September 2016
NEWS & UPDATES 
The Center For Independent Documentary 

We are thrilled to have moved to a new office!

CONTACT INFORMATION
1300 Soldiers Field Rd.  
 Suite 4
Boston, MA  02135
(888) 220-0918

Susi Walsh: 
Executive Director
susi@documentaries.org

Fred Simon: 
Executive Producer
fsimon@documentaries.org
 
Joe Dunn: 
Project Manager
joe@documentaries.org
HAPPY RETIREMENT TONY!
CID Board President Anthony Logalbo is retiring from his position as Treasurer of the Town of Concord, MA after 36 years of excellent service.  During all that time he has also been on the Board at CID, serving as either our board Treasurer or President. I am thrilled to say that he hasn't yet retired from CID, and that we hope we'll be using some more of that new free time he has!  Congratulations Tony!  To read more about our Board President Tony Logalbo click HERE!
IS YOUR CID SPONSORED FILM LISTED IN THE CID CATALOGUE?
To help mark our 35th Anniversary the CID is attempting to compile as complete a catalogue as possible of every film we have sponsored since 1981.  The catalogue will prove an invaluable resource for researchers while providing us with an additional tool with which to market, distribute and increase the cultural impact of CID sponsored films. Once completed, we hope to be able to approach museums, educational institutions, heritage organizations and activists across the globe with programming tailored to their specific missions and vocation.  Don't miss out!




APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE 2017 PRIDE OF THE OCEAN CRUISE
Deadline is October 15, 2016

 
Applications are now being accepted for CID & CineSLAM's Vermont's Short Film Festival (Vermont, June 2017) and CineSLAM Film Slam Workshops (which takes place on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, sailing round-trip from Fort Lauderdale to the Eastern Caribbean, March 4-12, 2017).  The CineSLAM Film Slam Seminars and Retreat takes place during the Pride of the Ocean Film Festival, the first and only LGBT film festival on the high seas! The 2017 application period is now OPEN. The final deadline is October 15, 2016.  Selected applicants will receive Merit Scholarships provided in part by a grant from the Center for Independent Documentary and the Chessie Foundation.
 
For full application details visit www.cineslam.com.   For more information about Pride of the Ocean Film Festival on the High Seas visit www.prideoftheocean.com.
Subscribe to The LEF Foundation Newsletter

If you haven't already done so sign up for the LEF Foundation Newsletter for the latest information on funding opportunities, festival deadlines, calls for proposals and more!  Just add your email address to the "E-News Signup" box at the link below:
CID FILMS 
BLINDSIDED
 
Blindsided, a documentary about same-sex domestic abuse will be screening at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival on Sunday, 9/18 at 12:00pm.
 Firehouse Center for the Arts
One Market Square
Newburyport, MA
Q&A will be directly after the film screens.

Blindsided documents 15 years in the life of Patricia Livingstone, a feisty artist losing her sight and hearing while trying to survive her abusive girlfriend. Combined with Patricia's unique collection of home videos, the film documents the couple's romance, abuse, break up and, finally, friendship. This epic story - conveyed with a tone set by the quirky humor of Patricia's narration - shines a light on domestic abuse, disability, forgiveness, and what it truly means to be independent.

Blindsided will also air on MPBN (Maine Public Broadcasting Network) on October 13th at 10 PM to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month! 
ELECTORAL DYSFUNCTION
National Cable Broadcast Premiere Slated for Fall 2016

The producers of Electoral Dysfunction (David Deschamps, Leslie D. Farrell and Bennett Singer) are pleased to announce that their feature-length documentary on voting in America will have its cable broadcast premiere in October on Pivot, a television network from Participant Media that is dedicated to delivering entertainment that inspires social change (www.pivot.tv). Hosted by the Emmy-winning political humorist Mo Rocca, Electoral Disfunction was praised by The New York Times as a "film that lives up to its title, exploring problems of nationwide accessibility and fairness" and by NPR's WBEZ Radio as "fascinating, fun, frightening [and] enlightening." The documentary was featured in The New York Times' Op-Docs series and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award (the ABA's highest honor for media projects that foster public understanding of the law).  The filmmakers will be participating in numerous campus and community screenings and conferences this fall, including a keynote session at the Teaching About the 2016 Elections Conference hosted by the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A 35-minute Classroom Edition of the film and an extensive curriculum guide are available at no charge to middle and high school teachers via www.electoraldysfunction.org/classroom. Electoral Disfunction previously aired nationally on PBS and can be seen on iTunes, Amazon Prime, and Google Play; a companion book was published by The New Press. This project was made possible by generous support from The Ford Foundation, The MacArthur Foundation, The Agnes Varis Trust, and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, among others. 
INSURRECTIONS

