The latest news about upcoming films, festivals, funding, the independent film community, interactive projects and public television from ITVS.
BEYOND THE BOX MONTHLY from ITVS
July 2008
1. FEATURES
NPR and Independent Lens Team Up for Get My Vote
Filmocracy Winners Make a Statement!
A Sneak Peak at Next Season's Independent Lens at TCA Press Tour
2. DEPARTMENTS
ITVS Funding Deadlines
Ask Programming
Community Cinema
ITVS in the News
ITVS on the Road
Applause!
3. THIS MONTH ON TV
July Programs
NPR and Independent Lens Team Up for Get My Vote
What will it take for political candidates to get your vote? It seems everyone has their own litmus test when selecting a candidate—whether it's healthcare reform, the war in Iraq or strengthening the economy. But could it be something else altogether?
To find out, NPR and Independent Lens teamed up for Get My Vote, an online forum where visitors can upload audio, video or text to discuss the issues that will drive them to the ballot box this November.
Make your voice heard and join in the discussion. Your thoughts will be posted on the Get My Vote forum and the Independent Lens VOTE DEMOCRACY! website. Be sure to tag your submissions with “Independent Lens”!
Tell the candidates what concerns you >>
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Filmocracy Winners Make a Statement!
KING CORN, one of this season's most popular docs on Independent Lens, provided the backdrop for the first Filmocracy mashup contest where we asked people to mix it up, make a statement and answer the question: If you are what you eat, what are you?
Many people used the powerful medium of film to illustrate their point of view on the politics of food using KING CORN clips and footage from Getty Images. Participants uploaded their own clips as well and mixed it all up with the Eyespot online editing tool.
And without further ado... the Filmocracy contest winners are:
Grand Prize: (Chosen by the KING CORN filmmakers)
"Corn King Takes Over the World" by Kylee Darcy
Kylee, a 19-year-old health-conscious sophomore at UC Berkeley, discovered the Filmocracy contest while researching the relationship between nutrition, exercise and mental health. Her film— a hand-drawn animation short—secured the top prize of $1,000 along with a KING CORN DVD, soundtrack and other fabulous corn-free prizes! Be on the lookout for her film, which will screen throughout the country at Independent Lens Community Cinema events this fall.
Highest Rated: (Chosen by Eyespot viewers)
"The Politics of Food" by Brandon Savoie
Brandon, a 22-year-old student and forklift operator from Louisiana, has a passion for indie filmmaking and entered the contest to comment on the fast food industry. "Even if I didn't win," he said, "I thought it would be a good opportunity to help inform others of the irresponsibility of the major fast food companies."
Most Popular: (Chosen by Eyespot viewers)
"And So It Is" by Ananta
The winner of the Most Popular designation declined to comment on this submission—a montage of vintage stock film images revealing America's longstanding love affair with junk food.
Watch the Independent Lens Filmocracy contest winners (all under three minutes) >>
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A Sneak Peek at Next Season's Independent Lens at TCA Press Tour
Another season of Independent Lens has come to an end. And what a year it has been! Winning our first Primetime Emmy as well as securing two Peabody Awards, among other honors, certainly has everyone at ITVS excited about the groundbreaking and innovative programs coming up.
On July 12, Independent Lens Series Producer Lois Vossen will announce three new programs for next season at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, a bi-annual event that gives television critics a sneak peek at upcoming TV programs.
“We are very excited about this year's press tour,” says Vossen. “It's a great way to show critics the amazing work of independent filmmakers from the United States and around the world. In just six seasons, Independent Lens has established itself as a premiere showcase for independent film on television. We think our new season will certainly enthuse viewers and critics alike.”
Here's an insider's look at what's to come:
Brett Morgen's CHICAGO 10, a boldly original film mixing animation and archival footage, explores the buildup to and unraveling of the 1968 Chicago Conspiracy Trial. With animated representations of all the key figures of the trial voiced by top independent film talent (Hank Azaria, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan Baker, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Nick Nolte and the late Roy Scheider), CHICAGO 10 introduces the events of 1968 to a new generation.
Gonzalo Arijon's award-winning documentary STRANDED: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors tells the extraordinary survival tale of a group of young men who lived for 72 days in the Andes Mountains after their plane crashed in October 1972.
Acclaimed Pakistani journalist Sabiha Sumar's DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT: A Nation's Journey features a rare and intimate interview with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf about his political past and vision for the future.
