Narrated by NPR’s Garrison Keillor, The Hayloft Gang tells the story of one of early radio’s most popular programs: the National Barn Dance and ITVS’s Kate Sullivan Green recently sat down with Directror/Producer Stephen Parry to talk about the film. Read the interview below, watch The Hayloft Gang on PBS throughout September (check local listings), and enter the special online video contest.

Why did you decide to make a film about the National Barn Dance?
It’s an untold story in American music and culture.  I fell in love with bluegrass at my first festival in 1994, and around the campfires heard all these old timers talking about this radio show out of Chicago called the National Barn Dance.  From there I uncovered that Chicago was actually the capital of country music before World War II.  The Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville are household names today, but in the 1930s and 40s, the epicenter of our film, Chicago was top dog coast to coast, on the NBC network every Saturday night, and those performers were household names.

What impact do you hope this film will have?
I hope viewers take away that this is more than a story about country music. It’s about the changing of rural America in the first half of the 20th century. It’s also the real roots of American music.  Every Saturday night you could hear country, bluegrass, turn of the century ballads, polka, even comedy acts – it was really one of the first variety shows.

How did the idea for The Hayloft Gang Video Contest evolve?
The National Barn Dance used to go to all the local farming communities and promote their home talent show.  All the locals would come up to the school auditorium, and everyone played music back then, and they would imitate their favorite stars and then winners would be able to be a guest on the show.  A family now well into their 80s from Northeastern Indiana who had participated in these talent shows were interviewed for the film, and it’s a touching story, so I thought why can’t we do this in an online environment?   People can win great prizes too – a Martin HD-28V guitar, a custom Northfield A5M Mandolin, and tickets to Austin City Limits.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part of the production process?
I love research.  I really enjoy just pouring through the archives, sending out the queries and uncovering the old home movies.  And then through those kernals, the story comes out. My least favorite part is probably pretty common – fundraising.  I was at a point where I was ready to throw in the towel when word came that we received ITVS funding through the LINCS initiative.  That was awesome; we could have never completed the project otherwise.  It’s been like getting a Masters in filmmaking.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about filmmaking?
Don’t give up.  Persevere.  I started research in 2003 and we got our first funding in 2004.  There were many times I thought, ‘Is this worth it?  Why don’t I just bag it?’ But I didn’t.  I had the passion from knowing this story needs to be told.  Then I started meeting the fans and was doing it for them as well.

What’s a film you’ve watched recently and really enjoyed?
I haven’t had much time to watch much of anything, but started to catch up and saw Les Paul: Chasing Sound from American Masters.  It’s brilliant – superb editing, graphics, everything.

What’s next for you?
I of course have some ideas kicking around that would make great films but in the near future want to get some balance back in my life.  After that bluegrass festival in 1994, I went out and bought a guitar the next day.  I don’t play much, and am not that much better than I was back then, but I have a blast with it, so would like to focus on songwriting and take some lessons.  It’s a great creative outlet.  I’m also a big believer in PBS and would love to do more work with them in the future.

Watch The Hayloft Gang on PBS throughout September (check local listings) and don’t forget to enter The Hayloft Gang Video Contest today!

The film, which first aired on Independent Lens in 2007, takes an in-depth look at masculinity in rap music and hip-hop culture — where creative genius, poetic beauty, and mad beats collide with misogyny, violence, and homophobia.

Hurt, a life-long hip-hop fan, made the film after discovering how stereotypical rap videos has become. As he puts it, “The more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more those lyrics became unacceptable to be.”

Be sure to watch Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, starting Thursday July 28 and join the chat live with filmmaker Byron Hurt at 11AM PT / 2PM ET.

Brothers Hypnotic by filmmaker Reuben Atlas

Brothers Hypnotic follows the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, a Chicago-based brass group featuring the eight sons of legendary jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran, whose music ties the currents of jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Reuben Atlas’ film follows the brothers as they make their way on the streets of New York and in the music business, but with stardom on the horizon, they must test their father’s ideals against their own brotherly vision.

Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band by filmmaker Carol Bash

During an era when Jazz was the nation’s most popular music, Mary Lou Williams was one of its greatest innovators. As both a pianist and composer, she was a wellspring of daring and creativity who helped shape the sound of 20th century America. And like the dynamic, turbulent nation in which she lived, Williams seemed to re-define herself with every passing decade. From World War I through the Vietnam War, from the birth of jazz to the height of rock and roll, Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band, by filmmaker Carol Bash, follows a jazz icon who was determined to create in a world that could not see past her race or gender.