What are the ideas and theories that drive insurrections? We have witnessed massive uprisings in recent years, from the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, to Black Lives Matter. These insurrections have shaken the very core of our world system, and they will continue. Yet we lack a theory of what is driving them. "Insurrections" delves into the thought that is moving millions of people by engaging the thinkers and activists that shape, and are shaped by, the uprisings all around us. 

Join the story of Insurrections by helping it be told. Pitch in to support our crowdfunding campaign to help us tell a story of the way that new thinking and ideas are emerging out of today's most important struggles.  Donate  HERE

Join our E Mail List, and follow us on Facebook & Twitter
FINDING THE GOLD WITHIN

Theatrical screenings and university campus outreach of Finding the Gold Within have persistently confirmed that the documentary is a great starter for honest discussion about racial justice. The film and its protagonists have been opening minds and hearts nationwide.  With the start of a new school year, and with young people evermore eager to discuss race, privilege, education and new models for masculinity, Finding the Gold Within is a perfect resource for educating about empathy, cultural sensitivity, and intersectionality, and stands out as a springboard for discussion.
Our contribution this fall is an exclusive limited offer for 50% off our educational DVD. 
To learn more, read the Karina Films Newsletter 

In Finding the Gold Within six young Black men from Akron, Ohio blossom in front of our eyes through the struggles and triumphs of four years of college.  The young men's vulnerability, combined with high levels of confidence and self-reflection, invites the viewer to learn what it means to be young, Black and male. 


Finding the Gold Within is an extraordinary film, worthy of the widest possible audience as our country continues to grapple with racial injustice..."

 
PATCHWORKS FILMS
 
PATCHWORKS FILMS is headed to IFP's Independent Film Week with our CID project Evolution Cuba, Stories of Art & Change.  We have a new trailer and you can follow the stories of our Cuban adventures here.
MAMALIGA BLUES
Learning about the past to understand the present and have some perspective on the future.

Mamaliga Blues has been selected to the 7th Ethnographic International Film Festival of Recife in Brazil which will be held September 13th to 16th. The film will be in the running for Best Documentary and Best Ethnographic film.  
JUST ONE DROP

We still have quite a bit to do -- this stage of post production is always the most challenging! Making the leap from rough cut, to fine cut to "locked picture" (when all the editing decisions have been made), to working with a composer, a post house and then, finally to a completed film!  At the same time, I have been thinking ahead to the distribution in 2017! If you haven't already, please check out the potential screenings on our Website.  Worldwide response! Do you want to help?  Become a member of our private Facebook Group and consider making a donation to help get us to the finish line. 
If you have been following this film for many years, thank you for taking this journey with me.  If you have just joined us, welcome!
Stay in touch because I love hearing from you!
Much love,
Laurel
QUEERING YOGA 
 
Queering Yoga is a feature-length documentary about the Queer and Trans yoga movement for healing, self-acceptance, self-discovery, and empowerment. The documentary explores the intersection of Queer/Trans  identities and the burgeoning tradition of yoga. Participants share their stories of personal transformation and healing through yoga. Queer/Trans filmmakers along with Queer and/or Trans yoga teachers are creating a film about our community, by the community and for the community!   The Queering Yoga documentary is currently long-term fundraising! Please spread the word, share amongst your networks, loved ones, and contribute if you are able.  Either way - be sure to visit our website HERE!
AN INTIMATE DANCE

The CID documentary An Intimate Dance:  Journeys Through Movement & Touch will screen October 8 in Los Angeles as a selection of the Awareness Film Festival
LA Live Regal Cinemas 
1000 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015 
at 5 PM .