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ITVS Funding Deadlines
OPEN CALL
Deadline: Friday, July 18, 2008
Open Call provides finishing funds for single public television programs on any subject, from any viewpoint and in any genre. Projects must have begun production as evidenced by a work-in-progress tape.
Diversity Development Fund
Deadline: September 26, 2008
The Diversity Development Fund seeks talented minority producers to develop projects for public television. ITVS supports minority artists in telling their stories and reaching audiences often overlooked by conventional programming. Projects must be in the research or development phase, and cannot have begun production.
Have additional questions about the Diversity Development Fund? Email Kathryn_Washington@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x258. Applicants will be notified of the status of their request within four to six weeks.
Find guidelines and FAQs for these upcoming calls >>
Learn more about ITVS funding including helpful tips and resources >>
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Ask Programming
ITVS programming staff answer questions from filmmakers about the funding process:
Q. I have a project in development, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate for the Diversity Development Fund (DDF). Is the DDF strictly for stories about diverse or minority communities?
A. The DDF was created to support minority producers but does not specify which stories they must tell. However, we are looking for programs that fit the ITVS mission to serve underserved audiences, take creative risks, explore complex issues, inspire dialogue and express points of view seldom seen on commercial or public television.
Q. I'm a minority producer preparing my application for the Diversity Development Fund (DDF). How much research for my project should I have completed by the time I apply? For example, should I have picked my characters at this phase of the process?
A. You need to have enough R&D to demonstrate that your story is a viable project that will work for the screen. This means that your project is more than just an idea. You need to have access to your characters or potential characters. If you need to travel or visit archives, you should be able to justify where you want to go and why. If you've shot some tests or pre-interviews, that's great. But, if you already have an edited reel, or if you've already shot a great deal, you're too far along for DDF. Apply for Open Call production funding instead.
The application deadline for the Diversity Development Fund is Friday, September 26.
For more information, please read the FAQ >>
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Community Cinema
Every month between September and May in over 50 cities nationwide, ITVS Community Cinema convenes community members, leading organizations and public television stations to encourage dialogue and action. These free monthly screenings of select Independent Lens programs could never occur without the strong support, dedication and hard work of our local community partners.
Throughout last season, KETC, a public television station in St. Louis, MO, truly stood out. The station partnered with the Missouri History Museum and facilitated screenings that drew more than 1,200 St. Louisans to attend and engaged the support of 35 diverse community organizations.
“Through public dialogue, KETC raised awareness about important social issues in the Liberian, Sikh, new American and African American communities in St. Louis and connected them to leading organizations which offer resources,” said Sydney Meyer, coordinator of education services at KETC. “ITVS Community Cinema matches our overall mission of bringing St. Louis together as we connect our region to the world and the world to St. Louis.”
ITVS congratulates KETC and the other community partners on another successful year of helping to make a difference in their communities.
Are you a community organizer, educator or facilitator who wants to get involved? Inspired by the work of KETC? It's not too late to participate in the next season of Independent Lens Community Cinema. ITVS provides local partners with a package of resources to help build successful events and screenings in their communities.
Find out how your organization can get involved >>
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ITVS In the News
Media coverage of current, past and upcoming broadcasts:
The Miami Herald: 'Evil' Describes Kidnappers of Japanese
Filmmakers Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim worked six years on ABDUCTION, and their time was well spent. They've accumulated a wealth of footage that allows them to tell the story virtually without narration.
The New York Times: Surf's Up, Channel Surfers
ABDUCTION: The Megumi Yokota Story: The season of the documentary series Independent Lens ends with this haunting 2006 film...
Asia Pacific Arts: Searching for Megumi Yokota
Award-winning filmmakers Sheridan and Kim are sensitive to exposing the controversy of these mysterious kidnappings. In fact, the film successfully highlights a lot of what makes the North Korea abductions such a paradox.
Hartford Courant: DEEP WATER
DEEP WATER, a mesmerizing and surprising documentary, has more twists than many good Hollywood thrillers. But with lots of documentary footage, biographical footage and interviews, it's one of the strongest installments of Independent Lens all year, and that's saying a lot.
San Antonio Express-News: PBS to air a bit of Reality TV on a Texas Prison Reformer
Go out of your way to watch WRIT WRITER on PBS and learn how Texas has punished the errant, and the story about a love that didn't last.
NPR: Day to Day
A new documentary, THE COOL SCHOOL, by filmmaker Morgan Neville pieces together the history of the L.A. art scene.
