On the Road
“Hell and Back Again” Filmmaker Danfung Dennis Reacts to Oscar Nomination
By Steve Goldbloom, Reporting for PBS and BTB at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival
Danfung Dennis woke up this morning in Park City as an Academy Award nominated filmmaker for his documentary Hell and Back Again. The film weaves together two overlapping narratives of a Marine at war on the front and in recovery at home. BTB caught up with the filmmaker earlier today on Main St at the Sundance Film Festival.
Hell and Back Again will air on May 24 on Independent Lens.
Macky Alston’s “Love Free or Die” Takes Off at Sundance
By Steve Goldbloom, Reporting for PBS and BTB at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival
Premiering Monday night at Sundance is Macky Alston’s new film Love Free or Die, which follows the historic and controversial rise of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop. BTB caught up with Alston at a mass held at St. Luke’s Church on Sunday in Park City, where LGBT leaders showed up to support and discuss the film.
Love Free or Die is an ITVS-funded film slated for broadcast on an upcoming season of Independent Lens.
Independent Lens Honors Black History at TCA
At this year’s Television Critics Association, Independent Lens announced three new films that examine the history of African American activism and produced a panel including legendary activist Angela Davis and artist Talib Kweli. Watch the video below to see some of the icons and artists who joined Independent Lens in recognizing African American history at this year’s TCA Press Tour in Los Angeles.
Lois Vossen (IL), Sharon La Cruise (Daisy Bates), Dr. Angela Davis and Talib Kweli (The Black Power Mixtape), Michael Jones (COO of PBS), and Shukree Hassan Tilghman (More Than a Month)
Independent Lens begins its celebration of Black History Month on PBS with Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, which premiers on February 2. The film follows the seven-year journey of filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to learn about the mostly forgotten civil rights activist Daisy Bates.
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Independent Lens Leads PBS’s Black History Month
The lineup will include three new critically acclaimed documentaries in February: Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, More Than a Month, and The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 — featuring the legendary activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis.
In February 2012, Independent Lens will lead the celebration of Black History Month on public television with premieres of three new documentaries that shine a unique light on the history of African American activism, with one provocatively re-examining of the whole idea of Black History Month.
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Notes from Amsterdam: A Wrap Up of IDFA
More than a dozen ITVS docs screened at last week’s IDFA festival in Amsterdam. Senior Series producer of Independent Lens Lois Vossen participated in the special FORUM event and offered BTB this wrap up report.
Filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj's Invoking Justice was among the ITVS docs to premiere at IDFA
The 19th FORUM took place in Amsterdam on November 21-23 as part of 25th annual International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The current economic crisis unfolding around us as the EU debt crisis mounts, public financing under pressure, and a dangerous decrease in airtime allocated to social issue documentaries provided an urgency to this year’s FORUM. The IDFA’s FORUM is the longest-standing gathering that brings together documentary filmmakers, TV stations, funds, distributors, and other financiers to support high-level documentary projects and help partner joint ventures.
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Over a Dozen ITVS Films at IDFA
IDFA is one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals, held annually in Amsterdam in November, since 1988. This year, BTB is proud to report that over a dozen ITVS films will be showcased at IDFA. Congratulations to all the filmmakers! See a complete list of the films — and watch the trailers — after the jump.
Bitter Seeds
By Micha X. Peled
Family Portrait in Black and White
By: Julia Ivanova, Boris Ivanov (Reflecting Images – Best of the Fest)
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Filmmaking Pair Pays Tribute to Joe Papp
Last month in New York, the Ford Foundation hosted a screening of the ITVS-funded Joe Papp in Five Acts. The filmmaking pair of Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen, who spent more than a decade producing the documentary, offered BTB their impressions of the event and the legendary Joe Papp.
The Unofficial Mayor of New York City
By Tracie Holder
Joe Papp in Five Acts is the story of New York’s indomitable, street-wise champion of the arts who introduced interracial casting to the American stage and brought us free Shakespeare in the Park, Hair, and A Chorus Line.
Convinced that women and minorities, denied power elsewhere in society, could develop it on the stage, Papp became a tireless fighter for the arts who raised enduring debate about our founding ideals and the role of the arts in a pluralistic society. Using his life and work as its prism, the film explores the issues he chose to champion: freedom of expression, democracy in the arts, and the definition of American culture.
Recently, the Ford Foundation hosted a screening of our documentary, Joe Papp in Five Acts, at an event celebrating Papp’s Public Theater. It was a thrilling evening during which the President of the Foundation announced a $2 million gift to the Public to complete its capital campaign.
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The Year of the Girl Begins: Girl Scouts of the USA 52nd National Convention
The Girl Scouts of the USA is a major partner for the Women and Girls Lead campaign and last week, they invited ITVS to be a part of their National Convention in Houston, TX. Celebrating the launch of their 100th anniversary activities, the Girl Scouts announced that 2012 will be The Year of the Girl! Women and Girls Lead presented two campaign films: Strong! and Pushing the Elephant, and trained more than 100 girls to use digital storytelling tools. Today’s post from ITVS National Engagement and Education Manager Annelise Wunderlich highlights the digital storytelling trainings.
Photo by Julie Wyman
I have a confession: I was never a Brownie, or a Daisy, or a Girl Scout. In fact, as a girl in grade school I suspected those groups of not being “cool,” and I was intimidated by their uniforms covered with mysterious and colorful badges. Now, that was admittedly a very long time ago — and the Girl Scouts has surely evolved as an organization since then. But nothing prepared me for just how cool the Girl Scouts actually are.
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Live Blogging from Girl Scouts Convention in Houston
The Women and Girls Lead campaign is on the ground in Houston this week and we’ll be blogging live on Friday and Saturday from the Girls Scouts National Convention. The convention will feature Women and Girls Lead in multiple events including screenings and panel discussions with filmmakers, and six media creation workshops with the Girl Scouts Leadership Institute. Keep an eye on BTB and @ITVSIndies for updates.
Live Coverage of PBS at TCA Press Tour
This weekend, PBS will present some of this year’s lineup at the TCA Press Tour in Los Angeles. BTB is at The Beverly Hilton and will be relaying updates from the conference in a series of live posts.
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