Human Rights Film Series: The Reckoning

Please join us and our guests —filmmakers Pamela Yates and Paco De Onis— as we screen the film from 5:30-7:00pm and then from 7:00pm -8pm engage in a discussion with them.

Human Rights Film Series: New Muslim Cool

Please join us and our guest —filmmaker Jennie Taylor— as we screen New Muslim Cool film from 5:30-7:00 pm and then from 7:00 -8:00 pm engage in a discussion with her.

Public Media Camp

Human Rights Film Series: Taking Root

Please join us and our guests as we screen the film from 5:30-7:00pm and then from 7:00pm -8pm engage in a discussion with Mary Lampson, the film editor.

Human Rights Film Series: Burma VJ

Please join us and our guests —four Burmese monks who were key players in the uprisings— as we screen Burma VJ film from 5:30-7:00pm and then from 7:00pm -8:00 pm engage in a discussion with the monks.

10th Annual Human Rights Film Series

In conjunction with our partners at Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, our film series showcases documentaries that highlight key human rights issues. All screenings are FREE and open to the public. Filmmakers and advocacy experts will be on hand to participate in discussions after the films. Screenings will take place at American University’s Katzen Arts Center and Wechsler Theater from 5:30 —8:00pm.

Human Rights Month Kick Off Event sponsored by AU’s School of Communication

October 2, 2009 @ Katzen Arts Center —As We Forgive 7:30 pm

With special guest —filmmaker Laura Waters Hinson

Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, a documentary about Rosaria and Chantal-two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide. Watch the trailer. .

Our 10th Annual Human Rights Film Series will feature documentaries that address international human rights issues and will bring together audiences and experts to discuss how the viewer can make a difference.

Films will be screened on Thursdays in October from 5:30pm — 8:00pm on the campus of American University. Each screening will feature special guests and will be followed by an in-depth discussion of the film and the issues they approach.

Our films this year include:

• October 8, 2009 @ the Katzen Arts Center - Burma VJ

With special guests —Burmese monks

Armed with video-cameras a tenacious band of Burmese reporters face down death to expose the repressive regime controlling their country. Watch the trailer.


• October 15, 2009 @ the Wechsler Theater - Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

With special guest —film editor Mary Lampson

The dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy-a movement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration.Watch the trailer.


• October 22, 2009 @ the Wechsler Theater - New Muslim Cool

With special guest — filmmaker Jennifer Maytorena Taylor

Take a ride with Puerto Rican American rapper Hamza Perez’s through the streets, projects and jail cells of urban America, following his spiritual journey to some surprising places - where we can all see ourselves reflected in a world that never stops changing. Watch the trailer.


• October 29, 2009 @ the Katzen Arts Center - The Reckoning

With special guests —Paco De Onis and Pamela Yates

Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for the rebel leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, puts 4 Congolese warlords on trial in The Hague, charges the President of Sudan with genocide and war crimes in Darfur, challenges the UN Security Council to have him arrested, and shakes up the Colombian criminal justice system. Will this tiny upstart court in The Hague tame the Wild West of international conflict zones and end the culture of impunity? Watch the trailer.

Human Rights Month Kick Off Event—As We Forgive

A documentary about Rosaria and Chantal—two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide. The subjects of As We Forgive speak for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation.

Join us for the local film premiere and discussion with the filmmaker. Laura Waters Hinson, an AU alumna, won a student Academy Award for her powerful, moving film about reconciliation in Rwanda, As We Forgive. At the screening, Hinson will discuss her tough choices in telling a story both heartbreaking and uplifting, and share her production and funding strategies. You’ll also meet Rwandan survivors, who will talk about the reconciliation process.Watch trailer here

National Ethnic Media and Expo Awards

Media That Matters Festival World Premiere

Media That Matters: MORE THAN A FESTIVAL
WORLD PREMIERE, NYC

Wednesday June 3, 2009
6:00 pm – Doors Open
Arrive early to take part in the impACT salon with some of our presenting partners for Take Action opportunities and a chance to meet the festival filmmakers.

7:00 - 9:00 pm – Screening of ninth annual Media That Matters Film Festival
Be among the first to see the 12 new inspiring short films selected this year by our jury of 12 incredible activists and media makers.

The theater is accessible by wheelchair.

Presenting Partners for impACT salon includes WITNESS, POV, MercyCorps, Creative Commons, Miro and Breakthrough.

Buy your tickets today before they sell out!

Internews Media Leadership Awards

As members of the Host Committee, we’re proud to invite you to 2009 Internews Media Leadership Awards.

On Tuesday June 2nd from 5:30-7:00pm Internews will honor media makers that work to empower local media around the world.

