Summer 2014
News&Updates
Films Screening Now: 
The following CID films are currently making their way to a theater near you - be on the lookout! 

REGARDING SUSAN SONTAG is an intimate and nuanced investigation into the life of one of the most influential and provocative thinkers of the 20th century. Passionate and gracefully outspoken throughout her career, Susan Sontag became one of the most important literary, political, and feminist icons of her generation. The next place to catch the film is the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival later this month! 

 

A hypnotic rumination on the genesis of youth culture from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th, Matt Wolf's TEENAGE is a living collage of rare archival material, filmed portraits, and diary entries read by Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, and others. You can watch the film online, or catch it at one of the next screenings in the US. 

In the heart-wrenching documentary LETTER TO ANITA, award-winning filmmaker Andrea Meyerson explores the painful legacy of singer Anita Bryant's infamous anti-gay campaign of the late 1970s. LETTER TO ANITA tells the story of Ronni Sanlo, a mother of two who came out as a lesbian, losing custody of her children as a result and propelling her into a life of LGBT activism. Keep an eye out for a screening near you!

 

HAVANA CURVEBALL tracks the  growth of Mica from high-pitched boy to broad-shouldered young man, giving the audience an  unusual  opportunity: to witness in real time  his  attempt  to   understand  family  history  while navigating  the  gap  between  youthful  ideals  and  the complex,  messy  reality  of the adult  world.   The  film premieres August 3rd at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
When the graves of former slaves are bulldozed in Mississippi, a native son returns to protect the community they settled - a place now threatened by urban sprawl, hurricanes and an unprecedented manmade disaster. COME HELL OR HIGH WATER: THE BATTLE FOR TURKEY CREEK, a film by Leah Mahan, follows the painful but inspiring story of Derrick Evans. To learn more, please visit the website. 
Cheryl Furjanic's new documentary BACK ON BOARD: Greg Louganis made its world premiere at the AFI Documentary Film Festival this month.  Cheryl, Greg Louganis, and producer Will Sweeney were also chosen to attend a meeting at The White House in connection with the festival. The film played to a packed house and was met with a standing ovation at the Castro Theater in San Francisco at the Frameline Film Festival, and the documentary has also just won the Audience Award at Outfest. Stay tuned for more screenings of this fantastic 
film coming up in the fall! 
 

KUMU HINA is a powerful feature documentary about the struggle to maintain Pacific Islander culture and values within the Westernized society of modern day Hawaiʻi. It is told through the lens of an extraordinary Native Hawaiian who is both a proud and confident mahu, or transgender woman, and an honored and respected kumu, or teacher, cultural practitioner, and community leader. The film is screening soon in NYC and Providence, RI in the next few weeks - check online for a location near you!

THE WINDING STREAM is the tale  of  the  dynasty at the  very  heart  of  country  music.   Starting   with  the seminal    Original   Carter   Family,   A.P. ,  Sara   and Maybelle; this  film traces  the  ebb  and  flow  of   their influence, the transformation  of  that act into the Carter Sisters  and   Mother   Maybelle ,  the   marital  alliance between June Carter and music  legend  Johnny  Cash, and  the  efforts  of the present-day family to  keep  this legacy  alive.   The Next  screening  is   at  the  Lincoln Center in August, for those in the NYC area. 
Is it possible to become a better mother while serving time in a maximum security prison? MOTHERS OF BEDFORD, a feature length documentary, follows five women incarcerated in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and looks at their lives through the lens of motherhood. The film is screening at Fordham in New York this next week. Check on their website for future screenings!  

OUT OF THE FIRE  offers an absorbing look into the little-known world of wood-firing potters, who use ancient, labor intensive techniques to achieve stunning, unique surfaces on their pots - surfaces enhanced by fire markings, and melted wood ash. This film is now available to download from Ceramic Arts. 

"Pride of the Ocean" GLBT Film Festival Cruises 
Join us on our next cruise in the beautiful, tropical Hawaii! Dates are October 11-18. Our bon voyage will be a luau and we will focus on Asian Pacific-themed films as we discover this paradise. Explore cascading waterfalls, active volcanoes, black, green and white sand beaches, historic sites and unspoiled nature. Learn more and sign up online
Thanks to those who came to Bermuda with us! 
Reporter George Gustines has said in the New York Times, "The true delight of the trip was not the quality of the festival itself ...but the friends we made." That proud tradition continued in full force on Pride of the Ocean's 5th Anniversary cruise from New York to Bermuda. Read more about the trip here!