What happens when we use dance to push our physical and emotional limits? Can we heal ourselves? This documentary bridges mindfulness, vulnerability, inclusion and neuroscience.  In addition, the filmmaker,  Sanford Lewis has launched a podcast series Ideas From The Body Mind utilizing the film's interviews with neuroscientists and dancers to explore how body-mind thinking can help to build a sustainable and inclusive world. 
To check out our trailer and to learn more visit us HERE!
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED FILM
Seeking West Coast Presentation Venues.

Community Supported Film director Michael Sheridan will conduct classes and make a campus wide presentation over three days in October for the Film Studies and Multimedia Design departments at Highline College in De Moines, Washington.  CSFilm is looking to do additional screenings and presentations of our Haitian and Afghan made films on the west coast the last two weeks of October.  Please let us know if you have any contacts or suggestions.  These could be film organizations or community-based or issue-oriented organizations with an interest in economic and social development, alternative media, Haiti or Afghanistan.  

Description: Bring a filmmaking project that is currently in pre-production, production or post-production for mentoring and instruction in areas of need and interest.  Students are expected to be self-motivated and work with minimal supervision in the development of their projects.  The instructor will serve as facilitator and mentor to assist students in their efforts to move their projects forward.  It is not necessary to complete the project within this nine week course.  In-class time will focus first on group review and critique of student projects.  Based on needs and interests individuals and groups will then get specific pre, pro or post- production training.  Critiques will evolve into screening of works-in-progress.  Students will learn from the development of each other's projects.
617-834-7206
THE GUYS NEXT DOOR

What a wonderful summer! Thank you to everyone who came out to support the film. The Guys Next Door has been an audience favorite at film festivals along the East Coast! We received audience awards at both the Woods Hole Film Festival and at the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. We were also awarded an Alternative Spirit Award which highlights the best LGBTQ films at the Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival. It has been an exciting time.  Come join us for a Fall screening! We've listed upcoming screening dates below. We are particularly excited to bring The Guys Next Door to more conservative parts of the US like Alabama and Indiana! 

Upcoming Screenings:  
Sun, Sept 18, 2016, 4:00PM, Screening Room
Co-directors Allie Humenuk and Amy Geller will be present.
Advance tickets available at the Firehouse Center for the Arts.

27th Annual Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
October 2 (Time and location to be announced)
Co-director Allie Humenuk will be present.

YES! Film Festival 
Columbus, Indiana 
October 28-30 (Screening date and time to be announced)
Co-director Amy Geller will be present. 

Fairhope Film Festival
Fairhope, Alabama
November 10 (Time and location to be announced)
Co-director Allie Humenuk will be present.

Please help us spread the word about screenings of The Guys Next Door
Our Webpage has a full up-to-date list of all of our screenings.

With gratitude, 
Allie and Amy

Kickstarter Backers: We sent out all of the rewards to a our fabulous backers! If you were expecting a reward and have not received it yet, please email us with your shipping address at info@asquaredfilms.com.
FINDING KUKAN
An update from filmmaker Robin Lung:
After 8 years of work on my first feature documentary, I'm thrilled to report that Finding Kukan will have its World Premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival in November.  It's been an incredible filmmaking journey so far and I look forward to sharing the film with all of you in the near future. Please keep an eye out for us and introduce yourselves if you make it to a screening. 
 
In Finding Kukan. filmmaker Robin Lung investigates the case of Li Ling-Ai, the un-credited female producer of Kukan, a 1941 Academy Award-winning color documentary about World War II China that's been lost for decades. When Lung finds a badly damaged film print of Kukan, she pieces together the inspirational story of the two renegades behind the making of it -- Li Ling-Ai and cameraman Rey Scott. Finding Kukan uses rare archival footage and innovative shadow theater re-enactments to create an unforgettable portrait of a female filmmaking pioneer, and sheds light on the long history of racial and gender discrimination behind the camera.
Learn more about the project HERE
PERFECT STRANGERS

Jan Krawitz presented Perfect Strangers at the Transplant Games in Cleveland and the Bioethics Conference at Georgetown University in June.  In April and May, she screened the film at American University, Temple University, and Hunter College. 
 
