Fifth Season of Community Cinema Nashville Focuses on Women’s Issues, Current Events, Soul Food and More

The Revolutionary Optimists

Season begins September 15 with Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – August 28, 2012 – ITVS, Nashville Public Television and the Nashville Public Library are proud to announce the 2012-2013 season of Community Cinema Nashville. Now in its fifth season, the free screening series presented in partnership with Hands on Nashville and the Nashville Film Festival kicks off Saturday, September 15 at the downtown Nashville Public Library with Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Maro Chermayeff. This landmark documentary miniseries (based on the bestselling book of the same name by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn) follows six actress-advocates — America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union, and Olivia Wilde — as they travel to Africa and Asia and meet inspiring, courageous individuals who are confronting oppression and developing real, meaningful solutions.

Community Cinema Nashville this year takes on diverse issues from current news headlines, such as As Goes Janesville, Brad Lichtenstein’s three-year chronicle about the debate over the future of America’s middle class, a debate that has become a pitched battle over unions in the normally tranquil state of Wisconsin; Macky Alston’s Love Free or Die, a portrait of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay elected bishop in the high church traditions of Christendom, whose 2003 elevation in the New Hampshire diocese ignited a worldwide firestorm in the Anglican Communion; and Soul Food Junkies, Byron Hurt’s personal look at the black community’s love affair with soul food, its significance, and its health consequences.

This year, the series continues to align its programming with the Women and Girls Lead campaign — a multiyear public media initiative to focus, educate, and connect citizens worldwide in support of the issues facing women and girls — now nearing the end of its second year.  Women and Girls Lead programs featured this season include:

Solar Mamas, by Jehane Noujaim, introduces the women of India’s Barefoot College, which provides rural women living in poverty with an education that empowers them to make their communities self reliant and sustainable; Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s Wonder Women: The Untold Story of American Superheroines traces the fascinating evolution and legacy of the original comic book Amazon, Wonder Woman, reflecting society’s anxieties about women’s liberation; and Revolutionary Optimists, by Nicole Newnham and Maren Grainger-Monsen, takes a look at a teacher who empowers the children of Kolkata’s slums to become leaders in improving their own community’s health.

ITVS Community Cinema Nashville, coordinated by Allison Inman, began in 2008 and has steadily built to an audience ranging from 70-200 per screening, with dozens of community partners contributing each month to reception activities and panel discussions. The monthly screening series features upcoming selections from the Independent Lens season, which airs locally on Nashville Public Television. Over 90 cities across the country participate in the Community Cinema program, making a real contribution on a range of current social issues by connecting communities with organizations, information, and the opportunity to get involved.

The complete 2012-2013 slate of films is below. Films begin at 3:00 p.m. and are preceded by a reception at 2:30 p.m., at the downtown main branch of the Nashville Public Library unless also otherwise noted.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
by Maro Chermayeff, Jamie Gordon and Mikaela Beardsley

This special Community Cinema screening will preview one of six stories featured in the upcoming PBS mini-series based on Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s best-selling book. In the episode on Sex Trafficking, Kristof and actress Meg Ryan meet Somaly Mam, a Cambodian woman who sold herself into slavery as a young girl and who is now a world-renowned leader in the anti-trafficking struggle. Following the film, representatives from End Slavery Tennessee will discuss efforts to stop sex trafficking in Nashville and holistically care for trafficking survivors.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 (Reception at 5:45 p.m. / Screening at 6:15 p.m.)

As Goes Janesville
by Brad Lichtenstein

America’s middle class is dwindling, and the debate over how to save it is nowhere fiercer than in the normally tranquil state of Wisconsin. In Janesville, as jobs disappear and families are stretched to their breaking point, citizens and politicians are embroiled in an ideological battle about how to turn things around.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2012

Solar Mamas
by Jehane Noujaim

Rafea — a 30-year-old Jordanian mother of four — is traveling outside of her village for the first time to attend a solar engineering program at India’s Barefoot College. She will join other poor women from Guatemala, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Colombia in learning concrete skills to create change in their communities.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2012

Beauty is Embarrassing
by Neil Berkeley

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2012 Nashville Film Festival, Beauty Is Embarrassing is the funny, irreverent and inspiring story of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White. Raised in Tennessee, Mr. White has spent the last 30 years making his indelible mark on pop culture. From his humble roots as a puppeteer in Nashville to his work as one of the creators of the “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” TV show to his current life as a darling in the fine art world, White has inspired millions of people across the country. The film chronicles the vaulted highs and the crushing lows of an artist focused on making every day a chance to create.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2013