Join us in congratulating both filmmakers!

Fair Use panel at the Worlds Beats Life, Inc. Remixing Art of Social Change teach-in

Michon Boston is Community Cinema’s regional outreach coordinator in Washington, D.C. She helped organize a recent panel about legal issues raised in the documentary Copyright Criminals and filed this report.

Earlier this year, Community Cinema D.C. partnered with Words Beats & Life Inc. for its presentation of Copyright Criminals. WBL Inc. returned to the documentary last week for a discussion on fair use as part of their teach-in initiative, “Remixing the Art of Social Change:  A Hip-Hop Approach.”

The six-day event brought Hip Hop legends to D.C. including DJ Kool Herc, Kurtis Blow, and Common.  The final day at the Washington Convention Center was ground zero for a series of special focus panels and workshops.

David Maduli, who authored the ITVS Classroom curriculum for Copyright Criminals; DJ RBI; Hec Dolo; and Professor Peter Jaszi from American University’s Washington College of Law (who provided legal consultation to the filmmakers on fair use) all participated on a panel that addressed copyright issues in hip-hop music.  Speaking from their experiences, the panel gave a chronology on how the art of hip-hop music has been affected positively and negatively by intellectual property laws.

David Mulduli and Worlds Beats Life, Inc. founder/executive director Mazi Mutafa

David Mulduli pointed out how the Classroom curriculum for Copyright Criminals looks at the intellectual property issue from various art mediums, including art and fashion.  Garage Band is a tool he uses in the classroom where students “flip” an audio sample.  Mulduli said his students have exhausted the existing audio files that come with the software.  This is the point where the lessons from Copyright Criminals become teaching movements.

“Every kind of art now builds on something that came before,” said Peter Jaszi, faculty director of Washington College of Law’s Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic in Washington, DC.  “If copyright owners claim too much, get greedy, the creative process is chilled.”  Jaszi believes there is power in numbers when artists come together.  They can collectively set the bar on how fair use will be used.

Copyright Criminals is being well received and considered an important resource in the hip-hop music-making community.  D.J. Christie Z-Pabon, of Tools of War, said, “The documentary is so amazing, you would feel honored to be in it.”

Check out ITVS’s classroom guide for Copyright Criminals.

On Wednesday, March 10  at 8:00 PM ET, join PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 for a special live webinar that will explore the implications of copyright and fair use laws in the classroom. The seminar will also explore how to share best practices in student media production.

During this event, you will have the chance to hear from and interact with filmmaker Kembrew McLeod, whose film Copyright Criminals recently aired on PBS’s Independent Lens, renowned law professor Peter Jaszi, and media producers and educators Chris Runde and Joe Fatheree.

Also, Annelise Wunderlich, national community engagement and education manager for ITVS, will present film modules and lesson plans based on the film and developed by ITVS Community Classroom.

At the close of the live webinar, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions and have a better understanding of what kind of tools and resources are available for your classroom or organization.

Bookmark this site and join the live discussion tomorrow at 8:00 PM >>

Independent Lens named by MSN as one of “The Best Shows on TV…”
“Why pay $10 for a movie ticket when you can watch some the finest films the cinema has to offer for free — and from the comfort of your couch. Hosted by Maggie Gyllenhaal, the series focusing heavily on documentaries, and offers up films on a variety of topics including cinematography (No Subtitles Necessary), industrial design (Objectified) and a senior citizen choir (Young@Heart). Upcoming films include P-Star Rising about a 9-year-old with hip-hop dreams, Mine, about homeless pets in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Garbage Dreams, which tells the story of the Zabaleen people, who call Cairo’s massive garbage dump their home. Whether your immediately interested in each week’s film or not, the series has a pretty high quality bar which means you’ll rarely commit to watching something that wasn’t well-made and interesting.”
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“In this Independent Lens presentation, Ms. Pezanoski [director of Mine] tells the story of some pet owners struggling to find their companions and bring them home — like Malvin Cavalier, who had to leave his dog behind when he sought shelter in the Superdome…”
Read full review >>

“It’s hard to imagine that a teenage girl, who performed raps on nightclub stages at 9 years old, would be anxious about showcasing her rhymes among peers.”
Read more about this community screening of P-Star Rising >>

Filmmaker Gabriel Noble and Priscilla (P-Star) Diaz discuss P-Star Rising, which recently aired on Independent Lens.
Listen now >>

What did you want to be when you grew up? Nine-year-old Priscilla wants to become the youngest female rap star ever. With her single father turned manager, Priscilla travels from Harlem street corners to sold out shows around the world — eventually landing a record deal and starring role on PBS’s The Electric Company. But the road to stardom means figuring out whom to trust while hanging around people twice her size and four times her age. For Priscilla, otherwise known as P-Star, the ride has just begun.