Kopkind Filmmakers' Retreat 
This year's campers have been announced!
Congrats to the filmmakers who will be joining us at camp next week - we look forward to seeing you in Vermont very soon! Get ready for delicious home-cooked meals, farmstead screening sessions, a bit of fun in the sun, and a relaxing setting to work on your next masterpiece. To read their bios, check out the post on Documentaries.org 
POWER TO THE PEDALS Screening August 1st
The Kopkind Colony Grassroots Film Festival will be screening POWER TO THE PEDALS on the last day of the Filmmakers' Retreat (Friday, August 1st) at 7:30PM in the Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery in Brattleboro, VT. Director/Producer Bob Nesson is a Kopkind Retreat alum, and will host a discussion with the audience after the screening. Come see the great work that comes out of the Kopkind Filmmakers' Retreat!

Help these films reach their fundraising goals!
CLAMBAKE: 30 Years of Women's Week in Provincetown is an exciting new documentary from award-winning filmmaker Andrea Meyerson charting the growth of Women's Week in Provincetown from its inception to the thriving, exciting lesbian mecca it is today. The film will take viewers on a 30-year journey through archival footage and photos, interviews with celebrities and organizers, current event coverage and performances, offering a historical and hysterical look at what a few innovative women can accomplish. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible. To donate, please visit their GoFundMe page!  

FINDING  THE  GOLD  WITHIN follows  six  black men from Akron, Ohio ,  through their  first  years of  college. Despite   their  high  levels  of  confidence   and  critical thinking , the  stark  reality  of  being  away  from   their families  and  communities  brings  a series of crises. A sister dies in a car  accident;  a home  gets broken into, a  brush  with  the law,  racial  jokes  and   provocations never seem to end. Please donate to  the  film  via their newsletter!
END OF LOVE is a feature-length documentary about the epidemic of males who are being convicted of downloading child pornography - how it happens and what it says about who we are. The film questions why and how the impulse to seek out child pornography originates in boys and men.This film will be launching their Kickstarter campaign soon - keep an eye out and check back on their website to donate! 


Congratulations! The following films have just received grant money
From the National Endowment for the Humanities:
This film has just received $500,000 to continue production. The film is being produced by Eric Stange and will be completed in memory of Wally Coberg, who passed away in 2011 while working on the film. 

BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT: Hollywood's First Blockbuster and the Battle for Civil Rights 
Bestor Cram of Northern Lights Production has also received significant support from the NEH to work on a documentary about the intersection of the film Birth of a Nation and the Civil Rights Movement.  

From the LEF Foundation:
Ben Pender-Cudlip & Adam Mazo received $5000 for their UNTITLED MAINE TRC PROJECT, in which an historic truth and reconciliation commission investigates why so many Native American children have grown up in non-Native families, losing their connections to their tribes and cultures. Can the commission overcome centuries of assimilation and oppression to begin an age of healing?

NAMAC and ACM Joint National Conference Coming Up
August 6-8, 2014 | Philadelphia, PA
A wide cross-section of the independent media sector will convene in Philadelphia for NAMAC and ACM's first-ever Joint National Conference.  This conference will bring together creators, thinkers, policy makers, administrators, and funders to hear the most current thinking about the field's future opportunities, to create a national platform for the media arts, and to strengthen our networks. Structured around one or more key theme areas, each day allows all who attend an opportunity to hear, to participate, and to chart our future together.  This year's theme is State and Main: Intersecting Networks, Communities, and Generations. Learn more and register online

Save the Date: Mass Media Expo Announced
Saturday, September 6th
Please Take this Quick Survey! 
Pat Aufderheide and her colleagues, who have worked for many years to promote and protect Fair Use for documentary filmmakers, have a survey that will take just a few minutes of your time.  This survey will only be up for a few more days, so if you have time please go to this link and help them out with your responses!

Happy Summer! Stay Cool, Everyone.
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