Texas
At SXSW with ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad
Held annually in Austin, Texas, South By Southwest (SXSW) is considered one of the world’s premiere festivals, recognizing the best of film, music and interactive projects. ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad gives some of the highlights from ITVS’s participation –– including the FUTURESTATES theatrical world premiere.
Programming Manager Karim Ahmad.
Matthew Meschery, ITVS director of digital initiatives, discusses FUTURESTATES at the SXSW trade show.
Preparation for a trip to the SXSW film festival usually entails digging through their program guide jam-packed full of screenings and panels and the like, and trying to figure out how to fit it all in. Soon thereafter, you realize that fitting it all in is a Sisyphean exercise –– it’s just plain impossible. This year in particular was a real banner year for ITVS at SXSW because we had the great pleasure and privilege of presenting the theatrical premiere of FUTURESTATES, our new series of short films, at the festival.
The films premiered Sunday evening to a huge crowd and some very animated reactions in the Austin Convention Center’s 500-seat G-Tech Theater. For me, it was a real thrill after over a year of developing these projects with the filmmakers, to finally get to watch these films with an audience and see how people relate to these innovative new stories about life in a future America.
Of course, the hordes of people who attended our opening didn’t get there all on their own. We had our work cut out for us getting people to the screening (see the aforementioned scheduling impossibilities). Luckily, in addition to me pounding the pavement from screening to screening promoting the FUTURESTATES premiere –– a tall order, when one is pre-occupied with reaching out to the next round of prospective FUTURESTATES applicants –– I also helped out our communications team. They manned a booth at the festival trade show, which was decked out to the nines in full FUTURESTATES regalia. At the booth, we screened some of the films; had a “Predict-O-Meter” station, where folks could enter their predictions into the interactive timeline; and of course, a generous supply of FUTURESTATES-branded microwave popcorn (must-have for any trade show booth).
Filmmaker Aldo Velasco at FUTURESTATES World Premiere at SXSW
Last weekend, FUTURESTATES had its theatrical world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW). These narrative mini-features explore many of today’s complex social issues by imagining how they play out in the world of tomorrow. Find out what happened at the screening from Aldo Velasco, filmmaker of the FUTURESTATES episode Tent City.
Actor Mikel Chase with Aldo Velasco after the FUTURESTATES screening at SXSW.
When I learned that my film Tent City would be screening at SXSW as part of the FUTURESTATES presentation, I was editing a feature film in production in a jungle in India, near the Bhutanese border. I wanted to go to Austin but wasn’t sure if it was worth it; I’d have to leave production a week early, then travel for three and a half days around the globe to make it in time.
It was a crapshoot, because festival screenings are often a bit of a letdown. You arrive full of high hopes, but audiences rarely provide the kind of rapturous response that every filmmaker craves. But I had to see Tent City in front of an audience. This might be my only chance, because the FUTURESTATES shorts were created for Internet broadcast. Would my film’s complex story-within-a-story structure play in front of a crowd? One thing was for sure: I myself would not be able to enjoy my own screening. I’d be too nervous and too hypersensitive to the audience’s mood to relax.
But on Sunday, March 14, I was very pleasantly surprised. My film –– in fact all the films –– looked gorgeous splayed onto that stadium-sized screen at the Austin Convention Center. My previous digital shorts had looked a bit fuzzy when blown up to the silver screen. But Tent City, which was shot on the RED camera by the very talented Mathew Rudenberg, looked breathtaking –– at least to me! A large portion of my film is composed of black and white stills, used to relay a futuristic science-fiction story in the manner of Chris Marker’s La Jetée. With their inky blacks and icy whites, these stark still images surpassed all my expectations for the force of their narrative power.
Watch the FUTURESTATES series trailer:
FUTURESTATES Theatrical World Premiere at SXSW
Plan on attending South by Southwest (SXSW)? If so, you won’t want to miss the theatrical world premiere of FUTURESTATES –– ITVS’s new fictional series that explores what life will look like in America in the decades and centuries to come.
Join us on Sunday, March 14 at 5:00 PM, where we’ll be screening the following FUTURESTATES mini-features:
Mister Green, directed by Greg Pak
Plastic Bag, directed by Ramin Bahrani
The Rise, directed by Garret Williams
Silver Sling, directed by Tze Chun
Tent City, directed by Aldo Velasco
Tia & Marco, directed by Annie Howell
This is a unique opportunity to see these groundbreaking new films on the big screen at the one-of-a-kind SXSW Film Festival in high definition. Filmmakers Greg Pak, Annie Howell, Aldo Velasco, and Garret Williams will also be in attendance for a Q&A session, in addition to members of the ITVS staff.
This is your chance to ask all your pressing questions and learn more about this innovative project that’s unlike anything you’ve seen in public media.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Keith Maitland at KLRU’s Texas Independents’ Day
Earlier this week, PBS affiliate KLRU in Austin, Texas, commemorated Texas Independents’ Day by celebrating the work of three local filmmakers whose work will appear on this season of Independent Lens. Learn more about the event from Keith Maitland, filmmaker of The Eyes of Me.
Filmmaker Keith Maitland with film subjects of The Eyes of Me.
Panel moderator Paul Stekler leads a round table discussion with Keith Maitland, filmmaker of The Eyes of Me; Karen Skloss, filmmaker of Sunshine; Michel Scott, filmmaker of The Horse Boy.
Last night, nearly 200 people gathered in a dark room to share an hour-long look into the lives of four blind teenagers. With the twinkling lights of the Austin City Limits stage as a backdrop, I couldn’t ask for a more fitting place to experience the incredible communal experience of watching the live Independent Lens broadcast of The Eyes of Me.
