Young@Heart director Bob Cilman doing a run-through of the James Brown classic "I Feel Good"

As a gift to our audiences, Community Cinema presented the heart-warming and inspiring hit documentary YOUNG@HEART this past December 2009. Many of our over 42 free events included live performances. Exceptional seniors shared their talents and personal stories of courage, persistence, and triumph in the face of adversity.

Our national partners created unique ways for audiences to learn more about the link between creativity, culture, and aging. The mission of the National Center for Creative Aging is to foster an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and healthy aging and to developing programs that build on this understanding. Learn more about their public awareness campaign “The Art of Aging: Creativity Matters” and the center’s free online resource guide “Creativity Matters: The Arts and Aging Toolkit.”

WTTW Reception for young musicians and their families at the Chicago Cultural Center

Local partners connected our audiences with “on the ground” resources to turn the passion they experience during the film into action in their community. Audience members have said after an event, “I’m going to look for a local choir for my husband!” and “Made me want to join a chorus even if I can’t sing.” Our partners included such distinguished and esteemed partners as the Jazz Institute of Chicago, WTTW Channel 11, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (BMAC), KETC, the Missouri History Museum, the SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center, the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Office of Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, and Project:Involve. Project:Involve’s mission is to foster diversity in the film industry and to promote independent film making.

Our events included many super seniors who keep young at heart by performing their talents into their 70′s, 80′s, 90′s, and beyond. Watch videos and see photos from our events.

In Chicago, jazz legends Fred Anderson, Mwata Bowden, and Willie Pickens who have all known each other for years spoke following the film. Mwata and Willie have made regular appearances and Fred’s famous club, The Velvet Lounge.

Pianist Willie Pickens explained that constantly exploring such a vast art form keeps one young at heart.

From left to right: Steve Martin (Young@Heart chorus member), Bob Cilman (Young@Heart chorus director), Danny Lichtenfeld (BMAC director), Jeanne Hatch (Young@Heart chorus member), Joe LoMonaco (BMAC trustee)

At our free event at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center we had the great pleasure of welcoming Bob Cilman, director of the Young@Heart chorus, and two members of the chorus, Steve Martin and Jeanne Hatch. Despite the worst weather forecast of the winter, about 35-40 audience members showed up for the event, which included a pre-screening meet-and-greet and a post-screening Q&A session. Bob and the chorus members were, in fact, the first to arrive — the trip up to Brattleboro from Northampton, Mass. being much shorter than they had anticipated. All the guests and the hearty and courageous audience members enjoyed mingling and talking about the film.

Seattle's Raging Grannies Keep Young at Heart By Performing Humorous Songs About Current Events

The Seattle Raging Grannies opened the show in Seattle with a few humorous ditties they’ve written about the issues of today. The Grannies say on their web site, “In the tradition of wise women elders, the mission of the Seattle Raging Grannies is to promote global peace, justice, and social and economic equality by raising public awareness through the medium of song and humor.” The audience in the crowded theatre applauded after each of the Grannies’ numbers. Though they rarely all perform together, the Grannies chorus has over 20 members throughout the area. They told us, “We sing out to gain respect for all persons and encourage everyone to grow above their prejudices.” Please enjoy a clip from the Seattle Raging Grannies performance ripped from the headlines.

Gloria Lockhart (63, in pink on the right) has the distinct honor of being one of the first African American women to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro

At the historic Warner Grand Theatre in the Los Angeles area, 15 amazing seniors wowed the crowd at a pre-film talent show. The show ended with a very inspiring senior, Gloria Lockhart – 63 years young – who has the distinct honor of being one of the first African American women to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. She is currently the President and CEO of Toberman Neighborhood Center, where she works to assist over 18,000 people to move from poverty to self-sufficiency. A once aspiring Olympic runner, Gloria went on to compete in master track meets for the older American; and now kickboxes as a way to relieve stress. She was joined on stage by her 43 year old coach Michele.

During over 42 events throughout December, thousands of guests attended free Community Cinema events featuring the inspiring hit documentary YOUNG@HEART which was followed by dozens of senior citizens across the country who refuse to let their advancing age limit their increasing talent. We hope to have inspired more people young and old to join choruses in their communities and share their messages and passions through song.

Rodger Despres, a local Michigan paper folder, displays a 45-foot long paper model train that took him 1,500 hours to construct.

