events

Finding Your Event

FREE monthly documentary movie screenings followed by activities to further explore the film: poets, professors, experts, and filmmakers themselves may appear.

Click the "Find Events" button for a quick link to ALL upcoming FREE Community Cinema events.

You may have noticed that the events listing widget on the right-hand side of the page is gone. We were sorry to see it go, and are working hard to find a suitable replacement.  But, now seems like a great time to mention a few ways you can find a FREE Community Cinema event near you. Events feature not only film previews but lively discussions, performances, and activities designed to enhance the messages in the film.

The quickest link to our complete and often-updated events list is the “Find Event” button in the tool bar at the top of this page. Click it, and a new window will open with a list of upcoming Community Cinema events. The list is searchable by community, film, and month.  You can even look up past events to see if we’ve been to your community recently.

You can also follow our Twitter feed where we Tweet a daily quick peek at all our upcoming events and a few other interesting facts about film, public television, and the world around us (and the ground beneath our feet).

Bookmark our blog and you’ll always know where to find out the latest information.

Tags: , , ,

Sunday, December 13th, 2009 Online Connections, events View Comments

8 Free Events in Two Days Will Keep You YOUNG@HEART

Members of the Young @ Heart Chorus Featured in The Documentary

Members of the Young @ Heart Chorus Featured in The Documentary

In collaboration with the National Center for Creative Aging, Community Cinema presents free screening events of the uplifting and enlightening smash hit documentary YOUNG@HEART throughout the month of December. Get ready to rock with the most entertaining golden oldies you will ever meet in the senior citizen’s choir Young@Heart. Five free film events (many with local talented seniors speaking and/or performing) are happening in your community on Wednesday (today!) if you live in:

Sheboygan, Wisconsin
John Michael Kohler Arts Center at 12:30 PM and 7:00 PM
608 New York Ave.
Sheboygan, WI

St. Louis, Missouri
Missouri History Museum at 1:30 PM
5700 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO

Miami, Florida
Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus at 5:00 PM
300 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Room 3410-5 (Building 3, 4th floor)
Miami, FL 33132

Tucson, Arizona
Joel D. Valdez Main Library at 6:00 PM
101 N. Stone Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701

Practice. Practice. Practice. The Young @ Heart Chorus Rehearses in a Scene From The Documentary.

Practice. Practice. Practice. The Young @ Heart Chorus Rehearses in a Scene From The Documentary.

And three free film events are happening in your community on Thursday, December 10 if you live in:

Tucson, Arizona
Quincie Douglas Branch Library at 9:00 AM
1585 E. 36th St.
Tucson, AZ 85713

Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The Open Eye Cafe at 4:00 PM
101 South Greensboro St.
Carrboro, NC

Tacoma, Washington
Pacific Lutheran University at 6:00 PM
Morken Center for Learning and Technology, Rm 103
12215 10th AVE S
Tacoma, WA 98444

Have you seen a preview video of the film? Here’s your chance!

Want more? Sneak a peak at a scene from the film on YouTube.

Tags: , , , ,

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 All Video, Film Previews, events View Comments

Grand Rapids Kicks Off the New Season of Community Cinema

D TOUR Panel Receives Well-Deserved Round of Applause

left to right: Emily Coyle, Tricia Coyle, Emily Maurin WGVU, Sue Lewis, and Jill Morrill
left to right: Emily Coyle, Tricia Coyle, Emily Maurin WGVU, Sue Lewis and Jill Morrill

Michiganders kicked off Community Cinema’s 2009-2010 Season last night in Grand Rapids at The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts. After the screening of D TOUR, we had a small but passionate crowd for this film, and an extremely knowledgeable panel.  Just a few months ago, Jill Morrill donated her kidney to her 12-year-old daughter, who suffers from cystinosis.  Sue Lewis donated her kidney two years ago to the father of one of her son’s friends.  Tricia Coyle received a donated kidney a couple of months ago through a paired donor program in Toledo.  Her daughter, Emily Coyle, worked hard to spread the word about her mother needing a donor – and recently found out that she suffers from the same genetic disorder that caused her mother’s kidney to fail.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Special Community Cinema Screening in Chicago: ESTILO HIP HOP

This past weekend, Community Cinema hosted a special screening in Chicago of the Global Voices documentary ESTILO HIP HOP, which chronicles the lives of three hip hop enthusiasts from Brazil, Chile and Cuba who firmly believe that hip hop can change the world. This screening was presented by WTTW, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Southwest Community Coalition. Get the full report below from Regional Outreach Coordinator Naomi Walker:

DJ Man-O-Wax mixes music while B-Boy Brave Monk shows off some moves.

