Archive for February, 2010
Shukree Tilghman: The End of Black History Month
ITVS offers viewers the opportunity to explore the rich and vibrant history and cultural contributions of African Americans throughout the year, but this month we’re offering a special slate of new and encore programs in honor of Black History Month. We recently asked Shukree Tilghman, filmmaker of the ITVS-funded film More Than A Month, to share his thoughts on Black History Month and why he believes it no longer exists. Read his take below.
Shukree Tilghman
It’s February, time to take a moment –– or a day or a week or the whole month –– to recognize, honor, and celebrate the unique and multi-faceted history of the African in America.
At least that’s what I thought February was about. Turns out I was wrong.
This seems an appropriate time to mention that I am smack in the middle of making an ITVS-funded documentary film, More Than A Month, which follows me on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month (BHM). Through the lens of this journey, the film takes a critical, and sometimes comedic look at what it means that we have a black history month and what it would mean if we didn’t.
Well, I have some interesting news to report from the field: Black History Month has ended.
I don’t mean it’s March 1, I mean BHM has ceased to exist. That’s right. It’s over. Gone. Caput. I cannot tell you exactly when it ended, but it’s gone. And despite the film and the campaign within –– I didn’t do it (so don’t go pointing the finger at me). But you can follow the journey at morethanamonth.org. Okay, enough shameless plugs. Back to the point.
All evidence that I have collected so far, from “man on the street” interviews, to spending time at a black advertising agency and with BHM planning committees, to attending BHM events, points to a somewhat sudden truth. February is no longer Black History Month. Nope. It’s Black PEOPLE Month… meaning anything that has to with black life and culture is fair game in February. Anything.
Are you a black author? February book tour!
A black designer? February fashion show!
A black out of work actor? Don’t worry. February presents a plethora of opportunities for you, and most of them won’t be historical in nature so you can avoid the awkwardness of playing a “servant.” Well…most of you.
Are you a semi-famous political commentator with a take on racism? CNN has gigs for you, player!
Win an Autographed Poster from Maggie Gyllenhaal
Love collecting autographs, but don’t spot celebrities on a daily basis? No fear — we recently caught up with our host (and 2010 Oscar nominee) Maggie Gyllenhaal between shoots where she signed our official Independent Lens season poster.
Once a week from now until the end of this month, we’ll be giving a poster away. Entries will be randomly selected from the Independent Lens newsletter subscription list. If you currently receive the newsletter, you are already entered to win.
Tell your family, friends, and neighbors to sign up for the newsletter. Who knows, they might just give you their poster if they’re the lucky winners!
Sign up to be eligible for the Independent Lens poster giveaway >>
Top Five Predictions for Films and Digital Distribution
The Independent Digital Distribution Lab –– IndiesLab for short –– is a joint initiative of ITVS and PBS designed to help filmmakers navigate the marketplace and to generate revenue streams while also having a social impact. Indie Labs Director Davin Hutchins shares his first of five predictions about the future of films and digital distribution. Be sure to visit Beyond the Box over the next several months to hear more predictions.
IndiesLab Director Davin Hutchins
As independent filmmakers proceed with their projects for 2010, I thought I’d take a crack at making some predictions for the New Year.
PREDICTION 1: Creative Destruction Will Continue… And That’s a Good Thing
Video site Veoh Networks imploded this month. Not Chapter 11, mind you; it was a Chapter 7 liquidation. Veoh was an ad-supported, user-generated video site aspiring to be another YouTube. Even though it wasn’t a player in the indie film game, its demise is significant in that the company had burned through $70 million dollars of venture capital and was co-founded by former Disney chair Michael Eisner. This begs the question: if a guy like Michael Eisner with $70 million can’t make a video site work, what can one expect from smaller niche sites that have raised considerably less funding?
Traditionally, there have been two ways for film startups to make money off independent films –– charge a rental fee to view an entire film or run ads against films that are offered for free. The real challenge going forward is this: data suggests few consumers seem willing to pay a rental fee for an independent film when there is so much free content available on the Internet or TV. And with the glut of video on the Internet –– from professional films to semi-professional shorts to user-generated video –– ad rates are driven lower and lower by an endless supply of video (and much of it mediocre). Both major film platforms and startups will face these same challenges. In the past ten years, many indie film startups have imploded, were acquired, or radically changed their focus in order to survive: Atom Films (re-branded as Atom.com), iFilm (re-branded as Spike), Jaman, and GreenCine. All promised more or less the same thing –– filmmaker and film lover nirvana –– but significant dollars haven’t really materialized.
Community Cinema Screens The Eyes of Me in Houston
Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film The Eyes of Me at HoustonPBS. The film follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. Filmmaker Keith Maitland attended the screening and gives an overview of what happened and the impact the event below.
Patrick Floyd (left), the producer of The Eyes of Me, and Keith Maitland (right), the director, at the HoustonPBS Community Cinema Screening of their film.
