(CC) Community Cinema Spreading to Students Around the City

Community Cinema leapt a step forward this season, thanks to a new partnership with the Belcourt Theatre. As part of the Belcourt’s new education and engagement program, we’re bringing films, including several Community Cinema offerings, to after-school programs across the city. We started in September, screening Abigail Disney’s Women, War & Peace: Pray the Devil Back to Hell to middle school students at the Martha O’Bryan Center in East Nashville. Penny Mitchell, Middle School Coordinator at Martha O’Bryan, leads fantastic, age-appropriate discussions with her 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders, who are eager to learn about the world outside their community. Penny has a knack for making the film’s material – women in Liberia protesting the civil war there – relevant to the lives of these students. She talked with students about life in African countries, which provides an excellent opportunity for American-born kids to better understand situations some of their Somali classmates faced before coming to Nashville. The film presented a chance to discuss concepts of war, peace, and democracy – and the kids got it.

On October 10 and 12, we followed up at Martha O’Bryan with Deaf Jam, which airs Wednesday, November 9, at 9 p.m. on NPT. Deaf Jam, a profile of deaf high school students in New York City who use American Sign Language to perform poetry, was a hit with the middle school students, who were excited to learn more about deaf culture and the poets they saw onscreen. Michelle Muldoon from Hearing Bridges, a local nonprofit that unites the deaf and hearing communities, came to Martha O’Bryan to teach students some basic sign language and talk to them about how to approach deaf people they might meet.

That same week, the Belcourt and Community Cinema also presented an after-school screening of Deaf Jam at Hearing Bridges. About 25 deaf children, teens and adults tuned in for the film. Following the screening, students had the opportunity to chat via Skype with Aneta Brodski, teenage poet and the main subject of the film.

Donice Kaufman and Meena Man at our Downtown Public Library Screening of Deaf Jam. The film will be broadcast nationally on NPT and PBS Stations nationwide on Wed. 11/9 at 9:00 p.m. Central.

That weekend, on October 15, Deaf Jam screened for the public at Nashville Public Library’s monthly Community Cinema event. Hearing Bridges provided ASL interpreters for the introduction and post-screening discussion, and the conversation was also translated via CART — Computer Assisted Realtime Translation – from a laptop in the back of the room to the big screen. Hearing Bridge’s Donice Kaufman led the discussion, featuring Hillsboro High School deaf education teacher Meena Mann, who performed poems via ASL. Meena also talked about showing up for her job interview at Hillsboro with an interpreter, surprising the interview staff, who hadn’t realized before that she was deaf. Several deaf audience members shared their job-search experiences and their love of deaf culture. (For those who haven’t attended a public event with deaf panel members, a translator voiced those comments from a microphone in the audience.) It was a fantastic event and our first experience with CART and ASL translation.

All Community Cinema films include closed captioning, made available upon request, so I hope this is something we’ll continue all season. We’re committed to building translation services into our budget so we can make Community Cinema screenings fully accessible. When we screened The Eyes of Me last season, a film about students at the Texas School for the Blind, we realized how few public screenings are accessible. Thanks to ITVS, who produces the Independent Lens documentaries we show at Community Cinema, all films now include captioning, and we’re working to provide audio description for audience members who are blind or visually impaired.

Thank you to Hearing Bridges, Martha O’Bryan Center, and the Belcourt Theatre for making the build-up to the Deaf Jam broadcast so great – and for bringing a fantastic film/discussion opportunity to Nashville. We’re also thrilled this season to bring Community Cinema films to students at Oasis Center. Details coming soon.

This month, we’re screening We Still Live Here: As Nutayunean for the public on Saturday, November 26, 2:30-5 p.m. at Nashville Public Library’s downtown branch. We’ll also be screening it at Martha O’Bryan. It’s a beautiful film about the Wampanoag people in Massachusetts – the Native people who first greeted the pilgrims – so it’s an ideal learning opportunity as we observe the Thanksgiving holiday.

Hope to see you there!

Allison Inman is National Engagement Coordinator for ITVS and Education and Engagement Coordinator for the Belcourt Theatre.

Photos courtesy of Frank Keesee.

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Allison Inman, November 7th 2011 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Documentaries, Screenings

Kicking off Community Cinema with a Focus on Women and Girls

Women and Girls Lead

Before September 17’s season opener for Community Cinema, Women, War & Peace: Peace Unveiled, a diverse group of women gathered for lunch at the downtown library to learn about Women and Girls Lead, a multi-year initiative from ITVS to use media to bring attention to issues facing girls and women worldwide, and discuss how make Nashville a better place for girls and women.

Women and Girls LeadThe group got an overview of the initiative from Nashville Public Television (NPT) president and CEO Beth Curley, and watched clips from this season’s Community Cinema season films that are part of Women and Girls Lead. Together with NPT,  I invited those assembled to get involved by partnering on Women and Girls Lead films, taking advantage of free educational tools, tuning into Independent Lens this season, and hosting community discussions. I invite you to the same,  and ask that you join our Facebook community page, Women and Girls Lead Nashville, for updates.

In an informal engagement session during the lunch, NPT’s director of education, Jo Ann Scalf, asked the group to envision how a city can be most hospitable to girls and women. Ideas ranged from introducing them to better heroines (not princesses) to celebrating their math and science skills to creating a hub for all girl-related programs and services in Nashville. Two teachers from the group expressed interest in hosting documentary screenings for students, a service we’re excited to provide in select schools this season as part of the Belcourt Theatre’s education program.

Women and Girls LeadAfter the luncheon, we officially opened our Community Cinema season with Peace Unveiled, an unsettling but ultimately inspiring documentary about Afghan women fighting for a seat at the negotiating table between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Instead of a panel discussion, we heard from Elizabeth Barger, cofounder of CODEPINK, a women-led grassroots peace and social justice movement, and Judy Meeker, another CODEPINK cofounder and founder or More Than Warmth, a quilt project that promotes friendship with nations at war and provides opportunities for cultural understanding among children worldwide.

On October 15, we’ll screen the fabulous Deaf Jam, another great film that focuses on a powerful young woman. It follows New York City’s Aeta Brodski as she prepares to be one of the first deaf poets to compete in a youth slam, leading to an unexpected collaboration. Following the film, we’ll be treated to an ASL poetry performance from local deaf poets, thanks to a partnership with Hearing Bridges. And thanks to our new partnership with the Belcourt Theatre, we’re able to bring Deaf Jam to Hume-Fogg High School for its Food For Thought series and to Martha O’Bryan Center’s middle school afterschool program—another chance to promote cultural understanding through film!

And don’t forget our September 28 screening another part of Women, War and Peace, the award-winning Pray the Devil Back to Hell, at Lipscomb University. The film is screening as part of the university’s excellent HumanDOCS series and starts at 8:30 p.m. in Ward Hall. See you there!

Allison Inman is a national engagement coordinator for ITVS and the Community Cinema coordinator in Nashville.  She is also the education and engagement coordinator for the Belcourt.

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Allison Inman, September 22nd 2011 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Documentaries, Screenings, Women and Girls Lead

Audience envisions forgiveness at Nashville ‘Pushing the Elephant’ screening

At Saturday’s Community Cinema screening of “Pushing the Elephant,” audience members participated in an activity designed to help them envision forgiveness. “Pushing the Elephant” tells the story of Rose Mapendo’s remarkable emergence from violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo as an advocate for the rights of women and the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. Dr. Bethany Haley and Quincee Gideon from Nashville nonprofit eXile International, along with Marie-Aimee Abizera from African Leadership Refugee Ministry, passed out stones prior to the screening, explaining that the stone represents the burden of unforgiveness. Following the panel discussion with Haley, Gideon and Abizera, audience members were encouraged to release their stones in a basket next to a candle that symbolized hope or renewal.