Soul Food Junkies
by Byron Hurt

Soul food lies at the heart of African American cultural identity. The black community’s love affair with soul food is deep-rooted, complex, and in some cases, deadly. Soul Food Junkies puts this culinary tradition under the microscope to examine both its significance and its consequences.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2013

The Powerbroker
by Bonnie Boswell

Whitney M. Young, Jr. was one of the most celebrated and controversial leaders of the civil rights era. As executive director of the National Urban League, he took the struggle for equality directly to the powerful white elite, gaining allies in business and government, including three presidents.

SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan

Trace the fascinating evolution and legacy of the original comic book Amazon, Wonder Woman. From her creation in the 1940s to the superhero blockbusters of today, pop culture’s representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation.

SATURDAY , APRIL 20, 2013 (Presented at the Nashville Film Festival, Regal Green Hills Stadium 16)

The Island President
by Jon Shenk, Bonni Cohen and Richard Berge

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed is confronting a problem greater than any world leader has ever faced — the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. His is the most low-lying country in the world; a minor rise in sea level would literally erase it from the map.

SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

The Revolutionary Optimists
by Nicole Newnham and Maren Grainger-Monsen

Amlan Ganguly teaches the children of Kolkata’s slums to become leaders in improving their own community’s health and sanitation. Using street theater, dance, and data as their weapons, the children have cut malaria and diarrhea rates in half, increased polio vaccination rates, and turned garbage dumps into playing fields.

SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2013

Love Free or Die
by Macky Alston

Love Free or Die is about a man who has two defining passions that the world cannot reconcile: his love for God and for his partner Mark. The film is about church and state, love and marriage, faith and identity — and openly gay Bishop Eugene Robinson’s struggle to dispel the notion that God’s love has limits.

ITVS COMMUNITY CINEMA is a monthly screening series featuring upcoming selections from the Independent Lens season. Presented in partnership with local public television stations and leading community organizations, ITVS Community Cinema holds preview screenings in over 90 cities across the country making a real contribution on a range of current social issues by connecting communities with organizations, information, and the opportunity to get involved.

ABOUT ITVS AND INDEPENDENT LENS
ITVS is a leading funder and presenter of award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.

(Community Cinema) Daisy Bates Inspires Mentors at Nashville Screening (Video)

Mentors

At the ITVS Community Cinema Nashville screening of DAISY BATES: FIRST LADY OF LITTLE ROCK at the Nashville Public Library, mentors and mentees from several organizations in Nashville shared their experience. In these two FLIP camera videos, Clemmie Greenlee, a mentor and founder of Nashville Peacemakers, and her mentee Mykeshia Sanders; and Barbara Woenker, a volunteer mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee, and her mentee Alasia; talk about their experiences together.

ITVS Community Cinema Nashville Launches Fourth Season With a Focus on Issues Facing Women and Girls Worldwide

Season Opens Saturday, September 17 with Afghanistan-set “Peace Unveiled.”

Women, War and Peace: Peace Unveiled

ITVS, together with partner station Nashville Public Television (NPT) and series partners Nashville Public Library, Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) and Hands On Nashville, is proud to announce the 2011-12 season of ITVS Community Cinema Nashville. Now in its four year, Community Cinema Nashville returns with 10 compelling documentaries, eight of which are culled from this year’s lineup of the venerable PBS series “Independent Lens.” Two are from the upcoming  five-part PBS special “Women, War and Peace.” Each film is followed by engaging panel discussions or performances and Q&A sessions. All screenings are free and take place one Saturday per month at 3:00 p.m., with a catered reception at 2:30 p.m., in the auditorium theatre at the downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street, except where noted.

The season opens in Nashville on Saturday, September 17 with “Women, War and Peace: Peace Unveiled,” Gina Reticker’s profile of three Afghan women determined to ensure that women have a seat at the table when the post-U.S. surge government under Hamid Karzai begins peace talks with the Taliban. The film, written by Abigail Disney and narrated by Tilda Swinton, is also part of a larger multi-year public media initiative called Women and Girls Lead that will focus, educate and connect citizens worldwide in support of the issues facing women and girls.

