Community Cinema Rocks the Bay Area

Sara Brissenden-Smith, regional outreach coordinator for the Bay Area, gives us highlights from a season of Community Cinema screenings.

I just completed my first full season of Community Cinema — that’s 18 screenings, with more than 30 community partners, 40 panelists, and more than 1,000 audience members.

A DJ spins at the Copyright Criminals screening in Oakland

Copyright Criminals brought out some of our most energetic and diverse viewers. People flooded into the theater and almost immediately lost themselves in the music.  Maybe it’s because I’m a hip hop fan, but having youth DJs mixing Lauryn Hill and Tribe Called Quest started my night off right. Law students, hip hop enthusiasts, teenagers, established authors, and DJs all contributed to conversations about artistic expression, creative ownership, and the overall impact on hip hop.

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Tags: between the folds, community cinema, copyright criminals, documentary, garbage dreams, Oakland, PBS, Young@Heart

Ngôi Làng Mang Tên Versailles – (A Village Called Versailles)

Panelist Uyen Le is interviewed for Saigon TV KJLA

Community Cinema’s National Coordinator Desiree Gutierrez reflects on a screening of A Village Called Versailles held earlier this month before an entirely Vietnamese audience in Southern California.

As one of the National Community Cinema Coordinators, I am use to hosting screenings with diverse crowds, but Sunday night I had the chance to be the outsider at a screening of A Village Called Versailles hosted by Nguoi Viet Daily News in Orange County’s Little Saigon.

The newspaper was the first Vietnamese publication outside of Vietnam and has a rich history. As it was told to me, the newspaper originated out of a series of letters that traveled back and forth between Vietnam and the U.S. as people tried to track down their family members and friends after the war.

Tiffany Le a reporter at Nguoi Viet reached out to me last month wanting to learn more about hosting a screening of A Village Called Versailles. She knew the residents of her community would want to see the film, but as she pointed out, they would not drive to LA or West Hollywood to attend one of our already scheduled events. We made arrangements to host the film at the newspapers auditorium in the heart of Little Saigon.

The newspaper had given us tremendous media coverage. We had a feature with images run a few days before the screening, and an interview with the filmmaker run the day of the event, not to mention a half page ad in the World Cup edition of the paper. Needless to say, the Vietnamese community knew we were having an event and they turned out. Nearly 200 people and four media crews filled the auditorium, and as I had been warned, I the only “Westerner” in the room.

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Tags: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, oil spill, Vietnamese

Geneva Forum on Social Change 2010

The Geneva Forum on Social Change (GFSC) was established in January 2009 by students of the International Organizations MBA Programme at the University of Geneva as an annual event which uses the power of documentary media to promote positive social change. Prominent filmmakers, academics and professionals lead stimulating discussions about the most pressing social issues. Chi Do, ITVS Associate Director of Communications, gives us her take on the forum:

The term “movers and shakers” took on new meaning for me at the 2010 Geneva Forum on Social Change on May 28-29. The dynamic weekend featuring ten award-winning documentaries (including four from ITVS), four keynote speakers, six panels, seven workshops (plus expos on sustainability and new media!) brought together more than 500 people — all driven by a common desire to see how the merging of public and private, governmental and non-governmental, even the merging of our virtual and physical worlds can bring about innovations to address the most critical social issues of our time.

A Discussion with Filmmakers from the Geneva Forum on Social Change

Geneva is a hotbed for international dealings whether it be diplomacy or finance, and the GFSC represented that to a tee by attracting participants whose work reaches so many corners of the globe: international organizations, NGOs, private corporations, diplomatic corps, foundations, the list goes on. In one room I would meet someone working to develop water and energy conservation programs for an entire country on behalf of USAID, and then turn around and meet another person who started a foundation to support youth in a small village in Africa with nothing more than what was in their savings account and the help of a few friends. The amount of brain stimulation and soul inspiration to be had was off the charts!

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Tags: documentary, Geneva, social change, social entrepreneur

S. Leo Chiang Goes to Jail (with Community Cinema)

Last month filmmaker S. Leo Chiang participated in a discussion after his picture, A Village Called Versailles, played before for an audience of inmates at the San Bruno County Jail in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chiang offered his account of what was an unlikely setting for a film festival…

When ITVS emailed me about showing A Village Called Versailles, In, of all places, a jail as a part of Community Cinema screenings, I was taken aback at first, and then I was excited. I had never been inside a jail, and I wasn’t about to pass up the chance. I am, after all, a documentary filmmaker with innate anthropological curiosities.

I set out to the San Bruno County Jail #5, which is a part of the San Francisco County Jail system. My ITVS rep and I clear up confusions about our security clearances, pass through many remotely operated thick, metal, sliding doors, and walk down long, non-descript hallways. I see guards and rooms full of inmates in bright orange jumpsuits. So far, the experience looks a lot like a scene out of Oz on HBO.

We are here to present the film to students in classrooms of a pioneer Charter high school inside the San Francisco County jails, the Five Keys Charter School. The inmates take classes from inside the jail with the aim of getting their high school diplomas.

