Community Cinema Screening of LAKSHMI & ME in Chicago

Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film LAKSHMI & ME this past weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center. The film gives an intimate look at the relationship between an employer and servant in India and the ingrained social and cultural attitudes that govern their lives. Regional Outreach Coordinator Naomi Walker gives an overview of the event.

A large crowd gathers at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Speakers Anuja Mehta and Dr. Tarini Bedi discuss the Community Cinema screening of LAKSHMI & ME with Regional Outreach Coordinator Naomi Walker.

A huge crowd packed the Chicago Cultural Center to sit in a dark theater on a beautiful sunny day to watch the Community Cinema screening of LAKSHMI & ME and participate in a lively discussion. In one word: Miraculous!

Guest speakers included: Dr. Tarini Bedi, associate director of the South Asia language and area center and the committee on Southern Asian Studies at the University of Chicago; and Anuja Mehta, coordinator of transitional housing and case manager for Apna Ghar, Inc., a domestic violence shelter for Asian women.

Dr. Bedi and Ms. Mehta gave their initial impressions and thoughts about the film. Mehta went deeper by giving background information on abuse of domestic workers and gave an overview of the types of difficulties South Asian immigrants face in the United States. Many of these women have a hard time dealing with domestic violence and family members often do not come forward to get help she explained.

Dr. Bedi got many questions from audience members looking for a better understanding of the caste system, its history and the different sub-castes and class differences in India. While the issue is very complicated, Dr. Bedi cleared up some common misunderstandings about caste.

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Tags: caste, chicago, free, India, lakshmi and me

Community Cinema Launches 5th Season of Free Film Events in September

A Packed House at Community Cinema Chicago

Join us in September 2009 for another season of Community Cinema. Stay tuned for the announcement of our line-up on July 29th.

Community Cinema wrapped up another record-breaking season last season with more than 40,000 people attending 400 events in 55 communities across the country. Working behind-the-scenes were Community Cinema’s Regional Outreach Coordinators and Producing Partners who organized the events and worked with over 1,000 local and national organizations, including American Legion Auxiliary, Disabled American Veterans, California Newsreel, Women Make Movies, The Green Belt Movement, The Nature Conservancy, 350.org and many more.

Tags: discussion, documentary, films, free

Independent Lens Receives Two Nominations in the News and Documentary Emmy® Awards

Brett Morgen’s innovative feature film CHICAGO 10 was among the nominees for the 30th annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards announced this week. Community Cinema featured CHICAGO 10 at over 50 free screening events nationwide in September 2008.

Emmy winners to be announced on September 21 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of jazz at Lincoln Center

Four-time Emmy® Award–winning PBS series Independent Lens announced today that two of its acclaimed films have been nominated for the 30th annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards.

The awards recognize outstanding achievement in broadcast journalism during the 2008 calendar year. To date, the series has won three Emmys® including one Prime Time Emmy® for the landmark mini-series A LION IN THE HOUSE which Community Cinema featured in May 2006.

Independent Lens’s presentation of CHICAGO 10 has received a nomination in the Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Graphic Design and Art Direction category. Mixing animation with archival footage, director Brett Morgen’s CHICAGO 10 explores the buildup to and unraveling of the protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the ensuing 1969 conspiracy trial. CHICAGO 10 portrays the struggle of young Americans speaking out and taking a stand in the face of an oppressive and armed government.

HARD ROAD HOME, directed by Macky Alston, received a nomination in the Outstanding Informational Programming – Long Form category. The film follows two former felons in different stages of life “on the outside.”

To view the full list of nominees, visit: http://emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news_30th_nominees_data_list.html

Tags: Brett Morgen, Chicago 10, emmy awards, Independent Lens, itvs, pbs, television