This is the final film of Independent Lens‘s Music Month celebration.

Learn more and get local broadcast listings >>

We also recently caught up with P-Star to talk about tonight’s Independent Lens broadcast and what it was like being the subject of a documentary.  Check out this exclusive interview with her below.

Check out P-Star’s latest music video where she performs Daddy’s Little Girl with Tony Sunshine and features footage from tonight’s broadcast on Independent Lens.

P-Star (aka Priscilla Diaz) and her father Jesse Diaz visited Chicago to participate in the 2nd Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago Hip-Hop Arts, presented by Chicago Public Radio and hosted by hip-hop poet Kevin Coval.

The morning began with a screening of  P-Star Rising followed by a Q&A with Priscilla and Jesse. The audience at the Victory Gardens Theatre was full of families eager to hear about the struggles of navigating the often cut-throat music industry. After the Q&A, Jesse and Priscilla were treated to a performance by the Half Pint Poetics team, made up of 5th to 8th graders from Kuumba Lynx. Priscilla was deeply moved by the young talent and asked for some beat-box assistance from one of the young performers and showed her own skills with the mike.

The director of P-Star Rising –– Gabriel Noble –– joined Jesse and Priscilla during their week in Chicago for two screenings of the film for Chicago public high school and middle school students, courtesy of Cinema/Chicago’s Education Program.  Schools participating included Curie High School, Dumas Technical Academy, Lincoln Park High School, Chicago Vocational Career Academy, Austin Career Academy, and King College Prep.

After the film, host Kevin Coval introduced the guests while the students greeted them with an enthusiastic reception. Several students in the audience spoke about their own ambitions for careers in the entertainment industry. Priscilla and Jesse gave sage advice on learning the business, honing your craft and not giving up despite the many setbacks that aspiring performers always encounter. And Jesse added that you should ALWAYS have a demo on you because you never know what opportunities might come along. For instance, Jesse is starting a label and looking for talent and said that if anyone had a CD they wanted to pass along, he’d be happy to check it out.

Check out these clips from the Chicago screening:

The students asked all kinds of questions that adults usually don’t often ask at film festival screenings. They wanted to know how hard it is to have a father as your manager, to which Priscilla replied that there is nobody in this business she can trust better than her father to look after her interests. They wanted to know if director Gabriel’s presence got annoying. Jesse and Priscilla said that it was weird at first, but they came to trust him pretty quickly and got used to having him around all the time. Gabriel said that it was important to him to have their trust and that he let them know early on that if ever they wanted him to turn off the camera, he would. Jesse said that if it was up to him perhaps there were some things he would have wanted to cut out of the film, but both Jesse and Priscilla love the movie and feel strongly that Gabe did a great job.

When the students asked P-Star to spit a rhyme, she asked for volunteers to come up and perform for her, too. It took some coaxing from the other students, but two talented young people got up the nerve to join Priscilla on stage.  Gabriel gave the two students major kudos for getting up there. And Jesse reiterated that’s what it takes to make it: jumping on every opportunity presented to you.

- Naomi Walker
National Community Cinema Coordinator

Nine-year-old Priscilla wants to become the youngest female rap star ever. With her single father turned manager, Priscilla travels from Harlem street corners to sold out shows around the world –– eventually landing a record deal and starring role on PBS’s The Electric Company. But the road to stardom means figuring out who to trust while hanging around people twice her size and four times her age.

In the video below, P-Star gives some advice on what she learned about the music industry and what it takes to make it in this highly competitive field.

Also, check out this video where P-Star raps freestyle about her rise to fame.

Learn more about P-Star Rising and other Music Month programming >>

“The Bay Area has long been known as a center for documentary filmmaking. … The area is home to the Independent Television Service, a major financer of documentary films, as well as some of the most respected film schools in the country.”
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“Blacking Up is careful to let people speak for themselves, as Clift efficiently segues from scene to scene: a Long Island meeting of the ossifying Al Jolson Society; a trip on a black-owned New York bus tour of hip-hop landmarks, during which white tourists are urged to wear complimentary bling.”
Read full review >>

Priscilla Diaz, the subject of P-Star Rising, discusses the premiere of her film and her new season on PBS’s The Electric Company on WPIX, the flagship station of The CW Television Network.
Watch now >>