Our first free event for BETWEEN THE FOLDS took place at the fabulous Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Community Cinema is in its 3rd smash season. Emily Maurin, Community Cinema Producing Partner with WGVU, told us, “We were extremely lucky to have two amazing paper folders with us––Richard Alexander, one of the film’s participants, and Rodger Despres, a local paper folder who has constructed a 45-foot long paper model train. They each offered a different perspective on paper folding. Richard spoke about his artwork as well as his experiences making his own paper. Rodger discussed how he has used paper to engineer working train cars and tracks. He was very excited since Richard was the first paper folder he had met! They talked about how paper folding is almost a secret society that is just now emerging as a mainstream art.”

In the video below, director Vanessa Gould gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like making the film, how she worked with artists and a discusses a variety of issues related to independent filmmaking.

“Crease Is the Word!” Jim Ridley wrote in Nashville Scene about  BETWEEN THE FOLDS at the Nashville Public Library. “Vanessa Gould’s documentary has received rapturous notices for concentrating on the intersection of art and science that the ancient paper-folding art represents.”

Mary Delach Leonard wrote in the St. Louis Beacon about our event at the Missouri History Museum. “Watching a former sculptor in France fold a flat sheet of paper into a three-dimensional human caricature … is worth far more than 1,000 words — which makes “Between the Folds” one of those unexpected documentaries you have to see to appreciate.” Read more>>

In St. Louis, approximately 340 people showed up for the viewing of the film at the Missouri History Museum. Sydney Meyer of Community Cinema Producing Partner KETC said, “I was amazed watching the diversity of people fill the auditorium and overflow onto the steps and the sides of the theater. People of all ages laughed and clapped at various parts of the film, signaling they understood what the artists were trying to communicate to them. After the film, the fun continued as more than 120 folks stayed to try their hand at paper-folding with artist Sugi Taylor. There was a lot of laughter and concentration as people attempted to make a paper box and bird.”  As I walked around the tables, I heard comments like “I thought the simple figures would be easier. Now I admire the film artists even more!” or “I loved the film and I am amazed I can make this figure out of almost nothing… one simple square of paper.”

Director Vanessa Gould spent 3 days at 3 Community Cinema events in The Los Angeles area, and we were so lucky that she took time to write about it.

“…I entered the room [at LA’s Pitches Detention Center] with Deputy Bates and a few other staff members just as [the prisoners] had finished the film. …It was quite possibly the most enthusiastic reception the film has ever seen: a room brimming with almost-rowdy excitement and big smiles, a few thumbs up and hands on hearts. Even some paper hats and paper stars made out of the local county newspaper were floating around. There were far more questions and comments than we had time for. After about 20 questions, we all folded a simple model of a fox. I tried to remind them that if anyone made a mistake it was okay. They could try again. One of the good things about paperfolding is you can start over. More chances are possible.” And, with that apt metaphor the afternoon was clearly a success. Community Cinema hopes to bring more films to prisoners through our new partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Read Vanessa’s complete post here.

Members of the Puget Area Paperfolding Enthusiasts Roundtable (PAPER) assisted audience members in folding a range of origami pieces in Seattle at the SIFF Cinema. PAPER founder Mark Morden spoke about paperfolding after the event while the audience members folded all around him.

Even months after BETWEEN THE FOLDS screened for thousands at Community Cinema, and aired nationally for millions on PBS, the film’s impact continued.

Lois Vossen, series producer of Independent Lens and Vice President of ITVS, attended the Peabody Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where the film Between the Folds won the prestigious award. Ms. Vossen  talks about the unprecedented evening:

From L to R: Vanessa Gould, Lois Vossen and Margaret Brown at the Peabody Awards Ceremony

The 69th Annual Peabody Awards ceremony, hosted by Diane Sawyer, marked the third consecutive year that Independent Lens received two Peabody Awards in one year, perhaps the only television series to ever achieve this honor.

Dr. Susan Douglas, the chair of the Peabody Awards Board, said that the 34 honorees were selected from nearly 1,200 finalists, confirming that the Peabody selection process is perhaps the most rigorous of any of the top industry awards.

Vanessa Gould received a Peabody Award for Between the Folds, her first film, a film exploring the intersection of fine art and science embodied in the practice of origami.

In what surely must be a Peabody first, paper-folding artist Robert Lang created a true-to-scale origami Peabody statuette that everyone at the ceremony admired — though I don’t think there were any offers to trade it for a real Peabody statuette.

Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, answers questions from the audience with Tony Berman of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law, who is featured in the film.

