Building Community and Communication with Film

I hope Robin doesn't mind, but I'd like to plug a project I'm working on. It's non-profit and great for the city and for kids.

The Louisville Film Society ( http://www.louisvillefilm.org/ ) has teamed with Community Cinema ( http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/getinvolved/), the outreach program of ITVS's Independent Lens series on PBS, and Fern Creek High School for monthly screenings (free!) of films from that series. Each screening is followed by a panel discussion with folks from area organizations. Our next showing, January 21 at 3:30 and 6:00, is Garbage Dreams (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLhrz4YlDaQ) , a film about the 'outcast' Coptic community in Egypt and kids there who collect and recycle garbage. Our March film, Dirt! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALK6zg550uc), should be of special interest to foodies. We hope to have a panelist from the film YERT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb1ohS8buws) participate.

LFS has helped the kids at FCHS form a film club and they are helping run the program. Eventually we hope to have the students making films and running an independent theater at Fern Creek.

We want Fern Creek and Community Cinema to be a place where ideas and issues are discussed, young people are involved in film and ideas, and the wider community begins to talk together.

Hope some of you can make it!

[Robin Garr]

I hope Robin doesn't mind, but I'd like to plug a project I'm working on. It's non-profit and great for the city and for kids.

Don't mind at all, Ken! Community-service, non-profit, charity, arts, education, etc., any kind of institutional and beneficial event like that is always in good order here.

Thanks, Robin!

One of our panelists for the January 21 screening of Garbage Dreams will be Mason Roberts of http://www.louisvillegrows.org/. It should be an excellent program. Here's praise for the film: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/movies/06garbage.html?ref=movies

Remember - it's free: 330 and 600 at Fern Creek High School - straight out Bardstown Road.

Reminder... Garbage Dreams tomorrow at 330 and 600. Free to the public. See a great film, have a great discussion. Garbage Dreams in on the short list for Oscar nominations.

Ken I think this is fantastic! I missed the Thursday screening but will look up the schedule for additional ones. I'm a former Creeker myself and I'm thrilled to see something like this at the school.

Carla... Thanks! We would love to see you at the screenings! We had some excellent coverage from the CJ of http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20101240350 Garbage Dreams. I love those kids at FCHS. I don't think people realize what great programs are going on in JCPS, and what wonderful students there are. People sit back and wallow in their prejudices. If they saw those kids questioning, opening their minds, using their creativity, they might change their own minds. One of the great things about having Community Cinema (it's a national program run by Independent Lens and PBS) is that it gets kids and adults in conversation about real topics and on an equal level. Our students were teaching the adults about composting. These spontaneous connections are real and deep.

Our next film, February 18, will be The Eyes of Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8rzHzKbGCA ) and I'm hoping to have panelists from the School for the Blind. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to the March 18 screening of Dirt! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKPcuwOOGqY&feature=PlayList&p=D97FCC6661346112&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1 I've lined up the people from YERThttp://www.yert.com/ and am hoping to get someone from Heine Bros.'s Breaking New Grounds program http://www.breakingnewgrounds.org/... a really important film for the people on Hotbytes.

Reminder: tomorrow is our next Community Cinema screening at Fern Creek High School. We have some great kids working to make this a Louisville institution. Our film this month is The Eyes of Me, about blind teenagers adjusting to life. On our panel will be Kenny Jones from the Kentucky School for the Blind.

Come join the screening and discussion!

http://www.louisvillefilm.org/community-cinema.html

Watch the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPcnAvKDwog