trivial in light of the gravity of their own personal situations. How would the film be relevant to them? What could I possibly say or do that could be genuinely useful?
A stock photo of a typical inmate gathering provided courtesy of the LA County Sheriff's Department
Desiree and I entered the room with Deputy Bates and a few other staff members just as they had finished the film. It was a crowded room with about 200 men seated closely, gathered around a single television.
As soon as the lights went on and I looked up – despite my insecurity – it was quite possibly the most enthusiastic reception the film has ever seen: a room brimming with almost-rowdy excitement and big smiles, a few thumbs up and hands on hearts. Even some paper hats and paper stars made out of the local county newspaper were floating around. Deputy Bates introduced us, and I filled with warmth, relieved that the film had perhaps given them an escape from their daily routine.
Take the Quiz: Which Object Are You?
How does the design of your cell phone, toothbrush or couch impact your life? Tune in to Independent Lens on PBS next Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 10:00 PM for the premiere of OBJECTIFIED. Director Gary Hustwit (HELVETICA) looks at our complex relationship with manufactured objects, the people who design them and the creative process behind their work. Step inside the offices of the world’s most influential product designers to see how these objects influence us––oftentimes without us even knowing it.
There are objects in our world that bring us particular joy or spark immediate recognition. Truly great design doesn’t have to be expensive; in fact, things often become common precisely because they are the most innovative.
Which iconic object best captures your personality?
Apply for ITVS Open Call Funding: Deadline January 15
Looking for 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.
Open Call provides finishing funds for single non-fiction or animation public television programs on any subject and from any viewpoint. Projects must have begun production as evidenced by a work-in-progress video.
The deadline for Open Call funding is Friday, January 15, 2010. 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 >>
Interested in seeing what’s been funded recently? Watch videos of filmmakers discussing their projects >>
Have additional questions about Open Call? Email jonathan_archer@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x284.
ITVS International Call: Deadline February 5
ITVS International Call enables independent producers from outside of the United States to create documentaries for U.S. television. Through the International Call, storytellers from other countries introduce U.S. audiences to their global neighbors, opening a window into unfamiliar lives, experiences and perspectives.
The deadline for ITVS International Call is Friday, February 5, 2010. 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 International Call? Email Joy_Scott@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x232.
NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens
“…A tale of friendship and survival that has become legend in Hollywood.”
- Los Angles Times
“[NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY is] about a friendship between men who shared certain unusual, difficult experiences, and how those experiences shaped their art.”
- The New York Times
They took Hollywood by storm––escaping the brutal Soviet oppression of the Hungarian Revolution and rising to fame with classic films like Easy Rider, Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Deer Hunter. Cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond pioneered the “American New Wave,” defining innovative ways to tell stories. This is an intimate portrait of the 50-year journey of two giants of modern image making and their deep bond of brotherhood that transcended every imaginable boundary.
NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: Laszlo & Vilmos premieres tonight, November 17, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Five ITVS Documentaries to Screen at IDFA
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will take place later this week (November 19-29). Five ITVS documentaries will be screening as official selections at this prestigious festival––the largest showcase of documentary film in the world.
Many ITVS films have screened to audience and critical acclaim at IDFA, including last year’s features MILKING THE RHINO, directed by David Simpson, and SEA POINT DAYS, directed by Francois Verster. Both films competed in the Joris Ivens (feature) competition.
In addition to the five films screening at the festival, ITVS will host a “Guests Meet Guests Reception” to celebrate all participating filmmakers and highlight the ITVS International Call and the approaching 2010 deadline. The event will be held on Monday, November 23 from 6:00- 7:00 PM at the central festival venue Escape DeLux on Rembrandt Square. The event is open to all credentialed festival attendees and filmmakers.
The following productions will be featured at IDFA:
Watch D TOUR on the PBS Online Video Player
Last week, D TOUR premiered on Independent Lens. The film chronicles musician Pat Spurgeon’s search for a living kidney donor and the challenges associated with finding a viable match.
Missed the broadcast? Don’t worry––the film is available to watch in its entirety for free until next Tuesday, Nov. 17, on the PBS online video player.
Also, be sure to check out the D TOUR companion website, which includes an interview with Pat Spurgeon, a Filmmaker Statement, and an organ donation Myths & Realities Quiz.
Huge Turnout for BETWEEN THE FOLDS in St. Louis
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. Last night, Producing Partner KETC in St. Louis, MO, screened the Independent Lens film BETWEEN THE FOLDS. The film looks at fine artists and theoretical scientists who have abandoned careers and hard-earned graduate degrees to forge unconventional lives as modern-day paper-folders. Sydney Meyer of KETC gives her take below:
Wow! That was the first word that came to my mind as people kept flowing into the St. Louis History Museum for the screening of BETWEEN THE FOLDS last evening. This was Community Cinema at its finest. Approximately 340 people showed up for the viewing of the film and I was amazed watching the diversity of people fill the auditorium and overflow onto the steps and the sides of the theater. People of all ages laughed and clapped at various parts of the film, signaling they understood what the artists were trying to communicate to them.
After the film, the fun continued as more than 120 folks stayed to try their hand at paper-folding with artist Sugi Taylor. There was a lot of laughter and concentration as people attempted to make a paper box and bird.
As I walked around the tables, I heard comments like “I thought the simple figures would be easier. Now I admire the film artists even more!” or “I loved the film and I am amazed I can make this figure out of almost nothing… one simple square of paper.”
A middle school girl who came with her math teacher told me, “I am a beginner paper-folder and the film inspired me to want to continue learning and try to become like the people in the film.” I loved the little girl’s comment and it made me appreciate Community Cinema even more because inspiration and change is what the program is all about.
Returning Home: Interactive Website to Honor American Soldiers
“It’s really a personal story not a political one. That goes for the greeters themselves as well. They have different views on the war, but their
main goal is to support the troops.”
— Aron Gaudet, director, THE WAY WE GET BY
On call for the past six years, a group of senior citizens have made history by greeting nearly one million U.S. troops at a tiny airport in Maine. THE WAY WE GET BY, an ITVS-funded documentary that aired last night on P.O.V., tells their uplifting and emotional journey and demonstrates the meaning of community at a time when America needs it most.
Inspired by the film, Returning Home is a new interactive website that seeks to ensure that American soldiers, both newly returned and those whose service ended many years ago, are not forgotten. Returning Home provides a place to share thoughts, photos, video or audio and to find support. Like the Maine troop greeters featured in the film, the site will honor American soldiers as they return from duty, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Visit Returning Home and learn more >>
Missed last night’s broadcast? The program is now available online in its entirety until December 12 on PBS’s video portal. Watch now >>
Learn more about the online project in this video interview with filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly and others involved in the project.
THE WAY WE GET BY Premiering Tonight on P.O.V.
“If you watch/record one thing this evening, I strongly recommend THE WAY WE GET BY, Aron Gaudet’s moving documentary…”
- USA Today
On call 24/7 for the past six years, three senior citizens have made history by greeting nearly one million U.S. troops at a tiny airport in Maine. Filled with unexpected turns, THE WAY WE GET BY tells their uplifting and emotional journey and demonstrates the meaning of community at a time when America needs it most.
THE WAY WE GET BY premieres tonight at 9:00 PM on P.O.V. on PBS (check local listings).
A co-production of ITVS in association with WGBH and Maine Public Broadcasting Network
Get the latest updates about the film and talk with others by using #wegetby on Twitter. Follow the film >>
The program will also stream online in its entirety starting tomorrow to December 12 on PBS’s video portal. Learn more >>
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