Combining independent documentary film, television, new media, and global outreach partnerships, Women and Girls Lead amplifies the voices of women and girls acting as leaders, expands understanding of gender equity, and engages an international network of citizens and organizations to act locally and reach out globally.

Nashville organizations serving girls and women are attending a Women and Girls Lead information session prior to the September 17 screening of “Peace Unveiled.” Organizational leaders will join ITVS regional coordinator Allison Inman, NPT president and CEO Beth Curley at 1:30 p.m. for lunch and a chance to preview clips from this season’s Women and Girls Lead films and the Community Cinema Nashville season, and learn about free resources organizations and individuals can use to further the missions of empowering girls and women here Nashville. RSVP to Allison_inman@itvs.org required. At 2:30 p.m., a catered reception will be open to the public in the conference room adjacent to the auditorium. Representatives from women’s grassroots peace and social justice initiative CODEPINK will be on hand demonstrating the More Than Warmth quilt project, inviting Community Cinema participants to help make quilts for the people affected by war around the world.

Films that are joining “Women, War and Peace: Peace Unveiled” at Community Cinema Nashville that are also part of the Women and Girls Lead initiative include “Women, War and Peace: Pray the Devil Back to Hell” (Gina Reticker / USA); “Taking Root” (Alan Dater, Lisa Merton / USA); “Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock” (Sharon LaCruise, Noland Walker / USA); and “Strong!” (Julie Wyman / USA).

Deaf JamRounding out the season are “Deaf Jam” (Judy Lieff / USA); “We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân”  (Anne Makepeace / USA); “More Than A Month” (Shukree Hassan Tilghman / USA); “Revenge of the Electric Car;” (Chris Paine / USA); and “Hell and Back Again” (Danfung Dennis / USA, UK, Afghanistan).

Community Cinema Nashville, coordinated by Allison Inman, began in 2008 and has steadily built to an audience ranging from 70-200 per screening, with dozens of community partners contributing each month to reception activities and panel discussions. Other organizations that have participated in Community Cinema Nashville include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Community Food Advocates, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee, Oasis Center, Islamic Center of Nashville, Kilowatt Ours, Scarritt Bennett’s Wisdom House, eXile International, PFLAG Nashville, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Pakistani American Association of Nashville, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Nashville Musicians Association, Earth Matters Tennessee, Sustain VU, Middle Tennessee School for the Blind, Belmont University Copyright Club, Metro Beautification and Environment Commission, Metro Nashville Human Relations Commission, National Kidney Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Zeitgeist Gallery, and more.

“The Women and Girls Lead Initiative adds an exciting new element to this year’s season, both with the film choices and the engagement possibilities,” says Inman. “Last summer’s Women’s Empowerment Film Festival at the Library reached hundreds of girls and women, so I know our audience is hungry for these kinds of stories.”

ITVS Community Cinema Nashville 2011-12 Season:

All screening take place at (except where noted):

Nashville Public Library
615 Church Street
Screening 3:00 p.m. / Reception (hosted by the Nashville Public Library Foundation) 2:30

September 17, 2011

Women, War and Peace: Peace Unveiled
(Gina Reticker / USA)
When the U.S. troop surge was announced in late 2009, women in Afghanistan knew that the ground was being laid for peace talks with the Taliban. “Peace Unveiled” follows three women who immediately began to organize to make sure that women have a seat at the negotiating table. One is a savvy parliamentarian who participated in writing the Afghan constitution that guarantees equality for women; another, a former midwife who is one of the last women’s rights advocates alive in Kandahar; and the third, a young activist who lives in a traditional family in Kabul. Convinced that the Taliban will have demands that jeopardize women’s hard-earned gains, they maneuver against formidable odds to have their voices heard in a peace jirga and high peace council. We go behind Kabul’s closed doors as the women’s case is made to U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, General David Petraeus and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who promises the women that “peace and justice can’t come at the cost of women and women’s lives.” But will this promise be kept? Narrated by Tilda Swinton. “Peace Unveiled” is one of five films in the upcoming PBS special “Women, War and Peace.”