For more details please visit their website here

Reel Journalism’s A Mighty Heart

WASHINGTON — A Mighty Heart

“Hollywood’s portrayal of journalism has offered up countless images of news people, from the noble truth-seeker to the compromised scandalmonger. Influential and timeless, the “reel” reporter has helped shape the public’s view of real journalists.” says Newseum regarding its new series Reel Journalism

Join us on June 1st for a viewing of A Mighty Heart.

The movie depicts the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, based on his widow, Mariane Pearl’s, harrowing 2003 memoir. Mariane and Steve Stecklow, the last person to share a byline with Daniel, reflect on Daniel’s life, death and what it means to work as a journalist in peril in a post-9/11 world.

Urban Nexus Conference

Reel Journalism’s The War Room

WASHINGTON — “The War Room.”

“Hollywood’s portrayal of journalism has offered up countless images of news people, from the noble truth-seeker to the compromised scandalmonger. Influential and timeless, the “reel” reporter has helped shape the public’s view of real journalists.” says Newseum regarding its new series Reel Journalism

Join us on May 18th for a viewing of The War Room. Our Center director Pat Aufderheide will be there to introduce the speakers

Speakers: George Stephanopoulos, Paul Begala and Dee Dee Myers

Stephanopoulos is the host and moderator of ABC’s “This Week” and chief Washington correspondent for ABC News.

Begala is a political contributor for CNN, a top Democratic strategist, and a research professor of government and public policy at Georgetown University.

Dee Dee Myers, the first woman to serve as White House press secretary, worked for President Bill Clinton during his first administration. She is currently a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and a political analyst and commentator.

SOC’s Annual VISIONS Festival

American University’s School of Communication’s annual VISIONS festival honors top students whose work meets the highest standards of artistic and professional excellence.

VISIONS AWARDS CEREMONY

Come join us and find out the winners of VISIONS Awards on Friday, May 1 at 7:30pm at the VISIONS AWARDS CEREMONY at the Wechsler Theater on the third floor of the Mary Graydon Center. The reception will begin at 7:30 with the awards ceremony at 8pm! Family and friends welcome!

SCREENING THE WINNERS

Check out this year’s VISIONS 2009 award winning films on Saturday, May 2 at 6pm at the Wechsler Theater. Winners’ films in their full length will be screened at this time! Family and friends welcome!

Unseen and Unheard -Student Film Screening

These films are work of teams of American University Anthropology and Film students from UNSEEN & UNHEARD: Documentary Storytelling in the Other Washington, a new cross-disciplinary course in Anthropology and Filmmaking taught by AU Filmmaker-in-Residence Nina Shapiro-Perl, PhD. Students documented the stories of the unseen and unheard areas of DC. Please join us at the screening of student films with student filmmakers, community partners and the people featured in the films! For more on Unseen and Unheard Project visit the website.

The CINE Awards Gala 2009

Spring is just around the corner, and so is CINE’s Annual Awards Gala!

Plan to join them for this very special evening on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at the Embassy of France as CINE recognizes the winners of their Masters’ Award and the Student Award of Excellence, and honor three people whose contributions to the film, television and new media industry set them apart.

Meet Award Winning filmmakers and get excerpts of their work.

Connect to fellow student and professional filmmakers.

For more information and tickets visit: http://www.cine.org.

Reel Journalism Screening All the President’s Men

We are pleased to invite you to the Reel Journalism Film Screening of All the President’s Men on Monday, March 16 at 7pm. The film series, a co-production of AU’s School of Communication and the Newseum, will take place in the Newseum’s 500-seat, state-of-the-art Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Due to the limited number of complimentary VIP tickets we have for this otherwise sold-out event, please RSVP to by return email by Friday, March 6.

The upcoming Reel Journalism film events will feature "The War Room" (May 18) with panelists George Stephanopoulos and Paul Begala; and "A Mighty Heart" (June 1) with panelists Mariane Pearl and Steve Stecklow. Tickets for the May and June film events are on sale now and may be purchased at http://www.newseum.org/events_edu/reel_journalism/

Join us on March 16th.

Now in its fifth year, Reel Journalism brings together Washington newsmakers with Hollywood producers, directors and actors to discuss the sometimes accurate and sometimes questionable depictions of journalists in films, and the larger role of journalism in a democratic society.

The March program will include a live panel discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Woodward and Bernstein, portrayed in the film by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, will discuss their roles as investigative journalists in exposing government corruption at the highest level. All the President’s Men follows the intrepid Washington Post reporters as they investigate a trail of deception that leads to the Nixon White House, and ultimately to the resignation of an American President.

The Reel Journalism panel will be moderated by Distinguished Journalist-in-Residence and AUSOC faculty member, Nick Clooney. Nick is author of “The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen,” and is teaching a course based on his book during the spring semester at American University.

