Great Opportunity For Chicago-based Filmmakers – DEADLINE

Kartemquin films, which produced outstanding documentaries like Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters is looking for diverse filmmakers for their Diverse Voices in Docs professional development program. The application deadline is December 3, 2013 – you can access the application HERE

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?usp=drive_web&formkey=dHF1cVdxVU0tajlTWko3Q1U3UWxJREE6MQ#gid=0

Here’s some more information on Kartemquin and the program from one of my favorite blogs, Shadow & Act:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/kartemquin-films-starting-up-development-program-for-documentary-filmmakers-of-color-for-second-year




Lionsgate Buys Interracial Comedy Pitch

 

from indiewire.com

from indiewire.com

Gary Anthony Williams  and Jeannie Roshar are an interracial writing team (who also direct and act). They co-founded the LA Comedy Shorts Festival, which premiered the short film I Own You – about the ups and downs of interracial love. They have now sold the film as a feature to Lionsgate (the company that brought us Crash, Precious)

Here’s a plot synopsis of the film, written by Roshar:

Ronnie, an African-American man, and Betsy, his Caucasian wife, are shocked to learn that in the 1800’s, her family owned his in slavery. At first, Ronnie brushes it off, but then an ax, a dashiki, Oprah Winfrey and a cotton ball cause him to look at his wife in a whole new way.

We’ll be keeping track of the film here on our blog. Let us know if you had a chance to see the short and what your thoughts are! We at MixedRootsStories.org are cautiously optimistic.




Great Resource for Indie Filmmakers in LA

I participated in Film Independent’s Project:Involve program back in 2007, when, after several years of pursuing an acting career, I decided that I wanted to be an actor who also knows how to write and produce. I was growing tired of the kinds of roles my agent sent me out for – e.g. ‘Party Girl #1’ for Bud Light commercials – and was especially tired of not seeing people I could relate to being represented in the media. That’s how I found Film Independent.

Film Independent is dedicated to nurturing underrepresented filmmakers through workshops, mentor programs (like Project:Involve) and the Independent Spirit Awards. Project:Involve surrounds its participants with mentors, professionals and other filmmakers whose voices have often been rejected in the mainstream. The application process is rigorous, but if you are chosen, any of Film Independent’s programs will change the trajectory of your filmmaking career – and the media will greatly benefit from having your added voice.

Upcoming deadlines:

2014 Directing Lab: October 7th 2013

2014 Documentary Lab: December 2nd 2013

The next Project:Involve deadline is April 2014.

Best of luck – and keep telling your story!



MIT Documentary Workshop DEADLINE

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is hosting a workshop for emerging filmmakers and film students. Here’s a chance to learn how to take those Mixed experience stories floating around in your head and get them into a visual medium. The deadline to apply is September 12 – so get those applications IN!

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Workshop “In a single shot” for emerging filmmakers and film students October 9 – 22, 2013

Instructors: Harun Farocki and Antje Ehmann

Application deadline: September 12, 2013

The Goethe Institute Boston in close collaboration with MIT’s OpenDocLab and HyperStudio offers this unique workshop for emerging filmmakers, to be held at the Goethe Institute Boston and MIT from October 9 to October 22, 2013. Application deadline: September 12, 2013.

“The task at hand is to present the topic “work” by means of a single video sequence; in other words, you will produce videos consisting of only one sequence. The topic is work: paid, unpaid, material or immaterial, traditional or entirely new work. This assignment formally introduces the foundations of filming, as you need to find out: When can we find a beginning and an end even if a repetitive process is being shown? Should the camera be moved or stand still? What is the best way to capture the choreography of a work process in a single sequence? Early films told us: Every detail of the mobile world is worth being documented and considered. And they had a fixed point of view, whereas today’s documentary film only too often presents sequence upon sequence because it is undecided.”