September 28, 2011

Women, War and Peace: Pray the Devil Back to Hell
(Gini Reticker / USA)
(Special Co-Presentation with Lipscomb’s HumanDocs series; screening is at Lipscomb University’s Ward Hall)

8:30 p.m.
A winner of the best documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, Pray the Devil Back to Hell” is the astonishing story of the Liberian women who took on the warlords and regime of dictator Charles Taylor in the midst of a brutal civil war, and won a once unimaginable peace for their shattered country in 2003. As the rebel noose tightened around the capital city of Monrovia, thousands of women – ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim – formed a thin but unshakeable line between the opposing forces. Armed only with white t-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they literally faced down the killers who had turned Liberia into hell on earth. In one memorable scene, the women barricaded the site of stalled peace talks in Ghana and refused to move until a deal was done. Their demonstrations culminated in Taylor’s exile and the rise of Africa’s first female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Inspiring and uplifting, the film is a compelling example of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations. “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” is one of five films in the upcoming PBS special “Women, War and Peace.”

October 15, 2011

Deaf Jam
(Judy Lieff / USA)
National poetry slams for youth have been gaining momentum but few, if any, deaf teens have ever been included in these contests. In “Deaf Jama group of New York City deaf teens reveal their passions, frustrations, and senses of humor as they discover American Sign Language poetry — eventually stepping into the world of the youth poetry slams with their hearing peers.

November 26, 2011

We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân
(Anne Makepeace / USA)
The Wampanoag nation of southeastern Massachusetts ensured the survival of the first English settlers in America, and lived to regret it. “We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân” tells the story of the return of the Wampanoag language, the first time a language with no Native speakers has been revived in this country. Spurred on by an indomitable linguist named Jessie Little Doe, the Wampanoag are bringing their language and their culture back.

December 17, 2012

Taking Root
(Alan Dater, Lisa Merton / USA)
How does the simple act of planting trees lead to winning the Nobel Peace Prize? Ask Wangari Maathai of Kenya. In 1977, she suggested rural women plant trees to address problems stemming from a degraded environment. Under her leadership, their tree-planting grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, defend human rights and promote democracy, earning Maathai the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

January 14, 2012

Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock
(Sharon LaCruise, Noland Walker / USA)
As a black woman who was a feminist before the term was invented, Daisy Bates refused to accept her assigned place in society.  “Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock” tells the story of her life and public support of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, which culminated in a constitutional crisis–pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself.

February 11, 2012

More Than a Month
(Shukree Hassan Tilghman / USA)
Shukree Hassan Tilghman, a 29-year-old African American filmmaker, is on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month.  Through this tongue-in-cheek journey, “More Than a Month” investigates what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in a “post-racial” America.

March 17, 2012

Revenge of the Electric Car
(Chris Paine / USA)
Revenge of the Electric Car presents the recent resurgence of electric vehicles as seen through the eyes of four pioneers of the EV revolution. Director Chris Paine (“Who Killed the Electric Car?” 2006) has had unprecedented access to the electric car research and development programs at General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla Motors, while also following a part time electric car converter who refuses to wait for the international car makers to create the electric cars the public demands. As more models of electric cars than ever before start to arrive in showrooms and driveways across the world, Chris Paine’s film offers an inspiring, entertaining and definitive account of this revolutionary moment in human transportation. “Revenge of the Electric Car” follows these auto makers as they race each other to create the first, best, and most publicly accepted electric cars for the new car market.

April 21, 2012 (Nashville Film Festival Screening)
April 28, 2012

Hell and Back Again
(Danfung Dennis / USA, UK, Afghanistan)
What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home – injured physically and psychologically – and build a new life? “Hell and Back Again” asks and answers these questions with the conflict in Afghanistan as the backdrop. Two overlapping narratives intercut: the life of a Marine on the war front, and the life of the same Marine in recovery at home – creating a realistic depiction of how Marines experience this war.

May 19, 2012

Strong! (Julie Wyman / USA)
A formidable figure, standing at 5’8″ and weighing over 300 pounds, Cheryl Haworth struggles to defend her champion status as her lifetime weightlifting career inches towards its inevitable end. “Strong!” chronicles her journey and the challenges this unusual elite athlete faces,  exploring popular notions of power, strength, beauty and health.

ITVS COMMUNITY CINEMA is a monthly screening series featuring upcoming selections from the Independent Lens season. Presented in partnership with local public television stations and leading community organizations, ITVS Community Cinema holds preview screenings in over 90 cities across the country making a real contribution on a range of current social issues by connecting communities with organizations, information, and the opportunity to get involved.

ABOUT ITVS AND INDEPENDENT LENS
ITVS is a leading funder and presenter of award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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.