In the News
Optimistic Daredevils for Social Change
By Kaleigh Gaynor
The filmmakers and stars of the ITVS-funded documentary The Revolutionary Optimists were models for social change at TEDxChange and the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, where they introduced Map Your World, the new transmedia project inspired by the film.
A short piece from the film was created for TEDxChange, an event co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and TED in Berlin on April 5, 2012, where participants were encouraged to apply new perspectives to pre-existing big picture issues. The short, introduced by Melinda Gates, showcased the evolution of Map Your World, a cross-platform project inspired by the documentary.
The Revolutionary Optimists follows “The Daredevils,” a group of youths in one of India’s most notorious squatter’s colonies, who have made a dramatic improvement in the health of their community, a place that cannot even be found on a map of the region. Determined to make a geographic and meaningful map of their colony, the Daredevils have been painstakingly tracking and collecting data around health issues that impact them – water, sanitation, and infectious diseases. In 10 years, they have made dramatic improvements in their area: They’ve turned a trash dump into a soccer field, lobbied for electricity, and decreased diarrhea and malaria rates in their neighborhood. › Continue reading
A Full Frame Documentary Extravaganza
By Eric Martin
ITVS Senior Staff Writer Eric Martin, filed this report from the 2012 Full Frame Film Festival, which ran April 12-April 15 in Durham, N.C..
The Waiting Room held its world premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
The Full Frame Film Festival turned 15 years old this year in Durham, N.C., where I happen to live right now, and it’s no surprise that the well-attended, four-day, 100+ documentary extravaganza, which ended Sunday, included a meaty slate of ITVS and Independent Lens projects packed with something for everyone.
› Continue reading
The Island President Hits Theaters
The Island President may not be coming to Independent Lens until next season, but audiences don’t have to wait to see the story of former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.
In February, former President Mohamed Nasheed made headlines when he was forced to step down after the Maldivian police and army turned against him. Prior to the coup, President Nasheed was known for his impassioned stance on climate change and was rewarded by being pushed out of office earlier this year, after the documentary concluded filming. The Island President follows Nasheed as he worked tirelessly to motivate the world to take action before the rising sea levels wiped out the Maldives, giving a human face to an issue that continues to threaten his country.
The Island President opened in theaters in New York on Wednesday, March 28th and will be coming to San Francisco (March 30), Los Angeles (April 6), Washington DC (April 20), San Diego (April 20), Minneapolis (April 27), and Detroit (April 27) throughout the next month. Additional cities will be added soon and will be posted to film’s website. Watch the film’s trailer after the jump. › Continue reading
ITVS in the News
Coverage of ITVS from The New York Times and PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler.
The New York Times: PBS Agrees to Revisit Documentary Schedule
Under intense public pressure from independent documentary filmmakers, including a Twitter campaign, PBS on Thursday agreed to find a new home next season for the award-winning film series “Independent Lens” and “POV.” Continue Reading >>>
PBS.org: Independent Lens Brings a Focus on PBS
This comes under the heading of “nobody asked me, but . . .” Viewers have not written to me about recent scheduling changes that affect two major, long-running PBS series of independent documentary films — Independent Lens and POV, which stands for point of view. But the changes and the controversy they have stirred are getting a fair amount of attention in the press, at least in those segments that pay close attention to public broadcasting, within PBS and among independent filmmakers. So that makes it seem worthwhile for me to record the issues for readers of this column. Continue Reading >>>
Revealing Visions of Tomorrow’s America… in 24 Minutes or Less
Season three of FUTURESTATES debuts April 3, 2012 on FUTURESTATES.tv, PBS.org, and PBS iPhone and iPad apps. Join filmmakers and actors from the series in an online press conference held here live on Thursday at 11AM PT / 2PM ET.
What will happen to our families, our rights, and our economy in the not-so-distant future? These are just some of the questions explored in the third season of FUTURESTATES, an online series of sci-fi shorts set to launch April 3, 2012. Produced by ITVS, FUTURESTATES presents narratives created by established filmmakers and emerging talents that transform today’s complex social issues into visions about what life in America will be like in decades to come. The shorts will be available for free via streaming video on futurestates.tv and simultaneously on pbs.org, and PBS iPhone and iPad applications. › Continue reading
ITVS in the News
Coverage of ITVS and Independent Lens from Monday’s edition of The New York Times.
The New York Times: PBS Shifts in Time Slots Hurts Series of Films
The home page of PBS.org in recent days has highlighted a new feature, the PBS Online Film Festival. But the prime-time schedule for PBS this television season has, in the eyes of some, effectively marginalized its two award-winning independent film series: “Independent Lens,” which started its new season last October, and “POV,” which will begin new episodes June 21. Continue Reading >>>
FUTURESTATES Season 3: Online Press Conference
Join us on Thursday, March 22 at 11AM PT / 2PM ET for a live, online press conference to discuss the upcoming, third season of FUTURESTATES. Moderated by series manager Karim Ahmad, the panel will include
• Jennifer Phang, Filmmaker (Advantageous)
• Jacqueline Kim, Actor (Advantageous)
• Mo Perkins, Filmmaker (Laura Keller — NB)
• Amber Benson, Actor (Laura Keller – NB)
Women, War & Peace Earns TV Academy Honors
PBS’s Women, War & Peace will be among seven programs to receive Television Academy Honors nods at the May 2 ceremony in Los Angeles.
Recognized for personifying “Television with a Conscience,” the five-part PBS mini-series, is a global media initiative on the roles of women in peace and conflict.
The film premiered last year as part of public media’s Women and Girls Lead initiative. Watch the trailer for the doc after the jump.
› Continue reading
ITVS Alumni Score a Win at SFIAAFF
By Michael Kinomoto
Four filmmakers previously funded by ITVS received a $5,000 award at this year’s San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) for a work-in-progress about international LGBT politicians.
From L to R: Johnny Symons, Brittney Shepherd, Eva Moss, and S. Leo Chiang
Filmmakers S. Leo Chiang (A Village Called Versailles) and Johnny Symons (Daddy & Papa, Ask Not), along with co-producers Eva Moss and Brittney Shepherd, were awarded a $5,000 research and development award at the Ready, Set, Pitch! panel held on Sunday, March 11 at the 30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival for their project Out Run (working title) – a feature length documentary project that follows openly-LGBT political candidates in parts of the world that are most hostile to their cause.
› Continue reading
Joint Task Force Working to Boost Audience for Indies on PBS
ITVS, POV, and PBS Leadership Meet Weekly to Develop New Indies Strategy
During most of the past decade, Independent Lens and POV together have provided a year-round broadcast slot of independent documentary films, airing on Tuesday nights at 10 PM, with POV running June to October with special presentations in other months and Independent Lens airing October through June.
In May 2011, changes in PBS’s prime-time schedule moved Independent Lens and POV to 10 PM on Thursdays, a night traditionally reserved for stations’ local and syndicated programming. For Independent Lens, the move has resulted in a significant decline in both station carriage and viewership.
› Continue reading
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