For more than 30 years, as hip-hop evolved from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry, hip-hop performers and producers have been reusing portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. But when lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” Through interviews with many of hip-hop music’s founding figures—like Public Enemy, De La Soul and Digital Underground—along with emerging artists such as audiovisual remixers Eclectic Method, COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod illuminates both sides of the debate, from traditional musicians who view sampling as pillaging to those who argue that the practice of borrowing is by no means new nor is it unique to hip-hop or even music: Think of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans.

With OVER 50 free screening events from coast to coast audiences were able to sample the flavor of hip-hip and electronic music first-hand from some of the subjects featured in the film. The Philadelphia event featured worldwide DJ sensation based in Philly, RJD2 (RJ Krohn – pictured to the right, on the left). The photo is a TwitPic uploaded live from the event.  Our event in Oakland welcomed DJ legend Jeff Chang. Local hip-hop radio DJs hosted events in St. Louis and Seattle. In Seattle, KUBE 93 FM DJ Hyphen who co-hosts “Sunday Night Sound Session” introduced the film. “Sunday Night Sound Session” airs every Sunday night at 10:45 PM. “J. Moore and I offer listeners the newest, dopest hip-hop from all around the country, including local music from our own backyard,” boasts DJ Hyphen. Tune in around the Puget Sound Region or online worldwide. DJ Hypen introduced COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS and left the audience with some things to think about while watching the film.

Read on for more video clips, photos, and community connections.

Northwestern University law professor Peter DiCola.

Our guest speaker at the Community Cinema event in Evanston, Illinois was Northwestern University law professor Peter DiCola, who co-authored the forthcoming book Creative License: The Culture and Law of Digital Sampling with filmmaker Kembrew McLeod.

We could not have asked for a better guest speaker when it comes to questions of copyright. DiCola was able to give in-depth answers that helped the audience understand legal issues in a clear and engaging manner.

In St. Louis, DJ Alejan talks about how the film exposes the many layers and areas of sampling that have never previously been explored on film.

Find more videos like this on Community Cinema Series St. Louis

Community Cinema partnered with Future of Music Coalition to present COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS. Future of Music Coalition encouraged discussions about sampling and more as part of their 8th Policy Summit in Washington DC in early October 2009. Community Cinema Regional Outreach Coordinator Michon Boston explains, “Fair use is … described for documentary makers, as follows:

Fair Use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it. It is a crucial feature of copyright law. In fact, it is what keeps copyright from being censorship. You can invoke fair use when the value to the public of what you are saying outweighs the cost to the private owner of the copyright.

– Source: “Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use”

Boston continues during her chat with Kembrew McLeod, “When it came to fair use, he appeared cautious about their selection process for COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS.”

McLeod said, “We didn’t want to ruin it for people following us through the door.”

Speakers and audience members in St. Louis feel the music after the film an discussion.

For the hundreds of people who attended our free screening events for COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS nationwide, McLeod and Frazen busted the door open for musicians, artists, and others to explore the myriad aspects and themes of sampling, borrowing, mashing-up, and paying tribute. Now get out there and make some music. Holla!

Independent Lens

The deadline to submit is Friday, September 24, 2010. For more information read the Independent Lens submissions FAQ. And to get a feel for some of our award-winning programs, check out trailers from this past season…

Panelist Uyen Le is interviewed for Saigon TV KJLA

Community Cinema’s National Coordinator Desiree Gutierrez reflects on a screening of A Village Called Versailles held earlier this month before an entirely Vietnamese audience in Southern California.

As one of the National Community Cinema Coordinators, I am use to hosting screenings with diverse crowds, but Sunday night I had the chance to be the outsider at a screening of A Village Called Versailles hosted by Nguoi Viet Daily News in Orange County’s Little Saigon.

The newspaper was the first Vietnamese publication outside of Vietnam and has a rich history. As it was told to me, the newspaper originated out of a series of letters that traveled back and forth between Vietnam and the U.S. as people tried to track down their family members and friends after the war.

Tiffany Le a reporter at Nguoi Viet reached out to me last month wanting to learn more about hosting a screening of A Village Called Versailles. She knew the residents of her community would want to see the film, but as she pointed out, they would not drive to LA or West Hollywood to attend one of our already scheduled events. We made arrangements to host the film at the newspapers auditorium in the heart of Little Saigon.

The newspaper had given us tremendous media coverage. We had a feature with images run a few days before the screening, and an interview with the filmmaker run the day of the event, not to mention a half page ad in the World Cup edition of the paper. Needless to say, the Vietnamese community knew we were having an event and they turned out. Nearly 200 people and four media crews filled the auditorium, and as I had been warned, I the only “Westerner” in the room.

