st louis
A Village Called Versailles Inspires and Moves Communities Across the Country
A Village Called Versailles continues to move and inspire audiences at Community Cinema screenings through this week. Two events on Tuesday coincide with the national broadcast television premiere of A Village Called Versailles on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). A recent event in St. Louis at the Missouri History Museum exemplifies the power of this documentary to move people in communities large and small to take action. 
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. In St. Louis, MO we partner with KETC9 and The Missouri History Museum. KETC9′s Sydney Meyer describes the recent free event.
One couple in the audience, a retired teacher and professor who regularly show up for our events, were themselves survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Even before the film they spoke with me and said how much they enjoyed Community Cinema, “We support Public Television and these events assure us that are money is being put to good use! They are so educational especially the discussions which Jim [KETC producer] facilitates so well. Thank you.”
A village called Versailles rises from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina
The audience talked a lot after the film. Many felt the film had great impact was very emotional and showed the power a group of people can have when united for a common cause. The Vietnamese residents of Versailles in the film inspired Denise DeCou a panelist representing The National Conference for Community and Justice. It was a group who started out with no voice, not even on the area map, and rose up to be leaders and cause change for their community. She said, “It inspires and gives hope to our own region which struggles with racial issues, that we can empower people to lead and cause changes too.” Jennifer Kapczunski, professor from Washington University, felt the key issue in the film was how communities are defined. Communities can be erased from a region’s map unless they come together and create a powerful voice directed at the political persons in charge.
Power is embodied by organizing as a neighborhood around a key issue. In our own community there are groups that are forgotten and ignored. “The most interesting thing in this film is how the youth became so involved and that is key to a communitys survival.” Two other key points embodied in this film were the use of home video in documentaries and how the church is central in many communities. Home videos in the right hands can enhance a film and they are having more and more of a place in documentaries. Secondly, Father Vien empowered the people to join together to cause change. He knew what to do, but he guided the people to stand up for themselves. The discussion ended on a positive note with an audience member saying, “This film embodies the American Dream. People came to America to better themselves, work hard and now the younger generation is carrying their ideals forth.”
Tune in Tuesday to watch the national broadcast television premiere of A Village Called Versailles on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).
Getting Dirty In St. Louis
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. In St. Louis, MO we partner with KETC9 and The Missouri History Museum. KETC9′s Sydney Meyer describes a recent free event for the film Dirt! The Movie.
“Dirt! The Movie did itself proud – you brought us a jewel of a film!” was only one of the positive reactions from the crowd of over 300 who attended the screening of Dirt! The Movie in St. Louis on March 11.
The night began with a lobby full of enthusiastic “dirt” environmentalists. We had tables of information including the “worm lady”, Missouri Stream Team, Slow Food St. Louis, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, and Operation PayDirt. Resources were given and conversations were exchanged for an hour until finally everyone was ready to see the film. Here’s a taste of the action:
The whole night had a positive, upbeat feel. The panel and audience discussed how healthy eating and living are really guided by our society and we are slowly “getting it”. Evidence of this is in the sheer the number of films with powerful food messages for our communities that have been produced in the last few years.
Missouri is really ahead in “green” gardening supported by churches and neighborhood groups. Farmer’s markets abound here and are expanding all over the city and county. The best reason to buy locally is that the food really tastes better! Freshness does matter. But still it was pointed out, each consumer must do their part and open up pocketbooks and buy good local produce and beef and stop buying cheap, “fast food” meals. Read on to hear a radio clip and learn more about dirt. › Continue reading
The Eyes Of Me Finishes February on A Strong Note: St. Louis
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. In St. Louis, MO from KETC9 in partnership with Missouri History Museum. KETC9′s Sydney Meyer reports on the free event.
Denise, one of the film's teenage subjects preparing for her prom.
The Missouri History Museum was ready and equipped with special earpieces so blind film goers could get a better idea of the picture The Eyes of Me was really painting. Actually, having the earpieces available was exactly what panelist, Pastor Dave Andrus -who runs the Lutheran Blind Mission and who has been blind since age 11- said society needs to move toward. The city of Austin, Texas featured in the film is very equipped to handle its blind residents, and although St. Louis still has a ways to go, the panelists agreed the city is making progress in supporting persons with disabilities especially in the area of transportation services.
Panelist Joy Waddel, Assistant Superintendent of the Missouri School for the Blind, said she and her staff loved the film. She said, “Teens are teens and they all have similar problems growing up. It’s just that these teens have an extra handicap to deal with.” She especially loved the film because as she put it, “It was so great in the film to see the teens put into words how they feel. That is an issue that we often have to work with in school.” Other than that she said, “I could have put St. Louis faces on each of the characters in the film I really have seen those students right in my own school.”
Read on for more details from the event in St. Louis. › Continue reading
An Interview About Garbage
Audience members and partner organizations mingle and share at the Garbage Dreams event in St. Louis.
