community cinema
Wangari Maathai’s Message in Honor of MLK
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Kenyan Environmental Justice Leader Wangari Maathai, who is featured in the film Taking Root, offers a few words to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of community service.
Video produced by: Lisa Merton and Alan Dater
A Film With Multiple Characters, Told on Multiple Platforms
The Calling airs on Independent Lens December 20 & 21
Last week, Independent Lens hosted its first social screening on the Independent Lens Facebook fan page with an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming miniseries, The Calling.
Led by Series Director and Executive Producer Danny Alpert, the four-hour documentary series follows seven young people on a dramatic journey as they train to become professional clergy.
The online screening was followed by a special live panel discussion from the studios of the WTTW in Chicago featuring all seven subjects. The 90 minute webcast reached viewers from more than 55 countries and was accompanied by a live chat on Facebook and Twitter.
Below, you can replay the event and conversation:
Leading up to the film’s upcoming PBS premiere, the What’s Your Calling? Campaign, an online initiative, was launched to give others a platform to share types of service they have been called to and how they hope to change the world. From tug-boat artists to jazz musicians, the campaign has conducted a host of interviews exploring the notion of a “calling” from both religious and secular perspectives.
And as part of Community Cinema The Calling has been playing throughout the month of December in cities across the U.S. You can still make some of the screenings, so check out the calendar here.
Enjoy these excerpts from the filmmakers responsible for covering all the subjects profiled in the film, including: Directors Yoni Brook, Alicia Dwyer, Musa Syeed, Maggie Bowman; Co-Producer and Editor Susanne Suffredin; and Co-Producer Beth Sternehimer.
Faith in America: What’s Your Calling?
The Calling will air on Independent Lens in December
With the chambers of Congress divided and the ominous-sounding T.V. spots discontinued, one campaign is just starting to take flight.
The Calling, which will air on Independent Lens in two parts on December 20 & 21, has launched an online initiative titled whatsyourcalling.org.
From tug-boat artists to jazz musicians, the What’s Your Calling campaign has conducted a host of interviews to find out what kinds of service people have been called to with their lives and how they hope to change the world.
Check out their introductory video below…
ITVS Takes Engagement Behind Bars and into Schools
A Village Called Versailles was one of the films screened before inmates
As we gear up for another season of Community Cinema, BTB is highlighting some recent coverage of how this program has been adapted to engage inmates in San Francisco and Los Angeles. These pilot initiatives are furthering our mission of reaching underserved communities, including the incarcerated.
This past year, Community Cinema screenings were incorporated into two educational programs: the Five Keys Charter School in San Francisco — the first charter high school based in a prison — and the M.E.R.I.T. Program in L.A., which provides educational and life-skills courses for inmates.
Read more about these programs from this recent profile by the National Center for Media Engagement.
Announcing the Sixth Season of Community Cinema
Community Cinema returns for its sixth season with nine compelling documentaries from this year’s lineup on Independent Lens. The free screening series, which begins in October, connects thousands with community-based organizations in more than 70 cities nationwide and online.
Check out America Ferrera, the new host of Independent Lens, singing the praises of our Community Cinema series:
Community Cinema screens films monthly › Continue reading
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.
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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