Panelists B-Boy Brave Monk, MC D Nick the Microphone Misfit and Graf Artist Lavie Raven take questions from the audience.

In the audience of ESTILO HIP HOP were the young leaders from the K.I. Eco Center, a youth development program that runs the Community Cinema program in Indianapolis, IN. I had the privilege to attend their screening of TULIA, TEXAS last January and was very impressed and inspired by the event. To see young people, ranging in age from ten to 18 years old, leading adults in a post-screening discussion showed how documentary film can be used as a tool for cross-generational engagement. It was so cool that they were able to take the time to come up to Chicago for this event.

The host for the afternoon was Super InLight, movement/teaching artists, and the choreographer and director of the Stick & Move Dance crew. Super InLight (literally) kicked off the proceedings with a birthday tribute to the dance innovations of Michael Jackson, acknowledging the influence that hip hop dance moves like pop lock had on Jackson and vice versa.

Presenters DJ Man-O-Wax, MC D Nick the Microphone Misfit, B-Boy Brave Monk and Graf Artist Lavie Raven, co-founder of the University of Hip Hop, represented the five elements of hip hop. The fifth element of hip hop––knowledge––was represented by all the presenters, who shared their stories and insights on what inspires them and what they tell the young people they teach (yes, they are ALL teachers by day!).

› Continue reading

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Community Cinema Los Angeles: Lots to Talk About

Aero Theatre in Santa Monica

Aero Theatre in Santa Monica

While you are out enjoying the last of the summer sun I am diligently working on the final touches for the next season of Community Cinema in Los Angeles and West Hollywood. As always, we have an amazing and diverse group of films for you (more on that in a second).

I am really thrilled to share some news about Community Cinema in the Los Angeles area with you.

Thanks to our friends at the City of West Hollywood we have had Community Cinema in the West Hollywood area for the last five years. The City remains a strong supporter of Community Cinema and they will once again help us produce a screening series split between the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood and the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.

I am also pleased to announce that through a new partnership with the City of Los Angeles, Community Cinema will see an exciting expansion this year. The City is planning to have a traveling series making a presence in each area of Metro Los Angeles over the course of the season. A full schedule will be out in the next couple of weeks.

ITVS Community is also working on a partnership with the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department in hopes of screening select Community Cinema films for inmates. ITVS Community works to bring communities together and connect them with information, resources and opportunities for education, engagement and positive change, and thus we hope to develop a model that may be replicated at other correctional and rehabilitation facilities across the country.



› Continue reading

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One Size Fits All: Community Cinema Flexes Its Flexibility

Volunteers at the Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women

Volunteers at the Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women

One aspect of having worked with the Community Cinema program for the past four years is that I have had the pleasure of working with people from so many communities including Washington, D.C. and Grand Junction, Colorado as well as Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Miami. Recently a few of my colleagues asked me to share some of their impressions about the Community Cinema program. We welcome your comments especially if you are a Producing Partner, Cinema/Outreach Coordinator, or an audience member.

Meet Sara Brissenden-Smith who represents Community Cinema in the Bay Area. She is always asked, “So, what’s the topic this month?

Meet Tiffany L. Verkler who is Promotions Supervisor for Arkansas Educational Television Network. This is her first season with Community Cinema. We are all excited to bring Independent Lens documentaries to Arkansas audiences.

Meet Lynn Allen who has represented Community Cinema statewide in Idaho since our very first season.

› Continue reading

Tags: , , , , ,

New Venue Joins Community Cinema Philadelphia

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia joins Community Cinema this season as a venue partner to host our kick-off event on Wednesday, Sept 23rd for D TOUR!

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, founded in 1787

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, founded in 1787

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, founded in 1787, is the oldest professional medical organization in the country. Twenty-four physicians of eighteenth-century Philadelphia gathered “to advance the science of medicine and to thereby lessen human misery.” Today, over 1,500 Fellows continue to convene at the College and work towards better serving the public.

The College is home to the Mütter Museum and the Historical Medical Library. Outreach programs include Philly Health Info.org, [external link] an online health information, resource and educational program serving the Delaware Valley, and the C. Everett Koop Community Education Center. The public is invited to attend the many lectures, workshops, and conferences the College offers in support of their mission to advance the cause of health.

In addition to the College, the Gift of Life Donor Program [external link] will be joining us as a community partner. Gift of Life is the non-profit agency serving the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, and responsible for recovering and distributing organs and tissues used in life-saving and life-enhancing transplants.