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. Back in January, Producing Partner KETC in St. Louis, MO, screened the Independent Lens film Garbage Dreams at the not-to-be-missed Missouri History Museum for over 300 local folks. The audience learned that St. Louis recycles about 35% of its waste and that over the past 30 years, St. Louis has made a concerted effort to increase that percentage. As one audience member observed, “It looks funny to see soda cans in a regular waste can and not in a recycle container and we don’t use just one side of the paper.” Watch an interview below with one of our other St. Louis event partners who is working on garbage, solid waste, and recycling education locally.
Find more videos like this on Community Cinema Series St. Louis
Garbage Dreams Events Make People Look At Garbage Differently: St. Louis
Audience members and partner organizations mingle and share at the Garbage Dreams event in St. Louis.
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. Last Thursday night, Producing Partner KETC in St. Louis, MO, screened the Independent Lens film Garbage Dreams at the not-to-be-missed Missouri History Museum for over 300 local folks. Sydney Meyer of KETC shares her experiences at the event below.
January 14, 2010 was a great night for passionate recycling people in St. Louis. The free screening of Garbage Dreams drove over 300 people to the Missouri History Museum. The film is a story about the Zaballeen (Arabic for “garbage people”), a peasant community whose only source of income is to recycle trash collected from the streets of Cairo – a city with no municipal waste-disposal system.
The film touched members of the audience as they watched the boys work hard to make life as good as possible and aspire to live a better life like they see Westerners enjoying. One panel member wondered what would happen to the Zaballeen –would they become wards of the state if newer recycling methods replaced their outdated ways? The film in her eyes was a wonderful way to put a human face to trash or the “people side of trash” to quote her exactly. Another provoking question concerning the human side of trash that came up was “Do people who see recycling and reusing as a moral responsibility not to waste become the ‘always recycler’ opposed to the ‘sometime or not at all recycler’?”
Some studies confirm that moral responsibility does make a difference in the way people recycle, according to Katy Mike of the Missouri Botanical Gardens EarthWays Center which conducts recycling education programs. Aside from the human side of the story, which by the way reminded me of how much I take for granted, there were the other questions of the night: “Why is it hard for people to recycle?”; “Are we doing any better than 30 years ago?”; “What are St. Louis’ statistics in recycling?” and “What do we still need to do to get better at recycling after we leave here tonight?”. Good questions but not easy to answer in one evening!
Useful materials that help now, and will one day be recycled and used in another way.
Our panelists and facilitator did a great job and rose to the occasion to address the issues- not a piece of cake in my eyes. But we did learn that St. Louis recycles about 35% of its waste and that over the past 30 years, St. Louis has made a concerted effort to increase that percentage. As one audience member observed, “It looks funny to see soda cans in a regular waste can and not in a recycle container and we don’t use just one side of the paper.”
So we are more aware and better, but still are we really committed? Do we take charge of everything that comes in our house and how we will dispose of it? Are adults good models for our children? Will teaching children to recycle at a young age make them more likely to recycle throughout their lifetimes? More questions……
But we did leave the night with a few practical ways to keep on the reuse, reduce, and recycle pathway. Take home the fliers in the lobby on “Reduce—What You Can Do” provided by Missouri Botanical Gardens EarthWays Education Programs (and be sure to recycle them after you’ve incorporated the tips into your daily life). Buy recycled products so there will be a market for recycled items. Compost food waste and encourage schools to compost and grow gardens. Stop using Styrofoam products! Buy a water filter instead of bottled water. And the most important practice source reduction: reduce the waste we generate in the first place. Consume less.
Guess we all left feeling like there was more we could do….but at least I took the pamphlets home and I will try to add another recycling habit to my repertoire– change is the hardest thing but we need to do it for our country and our earth. Oh! and I do plan to volunteer at the Missouri History Museum’s Swap-O-Rama-Rama on April 10 which will recycle old clothing into new, re-deigned outfits or make stuffing out of the “lost causes” pile!
St. Louis Stays Warm and Young At Heart at the Missouri History Museum
The Hot Flashes are five St. Louis-area women who play songs from the '50s-'80s. They formed in 2003, with the common goal of playing the music they love.
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. This past Wednesday night, Producing Partner KETC in St. Louis, MO, screened the Independent Lens film YOUNG@HEART. Get ready to rock with the most entertaining golden oldies you will ever meet in the senior citizen’s choir Young@Heart. With a show only weeks away, they must learn a slate of new songs ranging from James Brown to Coldplay. Sydney Meyer of KETC gives her take on the event below:
It’s winter in St. Louis! Wednesday, December 9 was the coldest, windiest day St. Louis has seen this 2009 winter! But a large group of hardy people braved the windy cold and arrived at lunch time at the Missouri History Museum for a special free event. The day started off with The Hot Flashes, a local rock band made up of women from the Baby Boomer Generation. We were also treated to the ETC. Senior Theater Company reading of “A Christmas in Wales” which kicked off the event highlighting the screening of the film YOUNG@HEART. People were clapping, rocking and rolling to the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” and “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones and other 60s rhythm and blues songs that people of a “certain age” grew up with. It was tons of fun and a perfect setting for the viewing of YOUNG@HEART. Lots of laughs and a few sniffles were heard in the crowd during the 60 minute screening as we watched the Young@Heart chorus struggle through learning the words “I can. Yes, I can can…” and face the loss of beloved band members.
The ETC. Senior Theather group giving their Christmas reading.
After the film, we interviewed several seniors for their thoughts on the film and senior life in general. They were all touched by the film – especially its sadness in loss of dear friends. The panelists had experienced this sense of loss in their lives too but also spoke about the hope of doing something you love in your later years. Continuing learning and creating community seemed to be the theme for these folks. As one of the seniors, originally from England, pointed out, “America seems to me to lack community but it is community cinema events and other events that Channel 9 and the History Museum provide that contribute to creating a sense of community that senior’s need. So thank you!” Another gentleman replied that the film gives seniors a sense of the importance of life-long learning and pursuit of passions which involve seniors–not doing for senior but with them! That pretty much summed up the day. If you want to live better follow your dreams, keep active and stay involved just like the swinging Young@Heart chorus! And of course make sure you come back to Community Cinema St. Louis (and nationwide) for more performances, discussions, and learning!
There are four free events featuring the documentary film YOUNG@HEART on Saturday, December 12. Please check our event listings if you live in the following communities: › Continue reading
Huge Turnout for BETWEEN THE FOLDS in St. Louis
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. Last night, Producing Partner KETC in St. Louis, MO, screened the Independent Lens film BETWEEN THE FOLDS. The film looks at fine artists and theoretical scientists who have abandoned careers and hard-earned graduate degrees to forge unconventional lives as modern-day paper-folders. Sydney Meyer of KETC gives her take below:
Wow! That was the first word that came to my mind as people kept flowing into the St. Louis History Museum for the screening of BETWEEN THE FOLDS last evening. This was Community Cinema at its finest. Approximately 340 people showed up for the viewing of the film and 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.”
A middle school girl who came with her math teacher told me, “I am a beginner paper-folder and the film inspired me to want to continue learning and try to become like the people in the film.” I loved the little girl’s comment and it made me appreciate Community Cinema even more because inspiration and change is what the program is all about.
DJs and “Dark Suits” Talk It Out and Dance It Out in St. Louis
Speakers and audience members in St. Louis feel the music after the film an discussion.
Last Thursday, we screened COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in St. Louis at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Community Cinema Producing Partner and KETC Project Manager Sydney Meyer shares some stories from this unique event.
The skies were dark and rainy with severe thunderstorm warnings… the St. Louis Cardinals had a play off game… the St. Louis Blues had a home opener game… and the University of Missouri had a great football game. It was all happening on Community Cinema COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS night! But that was not enough to detour 50 die hard hip-hop fans from coming out and enjoying the music and the film. Local DJ Alejandro and DJ Needles were joined by three “men in dark suits” or more commonly known as copyright lawyers. The five guest speakers informed and entertained the audience by handling the topics and issues raised with knowledge and humor. The lawyers clearly sympathized with the audience and DJs over the frustration felt concerning creative expression versus corporate ownership, which was a recurring theme from the film.
Money was mentioned more than once during the night.
St. Louis Community Gathers for D TOUR
Audience members rockin out with Rock Band before D TOUR in St. Louis
Sydney Meyer, Project Manager at KETC reports on the St. Louis area preview screening of the documentary D TOUR hosted by the Missouri History Museum on Thursday, September 3. KETC/Channel 9 gave the audience a special and emotional night as we followed Pat Spurgeon’s journey with kidney failure and eventual organ transplant surgery. The audience truly loved the film and was transfixed. After the film, Pat’s on-screen journey was given a local face by husband-and-wife panelist team, Keya and Darion. Keya was surprised to find herself a perfect match for her husband, Darion. “The decision to be a donor was very easy because I wanted my husband alive and healthy and to live a long life with me. The film reminded me of the importance of what I did as a donor.” For husband Darion, “The film triggered feelings I had forgotten. The film was like looking in a mirror. At 23 when I needed a kidney I felt invincible but this film makes you aware that kidney failure can happen to you or someone you know at anytime.”
St. Louis Beacon: News That Matters
Founded by journalists dedicated to new media and new audiences.
The St. Louis Beacon is a non-profit, online publication dedicated to reporting news that matters for people in the St. Louis region. A beacon is a light to steer by. They’re web site explains, “Our Beacon shines with quality reporting — frequently updated and featuring depth, context and continuity. We provide thoughtful discussion from many points of view and connect you with good sources of information elsewhere.”
Though founded by veteran journalists, the Beacon engages readers by offering a distinctive new news medium. Join in the effort by sharing your experience, insight, and suggestions. The Beacon welcomes citizen articles that illuminate the St. Louis region and shine outward to the world.
The St. Louis beacon recently covered the St. Louis premiere of Community Cinema documentary D TOUR. Read the article…
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