environmental
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).
Independent Lens Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
Did you know that April marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day? To celebrate, Independent Lens will premiere a brand new line-up of programs, as well as offer free educational lesson plans, and an interactive game to help inspire viewers to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
First up on Independent Lens is Dirt! The Movie, airing April 20 at 10:00 PM, by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow. Narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, Dirt! takes viewers inside the wonders of the soil and looks at how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, the film deftly combines science and humor as it digs into the history and current state of the living organic matter from which we come from and where we will one day return. Dirt is a part of everything we eat, drink and breathe, which is why we should stop treating it like, well … dirt.
Then on April 27 at 10:00 PM, watch Garbage Dreams. Filmed over four years, director Mai Iskander goes inside the world of Egypt’s Zaballeen (Arabic for “garbage people”) to reveal the lives of two teenage boys born into the trash trade. The film reveals how –– for generations –– the residents of Cairo have depended on the Zaballeen to collect their trash, paying them only a minimal amount for their garbage collection services. These entrepreneurial garbage workers survive by recycling 80 percent of all the garbage they collect, creating what is arguably the world’s most efficient waste disposal system. Recycling to lift themselves out of poverty, the Zaballeen have, through necessity, devised ingenious solutions to one of the world’s most pressing problems.
The broadcast of Garbage Dreams will also be accompanied by an interactive game in which players assume the role of the Zaballeen. Players will sort through trash and recycle everyday items found in Cairo –– all against a ticking clock! So put on your eco-savvy hats because you’ll have to quickly sort everything to match the 80 percent recycling rate of the Zaballeen within 12 rounds of play.
Corresponding lesson plans for grades 9-12, complement the game and the film, and further explore the issue of recycling and the globalized economy.
Learn more about Independent Lens Earth Day >>
Community Cinema Screens Dirt! The Movie in New York
Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film Dirt! The Movie in New York City’s Central Park. The film looks at how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have endangered soil and resulted in cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is presenting five Independent Lens documentaries this season as part of the Community Cinema line-up. Find out what happened at the event from Christina Dookwah who helped organize the event.
Community Cinema screening of Dirt! The Movie in New York City's Central Park.
The screening was packed with people eager to hear from Bill Benenson, co-director and producer of Dirt! The Movie, and William Bryant Logan, author of the book on which the movie was based.
Dirt! The Movie tells the story of Earth’s most valuable source of fertility –– its soil. Experts from around the world who study dirt –– and developed a beneficial relationship with soil –– were interviewed in the film.
We were fortunate to have two experts join us for a post-screening discussion about the critical issues highlighted in the film. Bill Benenson, who has more than 30 years of producing and directing experience, has worked on such documentaries The Marginal Way, Diamond Rivers, as well as the critically-acclaimed narrative film Mister Johnson. He gains much of his inspiration for his work from once serving in the Peace Corps and as an initial investor in Seeds of Change. He is also active in the National Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Action Network, and Ploughshares.
Our other panelist, William Bryant Logan, is founder and president of Urban Arborists, a leading tree care firm and is a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. His book, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth inspired the documentary.
Be sure to come out to Community Cinema screenings either in New York City or one of the 60 plus locations nationwide. It’s a great opportunity to meet others in your community and get a sneak peek of what’s coming up on Independent Lens.
Christina Dookwah
New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
Countdown to World Water Day Short Film Contest
To celebrate World Water Day 2010 ITVS and the University of Miami invite you to participate in the One Cut contest, a non-fiction short film contest designed to bring attention to the global water crisis affecting millions around the world. We are looking for films that will inspire viewers to make a change in their own lives to address the global water challenge at a personal level. The best entries will be personal, creative, visual stories that can be shared across all borders and languages.
The contest has three cash prizes:
* First prize: $500
* Second prize: $300
* Third prize: $200
Films should be at least 2 minutes in length and can be no more than 15 minutes long. Entrants are required to submit their films in digital form online and will be guided through the application process when they submit their entry form online. A distinguished panel at the School of Communication, University of Miami, will judge the contest.
The competition will be open until March 22, 2010 on World Water Day. Prizes will be announced shortly after.
In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs
Chicago Public Radio gives an in-depth look at the upcoming Independent Lens broadcast of Garbage Dreams, which also screened at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of Community Cinema. For decades, a group of people known as the “Zabaleen”, Arabic for “garbage people”, have been Cairo’s unofficial trash collectors, sorters and recyclers. They survive by recycling some eighty percent of the trash they collect. Compared to American cities, which recycle roughly thirty two percent of their waste, that’s no small feat.
Listen now >>
“Even for someone who cares about the environment, [Jamie Lee] Curtis says Dirt! [The Movie] was an education. ‘I was as astonished as you will be when you see the film, about the earth being alive.’”
Read more >>
“Sam Cooke: Crossing Over on American Masters: The PBS series takes a respectful look at the life and death of the silky smooth singer, first in gospel and then in pop.”
Read full review >>
“One from the heart, the documentary Mine relates yet one more wrenching, infuriating story about Hurricane Katrina and the devastation wreaked both by the storm and by human error and indifference.”
Read full review >>
“What’s the difference between creative ‘borrowing’ and outright theft? The Independent Lens documentary Copyright Criminals offers a thought-provoking discussion of the subject filtered through a history of hip-hop ‘sampling’ culture.”
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In the News: Garbage Dreams on The Kojo Nnamdi Show
Filmmaker Mai Iskander
Filmed over four years, Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.
Filmmaker Mai Iskander recently sat down with Kojo Nnamdi on WAMU in Washington, DC to talk about global environmental challenges and how the “Zabaleen” — or garbage collectors — has captured the world’s attention for their startlingly efficient, eco-friendly, and low-tech methods of recycling.