H. Farocki/Antje Ehmann

OBJECTIVES

Workshops

The workshop in Boston/Cambridge is part of a series of workshops held by German artists Harun Farocki and Antje Ehmann in 15 cities worldwide. Workshops already took place in Sligo (Ireland), Lisbon, Bangalore (India), Geneva (Switzerland), Tel Aviv, Berlin, Cairo (Egypt), Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Lodz (Poland), Moscow, and Hanoi (Vietnam). Besides Boston, additional workshops will be held in Mexico City, Johannesburg, and Tsingtao (China).

Web Catalogue

Selected films from the workshops can be accessed at the following sites:

http://www.labour-in-a-single-shot.net http://www.eine-einstellung-zur-arbeit.net

Exhibits

Selected films will be shown in museums and galleries in seven international locations. Initial exhibits took place in Tel Aviv and Lisbon.
Exhibits are currently being planned for Lodz (Poland), Bangalore (India), Mexico City, and Montreal. Final exhibits are being planned for Boston (October 2014) and Berlin (January 2015). A number of completed films have been selected for the Venice Biennale, where they are currently being shown in the Latin America Pavilion.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 25 film students or filmmakers will be selected from all applicants to participate in the workshop. All age groups are welcome – students, independent film makers, professors dedicated to documentary film making, and alumni. Selection criteria are: creativity in film-making, ideas, engagement, and outstanding film results. The Boston workshop will have a special focus on the representation of intellectual work. Several workshop spots are reserved for MIT and Harvard students.

LOCATIONS

Goethe Institute Boston, 170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Building E15-3rd floor) – Cambridge

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE Wednesday, Oct. 9, 5 p.m.: (Goethe-Institut) Thursday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.: (MIT) Sunday, Oct. 13, 1 p.m.:(MIT) Wednesday, Oct. 16, 5 p.m.: (Goethe-Institut Saturday, Oct. 19, 1 p.m.: (MIT)` Monday, Oct. 21, 1 p.m.,5:pm: (MIT and Goethe-Institut)

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m.: ( Final public screening of workshop films) Goethe-Institut

METHODOLOGY

At the beginning of the workshop, each participant will present a proposal based on advance research and comprising the specific type of work to be filmed, the manner of filming in a single sequence, the protagonist and/or the location. The workshop will include theory as well as practical work. Days without scheduled sessions are reserved for research and filming in groups. Exact schedules will be decided during the workshop. Participants will take on various assignments.

Application DEADLINE: September 12, 2013

REQUIREMENTS

a) Fluency in English (the workshop will be held in English)

b) US Visa or U.S. citizenship

c) The applicant has either participated in a short film or a movie (as an actor or in the production process) or is a film student at a film school.

d) Workshop attendance is free of charge. Participants will cover their own cost for travel, accommodations and meals.

e) The participant agrees to attend all workshop sessions. Upon completion,
participants will receive a certificate of attendance, and their film will be posted on the project’s website.

f) Only individual applications will be accepted – no group applications, please. g) The applicant may bring his/her own camera and equipment.

h) The application form should be completed in full and submitted online.
It can be found athttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/1758Oze0UWvxKIKiBULn32hIApuBQpX67TeBgcoa9NbQ/viewform. If you are selected, your name will be published on the organizers’ website.

i) Along with the application, a film (excerpt) of no more than 2 minutes should be submitted on DVD or as a live stream link. (Selection criteria are the creativity combined with the expressive power of the images in a one-minute time span.)

j) Selected participants will be notified by email on September 20, 2013. On the same day, the list of selected participants will be published.


Toasted Marshmallows

I love the story of how Marcelitte Failla and Anoushka Ratnarajah met: both were Fellows at the Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics’ Emerging Artist Program. In many ways it parallels my own journey in creating more comfortable spaces for Mixed-identified people: through sharing stories I forged relationships that would lead to wonderful projects like Mixed Chicks Chat, the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival and now, Mixed Roots Stories!

Marcelitte and Anoushka have teamed up to produce Toasted Marshmallows – a documentary exploring the experiences of Mixed-identified North American women. They’ve already completed a successful Indiegogo campaign (raising well-over their initial goal) and are now participating in a project with the Brooklyn Museum. Check them out and support them and the film in any way you can!

Website: www.ToastedMarshmallowProject.com