Get Free Stuff from Independent Lens!

Want free stuff? Want this poster from the Winter/Spring Season of Independent Lens? Done. It’s yours! We’ll even give it to you in person. Seriously.

We’ve created a sort of speakeasy contest to get you to our events and the poster in your hand. There are just a few steps involved.

First, visit the Community Cinema Facebook page and   › Continue reading

Tags: basquiat, community cinema, contest, free stuff, Independent Lens, ITVS, posters, radiant child, speakeasy, the word, what's the word

Contest: Make a Film, Change the World!

Want to use your film to change the world? That’s what Link TV wants you to do, and they’re holding an online film contest to find the very best short films that change how we think and how we act.

On April 30^th Link TV launched the ViewChange Online Film Contest, with cash prizes of up to $25,000 for the Grand Prize winner. The ViewChange Online Film Contest is looking for short films in six categories that examine international development efforts toward achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Online voters will help determine the finalists, with the winners selected by a panel of judges that includes Gael García Bernal, Wim Wenders, Danny Glover, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Angélique Kidjo and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Winners and finalists’ videos will be nationally broadcast on Link TV and showcased at major events in New York City and Washington D.C. for media and for policy makers.  All six category winners will be included in ViewChange.org, a cutting-edge digital media hub launching in October 2010.

As fans of ITVS and Independent Lens, you already know how powerful a good story can be. Tell yours.

Tags: contest, Danny Glover, film funding, Link TV, United Nations

Inspiring Stories of People Living With MS

Filmmaker Jason DaSilva

Crisscrossing the country, by van and on scooter, ITVS-funded filmmaker, 30-year-old Jason DaSilva, is part of the three-person road crew for a new online project about Multiple Sclerosis.

Beginning today ––in honor of National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week (March 8-14) –– the National MS Society launched “We Keep Moving,” a journey across America that takes viewers into the homes of people living with MS.

Every week for ten weeks, three different stories and locations will be highlighted on the website. Visitors are invited to vote to select the story and destination for the following week’s short film.

“I don’t want to say that this? will be easy,” writes Jason. “Being completely able-bodied and traveling 10 different? places around the U.S. within 10 weeks is still a little bit much. Try doing the same with a scooter and MS symptoms!”

In addition to “We Keep Moving,” Jason, who was diagnosed with MS at the age of 25, is also working on When I Walk, his personal story of living with Multiple Sclerosis day-to-day. Jason is currently tracking his film and life on his video blog.

Learn more about “We Keep Moving” and choose the story you’d like to see next >>

Keep up with Jason on his blog >>

Tags: contest, health, healthcare, Multiple Sclerosis, science

Win an Autographed Poster from Maggie Gyllenhaal

Love collecting autographs, but don’t spot celebrities on a daily basis? No fear — we recently caught up with our host (and 2010 Oscar nominee) Maggie Gyllenhaal between shoots where she signed our official Independent Lens season poster.

Once a week from now until the end of this month, we’ll be giving a poster away. Entries will be randomly selected from the Independent Lens newsletter subscription list. If you currently receive the newsletter, you are already entered to win.

Tell your family, friends, and neighbors to sign up for the newsletter. Who knows, they might just give you their poster if they’re the lucky winners!

Sign up to be eligible for the Independent Lens poster giveaway >>

Tags: contest, free poster, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Win a Free DVD Copy of YOUNG@HEART!

Who doesn’t like to win free stuff?

Starting today, we’re giving away FREE DVD copies of YOUNG@HEART––a film that USA Today film critic Claudia Puig calls “A heartening and poignant affirmation of the transformative power of music.”

To enter, simply read Beyond the Box blog and share your comments on a post. Tell us what you think about an article on the blog, review one of our films or let us know how a particular issue relates to your life. Your comments must relate to the actual content of the blog post to qualify.

One DVD copy will be given away each week leading up to the Independent Lens premiere of YOUNG@HEART on Tuesday, January 12 at 9:00 PM on PBS (check local listings).

Looking for inspiration? Tell us what you think about the recent blog post ITVS’s OPEN CALL: Inside the Mind of the Panelists. Comment on this post and you’re entered to win. It’s that easy!

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Tags: contest, Free, Independent Lens, Young at Heart

ASK NOT Filmmaker Contest: Enter to Win an Apple iMac Computer

Who doesn’t like a contest? From now through June 30, WHYY-Philadelphia invites you to create a short film and share your views about the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the first-ever ASK NOT Amateur Filmmaker Contest.

The winner will receive a 20-inch Apple iMac computer and will be featured on the Independent Lens Community Voices webpage. Film submissions must be less than ten minutes and have an underlying theme and relevancy to “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

All submissions must be accompanied by a signed contest entry form.

Read more about contest details, guidelines and contact information >>

The ASK NOT Film Contest is a project of WHYY with support from ITVS, in connection with the national broadcast on June 16 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

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Tags: contest, gay, iMac, Military