partnerships

Thanks to All for Another Record Breaking Season of Community Cinema

A Vietnamese feast provided by the Seattle Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce

In over 50 cities nationwide, thousands of free documentary film screenings were followed by lively panel discussions, performances, filmmakers, and the brightest minds who choose to give of their time as community volunteers.

As you know, Community Cinema events bring together citizens, organizations, and public television stations to encourage dialogue and action around important and timely social issues.

The numbers aren’t quite in yet on this most recent season, but in past seasons over tens of thousands have attended thousands of events nationwide.

Community Cinema is the largest civic engagement program in broadcast television. We serve communities large and small, and we attract diverse audiences including singing activist senior citizens and young filmmakers using the latest technology to tell their stories.

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 which we learned at the YOUNG@HEART screening in L.A.

I’m working on a wrap up of this entire dazzling season which started off rocking, rolling, and spinning vinyl and ended with shamanic journeys to Mongolia and the inspiring and innovative New Orleans’ Vietnamese community.

Thank YOU our fans and audiences. Thanks too to our thousands of partners nationwide who help present Community Cinema in their town, city, or metropolis. We’ve been honored to work with the New York City Parks Department, The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, the San Francisco Public Library, and the Dinosaur Discovery Museum. Thank you to the truly delightful Maggie Gyllenhaal for hosting this past season of Independent Lens (oh! and she was nominated for an Oscar too)! Good year.

Public television stations deserve a standing ovation (for a number of reasons) including their support of Community Cinema and Independent Lens. Still “America’s Network,” PBS provides top quality programming for all ages. Children will continue to grow up with Sesame Street and eventually end up eagerly anticipating the PBS News Hour.

Community Cinema will be back in October of 2010 with an exciting season of nine fresh new documentaries to make you think, inspire you, and hopefully lead to positive change in your community. Have a great summer, but be sure to check back here regularly for sneak peeks, updates on film selections, and information about our special Women’s Empowerment Film festivals coming in August in select markets. You do not want to miss that!

Don’t forget your sunscreen!

Tags: community cinema, films, free events, partnerships

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 wrap-up View Comments

Bioneers Inspire Shift In Thinking About The Web of Life

Aaron Leventman

Our national partners create ways for audiences to learn more about the issues raised in Dirt! The Movie and “get dirty” through environmental service learning projects and be part of imagining solutions for a sustainable future. Aaron Leventman, Media Project Manager, shares why Bioneers is a perfect fit for Community Cinema and Dirt! The Movie.

Bioneers is inspiring a shift to live on Earth in ways that honor the web of life, each other, and future generations. For the past 20 years, we have provided solutions-based education and social connectivity through our national and local conferences our radio series (heard on over 300 stations around the world), anthology book series, television programs and online community. Our two keystone goals are to:

Connect people with solutions by popularizing breakthrough ideas and practices.

Grow social capital by catalyzing, connecting and strengthening strategic networks, including bioregional and community-based alliances.

As Bioneers celebrates our 20th anniversary, our ability to act as a fertile source for the urgent transition to a restored world is converging with an unprecedented receptivity in the world for innovative ways of thinking and acting. Our Dreaming New Mexico initiative is an innovative experiment that uses the vehicle of Bioneersto bring about positive ecological and social transformation at the local and regional level. The Dreaming New Mexico project seeks to reconcile nature and cultures at a state level with pragmatic and visionary solutions, using systemic approaches that address our most pressing ecological and societal challenges. Some of our other programs include: › Continue reading

Tags: bioneers, dirt! the movie, earth, eco, partnerships

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 Partnerships and Supporters View Comments

Community Cinema Brings Together Citizens, Organizations, and Public TV Stations

Just a quick reminder for those of you who are just discovering Community Cinema. Our free monthly documentary screenings are followed by lively panel discussions that bring together citizens, organizations and public television stations to encourage dialogue and action around important and timely social issues. Last season, over 40,000 people attended 500 events nationwide.

Are you a community organizer, educator or facilitator? We’ve got opportunities for you to get involved by using Independent Lens programs and resources in your community.

Interested in planning an event in your community? Visit our web site for step by step directions and free downloadable PDFs. Find a free event near you here.

Click here to watch a QuickTime video about Community Cinema presented by ITVS