The Eyes of Me follows four blind teens over the course of one dynamic year. It’s about watching these teens growing up before our eyes. As they discover who they are, it is my hope that you will discover something about yourself –– it’s about challenging your own perception and seeing yourself in a new way… at least that’s what it’s always been about for me.
The entire process of creating this film, from a nascent idea, through 250 hours of rolling cameras, and two and half years of editing, has been both rewarding and challenging in degrees that I’m still not sure I can register. Along the way, I have learned many lessons about my creative processes, and my own humanity.
The Eyes of Me Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS
“The Eyes of Me has the wisdom to illuminate a narrow, human scope on the issue of disability and blindness by focusing on intimate moments in the teens’ lives.”
- Philadelphia City Paper
How do you see yourself, when you can’t see at all? At the Texas School for the Blind students juggle all the usual pressures of high school along with the added struggles of growing up blind. Spend a dynamic year with four blind teens learning how to fit in and live independently. Forced to confront the world without sight, they share their inner visions of the outer world. Ultimately, you cannot understand their perceptions without challenging your own.
Check out a preview of tonight’s broadcast below:
The Eyes of Me premieres tonight, March 2, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
The Eyes Of Me Finishes Community Cinema Run and Airs Tomorrow
Community Cinema held 47 free events for Keith Maitland’s documentary The Eyes Of Me, which follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. The film will have its television premiere tomorrow, March 2, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). Learn more about the local impact of Community Cinema below.
Busboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal holds up both the Braille and printed versions of the restaurant menus.
Community Cinema DC and Busboys and Poets decided The Eyes of Me event would be the perfect time to introduce braille menus. Busboys and Poets is a restaurant/performance space located in the historic U Street corridor of Washington, DC and named for the famous Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes’ who was discovered in the capital city while working as a busboy at a hotel.
Owner Andy Shallal said he attended The Eyes of Me event to get a better understanding of the perspectives of blind and visually impaired persons in social interactions.
Busboys and Poets has been hosting Community Cinema in the Langston Room for nearly five seasons. The introduction of Braille menus is yet another effort to bring more communities to Busboys and Poets and our Community Cinema events.
Read more about these screenings on the Community Cinema blog >>
ITVS Films at SXSW 2010
Held annually in Austin, Texas, South by Southwest (SXSW) is considered one of the world’s premiere festivals, recognizing the best of film, music and interactive projects. This year’s festival takes place March 12-21.
We’re really excited about this year’s festival! You won’t want to miss the world premiere of six episodes of our new online fictional series FUTURESTATES on March 14. These narrative mini-features explore many of today’s complex social issues by imagining how they play out in the world of tomorrow.
Learn more about FUTURESTATES on Beyond the Box >>
Also be sure to check out these four other compelling ITVS films at SXSW this year.
Community Cinema Screens The Eyes of Me in Philadelphia
Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film The Eyes of Me at the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, Pa. The film follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. Regional Outreach Coordinator Cindy Burstein gives an overview of what happened and discusses the local impact.
The panel –– organized to represent an intergenerational view on being blind –– shared personal experiences as compared to those in the film.
The lobby of the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia was bustling with activity, as volunteers gathered for the Community Cinema screening of
The Eyes of Me.
Fran Fulton, a staff person with Liberty Resources, Inc. (a partner in presenting the event) was busy training a Villanova University sorority on how to serve as sighted guides. Fulton, who is blind, reminded the volunteers that some of the most basic things that sighted people take for granted are important to remember when assisting blind people, such as telling them which direction the seat is facing, and placing the hand of the blind person on the seat in front of them as a way to guide them into an available chair, which may be four or five seats down the row.
Audio describers from Amaryllis Theatre Company were setting up equipment for live audio description, and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters from the Deaf-Hearing Communication Center were getting acquainted with the space and ready to provide sign language interpretation for the panel discussion taking place after the film.
Video Extra: The Eyes of Me on Independent Lens
This is the companion piece to The Eyes of Me, which airs Tuesday, March 2, on Independent Lens on PBS. The film follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted.
In this video extra, a new student at the school, Denise, explores a brand new store in the neighborhood and learns to navigate on her own, with the help of a coach.
The Eyes of Me airs next Tuesday, March 2, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Community Cinema Screens The Eyes of Me in Houston
Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film The Eyes of Me at HoustonPBS. The film follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. Filmmaker Keith Maitland attended the screening and gives an overview of what happened and the impact the event below.
Patrick Floyd (left), the producer of The Eyes of Me, and Keith Maitland (right), the director, at the HoustonPBS Community Cinema Screening of their film.
Bernice Klepac, with the Houston Council for the Blind, talks about her experience as a student at Texas School for the Blind back in the 1950s.
With more than 125 audience members in attendance –– many of them blind or visually-impaired –– HoustonPBS hosted a wonderful Community Cinema screening of The Eyes of Me. It’s always exciting for me to be able to sit in a crowded theater and share the film with a new audience but there was something very special about this particular screening. Along with producer Patrick Floyd, I was happy to travel to Houston from Austin, Texas, to experience Community Cinema firsthand. Meagan McComic (one of the main characters from the film) and Bill Daugherty, superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI), joined Patrick and I on the panel after the film, to share their reflections and perspectives with the Houston community –– many of whom had ties to TTSBVI directly.
Two of the audience members were alumni of TSBVI –– Michael Garrett, class of ’69, and Bernice Klepak, class of ’55. It was exciting to hear Michael and Bernice’s response to the film, and the contrasts between their days at the school and the stories of Chas, Meagan, Denise, and Isaac represented in the film. Bernice was impressed with how honest and natural today’s students were compared to her days when she feels that they were all “pretty straight-laced.”
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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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