DAWNLAND / FIRST LIGHT

For centuries, the United States government has taken Native American children away from their tribes, devastating parents and denying children their traditions, culture, and identity. First Light documents these practices from the 1800s to today, and tells the story of an unprecedented experiment in truth-telling and healing for Wabanaki people and child welfare workers in Maine.  First Light will be at screening at CIFF the weekend of September 17th.  First Light is the short based on our upcoming feature film Dawnland.  You can donate of learn more about the project HERE 
EAST LA INTERCHANGE

We are thrilled to announce that East LA Interchange is now available for purchase on DVD for educational use! Please forward this to your friends at schools, colleges, universities, organizations and community groups. More info can be found on our website.

The DVD is jam-packed with Bonus Features:
  • Closed Captions
  • Spanish Subtitles
  • Chapter Selections
  • Bonus Scene of the East L.A. Classic
  • Special Panel Discussion at the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU with Professor George J. Sanchez, Professor Jack Tchen, Damaris Reyes, and Director Betsy Kalin 
  • Special Panel Discussion at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival with Don Hodes, Leo Frumkin, Ruby Gómez, Betsy Kalin, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, Lillian Roybal Rose and Momo Yashima.
East LA Interchange is a powerful tool for educational use. The film has multidisciplinary appeal and is of interest to courses within History, Latino/a Studies, Urban Planning, Architecture, Sociology, Anthropology, Ethnic and Cultural Studies, Geography, American Studies, Political Science, and Film.  Filmmaker Betsy Kalin is currently booking a campus tour with the film and will be traveling across the U.S. in the fall and spring semesters. Upcoming screenings will be posted on our website and Facebook page.

East LA Interchange follows the evolution of working-class, immigrant Boyle Heights, from multiethnic to predominately Latino and a center of Mexican-American culture in the U.S. Boyle Heights was once far more diverse than most U.S. cities; Latinos, Asians, African-Americans, and the largest settlement of Jews west of Chicago lived and worked together side by side. The film shows how this neighborhood survived the construction of the largest freeway system in North America that threatened to destroy their proud community, and now faces the threat of gentrification.  

Since its premier last July, it has won eight awards at film festivals across the country: the Best Feature Film award at the New Urbanism Film Festival, the Jury Award at the Frozen River Film Festival, the Award of Excellence at IndieFEST, the Audience Awards at the Highland Park Independent Film Festival, the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles and the L.A. Jewish Film Festival, the Honorable Mention Jury Award at the Richmond International Film Festival, and was nominated for the Josh Burton Award for Excellence at the Beloit International Film Festival.

The film features will.i.am (The Black Eyed Peas), Father Greg Boyle (Homeboy Industries), Josefina Lopez (Real Women Have Curves) and is narrated by Danny Trejo (Machete).

Watch the trailer or click here to buy the DVD!
THE FAITHFUL

Annie Berman was named one of Independent Magazine's "Ten Filmmakers To Watch" in 2016 for her upcoming feature The Faithful.  This August, The Faithful was one of three films awarded a UnionDocs editing retreat at the Pocantico Center of The Rockefeller Brothers Fund.   An excerpt was publicly presented at a sneak preview screening at Union Docs.  Learn more at The Faithful's Website, follow the film on Twitter or Facebook, or follow Annie herself on Twitter or her Website.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

The producers of The American Revolution are working hard to complete the film for the 50th Anniversary of WBCN-FM, the subject of the film, in early 2018,  with additional interviews being shot this fall.  But they can't do it without your help! Make your tax-deductible donation now toward their goal of $14,595 to help them film additional needed interviews with musicians, political activists, station staff and listeners to complete this non-profit production.  And . . . for a limited time, donors of $250, $500 and $1,000 will receive their choice of an original photo signed by famed photojournalist Peter Simon, including legendary images of his sister Carly Simon, James Taylor, Robert Plant, Bob Marley, Jerry Garcia, or images of social change.   And for a limited time, donate $100 and get a copy of Peter Simon's two DVD boxed set "Through the Lens," with more than 300 of Peter's iconic images and his fascinating stories from behind the lens.  
Learn more and make your tax-deductible donation HERE

We changed the world one time.  We can do it again. But we need your help!
COHIBERNATION
 
Cohibernation is a documentation of long term gay male bear relationships, concentrating on 6 couples of varying age, ethnicity and length of relationship from 10 - 26 years.  We've asked questions about what it's like to live as a male couple, what are the challenges and rewards, as well as what is unique to each couple.  The couples discuss monogamy, non-monogamy, their place and identity as gay men in the bear subculture, the larger gay culture, and what it's like being in a long-term relationship.