We are pleased to extend to you this VIP invitation. However, we must hear back from you by Friday, March 6 to reserve a ticket in your name. You may pick up your VIP ticket at the Newseum’s admissions desk earlier on 3/16 to tour the exhibits. The coffee bar in the Newseum Food Section will be open until 6:30pm to purchase assorted sandwiches, salads, gelato, wine-beer-coffee-tea-sodas.

Paris is Burning screening with Jennie Livingston

The Center for Social Media in partnership with Multicultural Affairs and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Ally Resource Center are pleased to announce a screening of Paris is Burning on April 1, 2009 at the Wechsler Theater. Paris is Burning, a groundbreaking documentary that chronicles the culture of New York City drag balls, explores complex issues surrounding race, sexuality, and identity. We’ll kick off the evening with the short film Who’s the Top?, that has been shown at over 100 film festivals. Filmmaker Jennie Livingston will be in attendance through out the evening to lead a discussion and to answer questions about both films.

Praise for Paris is Burning

“Zeroing in on an obscure and outré corner of a subculture, Livingston’s film ends up shedding an extraordinary light on American culture as a whole.” - Davis Ansen, Newsweek

Bombs in Our Backyard

With footage dating back to 1993, the film uncovers a large, local U.S. Army cover-up in the Washington D.C. area of Spring Valley, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of the nation’s capital, where a forgotten WWI Manhattan Project is being unearthed. This FUDS (or Formerly Used Defense Site) raises questions of public responsibility, health issues and public safety as officials hunt for our own weapons of mass destruction. Directed and produced by Ginny Durrin. Produced by Durrin Productions, Inc.

Hosted by Chris Palmer, Professor, American University. A panel discussion follows each screening with Director Ginny Durrin; Paul Walker of Global Green; Mark Baker, Spring Valley Army Historian; reporter Charlie Bermpohl and Dr. Tom Burke, Johns Hopkins Center for Excellence in Environmental Health Tracking and Practice.

SXSW 2009 From Script to Screen Panel

From March 13-21 in Austin, Texas; musicians, filmmakers and media makers unite at South by Southwest Festival.

This year, Pat Aufderheide will be presenting at the panel: From Script to Screen

Sunday March 15th

1:00pm - 2:00pm

Here’s what they’re saying about SXSW.

“In its 22 years, SXSW has grown from a tiny music festival in the Texas capital into a massive, unavoidable media beast that reflects, discusses and showcases trends in culture and media but also often creates them.” National Post, 3/13/08

Mashup/Remix 2009: The Future of Creative Production and Ownership

CSM Associate Director Alison Hanold will be speaking at the opening session of the Mashup/Remix Conference on March 12, 2009 at Ohio State University. She will be speaking about the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video, and how it is important that we recognize that new culture evolves out of existing culture.

“The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and Wexner Center for the Arts have collaborated for a novel discussion on the implications of mashup and remix in the world of Web 2.0. Recent technological developments have created a wave of user-generated content in which pre-existing sounds and images are appropriated, reshaped, and shared with unprecedented ease. Bringing together new media artists, prominent academics, and influential members of the media community, this event will discuss ways in which the digitization of music, film, and visual art over the internet is influencing the future of these industries and the future of copyright law.” Find out more here.

Paris Is Burning with Filmmaker Jennie Livingston

Paris is Burning Screening When: April 1st, Screening: 5:30pm Q&A 7:00pm Where: Wechsler Theater @ American University On April 1st Jennie Livingston comes to American University to show her award winning film Paris Is Burning. This film was a breakthrough in documentary film as it was one of the first times in public film life, where the gay and lesbian scene in the Black and Latino communities of New York was portrayed. Come see the film and join Jennie for a Q&A afterwards.

Making Your Media Matter 2009

How can media makers connect their ethical and aesthetic values with their financial needs?

The Center for Social Media recently hosted established and aspiring filmmakers, non-profit communications leaders, funders, and students to our 5th annual Making Your Media Matter conference. This was a perfect opportunity to learn and share cutting-edge practices for creating media that matters.

For more information about the conference, to read the Rapporteur’s report, and to watch videos from the event, click here.

We Shall Remain screening

Please join us for a sneak preview screening and discussion of Wounded Knee, an official selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and part of the upcoming miniseries We Shall Remain (pbs.org/weshallremain) from PBS’s American Experience. Award-winning director Stanley Nelson (Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, The Murder of Emmett Till) and executive producer Sharon Grimberg will be on hand to answer questions after the film, which brings to life the gripping and controversial story of a 1973 armed standoff between American Indian activists and the federal government that captured the world’s attention for 71 suspenseful days.

The Best of Input 2009

The "Best of INPUT" event in the Washington area features several evenings of screenings that highlight the best of the INPUT conferences held all over the world.