I enter the classroom and am nervous. The students had seen my film the day prior, and I’m there to answer questions and discuss their reactions to the film. I wonder if anyone would even speak or, let alone, raise a hand to ask a question. Or, will they just be rowdy? Will the session disintegrate into chaos?
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Tags: A Village Called Versailles, Five Keys Charter School, Leo Chang, refugee

Father Vien — New Orleans’ Community Champion

Father Vien Nguyen, a Catholic priest and progressive social activist in the Vietnamese community of New Orleans recently received the Community Champion Award from the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO). Father Vien is prominently featured in the Independent Lens documentary A Village Called Versailles, airing next Tuesday, May 25th on PBS (check local listings). AAPCHO Membership Relations Associate Grace-Sonia Melanio gives us a recap of the awards ceremony.

Father Vien Nguyen accepting the AAPCHO Community Champion Award

In February, the organization I work for, the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), at their fundraising awards gala, showed excerpts from A Village Called Versailles, and presented Father Vien Nguyen with AAPCHO’s Community Champion Award.

For those of you who are not already familiar with AAPCHO’s work, AAPCHO is a national organization representing community health centers dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration, and leadership that advances the health status of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. So when my organization began having conversations about honoring a community champion, we wanted to recognize Father Vien’s work towards re-establishing primary health care services in New Orleans East post-Katrina. As chronicled in A Village Called Versailles, Father Vien’s leadership helped galvanize Vietnamese Americans in Louisiana to rebuild their region, and fight a toxic landfill that threatened the well-being and health of their community.

When ITVS learned that AAPCHO planned to honor Father Vien, they graciously loaned us a copy of the film to show at our awards ceremony. While Father Vien’s accomplishments were read by our emcee, film and television actress Tamlyn Tomita, the audience was visibly moved, as footage from the documentary was simultaneously projected on two large screens. The film punctuated the remarkable battle Father Vien and the Vietnamese American community of Versailles had fought and won to reclaim and protect their home.

Watch the trailer for A Village Called Versailes >>

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Tags: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, oil spill, Vietnamese

Seattle’s Vietnamese Community Rallies Around A Village Called Versailles

Community Cinema recently hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film A Village Called Versailles in Seattle. The film follows a Vietnamese American community on the edge of New Orleans that fought the opening of a toxic government-imposed landfill near their homes. Find out what happened at the screening from National Community Cinema Coordinator Patrick Baroch, who organized the event.

Panelists (l. to r.) Nanette Fok, Thao Nguyen, Trang Tu, and Trong Pham

Despite another unusually gorgeous sunny day in Seattle, we had 130 people attend our recent free Community Cinema Seattle premiere event for A Village Called Versailles. Eight people showed up just for the panel discussion. The audience loved the film finding it humorous, touching, and inspiring. There were big reactions to the story and the people in the film. The audience laughed, gasped, and were silently moved by the inspirational residents of East New Orleans’ Versailles.

We were lucky to have Trang Tu on our panel. Trang, an urban planner, is featured in the film. She spoke eloquently about Versailles and then about plans for development in Seattle and how the community can support or protest the new development in Little Saigon. Trang was integral in the development of the master plan for the rebuilding of Versailles.

Repeating that message was Thao T. Nguyen of the Vietnamese Friendship Association and Neighborhood House. Thao is a young board member who gave the audience some great tips for local activism and community support.

Our moderator, Nanette Fok, is a local activist and community organizer who drew fascinating opinions and stories from our panel. She asked how the lessons learned in A Village Called Versailles could be applied to Seattle. The audience decided that the film was an excellent catalyst topics like disaster preparedness on the community/neighborhood level.

Also on the panel was Trong Pham, President of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, who spoke about the robust Vietnamese business community in Seattle. He and the Chamber sponsored a Vietnamese feast in the lobby after the event. At least 50-60 people stayed after the panel discussion and mingled and networked in the lobby.

-Patrick Baroch, National Community Cinema Coordinator

A Village Called Versailles airs Tuesday, May 25 at 10:00 on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: environmental, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, oil spill, Vietnamese

Community Cinema screens The Horse Boy in Philadelphia

The Horse Boy, (airing Tuesday, May 11 at 10 PM, check local listings) explores one family’s unforgettable journey as they travel halfway across the world in search of a miracle to heal their autistic son. On April 21st, WHYY and Community Cinema hosted a screening of The Horse Boy in Philadelphia. More than 200 people packed the venue, including many parents who are raising children with Autism. To create engagement opportunities, ITVS awarded WHYY’s Learning Lab a grant to support the Family Media Project, an innovative video project that explores how three local families have engaged in their child’s autism diagnosis. Candid and eye-opening, the project not only provides a platform for education but a forum for families to tell their own stories. Parent Bill Zukovsky shares his experience working with the Family Media Project:

Bill Zukovsky with his son Andrew

Wow… What an amazing experience! I couldn’t believe I was going to have a camera on my shoulder and a microphone wrapped around my arm while I tried to capture what it was like to be my son, Andrew. There is no way I would even take a photograph, let alone video tape something that was going to be shown online. What was I thinking taking on this project? But let me tell you something, I’m glad I did.