Although I brought the film to this community, I was also an outsider. People could tell I didn’t speak Vietnamese (I am an obvious Caucasian-Mexican mix) and they would give me a welcoming nod, but few people tried to speak with me. When I went on stage to introduce the film in English, I was told that out of cultural respect, I should say, “Even though I am not Vietnamese, I love this film.” When I joked, I think they can tell I am not Vietnamese; I was informed that few people would understand me and as long as I said that sentence they would understand why I was there. With that, I was happy to oblige.

Reporter Kristoffer Kennedy of Viet Weekly, directs a question toward the panel

The film features both English and Vietnamese speakers.  Vietnamese subtitles ran while English speakers were on screen.  Watching the film with this crowd was a very different experience than with my typical “Western” crowd. This community understood the cultural humor and the true meaning of what people are saying, which can get lost in translation.

The panel discussion and community dialogue was also held entirely in Vietnamese. I was told that a majority of the conversation was focused on the current devastation from the BP oil spill, and the conversation ended with people talking about how their community could reach out to the New Orleans East community.

After the event, two men told me that they didn’t know about the situation presented in the picture or that this was happening to “their people,” and thanked me for sharing the film.

By screening the film, we shared a story about a community that received little commercial attention and that, conversely, brought a story to a community that is rarely the recipient of media attention. Even though I understood very little of the conversation, I knew Community Cinema had achieved its mission.

Equally important is the attention such an award will draw to the national debate over Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT.) The film explores the genesis of that policy from its inception under then-President Clinton in 1993.

Ask Not sheds light on how DADT has prevented some of America’s most talented recruits from serving their country. Examples include skilled Arabic translators so desperately needed in Afghanistan and Iraq combat, ordered to be silent and celibate or else be removed from duty.

“This was a fun award to receive and a great acknowledgment of the film and the issue,” said Symons.

The hype around Ask Not could not come at a more relevant time. At his State of the Union address this past January, President Obama vowed to repeal DADT during his first term. Soon after, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm Mike Mullen also denounced the policy before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The film also recently aired on Capitol Hill to coincide with Congressional hearings on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Congratulations to Johnny and his team!

Filmmaker Yun Jong Suh

Filmmaker Yun Jong Suh discusses how she came to make a film about the only gay bar in Jerusalem. Her film, City of Borders, airs on public television this month. Check listings in your area here.

As a Buddhist Korean American, I am frequently asked why I am interested in the Middle East and how I discovered Shushan, Jerusalem’s only gay bar. I’m not the most obvious candidate to tell this story. But I believe my outsider status proved to be instrumental in making City of Borders.

I’m drawn to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because I intimately relate to both sides of the war. Like the Israelis, I grew up in constant fear of my neighboring country, North Korea, attacking my small village in South Korea. I did not see North Koreans as humans but as demons determined to kill us if they had the chance. My childhood playtime often involved devising escape routes and places to hide in my home if North Koreans ever invaded.

Like the Palestinians, I understand the horrors and hardships of living under occupation through my parents who survived the Japanese colonization of Korea. Being on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza, I also witnessed the impact of the Israeli occupation.

The concept for my documentary began in 2002 while I was producing a series of radio reports in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip on the clashes during the Second Intifada. During the height of the clashes in 2002, I heard about a bar that hosted gay nights where Israelis and Palestinians took great risks to meet and connect as human beings amid all the distrust, death, and violence. This gathering was beyond my imagination and renewed my faith in our shared humanity and desire to connect.

The story stayed with me as news coverage increasingly focused on fundamentalists on both sides of the conflict, thereby providing no hope for a peaceful resolution and coexistence in the future. In 2006, I contacted the bar owner, Sa’ar Netanel, who is considered the Harvey Milk of Jerusalem in that he is the first openly gay elected politician in the Holy City. He was easy to find since his phone numbers were printed in posters all over the religious district in Jerusalem, claiming that Sa’ar was responsible for AIDS, earthquakes, and other natural disasters hitting Israel so everyone should call him. So I called him to understand his great powers to cause such chaos. He invited me to come to Jerusalem and see with my own eyes the people who gathered at his bar nightly: A gay Israeli soldier sitting next to a Palestinian man, who would be sitting next to an ultra-Orthodox woman, who may be dancing next to a straight couple.