PBS’s Independent Lens at the 2010 Television Critics Association Press Tour
Narrator/actor/author Jamie Lee Curtis discusses Dirt! The Movie, airing April 20 on Independent Lens on PBS.
TreePeople founder and president Andy Lipkis, narrator Jamie Lee Curtis, and filmmaker Gene Rosow.
Greetings from the Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour in Los Angeles. Held twice a year, TCA gives television critics and other journalists a chance to preview upcoming programs from major broadcast and cable networks.
We’re here with the filmmakers of Dirt! The Movie, narrator/actor/author Jamie Lee Curtis, and Andy Lipkis, the founder and president of TreePeople. We presented a panel on Dirt! to about 200 television writers, journalists, and bloggers from across the country.
We kicked off our presentation with a trailer for Independent Lens’s Garbage Dreams, Mai Iskander’s award winning documentary that is on the short list for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary (airing on Independent Lens on April 27). We followed it with a trailer for Dirt! and got down to the “dirty” business of answering questions.
Jamie Lee jumped in immediately to talk about why she loves this documentary saying that she believes the humor and animation make it extremely affective for all viewers, including young people. Noting that the older generation has “f*#+@’d it up” and the next generation now has to find ways to fix the environmental problems we face.
Andy Lipkis was asked what prompted him to start TreePeople (40 years ago) at the age of 15. Filmmakers Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow talked about the discoveries they made while making the film and the simple yet profound understanding that dirt — that seemingly simple matter under our feet — is actually more alive than we are. It will heal itself and us if we allow it to.
Check out the trailer of Dirt! The Movie:
Dirt! The Movie will broadcast at 10:00 PM on April 20 on Independent Lens as part of PBS’s 40th Anniversary Earth Day programs (check local listings).
Community Classroom Offers Free Resources to Educators
ITVS’s Community Engagement and Education team recently attended conferences hosted by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), which draw thousands of educators from around the country. Learn more about ITVS’s involvement from Chi Do, associate director of communications, and Annelise Wunderlich, national community engagement and education manager.
A large crowd gathers at the National Association of Women’s Studies conference to hear speaker Angela Davis.
Angela Davis was the keynote speaker at the NWSA conference and spoke before a packed house about the need for women’s studies programs to embrace new voices and to stand up to the challenges facing women and girls today with renewed strength. Our Women’s Empowerment collection does just that. This free resource provides film content excerpted from ITVS’s award-winning documentaries exploring stories of women’s leadership and empowerment in Bolivia, Egypt, Israel and Kenya. Film clips are accompanied by standards-based lesson plans, discussion guides and action guides for use by educators as well as non-profit, international and community-based organizations. Women’s and gender studies professors we spoke to were enthusiastic about using these films in their curricula.
Across town at the NCSS, we gave out hundreds of free DVDs to social studies teachers hungry for high quality film content in their classrooms. Lesson plans and clips from HIP HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, SENTENCED HOME, KNOCKING and our VOTE DEMOCRACY! collections were especially popular at the exhibit booth.
We also screened the film TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai with filmmaker Lisa Merton appearing for the Q&A via online video chat. The next day we held a workshop about how to use this inspiring story of environmental activism in Kenya to connect students to local organizations focused on green issues.
Watch the video below to hear from a high school teacher who attended the screening:
Educators and staff for NGOs or community organizations can order FREE DVDs, or stream the film clips and download the lesson plans on our website. Learn more >>
We also launched our new social media sites for those interested in learning more about using film to further their work.
Native American Heritage Month: Upcoming ITVS Programs
POWER PATHS, airing November 3 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS
SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON, airing in November 2009 on public television
As the nation observes Native American Heritage Month throughout November, PBS will air programs that examine and celebrate the many aspects of Native American life and history. Be sure to check out these two new compelling ITVS documentaries:
POWER PATHS, airing November 3 at 10:00 on Independent Lens (check local listings), looks at how Native American tribes are turning to solar and wind sources to provide clean sustainable energy for cities across the west. Their traditional values regarding conservation and the earth offer real solutions to America’s energy crisis. A co-production of NAPT.
SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON, airing in November 2009 on public television (check local listings), tells the story of an unexpected collaboration between a Blackfeet poet and an unconventional classical composer that led to a unique work of art from the perspective of American Indians today.
Encore presentations of ITVS programs this month also include: TRUE WHISPERS: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers, MISS NAVAJO and MARCH POINT.
Get broadcast listings and more information about upcoming ITVS programs >>
In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs
Correspondent Jeffrey Brown interviews Megum Sasaki, the director and producer of HERB & DOROTHY. [TRT: 7 minutes].
Listen now >>
“Independent Lens begins its eighth season with Megumi Sasaki’s HERB & DOROTHY, about the unlikely art collectors Herb and Dorothy Vogel of New York, which Nathan Lee called a ‘modest, touching documentary’ in The New York Times.”
Read more >>
Director Bo Boudart discusses his film POWER PATHS on New American Media.
Listen now >>
“…Roberta Grossman’s beautifully made BLESSED IS THE MATCH… Won audience awards at numerous Jewish film festivals and a spot on the shortlist for the Academy Award for best documentary feature (though it ultimately didn’t receive a nomination). It also is slated to air next April on PBS.”
Read more >>
Upcoming Screenings
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A free monthly screening series, Community Cinema features films from the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens.
In over 50 cities nationwide, screenings are followed by lively panel discussions that bring together citizens, organizations and public television stations to encourage dialogue and action around important and timely social issues. Last season, over 40,000 people attended 500 events nationwide.
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