I got plenty of footage of Andrew in school, playing around the house, and more interviews than I can even use. But what happened next would stay with me for a lifetime. Sitting in the editing room, I got to see the raw footage and what I saw just amazed me. For the first time, I sat back and got to see how other people, both Andrew’s peers and the adults in his life, saw him. How accepting they have become of him and all his quirks, and how he is starting to fit in with the world around him. The longer the editing went, and the more we attempted to get everything under the five minute time limit, the more my chest swelled. Of course, while I’m sitting there barking orders — “No, I don’t like that” … “Cut it here” … “That has to be in there somewhere!” — I’m choking back the tears of joy in seeing my son join a world that I never thought he would enter.

The WHYY Learning Lab creates an opportunity to help others understand what it’s like to be you; your problems, your issues, your trials, and your triumphs. But during the process, I learned a lot, and not just about how to frame a shot or cut a clip. I learned that my son has come a long way in his development. He does have the capability to lead a typical life. He has a lot to offer the people around him and can teach them about patience and understanding. It gives me hope and desire to keep giving Andrew all the opportunity I can to make his life something great.

- Bill Zukovsky, participant in the WHYY Learning Lab’s Family Media Project

The Horse Boy will air nationally on Independent Lens on May 11 at 10:00 PM on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: Autism, Philadelphia, the horse boy, WHYY

Community Cinema Screens Dirt! The Movie in Monterey, CA

Community Cinema recently hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film Dirt! The Movie in Monterey, CA. The film looks at how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have endangered soil and resulted in cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. Find out what happened at the screening from Elsa Dooling of the Pesticide Watch Education Fund, who helped organize the event.

Bike powered smoothies at the Dirt! Monterey screening

Torrential rains washed over the Monterey Bay, and heavy winds ripped through the trees. But, at about 3 PM a sudden break in the storm gave me the opportunity to quickly throw on my rain gear and join our organizing team to begin the planned outdoor festivities that were to precede the April 11th screening of Dirt! The Movie. As if by design, the weather softened and welcomed the community out to enjoy smoothies made with bike power, and to get dirty as they made clay and wildflower seed balls and watched compost demonstrations. The energy and momentum of the event got into full swing as the sun peaked out and rainbows could be seen over the theater. Guests mingled and enjoyed delicious treats donated by local restaurants and bakeries, and even sipped wine donated by the Monterey County Film Commission. Table displays offered the audience a chance to learn about the partner organizations that collaborated to bring the event to life: Pesticide Watch Education Fund, Monterey Green Action, Monterey County Film Commission, and ITVS. Our good friend (and local photographer/activist extraordinaire) Michelle Magdalena Maddox, was even screen-printing recycled t-shirts with a beautifully designed calendar of all of April’s Earth Day events right on the spot. It was amazing!

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Tags: Compost, Dirt, Earth Day, environment, Green

Community Cinema Screens The Horse Boy in Brooklyn

Community Cinema recently hosted two screenings of the Independent Lens film The Horse Boy with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, who is presenting five Independent Lens documentaries with us this season. The film explores the Issacson’s family journey as they travel halfway across the world in search of a miracle to heal their son with autism. Neversee Davis, Recreation Director at Von King Recreation Center in Brooklyn, shares her experience:

Rupert Isaacson (Producer of The Horse Boy) talks to students at Von King Recreation Center

Yesterday we hosted two screenings of The Horse Boy and were honored to host Rupert Isaacson, the father who shares his family’s story in the film. The afternoon screening attracted dozens of students and youth who were moved by the film and realized that autistic children are just like regular teens — they need the love and guidance of a support system to thrive. The evening screening was attended by a diverse audience, including many parents that shared their experiences raising children with autism. After the film, Rupert was there to answer questions and to share his story in person.

I taught Special Education for 25 years and this film blew my mind. How far would you go to save a child, or save a loved one? The Horse Boy showed me that you need to keep pushing until you reach your dreams and goals for the one you love.

- Neversee Davis
Recreation Director, Von King Recreation Center, NY

The Horse Boy will air nationally on Independent Lens on May 11 at 10:00 PM on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: Autism, Brooklyn, New York, Parks and Recreation

Maggie Gyllenhaal Discusses Autism Awareness Month and The Horse Boy

April is National Autism Awareness Month. Watch the exclusive video below with Independent Lens host Maggie Gyllenhaal who discusses The Horse Boy, which explores one family’s unforgettable journey as they travel halfway across the world in search of a miracle to heal their autistic son.

Learn more about autism and get involved by attending a Community Cinema screening of The Horse Boy this month. To find a screening near you, visit www.pbs.org/independentlens/horse-boy/getinvolved.html.

The Horse Boy will air nationally on Independent Lens on May 11 at 10:00 PM on PBS (check local listings).