Prior to the screening, Haley, Gideon and Abizera informally led the forgiveness exercise while audience members mingled over refreshments outside the auditorium. Community Cinema coordinator Allison Inman introduced Nashville Public Television’s Joe Pagetta, who promoted the Nashville Film Festival’s upcoming screening of “Fambul Tok,” a documentary about formal forgiveness and reconciliation ceremonies in Sierra Leone. NPT’s president and CEO, Beth Curley, announced a new public media initiative from ITVS and PBS targeting issues affecting girls and women globally. During the panel discussion, Curley also pointed audience members to NPT’s ongoing “Next Door Neighbors” series, which tells the stories of Nashville’s immigrant communities.

The screening was presented by series partners Nashville Public Television, Nashville Public Library, Nashville Film Festival and Hands On Nashville, with special presenting partners eXile International and YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

Dr. Bethany Haley of eXile International discusses the insiduousness of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Frank Keesee.

Marie-Aimee Abizera, a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, encourages the audience to get to know the immigrants and refugees in their community. Photo by Frank Keesee.

eXile International displayed art made by war-affected children in the DR Congo. Photo by Frank Keesee.

Marie-Aimee Abizera passes out stones to the audience in an exercise on forgiveness. Photo by Frank Keesee.

The broadcast premiere of “Pushing the Elephant” is today (March 29) at 9 p.m. on Independent Lens.

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Allison Inman, March 29th 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Documentaries, Panelists, Screenings

You bet I’ll take the pledge to end the R-word

Actually, I already did.

Nothing makes me cringe like hearing a typically thoughtful friend mutter the “R-word.” It seems like the ugly word has made a comeback in recent years, just when I thought it was gone for good. Surely people don’t realize the hurt the word can cause to people who have, or care about someone who has, an intellectual disability.

Working on screenings for the January Community Cinema film, For Once in My Life, about musicians with disabilities, I learned about the Special Olympics/Best Buddies “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign. They’re rallying people to stop the derogatory use of the words “retarded” and “retard,” and they’ve already got more than 146,000 pledges.

Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame joined the cause. Here’s what he has to say about it.

Will you take the pledge to help stop the use of the R-word?

I took the pledge to force myself to be more vocal about it. Hope you will too.

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Allison Inman, January 22nd 2011 | Posted in Documentaries, Screenings

Connecting faiths through food at The Calling December 18

We love our Community Cinema panel discussions, but this month’s film calls for something different. The Calling — which tells the story of four people studying to become religious leaders from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths — is 80 minutes instead of our usual 60, so we don’t have enough time at the end for a quality discussion before the library closes. Instead we’re offering an hour-long, pre-screening reception featuring foods from various faith traditions. Our hope is that the interfaith dialogue we were seeking can happen more casually — over food!

The Calling will screen Saturday, December 18, at 3 p.m. at Nashville Public Library’s main branch in the auditorium. The interfaith reception will start at 2 p.m. in the library gallery, adjacent to the auditorium (both are found down the hall past the elevators on the mail level).

Danny Alpert’s The Calling is a four-hour special that will air on PBS’ Independent Lens Monday, December 20, and Tuesday, December 21, 8-10 p.m.  The complete series profiles seven young Americans — Christian, Muslim and Jewish — who are part of a new generation of religious leaders. The series follows them as they navigate the challenges of training and face the inevitable doubts and setbacks.

The abridged Community Cinema version, which we’ll screen on December 18 at the library, focuses on four of the seven characters: Rob Pene, a Samoan studying at the Haggard School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University; Shmuly Yanklowitz, a student at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in Riverdale, New York;  Tahera Ahmad, an outspoken young Muslim scholar, schoolteacher, and student in Hartford Seminary’s Muslim Chaplaincy program in Connecticut; and Steven Gamez, who recently became a pastor at St. Philip of Jesus Catholic Church in San Antonio.

We’re excited to partner with Community Food Advocates, Scarritt-Bennett’s Wisdom House, and the Interfaith Alliance of Middle Tennessee.