Bernice Klepac, with the Houston Council for the Blind, talks about her experience as a student at Texas School for the Blind back in the 1950s.
With more than 125 audience members in attendance –– many of them blind or visually-impaired –– HoustonPBS hosted a wonderful Community Cinema screening of The Eyes of Me. It’s always exciting for me to be able to sit in a crowded theater and share the film with a new audience but there was something very special about this particular screening. Along with producer Patrick Floyd, I was happy to travel to Houston from Austin, Texas, to experience Community Cinema firsthand. Meagan McComic (one of the main characters from the film) and Bill Daugherty, superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI), joined Patrick and I on the panel after the film, to share their reflections and perspectives with the Houston community –– many of whom had ties to TTSBVI directly.
Two of the audience members were alumni of TSBVI –– Michael Garrett, class of ’69, and Bernice Klepak, class of ’55. It was exciting to hear Michael and Bernice’s response to the film, and the contrasts between their days at the school and the stories of Chas, Meagan, Denise, and Isaac represented in the film. Bernice was impressed with how honest and natural today’s students were compared to her days when she feels that they were all “pretty straight-laced.”
In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs
Independent Lens named by MSN as one of “The Best Shows on TV…”
“Why pay $10 for a movie ticket when you can watch some the finest films the cinema has t
o offer for free — and from the comfort of your couch. Hosted by Maggie Gyllenhaal, the series focusing heavily on documentaries, and offers up films on a variety of topics including cinematography (No Subtitles Necessary), industrial design (Objectified) and a senior citizen choir (Young@Heart). Upcoming films include P-Star Rising about a 9-year-old with hip-hop dreams, Mine, about homeless pets in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Garbage Dreams, which tells the story of the Zabaleen people, who call Cairo’s massive garbage dump their home. Whether your immediately interested in each week’s film or not, the series has a pretty high quality bar which means you’ll rarely commit to watching something that wasn’t well-made and interesting.”
Read more >>
“In this Independent Lens presentation, Ms. Pezanoski [director of Mine] tells the story of some pet owners struggling to find their companions and bring them home — like Malvin Cavalier, who had to leave his dog behind when he sought shelter in the Superdome…”
Read full review >>
“It’s hard to imagine that a teenage girl, who performed raps on nightclub stages at 9 years old, would be anxious about showcasing her rhymes among peers.”
Read more about this community screening of P-Star Rising >>
Filmmaker Gabriel Noble and Priscilla (P-Star) Diaz discuss P-Star Rising, which recently aired on Independent Lens.
Listen now >>
Mine Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS
“One from the heart, the documentary Mine relates yet one more wrenching, infuriating story about Hurricane Katrina and the devastation wreaked both by the storm and by human error and indifference… It’s smart, sincere, and affecting.”
- The New York Times
During the evacuation for Hurricane Katrina, people were forced to leave behind more than just their homes. Thousands of stranded pets were rescued and then adopted into new homes across the United States. As residents slowly returned to try and rebuild their lives, these “Katrina pets” became the center of full-blown custody battles, with people on both sides struggling to do what was right in the midst of an impossibly complex situation.
Mine premieres tonight, February 16, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Filmmaker Pamela Yates Reflects on Open Call Orientation at ITVS
ITVS’s Open Call orientation concluded last week. Pamela Yates, filmmaker of Granito, gives an overview on her experience and why she is excited about working with ITVS and presenting her film on public television. Get her take below.
Pamela Yates
Open Call funded filmmakers.
The first thing that struck me at the ITVS Producer’s Orientation was the force. The force of dozens of people working as one to help get my film made, to get it broadcast and to have it make the greatest possible impact in the wider world.
It wasn’t always so. Richard O’Connell, director of production, gave a salient presentation recounting the little-known history of filmmakers coming together in 1984 –– and working for five years to create an independent television service by, for and about independent filmmakers. It was a bold, creative strategy to take government funds already earmarked for independent production on public television (but usurped by executive producers of the big series), and create a body to get it to individual filmmakers. I was one of those young filmmakers who worked to create ITVS — to ensure an eclectic vision, a diversity of voices, and a filmic exploration into the American psyche.
We opened the door. Then an amazing number of dedicated and talented people walked through it during the past twenty years and brought their own ideas to an organization that has become a vibrant contributor to the field of independent filmmaking and an essential player in the explosion of the documentary genre.
Let me tell you about some of the insights I gained about ITVS over the past few days.
Ravi Patel Discusses His First Open Call Orientation
ITVS’s Open Call provides finishing funds for single non-fiction or animation public television programs on any subject and from any viewpoint. This week, ITVS hosted 17 filmmakers who were recently awarded Open Call funding. Ravi Patel, writer, director, and subject of the film One in a Billion, shares his thoughts about his first several days at ITVS.
