Welcome to Shelbyville Filmmaker Chats Live with Youth in Nashville

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Tags: community classroom, education, immigration, Independent Lens, kim snyder, oasis center, violence, welcome to shelbyville, youth

Community Cinema Gears Up for February

Starting next week and throughout the month of February, Community Cinema will hold free preview screenings of  Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story in over 95 cities across the U.S.

The documentary by filmmaker Daniel H. Birman, follows the story of Cyntoia Brown, who is serving a life sentence for murder at the age of 16. Me Facing Life challenges our assumptions about violence and explores how factors such as biology and family history can doom some young people from the start. Watch a preview after the jump.

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Tags: academy awards, cyntoia’s story, docs, education, Independent Lens, ITVS, me facing life, prison, violence, youth

Youth Activists Step Up in New Orleans

Part of the miraculous story of the neighborhood called Versailles in New Orleans rising from the floodwaters to rebuild itself and sustain its citizens after Hurricane Katrina was the unprecedented leadership role that the younger generation took.

Traditionally, the Vietnamese culture in both Vietnam and in this community’s adopted home in New Orleans reserved moral, ethical, and political leadership to the older generations. In the wake of Katrina, and now in the midst of a cataclysmic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the younger generation is proving to be an indispensible link between the English-speaking establishment and the older generations of Vietnamese immigrants who, because of a language and cultural divide, cannot effectively speak for themselves.

In this web-exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, watch how the youth in Versailles stepped into a void and organized their community to rebuild its demolished infrastructure, and then fight off a cynical political ploy to locate a toxic waste dump next to their neighborhood:

Watch A Village Called Versailles tonight on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: Gulf Coast, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, oil spill, Vietnamese, youth

Recent Talkback About Independent Lens

Always thought-provoking, sometimes controversial, Independent Lens brings you documentaries, dramas, shorts and Web-exclusive projects made by independent thinkers. Check out some of the recent Talkback from viewers about films that aired in March.

The Eyes of Me

“I was studying and watching this for inspiration for a research paper the other night, and found it gave me more inspiration than I could have ever imagined! I cried a number of times. I thank everyone in this film for shining light on a subject I was completely ignorant to before.”
Posted by: Sabrina on March 6, 2010

“I was just casually watching the Independent Lens Program about blind teenagers in Texas. My casual watching turned to anger when I saw how a young boy (Isaac) was allowed to go blind because the medical community could not find a way to do an emergency repair of Isaac’s detached retina. In the big, rich state of Texas, wasn’t there one person or organization that could have prevented Isaac from going blind?”
Posted by: James Stokely on March 5, 2010

“I came home late from work last night and watched this episode while eating dinner in front of the TV. This in itself is not unusual, but the tears I shed as the birthday girl reflected on her birthdays past were. I am a grown man and have little understanding of teenage girls feelings but I couldn’t help reflecting on my own b-days and how lucky I was. My wish for Denise is that she comes to find her place in this world and realizes that she is a beautiful, smart, fun girl who will make many friends in her life and have many b-days full of joy. I will think of her every time I blow out my own candles and wish her the best. Great episode!”
Posted by: Sherman on March 4, 2010

View more Talkback and submit your own for The Eyes of Me >>

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Tags: blindness, disablity, education, high school, youth

Whatever It Takes Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“The Week’s Guide to What’s Worth Watching: In Whatever It Takes, Edward Tom gave up an executive post at Saks Fifth Avenue for a far-lower-paying job as principal of a small public high school in the South Bronx. Cameras follow him through his first year as he struggles to deal with its challenges, epitomized by a failing 14-year-old girl whose mother is a recovering crack addict.”
- The Week Magazine

What’s a child’s education worth? For one visionary, rookie principal, it’s priceless. At the Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics, an innovative public high school in NYC’s South Bronx, principal Edward Tom leads a dedicated group of teachers, students, and parents in their biggest gamble yet. Within a community infamous for hardship, can this brand new school live up to its promise and inspire new stories of achievement and excellence?

Check out a preview of tonight’s broadcast below:

Whatever It Takes premieres tonight, Tuesday, March 30 at 10:00 on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). A co-production of CAAM.

Tags: African American, Asian American, education, New York City, schools, youth