Los Angeles Times: THE COOL SCHOOL Paints an Entertaining Picture of the Gallery That Catalyzed L.A.'s Postwar Art Scene
... [A] lively, absorbing documentary about the dawn of Los Angeles' postwar emergence as a cultural powerhouse.
Time Magazine (Blog): THE COOL SCHOOL
A running soundtrack to keep the joint jumping, more data points than grace notes, no time to pause. ... See it for all parts having to do with Ed Kienholz and for the good archival footage, including some of Marcel Duchamp...
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ITVS on the Road
Join ITVS staff here, there and everywhere.
Encounters
Cape Town, South Africa, July 3-13
Vice President of Programming Claire Aguilar will be at Encounters on July 4 and participating in a distribution, co-production and sales workshop as well as meeting one-on-one with filmmakers.
BritDoc
Keble College in Oxford, England, July 23-25
Programming Manager, ITVS International, Cynthia Kane will be participating in two pitching forums: More4 Big Pitch and The Good Pitch. She will also be participating in one-on-one meetings and attending screenings.
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Applause!
Several ITVS-funded programs were recently recognized for excellence:
At this year's Silverdocs film festival: THE ENGLISH SURGEON, the story of a doctor who helps treat those suffering from brain tumors in Ukraine, won the Sterling World Feature Award. THE ORDER OF MYTHS, which looks at the racial divide at America's oldest Mardi Gras celebration, won the Cinematic Vision Award.
IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA, an intimate documentary about Africa's first freely elected female head of state, won Best Political Documentary and the Special Jury Prize at the BANFF International Television Festival. It also received the Millennium Development Goals Award at the One World Media Awards.
ABC COLOMBIA, which explores the realities that nurture and perpetuate violence in a rural community, won the Spirit Award for Documentary at the Brooklyn International Film Festival.
FAUBOURG TREME: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, which looks at the struggle of America's oldest black neighborhood to preserve its character amid gentrification in New Orleans' French Quarter, won Best Bay Area Documentary at the Golden Gate Awards and Best Documentary at the Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Video Festival.
Congratulations to all the filmmakers!
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July Programs
ELECTION DAY
By Katy Chevigny
July 1, 2008 at 10 PM on P.O.V. on PBS
On November 2, 2004, millions of Americans put the world's most famous democracy to the test at polling places across the country. ELECTION DAY follows a dozen of these citizens—from the plains of South Dakota to the palm trees of southern Florida—over the course of 24 hours. Uplifting yet troubling, their experiences offer rare insight into a hallowed American ritual.
DISCOVERING DOMINGA
By Patricia Flynn and Mary Jo McConahay
July 6, 2008 at 10 PM on Global Voices on PBS World
When Iowa housewife Denese Becker returns to the Guatemalan village where she was born, she begins a journey towards finding her roots, but one filled with harrowing revelations. Denese, born Dominga, was nine when she became her family's sole survivor of a massacre of Maya peasants. Two years later, she was adopted by an American family. Denese's journey home is a voyage of self-discovery and a political awakening.
SHAYFEEN.COM: We're Watching You
By Leila Menjou and Sherief Elkatsha
July 13, 2008 at 11 PM on Link TV
Take an intimate look at the recent multi-party elections in Egypt through the eyes of three women working to assure the election's legitimacy. The women provide unprecedented access to activists operating in and around the highest levels of both government and opposition groups.
LOVE INVENTORY
By David Fisher and Yahaly Gat
July 13, 2008 at 10 PM on Global Voices on PBS World
Israeli filmmaker David Fisher inspires his four siblings to begin an emotionally challenging search for their long-lost sister. In a creative documentary style, with revealing moments of grief and humor, Fisher dissects a tangled web of relationships to uncover the dark secrets of the past, secrets that his parents were afraid to unearth and that are representative of Israel's own birth pains.
THE LAST CONQUISTADOR
By John J. Valadez and Cristina Ibarra
July 15, 2008 at 10 PM on P.O.V. on PBS
Renowned sculptor John Houser is finishing his masterpiece: the largest bronze equestrian statue in the world. Native Americans, however, are horrified because the monument depicts the conquistador Juan de Oñate, a man who enslaved New Mexico's Indians, hacked off their feet and murdered entire pueblos. Racial tensions boil over as a brilliant and quixotic artist does battle with Hispanics, Indians and Mestizos over the purpose of public art and the meaning of American history.
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