INPUT, the International Public Television Screening Conference, is a week-long producers’ screening and discussion showcase that has been held in cities around the world since 1978. This unique public television event is the only international conference that focuses specifically on the innovative programs produced by public broadcasters.

More than 1,000 submissions from over sixty countries are reviewed each year by an international jury of peers, resulting in a final selection of 85-100 of the world’s most provocative productions. The point of INPUT is not just to screen these works, but rather to discuss and debate them among television professionals.

This year the partners include the Center for Social Media, Goethe-Institut, La Maison Française, Embassy of Canada, Government of Québec, Silverdocs, WHUT/Howard University Television, in cooperation with INPUT, and the International Public Television Screening Conference.

After a year of INPUT conferences, the partners have chosen the best of the best to bring them directly to you. Please see the schedule below and check it out!

FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 7:00 pm

Silverdocs/American Film Institute, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Metro: Silver Spring

http://www.silverdocs.com

Reservations online: http://www.afi.com/silver

The Glow of White Women. Dir. Yunus Vally. 78’ documentary.

A documentary by, and about, Yunus Vally born in the 1960s into a Muslim family, during the height of Apartheid in South Africa. This idiosyncratic program chronicles Yunus’s attempts to make sense of his past as he examines the effect the discriminatory laws of the State – specifically the so-called Immorality Act that determined who you could love and the censorship regulations which clearly defined what was deemed desirable – had on his life.

FROM CANADA

Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 6:30 pm

Canadian Embassy (with Government of Québec), 501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001 Metro: Judiciary Square

www.CanadianEmbassy.org

Reservations required: 202-448-6341

Mississippi Cold Case. Dir. David Ridgen. 85’, documentary

In this fascinating documentary, director David Ridgen accompanies Mississippi-born Thomas Moore as they attempt to crack a long-dormant civil rights case in which Moore’s brother was murdered. In 2005, the two discover new evidence and go on a long road trip with a camera to confront a Ku Klux Klan member who was involved in the brutal killing. Re-opening the case leads to a trial and – even more surprisingly – to reconciliation between the victim’s brother and one of the key witnesses to the murder.

preceded by

Sleeping Betty (Isabelle au bois dormant). Dir. Claude Gauthier. 14’ Animation

Old tales have a long future… For those who think nothing new can be said about the well known fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty – think again. This classically made animation is witty and handsomely produced.

FROM THE USA

Thursday, January 29, 2009, 8:00 pm

WHUT/Howard University Television, Channel 32 (broadcast event)

www.whut.org

A Son’s Sacrifice. Dir. Yoni Brook. 27’, documentary

At first glance, Imran Uddin is just another 27-year-old New Yorker struggling to take over his family’s business – a "pick-your-own" Halal slaughterhouse. The son of an immigrant, Imran must confront his mixed Bangladeshi-Puerto Rican heritage and gain acceptance from his father’s conservative Muslim community.

FROM GERMANY

Friday, January 30, 2009, 6:30 pm

Goethe-Institut Washington, 812 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown

www.goethe.de/washington

Reservations: 202 289-1200

Pool of Princesses (Prinzessinnenbad). Dir. Bettina Blümner. 92’, Documentary

A close look at teenage culture in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood. Three 15-year old girls, the best of friends, are convinced that the period of being silly and immature is far behind them. The proof of their maturity is their pure charm, tough attitude and daring frankness, or is it? The most valuable thing for the filmmakers here is the incredible access they have to their subjects.

FROM FRANCE

Sunday, February 1, 2009, 3 pm

La Maison Française, 4101 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC 20007

www.la-maison-francaise.org

Reservations: “Please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), providing your surname, first name and the number of persons in your party.

Parking available on a first come, first served basis.”

Starck vs. Starck. (Starck contre Starck). Dir. Vassili Silovic. 52’ documentary

Philippe Starck is a famous designer and Vassili Silovic is a director who is trying to do a film portrait of Starck. A standard assignment in public television. The only problem is the designer refuses to talk about himself. A television documentary portrait about the nature of television documentary portraits.

Citizen King Screening

Join us for a screening of this part of PBS’ American Experience series that focuses on the last ?ve years of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life —Citizen King. The ?lm includes a broad spectrum of interviews from people who knew Dr. King, and explores the effect that his life had on the nation, both while he was alive, and how his legacy lives on after his assassination.

We Shall Remain screening

Please join us for a sneak preview screening and discussion of Wounded Knee, an official selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and part of the upcoming miniseries We Shall Remain (pbs.org/weshallremain) from PBS’s American Experience. Award-winning director Stanley Nelson (Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, The Murder of Emmett Till) and executive producer Sharon Grimberg will be on hand to answer questions after the film, which brings to life the gripping and controversial story of a 1973 armed standoff between American Indian activists and the federal government that captured the world’s attention for 71 suspenseful days.