Sa’ar’s vision for his bar where people from different worlds can find common ground and be accepted, mirrors my purpose for working in the media. Therefore, I chose this community, whom we rarely hear from in the region, as the topic of my first feature-length documentary despite daunting barriers of budget, bombs, language, and culture.

Whenever I would hit an obstacle in making City of Borders, I would think about Sa’ar receiving more than 300 death threats and draw on his courage. After three adventurous years of production, I’m very excited to share the vibrant, inspiring and courageous community at Shushan with the world.

— Yun Jong Suh

Traditionally, the Vietnamese culture in both Vietnam and in this community’s adopted home in New Orleans reserved moral, ethical, and political leadership to the older generations. In the wake of Katrina, and now in the midst of a cataclysmic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the younger generation is proving to be an indispensible link between the English-speaking establishment and the older generations of Vietnamese immigrants who, because of a language and cultural divide, cannot effectively speak for themselves.

In this web-exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, watch how the youth in Versailles stepped into a void and organized their community to rebuild its demolished infrastructure, and then fight off a cynical political ploy to locate a toxic waste dump next to their neighborhood:

Catch A Village Called Versailles at these free upcoming Community Cinema events in Fruita, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Blaine, Minnesota.

A Versailles resident in a community where both young and older came together to protest a landfill in their backyard.

While British Petroleum has pledged to compensate fishers who are losing their livelihoods because of the spill, the choices they offer aren’t very appetizing: fishers may file a claim for up to $5,000 for losses related to the spill, or sign up for training to do oil clean-up work. In each case, they sign waivers agreeing to never hold the company liable for future losses or injury. The problem is, all of the paperwork — and all of the training — is in English, and most of the fishers cannot read or speak English, let alone understand legal fine print. BP has not provided any Vietnamese-speaking claims personnel to connect with this demographic.

Father Vien Nguyen, who rallied his community against a toxic landfill in the months after Katrina, is fighting back against BP’s seemingly cavalier approach to this devastated local economy and the Vietnamese people who keep it alive.

Watch A Village Called Versailles featuring Father Vien’s battle against the landfill in 2005, on Independent Lens Tuesday, May 25th on PBS (Check local listings).

And watch Father Vien’s update on what’s happening in Versailles since the oil disaster began:

Father Vien Nguyen accepting the AAPCHO Community Champion Award

In February, the organization I work for, the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), at their fundraising awards gala, showed excerpts from A Village Called Versailles, and presented Father Vien Nguyen with AAPCHO’s Community Champion Award.

For those of you who are not already familiar with AAPCHO’s work, AAPCHO is a national organization representing community health centers dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration, and leadership that advances the health status of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. So when my organization began having conversations about honoring a community champion, we wanted to recognize Father Vien’s work towards re-establishing primary health care services in New Orleans East post-Katrina. As chronicled in A Village Called Versailles, Father Vien’s leadership helped galvanize Vietnamese Americans in Louisiana to rebuild their region, and fight a toxic landfill that threatened the well-being and health of their community.

When ITVS learned that AAPCHO planned to honor Father Vien, they graciously loaned us a copy of the film to show at our awards ceremony. While Father Vien’s accomplishments were read by our emcee, film and television actress Tamlyn Tomita, the audience was visibly moved, as footage from the documentary was simultaneously projected on two large screens. The film punctuated the remarkable battle Father Vien and the Vietnamese American community of Versailles had fought and won to reclaim and protect their home.

Watch the trailer for A Village Called Versailes >>

From l to r: John McComas (CEO of AlohaCare), Jeff Caballero (Executive Director AAPCHO), Congressman Mike Honda, Father Vien, Dr. Regina Benjamin (U.S. Surgeon General)

As a health advocate, the documentary reminds me that the definition of healthy communities reaches beyond the ability to see a doctor for your annual check up (although that is very important too). Father Vien and the community members of Versailles recognized that environmental health is intrinsic to personal health.

A Village Called Versailles also illustrated the important point that healthy communities are empowered communities. Empowered communities are not only driven by a sense of self-preservation, but also by the principles of compassion and respect, where the voices of both the young and elderly are equally valued.

At the awards ceremony, Father Vien graciously accepted AAPCHO’s Community Champion Award presented by Congressman Joseph Cao. He was quick to highlight the hard work and advocacy of his fellow community members.

I continue to be inspired by Father Vien and the Vietnamese American community of New Orleans East. It’s my hope that many others will learn about this remarkable story, and also draw inspiration from the film, just as I have.

Grace-Sonia Melanio
AAPCHO Membership Relations Associate