Founded in 1974 by the Greater Delaware Valley Society of Transplant Surgeons, Gift of Life is one of the oldest and largest of 58 non-profit, organ and tissue procurement organizations in the United States. Gift of Life is part of the nationwide organ and tissue sharing network run by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

› Continue reading

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, August 21st, 2009 Partnerships and Supporters, events View Comments

Upcoming Community Cinema Screenings

D TOUR kicks off Community Cinema in September

D TOUR kicks off Community Cinema in September

Earlier this month, we announced the exciting line-up of Independent Lens films coming to Community Cinema.

Be sure to check out this year’s schedule of upcoming screenings. Join us in September for free screenings of D TOUR, which chronicles musician Pat Spurgeon’s search for a living kidney donor and the challenges with finding a viable match. Watch the trailer and then find a free screening near you.

Visit the Community Cinema events page to find free preview screenings near you.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 Online Connections, events View Comments

Tension Creates Successful CRIPS AND BLOODS: Made in America Event in Nashville

CRIPS & BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA discussion in Nashville

L to R: Rodney Britton from Galaxy Star Drug Awareness; Moderator Jonathan Martin from WSMV-TV; and Clemmie Greenlee from Galaxy Star Drug Awareness

Nashville’s to-capacity screening of CRIPS AND BLOODS: Made in America, was our most rewarding and interesting event. The film examines conditions that have led to the devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.

Police pressured us to cancel the event out of fear of violence. That’s not the response we envisioned for an event about peace, change and solutions. Of the nationwide events––where the local police were involved––Nashville’s police had the most serious reservations about holding the event.

Nashville has been making the “10 most violent” cities list [external link Forbes Magazine] and gang violence is a serious problem in the metro area, so I know police were just being cautious. The screening made people nervous and added a bit of tension to the night. Middle schoolers from Nashville’s All the Kings Men leadership program [external link] attended the event.

› Continue reading

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

My Best Experience Producing a Community Cinema Event: Sydney Meyer – KETC TV – St. Louis

KING CORN Event Attendees Mingle and Learn

KING CORN Event Attendees Mingle and Learn

350 people filled the Missouri History Museum Lobby for the KETC St. Louis Channel 9 Community Cinema screening of the film KING CORN on March 8, 2008.

The night began an hour early with a festive Farmers Market loaded with “healthy foods”. The market had excellent resources with great information and wonderful locally grown, healthy foods. The “Healthiest Potato Chip You Can Get” was the Channel 9 staff’s favorite! It was fun and informative and people were really enjoying themselves. It was a great way to begin the KING CORN evening.

KING CORN event attendees browse the event's farmers market

KING CORN event attendees browse the event's farmers market

After the film and discussion we ended the night with an after-the-film event at a local, near-by restaurant. The owner prepared a special KING CORN dish – “Fresh, buttery Sea Scallops and a zesty relish made with bi-colored corn grown for us by sweet corn local, farm specialists. The big, fat, juicy kernels have captured the bright sun and blue skies of a long Missouri Summer, lying blissfully at slumber in our big freezer since August of ’07.”

KING CORN Learning Station

KING CORN Learning Station

I just loved that colorful description after our discussion had pointed out our lost connection with the food we eat! The conversation continued into the night ending with the idea there need to be more films on this topic and other environmental issues. This is a very popular subject with our audiences.

Thanks, the film was a great pick. We “hunger” for more films from the KING CORN producers!

Sydney Meyer
Project Manager
KETC TV
St. Louis, MO

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

View larger map »

Stay Connected

Follow on TwitterBecome a fan on FacebookSubscribe RSS FeedWatch video on Youtube
Subscribe by email:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Community Cinema on Twitter

  1. communitycinema
    communitycinema: #Compost THIS! Cow/horse manure (outdoors only), cardboard rolls, chopped leaves, coffee grounds (worms love these) MORE: http://dld.bz/kSXD

  2. Jenn Wilcox
    Jenn Wilcox: RT @GlobalFundWomen: In #SF nxt wk? Come to the Womens #Empowerment #FilmFestival to watch inspiring films abt #women @communitycinema @IMOW http://bit.ly/bjZuPz

  3. Simon Kilmurry
    Simon Kilmurry: RT @communitycinema: Women's Engagement Film Series NEXT MONTH! Partners incl @unfpa @CARE @unifem @povdocs http://dld.bz/nQbH #FF Thanks!

View Event Photos


By Erik Rasmussen

Recent Posts