Many thanks to Ross McElwee for inviting me to show my work-in-profess of Indelible Lalita to his Intermediate Video Class at Harvard today. It was interesting to show the film to a young audience, and get some final feedback as I finish the project.
Audition for BU Student Films
My Production I students are holding an audition for their final projects this semester (16 short films with minimal dialogue but hopefully strong visual storytelling) - please come if you are interested:
Thursday, Oct. 20, 6-9pm
640 Commonwealth Ave., Room 100
Boston, MA
Public Health Film Festival
The American Public Health Association is holding the eighth annual APHA Film Festival at its annual meeting and exposition in DC this fall. My piece Shifting the Public Health Paradigm, produced last year for the Center for Health Equity and Social Justice at the Boston Public Health Commission, will be showing on Wednesday, November 2 at 12:30pm. (For all of you who happen to be attending the conference and happen to be free at that time!)
NAPT funds MY LOUISIANA LOVE
We're so excited that Native American Public Telecommunications has just funded My Louisiana Love, a film by Sharon Linezo Hong that I am editing and co-producing. We're hoping this will mean a public television broadcast in 2012 or 2013.
My Louisiana Love traces a woman's quest to find a place in her Native American community as it reels from decades of environmental degradation. Monique Verdin returns to Southeast Louisiana to reunite with her Houma Indian family. But soon she sees that her people's traditional way of life - fishing, trapping, and hunting in these fragile wetlands - is threatened by a cycle of man-made environmental crises.
Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil leak are just the latest rounds in this century-old cycle that is forcing Monique's clan to adapt in new ways. Monique must overcome the loss of her house, her father, and her partner - and redefine the meaning of home.
Clarifying the Mission at Stand for Children
I had the pleasure of working with Maria Daniels , Communications and Marketing Director for Stand for Children, on a short video for their staff retreat. This great organization works to ensure that all children, regardless of their background, have equal access to a good education. We made a video that presented Stand for Children's national vision - what animates their work in many different states, and where they see their work going.
Music for INDELIBLE LALITA
Last Sunday we recorded music for my upcoming film, Indelible Lalita. The score was composed by my husband, Jorrit Dijkstra, and performed by Geni Skendo (flutes), Carla Kihlstedt (violin, voila, and voice), and her husband Matthias Bossi (piano, organ, percussion).
I'm really excited to cut the music into the film. It turned out to be a minimalistic but meaningful mix of long tones with Indian-style drones from the tampora and shruuti box.... definite influence from the great filmmker/composer Satyajit Ray. In the many months (years!) of editing this film, I had never thought that music would play much of a role - but in the end I feel that this score brings out the film's complex themes and raises it to a new level.
I loved the bends and twists in Geni's flute lines, and was thrilled by the late addition of some very cool instrumental voice from Carla. Audience members will have to listen hard to hear the delicate breaths and breaking tones; it may have more subconscious effect than conscious.
Thanks to all the musicians for a great day, and to our engineer Brian Cass of Sounds Interesting Studio in Middleboro, MA.
Zeega Ho!
I'm totally in awe of the three Harvard affiliates - Jesse Shapins, James Burns, and Kara Oehler - who have just won the Knight News Challenge to develop a software called Zeega to make collaborative multimedia documentary-making easier. Sixteen projects by "journalism futurists" were chosen out of 2,500 submissions. The group will receive a stunning $420,000 of support.
The Harvard Gazette had a nice article about the prize announcement. Congratulations to Jesse, James, and Kara! We'll all be watching to see how your project develops.