Shop Talk: Q & A with Programming

When is the International Call deadline for 2011?

The International Call 2011 deadline is December 10, 2010. The application will go live on October 15, 2010 and all submissions must be in-office by Friday, December 10. In addition, we aim to have an interactive international message board up and running by October 1.

What kinds of documentaries are you seeking?

For International Call, the › Continue reading

Tags: funding, funding international, independent producers, indie films, international docs, ITVS, PBS, public television

Filmmakers Steer Clear of Big Easy Clichés

Five years ago, the worst natural disaster ever to hit the United States struck southern Louisiana, forever altering the face of America’s most unique and freewheeling city, New Orleans. While the news media revisits the Crescent City to find out what has changed and what hasn’t, a team of filmmakers working with ITVS is documenting the real story of the resurrection of a metropolis with a long history of coming back from the dead with inimitable style.

Their documentary-in-progress Getting Back to Abnormal by former New Orleans residents, Louis Alvarez, Andrew Kolker, Peter Odabashian, and Paul Stekler, explores the state of New Orleans politics and culture five years after Hurricane Katrina.

Set against the backdrop of the 2009-2010 local political season, the election of the first white mayor in a generation, and the triumph of the city’s erstwhile worst NFL team, the Saints, Getting Back to Abnormal will frame its story via the city’s complicated and ever-present issues of race.

The film was one of several to receive Open Call funding from ITVS in the most recent round. At the producers’ orientation last month, filmmakers Andrew Kolker and Paul Stekler spoke about what New Orleans means to them and why it was important to get the story right.

Tags: hurricane, ITVS, Katrina, New Orleans, nola, PBS, public television

Women’s Empowerment Event Draws a Crowd in Seattle

From the lobby of Pigot Hall at Seattle University

National Community Cinema Coordinator, Patrick Baroch, reports out on another successful Women’s Empowerment Screening, this one, from Seattle.

Seattle’s first ever Women Empowerment Film Event & Meetings (WE FEM) packed in men and women along a broad spectrum of ages, genders, and ethnicities. Seattle University hosted the event at Pigott Hall, where the power of the films resonated in lively and impassioned discussion afterwards.

After the screening of A Girl’s Life the blunt question, “Why are girls so mean?” became a topic of much discussion and observation. The hit of the night was a Lieutenant from the Seattle Fire Department donning her full gear in 60 seconds. She also gave a fascinating tour of her tool belt.

After each film and workshop, the participants mingled in the atrium. At the end of the night, people continued to talk about what they had seen.

Tags: a girl's life, indie films, ITVS, PBS, public television, Seattle, seattle university, women's empowerment

Advice for Filmmakers from Doc TV’s Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton, editor and publisher of documentarytelevision.org

Peter Hamilton is a former executive with CBS International, New York. He is the editor and publisher of DocumentaryTelevision.com, which analyzes deals and trends in the ever-changing business of factual television. Because we know many of you are independent filmmakers trying to navigate the complex world of distribution, we spoke with Peter Hamilton last week to get some insights.

More than 25 years ago you co-authored a book titled Off-Hollywood: The Making and Marketing of Independent Films. How different might that book look if it were published today, and what about it would still hold up?

That’s a very good question. Off Hollywood was a groundbreaking work supported by The IFP (Independent Feature Project) and Sundance to provide the emerging independent film community with hard numbers about the production, distribution, and exhibition of independent films.

That was in the analog era when there were few windows available for independent filmmakers. Now, there are many more distribution platforms, television networks, DVD options such as Amazon, Netflix, pay-per-view, online, and many others. › Continue reading

Tags: cbs, com, digital distribution, distribution, doctv, documentarytelevision, independent filmmakers, indie films, ITVS, network, PBS, peter hamilton

Women’s Empowerment Screenings Trigger Plans in Nashville

Chiquita Fields of Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee talks with audience members after a screening of Troop 1500

Our Women’s Empowerment Screening was a spirited collaboration of organizations and individuals. Series partner Nashville Public Library hosted us in its elegant auditorium and conference center. Nashville Public Television and the Nashville Film Festival – under the leadership of President and CEO Beth Curley and Director Sallie Mayne — who were both in attendance — helped fill the audience with PBS enthusiasts and independent film lovers. And the organization, Hands On Nashville, supplied us with more than a dozen enthusiastic volunteers.

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Tags: community cinema, ITVS, Nashville, PBS, public television, wei, women's empowerment

Filmmaking Couple Shed Light on Speaking in Tongues

Filmmakers Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider — Photo by Najib Joe Hakim

The award-winning ITVS film, Speaking in Tongues, tells the stories of four diverse kids becoming bilingual in the public school system. Filmmakers Marcia Jarmel and her husband Ken Schneider, will present the documentary at a special screening and panel discussion hosted at KQED in San Francisco — Thursday, September 2^nd (6:30 to 8:30 PM).

Our idea in making Speaking in Tongues was to showcase a world where communication barriers are being addressed. An African-American boy from public housing learns to read, write, and speak Mandarin. A Mexican-American boy, whose parents are not literate in any language, develops professional-level Spanish while mastering English. A Chinese-American girl regains her grandparents’ mother tongue, a language her parents lost through assimilation. A Caucasian teen travels to Beijing to stay with a Mandarin speaking host family. Their stories reveal the promise of a multilingual America.

We’ve witnessed this transformation in our own home. Our sons are in their fourth and eighth year in a public school Chinese immersion program. They cause a stir when they order in accent-less Chinese at local restaurants. But they also have translated for a confused Chinese speaker lost at the doctor, visited shut-in Chinese speaking elders, felt at home in a traditional Chinese home, and very important for us, helped us understand our film footage. When spoken to by a native speaker, they don’t pause to translate; they think in Chinese, having learned it like a baby, by hearing it spoken around them. Their experience prompts the telling of these small stories that in turn provoke one of the most compelling questions of our day: what do we as a nation need to know in the 21st century?

Photo by Andy Black

We truly believe that the promise of a multilingual America can be fulfilled. Support for multilingualism comes from a unique cross section of America. Community leaders, teachers, policymakers, and advocates from organizations at the forefront of multilingual education, in addition to parents of bilingual children, bring a range of perspectives that when brought together, generally makes for a lively and meaningful discussion. It is a honor to have the opportunity to share this film with communities nationwide.

To find out where you can see it, how to bring the discussion to your community, or to learn more about the benefits of multilingualism, please join our mailing list or Facebook group, read our blog, and check out the resources on our website.

You can also join us for an online conversation on September 13th at the Movie Night Salon, on Firedoglake.com from 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm ET/ 5:00pm – 6:30 pm PT.

Tags: bilingual, chinese, education, mandarin, multilingual, school, Spanish, students

Filmmaker Carol Dysinger Explains Camp Victory

Filmmaker Carol Dysinger

Camp Victory Afghanistan follows several soldiers — Afghan and American — across the divide of language, culture, and religion as they attempt to accomplish a near impossible task: crafting a modern army to serve a struggling nation. Filmmaker Carol Dysinger provided BTB with some backround on the project. Camp Victory airs this month on Public Television.

In 2001 we went into Afghanistan with the support of the world, it seemed. By 2003 we were doing regime change and Afghanistan disappeared behind the news of our adventures in Iraq. By 2005 it was like they were one thing.  One nightmarish mistake. But they weren’t the same.

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Tags: afghan national army, american troops, barack obama, camp victory afghanistan, carol dysinger, ITVS, PBS, public television, troops, u.s. army, war in afghanistan

Latino Art & Culture Shines in Visiones

Parts three and four of Visiones airs this Sunday on Global Voices on PBS World. The six-part series examines the richness and impact of Latino culture through the eyes of some of the most influential painters, musicians, dancers, and writers working in America today.

The film, directed by Hector Galan, explores everything from New York’s break-dancing community to the theater scene in Texas, offering a truly unique cross section of Latino artists working today.

Visiones weaves a tapestry of paintings, songs, dances, and spoken-word performances to reflect on how Latinos have impacted arts and culture.

Watch a clip from parts three and four of Visiones, airing this Sunday on Global Voices on PBS WORLD.

Tags: art, culture, Hispanic, latin america, Latino, PBS, public television, visiones

Granito Makes Good Use of the Past

A Scene from Granito

Granito is a story of destinies joined by Guatemala’s past, and how a documentary film from 1982 — When the Mountains Tremble — became forensic evidence to help prove a genocide case against a military dictator.

In Granito, the characters sift for clues buried in archives of mind and place and historical memory, seeking to uncover a narrative that could unlock the past and settle matters of life and death in the present. Like a crime thriller where the narrative is revealed step by step, this epic film travels between present and past, uncovering evidence of massive crimes and bringing accountability to the present.

The film, by Pamela Yates and Paco de Onis, was selected during last year’s round of Open Call.

Watch the producers of Granito answer questions about the film below.

Tags: documentary, granito, ITVS, Open Call, PBS, public television

Flood-Ravaged Pakistan Struggles to Survive

The recent floods in Pakistan have taken a devastating toll on the nation, affecting as much as a quarter of the country. So far, the death rate has climbed to an estimated 2,000 and the overall damage has affected approximately 20 million Pakistanis.

Women and children have been the worst affected, as millions await aid and protection. Touring the wreckage last weekend, UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the floods the worst destruction he had ever witnessed.

The flooding, which began in late July, brings suffering to an area already rife with political turmoil. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was recently criticized for taking a trip to Europe to meet with leaders in Britain and France. Critics slammed the trip as “insensitive” and called it a “joy ride.” President Zardari most recently decided to forgo any celebration of the 63^rd Anniversary of Pakistan’s independence last Saturday, August 14.

All news to date indicates that the situation in Pakistan is likely to worsen before it improves. A harsh truth to the already high casualty figures is that many more towns and villages, not accessible by communication, will likely have greater losses to report in the weeks ahead. Relief and recovery efforts will certainly remain the highest priority in Pakistan long after the floodwaters recede.

As Pakistanis — an especially high percentage of them women and children — face this unprecedented catastrophe it is important to remember the forces of strength and survival that have been produced from that nation. Benazir Bhutto, one of history’s most resilient leaders, inspired millions in times of struggle. The nature of such leadership is what rallies a country in times of crisis, and it’s certainly worth remembering such a historical figure now.

Slated to run this season on Independent Lens, Filmmaker Duane Baughman’s, Bhutto, chronicles the life of the first woman in history to lead a Muslim nation.

Tags: Aid, Bhutto, Floods, Pakistan, Relief, UN