Most gay films focus on "gay" as issue or the dramatic engine for the film.  Concurrently, there is a wish fulfillment aspect to many films, of getting the guy at the end of the film, while few explore what it's like to live as a gay couple.  There's a lot of "it gets better," but not a great deal documenting when it is. The bear community and bear/normal body are also under-represented in the community at large.  Our goal with this short film is to celebrate gay couples and explore what happens in relationship while also documenting our own history.   

You can see the trailer and a little video about each of the couples at the website, visit us on Facebook, or help us raise money for post-production on our Indiegogo page!
THE KUMU HINA PROJECT

We're thrilled to announce that Kumu Hina is now streaming on Netflix.  If you missed the PBS Independent Lens broadcast last year it's now just a click away.  Good reviews and high ratings will help keep this story about gender diversity and inclusion stay visible on this popular platform.
The film recently received the Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial Award, bestowed on a nominee whose activities significantly impact education and the achievement of equal opportunity for Asians and Pacific Islanders.  The award noted that among Kumu Hina's greatest accomplishments is the development of a multi-award winning PBS production called A Place In the Middle which presents viewers with a powerful message focusing on acceptance, love and anti-bullying.  Now the center piece of an educational campaign for gender diversity and inclusion, the film has gone on to be the most widely used resource on Hawaiian culture at PBS Learning Media.
PRESIDENT OF BEAUTY
The Life and Times of Lester Young

Director Henry Ferrini is among the recipients who received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which gave out more than $82 million for projects across the country.  Ferrini received an ArtWorks award of $20,000 to help fund the production of his ongoing documentary film about iconic jazz saxophonist Lester Young (1909-1959).  To read the full Salem News' article about the award click HERE.  
HACKER HOUSE
ITVS awarded Diversity Development Fund support to Kenji Yamamoto and Nancy Kelly's Hacker House documentary. They will use some of those funds to film one of the hackers in Lagos, Nigeria.
A hacker house is a shared living space that welcomes fledgling entrepreneurs who want to live with one another and work cheaply while trying to break into the high-tech economy. Set in Silicon Valley, the heart of the digital revolution, Kenji Yamamoto's Hacker House explores this unique living situation through the people who make it tick.  The hackers of Hacker House are motivated not by the desire to steal and destroy but rather by the desire to succeed in the high-tech world through clever, constructive work.   Donate Here

We're currently in the planning stages of our Annual Fall Event. This has historically been one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, and we could always use more help. To learn more about how you can volunteer, please email Rick Todd at email@constantcontact.com.
. Learn More.
IRISH-AMERICAN MOVIE HOOLEY
 
2 Gingers Irish Whiskey will present the 2nd Hooley, opening with the Chicago premiere of Kevin Baggott's haunting, comic road movie, Beneath Disheveled Stars, at 8PM Friday September 30th. Baggott's mythical fable premiered in Ireland in 2014 at The Cork Indie Film Festival and has screened at festivals across the USA.  Stars is a unique and funny odyssey, about an Irish American guy taking his mother's ashes back to Ireland This screening will be followed immediately by an audience discussion with Baggott and followed by an opening night reception at the Emerald Loop Pub on Wabash.
Saturday night, October 1st  at 8PM, the Hooley will present A Doctor's Sword, the incredible tale of a young doctor from West Cork, Aidan MacCarthy, who survived some of the most harrowing episodes of WWII, including the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, and his family's search to uncover the origin of the Japanese Samurai sword which he brought home and now resides in MacCarthy's bar in Castletownbere. This extraordinary film will make you proud to be Irish. Producer Bob Jackson will attend the screening and discussion.
Sunday afternoon October 2nd will host the Chicago Premiere of Fis Na Fuiseoige / The Lark's View at 5PM. One hundred years after the Easter Rising, Fis Na Fuiseoige / The Lark's View affirms the Irish connection to the land in mythology, history, and legend. Director Aodh Ó Coileáin will attend the screening and discussion in person.

 Learn More Here

All screenings and events are at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., Chicago

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