Ravi Patel, writer, director, and subject of One in a Billion.
It’s day three of my first relationship with ITVS. My best exposure to the doc world prior to ITVS was somewhat vicarious –– I live with my sister in Los Angeles, and her last film Project Kashmir was also with ITVS. And now, for the first time, here I am. Making a doc. Working with ITVS. Blogging. In retrospect, just days ago, I was nothing.
Flashback To Day One:
So excited!! It’s 9:00 AM and time for a group breakfast. Tired, I chose coffee, orange juice, and a banana… And half a bagel. And some grapes… I looked around –– Whoa. What is this?
My sister and I are making what I guess you would call a romantic comedy documentary. It’s called One in a Billion and we follow my love life… and my relationship with my family. Yes, odd, weird, crazy… But here’s my point: there is no typical ITVS film, no set agenda, no studio jumping down your throat about what’s going to make it big at the box office. ITVS is about telling important and great stories, and using any creative measure to do it.
Open Call filmmakers listen to a presentation about communication services.
What stands out to me are the people who work in this place. I mean, they seem genuinely happy to be here. What is going on? It’s like my birthday or something. We walk around and everyone has seen our film, has thoughts on it, wants to discuss how we are going to package it, distribute it… This is amazing. I have had to subject my friends to these kinds of conversations, but the people here at the country of ITVS are actually interested. The rest of the day was pretty intense, as we went through budget, contracts, media, etc. I really loved learning about the history of public television, something I had no idea about. Coffee coupled with first-day-of-school jitters had me at dangerously high energy levels. An hour later, I crashed. Images blurring. Regret coupled with desperate gulps of water. Too much water. Constant bathroom breaks. Day one was awesome.
That night we got an opportunity to see trailers and short presentations of all the filmmakers’ projects. That’s when it hit me: I am SO lucky. I am surrounded by some of the hottest filmmakers in the world. The filmmakers surrounding me were inspiring beyond words, real ballers. And the content they were producing ranged in topic from global health to soul food to graphic novels in the Middle East to revolutionary leaders. What an incredible slate of films! The ITVS team and the filmmakers are such kind, interesting, passionate people. Thanks ITVS! Thank you so much. Quick question: How did I get in here?
Indie Films to Watch This Valentine’s Day Weekend
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and we thought we’d share just a short list of some ITVS films that explore the power of love and relationships.
Whether you can’t wait to celebrate this weekend or believe that Valentine’s Day is nothing more than an exploitation of mass consumerism, we think these films will warm the hearts of even the biggest cynics!
Check out these clips below and feel the love… Happy Valentine’s Day!
Herb & Dorothy
By Megumi Sasaki
He was a postal clerk. She was a librarian. With modest means, this couple managed to build one of the most important modern art collections in history. Meet Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, whose shared passion and commitment defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector.
Learn more about Herb & Dorothy >>
Daddy & Papa
By Johnny Symons
Daddy & Papa explores the growing phenomenon of gay fatherhood in the ever-changing landscape of the American family. This intimate and compelling film delves into challenges such as surrogacy, foster care, interracial adoption, gay marriage and divorce, and the battle for full legal status as parents.
Stay Connected with ITVS for the Latest on Indie Film
Are you a big fan of Beyond the Box blog? Since launching a year ago, we’ve brought you regular updates about ITVS productions, funding opportunities, highlighted news articles, streaming video and audio, as well as announcements about upcoming projects and film events.
Don’t miss out on any of our daily updates by subscribing to our daily RSS feed.
Sign up for our daily RSS feed today >>
ITVS also produces a monthly e-newsletter, which highlights our filmmaker’s work, upcoming projects, funding opportunities, and various projects from the field. Join the monthly newsletter >>
ITVS is now on Facebook. Stay connected and join our fan page>>
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
- #ILDocClub
- All Video
- Ask Programming
- Audio Podcasts
- Awards
- Community Cinema
- Community Classroom
- Exclusive
- Film Festivals
- Filmmaker Profile
- From the President's Desk
- FUTURESTATES
- Global Voices
- In the News
- Independent Lens
- Indie Roundup
- Inside Indies
- Institutional Updates
- ITVS Broadcasts
- ITVS Deep Dive
- ITVS Funding
- ITVS indie roundup
- ITVS Indies Showcase
- ITVS International
- Live Chat
- Minority Consortia
- New Online
- On the Road
- Producer Resources
- Public Media
- Recently Funded
- Social Media
- Social Screening
- Special Events
- Talkback
- Uncategorized
- Women and Girls Lead
Related sites
Film Blogs
Public Media Blogs
-
Get the Beyond the Box e-newsletter, sent monthly with the latest news about ITVS, funding opportunities and more. Enter your email and sign up.
-
Sign up for the Independent Lens newsletter. Get news once a week during the broadcast season (fall-spring).