If you’d like to attend the free screening of The Calling December 18, please RSVP to Allison Inman at allison_inman@itvs.org by December 15 to help us with food planning. Audio description and closed captioning for the film are available by request — also by December 15. We are working hard to make our screenings more accessible. Email or call 615-585-8321.

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Allison Inman, December 8th 2010 | Posted in Documentaries, Screenings

Deep Down comes to Nashville with filmmaker Sally Rubin

Did you know that your power in Nashville comes from coal extracted by mountaintop removal mining? I learned this by entering my zip code on the website for Community Cinema’s November film, Deep Down. Try it yourself here.

Exploring the issue of mountaintop removal coal mining through the citizens of Maytown, Kentucky, Deep Down shows why some locals defend coal companies and the jobs they bring despite the consequences of strip mining on the land they love. Deep Down is the story of two friends, Terry Ratliff and Beverly May, who find themselves in the middle of a local debate when a coal company moves in. Wise to the effects of strip mining on the land, water, and health of the people, Beverly leads a group of citizens against the company while Terry seriously considers an offer to buy his land for mining. Beverly pleads for her neighbors to help her preserve the profoundly rich resources of the Appalachian mountains while they argue that mining is their livelihood, plain and simple.

Deep Down screens Saturday, November 6, at 3 p.m. at Nashville Public Library’s downtown branch (615 Church St.). At 2:30, we’ll host a free reception with refreshments and a demo from Kilowatt Ours on saving energy in the home.

We’re lucky in Nashville to have Deep Down filmmaker Sally Rubin joining us from Los Angeles for a panel discussion after the film. Also on the panel are:

  • Jeff Barrie of Kilowatt Ours
  • Laurie Kalmanson of The Climate Project
  • Anne Holmes and Kaitlin Cockerham of Sierra SCENE (Student Coalition Empowering Nashville Environmentalists)
  • Stephen George, City Paper editor (moderator).

The screening is co-presented by Kilowatt Ours and Sierra SCENE as well as our series partners NPT, Nashville Public Library and Nashville Film Festival.

Sally Rubin is also attending an event Friday, November 5, at David Lipscomb University called “God’s Mountains: Faith, Justice, and Mountaintop Removal,” where she’ll show the film to area faith leaders who are interested in environmental issues. Deep Down’s faith-based outreach program features materials faith leaders can take to their communities to educate and inspire members about the issues of mountaintop removal and creation care. Lipscomb University will show the film for students (and the public) Wednesday, November 10, at 8:30 p.m. at Shamblin Theatre as part of the university’s HumanDocs film series.

Hope to see you Saturday at the library! No RSVP needed. Seating is first come, first served.

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Allison Inman, November 4th 2010 | Posted in Documentaries, Panelists, Screenings

REEL INJUN Panelists Announced For October 30 Screening

If you’re joining us on Saturday, October 30 for the Community Cinema Nashville screening of REEL INJUN: ON THE TRAIL OF THE HOLLYWOOD INDIAN, you’ll be treated to what is sure to be an engaging post-screening discussion.

Joining us for the post-screening discussion will be:
Bill Miller, Grammy-winning Native American recording artist, painter and speaker
Dr. Daniel Usner, Jr., professor of American Indian history at Vanderbilt University (moderator)
Chanda Joesph, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Albert Bender, Cherokee historian, activist and writer
JJ Kent, Lakota recording artist, storyteller and cultural educator

The screening of REEL INJUN: ON THE TRAIL OF THE HOLLYWOOD INDIAN takes place Saturday, October 30, 3 p.m. Get there early for a 2:30 p.m. reception hosted by the Nashville Public Library Foundation.

Nashville Public Library
615 Church Street
Nashville, TN 37219
Screening is FREE and open to the public

Watch the full episode. See more Independent Lens.

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Allison Inman, October 27th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Documentaries, Panelists, Screenings

Announcing the 2010-11 Community Cinema Nashville Schedule

The 2010-11 Community Cinema Nashville Schedule is now available. Visit the “2010-11 Schedule” in the main menu.

Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian
By Neil Diamond
Kemosabe? Loincloths, fringed pants, and feather headdresses? Heap big stereotypes. Reel Injun is an entertaining trip through the evolution of North American Native people (“The Indians”) as portrayed in famous Hollywood movies, from the silent era to today. Jim Jarmusch, Clint Eastwood, Graham Greene, John Trudell and others provide insights into the often demeaning and occasionally hilariously absurd stereotypes perpetuated on the big screen through Hollywood’s history. Saturday, October 30, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

Deep Down
By Sally Rubin and Jen Gilomen
Beverly May and Terry Ratliff grew up on opposite sides of a mountain ridge in eastern Kentucky, where coal is king. When a mountaintop removal coal mine encroaches on their community, the two find themselves on opposite sides of a debate that divides their community and the world — who controls, consumes, and benefits from the planet’s dwindling supply of natural resources? In a small town in dire economic straits and high unemployment, the coal company’s offer to buy land and provide jobs can be hard to resist. What can a community do when it must choose between its present and its future? Saturday, November 6, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

The Calling
Danny Alpert, Series Director
A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans — Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim — preparing to become the nation’s next generation of religious leaders, The Calling explores the forces that are drawing a new generation of young people to serve their communities and their faith. The Calling offers entertaining, often surprising stories on how faith is lived in a modern, largely secular world. Saturday, December 18, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

For Once In My Life
By Jim Bigham
For Once in My Life is the story of a unique band of singers and musicians, and their journey to show the world the greatness – and killer soundtrack – within each of them. The 28 band members have a wide range of mental and physical disabilities, as well as musical abilities that extend into ranges of pure genius. In a cinema vérite style, the film explores the struggles and triumphs, and the healing power of music, as the band members’ unique talents are nurtured to challenge the world’s perceptions. Saturday, January 22, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story
By Daniel BirmanCyntoia Brown was an average teenager in Nashville, Tennessee.  But a series of bad decisions led the 16-year-old into a situation that ended with her killing a man who had picked her up for sex.  She was sentenced to life in a Tennessee prison, meaning, in her case, that she will serve a minimum of 51 years. This film challenges our assumptions about violence and explores how factors such as biology and family history can doom some young people from the start. Saturday, February 26, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

Pushing the Elephant
By Beth Davenport and Elizabeth Mandel
When civil war came to Rose Mapendo’s Congolese village, she was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose managed to escape with nine of her 10 children and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. More than a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the U.S. where they must come to terms with the past and build a new future. Saturday, March 26, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

Bhutto
By Duane Baughman
As the first woman to lead an Islamic nation, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s life story unfolds like a tale of Shakespearean dimensions.  She evolved from pampered princess to polarizing politician in the most dangerous country on Earth. Accused of rampant corruption, imprisoned, then exiled abroad, Bhutto was called back to Pakistan as her country’s best hope for democracy. Struck down by assassins, her untimely death sent shock waves throughout the world, transforming Bhutto from political messiah to martyr in the eyes of millions around the world. Saturday, April 23, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

Welcome To Shelbyville
By Kim A. Snyder
Set in the heart of America’s Bible Belt, Welcome to Shelbyville focuses on the citizens of Shelbyville, Tennessee, as they grapple with rapid demographic change and issues of immigrant integration. The film captures the complexity of the African American, Latino, white, and Somali subjects as their lives intertwine against the backdrop of a crumbling economy and the election of a new president. Saturday, May 14, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

Two Spirits
By Lydia Nibley
Fred Martinez was one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at 16. Two Spirits explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl, and the essentially spiritual nature of gender. Saturday, June 11, 3 p.m. (2:30 reception)

Screenings will be held at Nashville Public Library’s Main Branch, located 615 Church Street in downtown Nashville. All screenings are free and open to the public.

Community Cinema is presented locally by NPT, Nashville Public Library, Hands On Nashville, and Nashville Film Festival.

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Allison Inman, October 7th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized