Archive for Blog

Women & Girls Matter: Media That Matters 11th Annual Festival

/ / Comments Off on Women & Girls Matter: Media That Matters 11th Annual Festival

Women and Girls Matter At the Media That Matters 11th Annual Festival

October 29th, 2011

SOC DOC-School of Visual Arts (136 W, 21st St. NYC. 1st Floor)

Panel Descriptions

We have heard the unnerving statistics: In commercial film, only 7 percent of directors, 6 percent of directors of photography, and 20 percent of producers are female. Women fare slightly better in documentary, where they make up 28% of directors and 11% of directors of photography. Still, the figures are dismal.

Women and Girls Matter, a day of panels and workshops at the Media That Matters Film Festival, is designed to look at the obstacles and opportunities for women and girls in filmmaking and new media, highlight the values that we bring to our work, and open up a dialogue for ways to create new spaces for our voices in the field.

While the day focuses on the needs of women in film, we hope to conclude the day with concrete actions for participants to take to help bring the voices of women and girls out of the margins and into the mainstream.

Arts Engine is hoping in the next year to sponsor more events focusing on women & girls in film and new media. The dialogue generated at the event will help shape the direction of those activities.

9:30-11:00 a.m.

Opening Doors and Windows: Access and Gender in Documentary Filmmaking

The making of a successful documentary film depends on access to the film’s subject(s). This includes building a relationship of trust to establish intimate access, as well as having the ability to go everywhere your subject goes in order to have physical access.

To what extent does gender play a role in the ability to follow a subject? What are the obstacles and opportunities for female filmmakers in establishing access? How do these obstacles and opportunities shape choices, from choosing a topic through the logistical planning of shoots, crafting interview questions and capturing the most intimate moments? How does gender play a role in creating boundaries and in the relationship between the subject and the filmmaker?

Join established filmmakers as they share their personal experiences with the ways in which their gender has played a role in the creation of their films. The session will allow ample time for questions and dialogue.

Panelists:

Kirsten Johnson, Cinematographer: The Oath, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, Co-Director: Deadline

Yoruba Richen, Producer/Director: Promised Land

Lisa F. Jackson, Producer/Director: The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo, Sex Crimes Unit

Moderator:

Michelle Materre, Independent Media Consultant

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Breaking and Entering:  A Young Women’s Guide to Starting a Career in Film

The younger generation has great access to audiences; filmmaking and editing technology is cheaper than ever and web-based distribution platforms are open to all. What is the current climate for young women and girls breaking into filmmaking? What resources are available, and what is lacking? Are roles behind the camera gendered?

Hear the story straight from girl media makers and their mentors. We’ll discuss opportunities for advancement as well as obstacles they faced and lessons learned along the way.

Panelists:

Youth Filmmaker from ReelWorks

Youth Filmmaker & Peer Mentor from Maysles Institute

Kadiatou Diallo, Media That Matters youth filmmaker, Producer/Director:  Isa’s Final Draft

Moderator:

Kathleen Sweeney, Professor of Transmedia Studies at The New School, author of Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age

LUNCH

2:00-3:30 p.m.

Throwing Open the House: What Next for Women and Girls in Film and New Media?

Even as women have continued to make significant headway in other industries, the film business has remained a heavily male-dominated shop. Despite this reality, women filmmakers have not only persevered, but in recent years have been the driving force behind some of the industry’s most powerful feature and documentary films.

In what ways can female leadership impact gender norms in the film industry?  How are the values that women bring to the table informing not only what media we create but how we create it?  What can gatekeepers do to open doors and bring more women into the circle? What are the steps to engaging the interest and cultivating the talents of the next generation of girls?

Join a panel of changemakers as they evaluate the shifting landscape and explore solutions to breaking down more barriers for women and girls in filmmaking.

Panelists:

Beth Davenport, Women’s Institute Online Program Manager, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies

Mallika Dutt, President & CEO, Breakthrough

Aina Abiodun, Film Futurist; Founder, Aina Media, Inc.

Moderator:

Teresa Basilio, Director of Media In Action, Global Action Project

4:00-6:00 p.m.

Building a Community: A New Media Audience Engagement Workshop

New Media platforms have become essential for filmmakers to reach audiences and engender action.  Technology has the power to transform human behavior, shift culture, and shape institutions.

Join us as we watch Burning Barriers (Jasmine Fox, Matteo Mobilio, Laura Weisbord, and Brithney Williams), a youth-directed Media That Matters film about women firefighters. A facilitator will guide us through the New Media/Film landscape, sharing some extraordinary projects emerging at the intersection of these two worlds.

Small facilitated groups will have the opportunity to brainstorm their own New Media projects based Burning Barriers, each group planning a website, a game, a social media plan, or an online distribution strategy. Each group will also come up with a list of actions (new media or conventionally based) to take following the workshop to help promote the roles of women and girls in film.

No prior experience or technological skills are necessary.

Moderator: Judith Helfand, Chicken & Egg Pictures

*LIGHT RECEPTION TO FOLLOW

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

Gender Bending Performances & Playing Around with Gender Presented by East Side Institute

/ / Comments Off on Gender Bending Performances & Playing Around with Gender Presented by East Side Institute
ESI Reg Blue
The East Side Institute invites you to a

gender-bending weekend of play and performance…

Gender Bending Performances:

An Evening with Johnny Blazes

Friday, October 21, 7:00-9:00pm

Most people are taught from infancy how to perform their assigned gender.  While some stereotypes are quite blatant (pink is for girls, blue is for boys), many more of them are supremely subtle.  It is these unacknowledged, unchallenged stereotypes that serve to maintain the status quo.  Performance artist Johnny Blazes’ lecture/demonstration uses visual puns and performance tropes to make some of these underlying stereotypes visible, as well as to discuss the visual vocabulary of gender available for conscious performers to use in their work.  Johnny draws upon hir experience as a clown, dance improviser and drag performer to fuel discussion on the performance of gender in daily life as well as onstage.

________________________________

PLAYGROUND! Playing Around with Gender
with Carrie Lobman and Johnny Blazes

Saturday, October 22, 10:30am-12:30pm

Little boys can be ballerinas and little girls, cowboys. Kids’ gender play and experimentation with roles is typically lots of fun and often developmental. As adults, it gets a bit more complicated.  For many, gender is something we don’t think about, or are uncomfortable with if we do. For others, challenging gender norms can be serious business, with little room for play or pointlessness. Join Johnny Blazes and Carrie Lobman in creating a “playground” where we try out some new performances of gender and, in that process, raise some fun and philosophical questions about our commitment to a “true identity,” be it pink, blue or purple.

Named “one of Boston’s rising stars” by StuffMagazine, Johnny Blazes is known for hir gender bending and blending tongue-in-cheek performances “that defy categorization” at venues like TraniWreck, The Femme Show, and The Theater Offensive’s Works-In-Progress showings, where ze transforms into drag king, femme queen, and sundry colorful characters in between.

Carrie Lobman, Ed.D. is associate professor at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. An innovative teacher and teacher trainer, she is the Institute’s director of pedagogy and faculty member. Carrie is a sought-after workshop leader and frequently presents to professional associations, including the American Educational Research Association, The Association for the Study of Play and the International Society for Culture and Activity Research. She is co-author of Unscripted Learning: Using Improvisation Across the K-8 Curriculum.

920 Broadway, 14th Floor (betw. 20th & 21st Streets)

October 21 only: $20.00/$25.00 at the door

October 22 only: $15.00/$20.00 at the door

October 21 & 22 (both): $30.00 (in advance only)

To register go to:

http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=221885

or mmeyer@eastsideinstitute.org, 212.941.8906, ext 304.

East Side Institute | www.eastsideinstitute.org
Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

Call to Action: Marginalized Voices Unite “Occupy Wall St.” Movement

/ / Comments Off on Call to Action: Marginalized Voices Unite “Occupy Wall St.” Movement

* The leadership of Paradigm Shift support – join us! *

Hello World!

An amazing thing happened just this weekend. I asked some of the  women who most inspired and influenced me to help amplify my voice and in turn give voice to all those who remain unheard. The remarkable thing is they said ‘Yes!’. The loudest yes came from Eve Ensler, original ‘Vagina Warrior,’ Tony Award winning Playwright, performer, author and activist. Her answer has emboldened me and countless others. You may have heard the chants at Zuccotti Park, or on the Brooklyn Bridge, or coming from Washington Square Park and Time Square. ‘The whole world is watching, the whole world is watching!’ I wasn’t so sure until now.

As the whole world listens in, some of the marginalized voices who help make up the 99% are speaking out and sharing their story. I am determined to make sure their voices are heard. Eve met with me and Melanie Butler of Code Pink NYC at Zuccotti Park at 4pm this past Sunday. They helped me facilitate an open dialogue with a huge group of people equally as impassioned but varied in every way.

We all are concerned with the ways this unlivable economy has promoted sexism, racism, classism, trans-misogyny,the legacy of colonialism and has furthered the mounting war on unions and women’s health. The brutality and exploitation disproportionally harms people who are not being heard. This sort of injustice is linked to the unbearable circumstances we face globally.

We have called for a day of action where we explicitly focus on the voices unheard. We must provide a space for those voices to be amplified as they have for too long been silenced. We now have the opportunity to join together and challenge those who profit from these excessive barriers. We demand that the media, corporations, government, and the global community take notice.

Although the dialogue began by approaching feminism and gender equality, we quickly decided that focusing on this alone fails to address the varied experiences that have made this movement so compelling to the entire world.  We have learned from movements past that and we cannot allow a homogenize group to further the message of all.

I have attached the minutes of the first meeting and plan to be at Zuccotti Park this Sunday:

Volunteer to make phone calls: gomelaniego@gmail.com

Goal: intersecting marginalized people. Ppl who are part of the 99%,

  • women’s caucus
  • Childcare
  • Techniques for reaching women
  • start writing blogs, sending the message
  • 1st talking point: the economy
  • slave burial grounds
  • proposal: next Sat. or the following Sat – women’s day
  • amendment: include all marginalized ppl – b/c what involves women involves everyone.
  • begin the day with a recognition of the indigenous peoples
  • honor all the indigenous peoples.
  • recognize and address, weave the issues of indigenous peoples’ struggles, the history
  • drop the “occupy” language – signifies violence against indigenous women and black people
  • the Lanape people are alive and well
  • making connections between colonial violence and economic violence
  • suggestion “humanize wall street”
  • additional ideas:
  • reach out to powerful figures and figures that should be powerful.
  • include transgendered people
  • Story time
  • 3 or 4 paragraphs: Something weird, something that disturbs you, something political, something exciting
  • “I don’t think the world understands yet how amazing this is”
  • “artivism”

We will continue this dialogue until the conditions that necessitated this discussion are resolved.

I need your help in order to really pull this off. I know first hand how easily such amazing opportunities can be lost. This is our moment, it’s crucial that you do what you can. The mere fact that what we now know as the Occupy Wall Street movement has given me the means to reach Eve Ensler, my personal inspiration, is proof to me that this is real, that this is big, and that it is already breaking down barriers.  There are a few things you can do to help me.

  1. Come to Zuccotti Park and contribute to this dialogue and find out how you can help plan the day of action. We will meet again this Sunday October 23rd at 4pm.
  2. Contact me (TellArielle@gmail.com) or Melanie Butler (Melanie@codepink.org) and let us know you want to help and what you can provide, especially in regard to the day of action.
  3. Ask people who inspire you to join you at Zuccotti Park. Hold your heros to task and ask them to help amplify this message. We all deserve better than what we face and everyone faces different obstructions.
  4. Be a hero, examine your own privilege and inquire about how you can utilize it to give others voice and help express their story.
  5. Share your story! Eve Ensler is committed to amplifying your stories. Ambiguous UpSparkles From the Heart of the Park is the first in a series from Eve Ensler which she is publishing weekly.

I thank you listening to the start of my story. I hope that you see the potential and feel as compelled to act as Eve Ensler, Melanie Butler and the diverse countless others that have already joined in.

In solidarity,

Arielle Cohen

TellArielle@gmail.com

ariellecohen.org

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of the Black Left Feminism

/ / Comments Off on Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of the Black Left Feminism
Sojourning for Freedom:
Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of the Black Left Feminism

Oct. 13 Book Talk at NYU: Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, Am. Communism, and the Making of the Black Left Feminism

Come Celebrate the Publication of:

Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of the Black Left Feminism
with the author, Erik S. McDuffie

Thursday, October 13  at 6:00 pm
Tamiment Library, 70 Washington Square South, 10th Fl. of Bobst Library (btw.  LaGuardia & Greene St.) [Tamiment is a federally funded public research library inside an otherwise private university library.  driver’s type or other photo i.d. required.]

Reception to follow at: Camaradas el barrio, 2241 First Ave. NY, NY
For more information please contact:
Zuzanna Kobrzynski   zk3@nyu.edu

—
Check NY Activist Calendar frequently: http://nycal.mayfirst.org
Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

Freedom Walk 2011- Build Awareness Around Human Trafficking!

/ / Comments Off on Freedom Walk 2011- Build Awareness Around Human Trafficking!

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

NOW-NYS Annual Convention!

/ / Comments Off on NOW-NYS Annual Convention!
Join us
Saturday, October 1st, 2011
NOW-NYS Annual Convention
The Power of Us!

Location: SUNY Purchase, Purchase, NY
Information regarding directions to the convention and hotels nearby are on www.nownys.org
$30 students (includes registration and NOW membership for one year)
$30 for current NOW members
$50 for non members (includes a NOW membership for one year)
Proposed Agenda:
9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Registration and Credentialing (closed for lunch noon – 1:15 pm)
9:00 – 10:15 am Welcome to SUNY Purchase
N. Jerin Arifa, Arielle Cohen,
Special speaker:
Erin Matson, National NOW Action VP

10:15 – 10:30 am PLENARY I
*Call to Order
*Adoption of the Convention Rules
*Adoption of the Agenda
10:30 am – Noon PLENARY II
Three renowned national women’s movement leaders will share their insight and knowledge, focusing on past, present, and future strategies toward winning equality for women and girls. These well-know public figures will discuss both personal and professional experiences, and will be available for questions and answers after the presentations:
Special Speakers
Liz Abzug – Bella Abzug Leadership Institute, President/Founder
Zenaida Mendez – National Dominican Women’s Caucus, Executive Director
Terry O’Neill – National NOW President

12:00 – 1:15 pm – Lunch on your own
1:15 – 2:15 pm PLENARY III
Making a Difference in Your Community will be a workshop for current and potential leaders. Activists will share ideas and challenges for grassroots organizing and education in our respective communities. Young feminists will focus on how to create a feminist world that attracts new and younger women into the movement.
N. Jerin Arifa – Chair, NOW Young Feminist Task Force
Arielle Cohen – NOW Young Feminist Task Force Member
Emily May – Hollaback, Executive Director
Michelle Kinsey Bruns – Abortion Clinic Escort
Rachelle Suissa- VP, Brooklyn/Queens NOW

2:15-2:30- Break
2:30 – 3:15 pm PLENARY IV
A meet-the-author session will feature Jane LaTour, author of Sisters in the Brotherhood: Working Women Organizing for Equality, about the women who broke the gender barrier to blue-collar employment in various trades in the 1970s in New York.
3:15-3:30 -break
3:30- 4:30 pm PLENARY V
“Diversity in Our Movement”
asks: Is there room for all women? This plenary explores questions like: Can one be a feminist and religious? Can one be a feminist and conservative? The discussion will also explore such issues as “Who is a feminist and who decides?”   Open mike discussion with all participants. Join us for this very interesting feminist chat.
4:30 – 5:00 pm Vote for 2012 Convention, Resolutions, and Bylaws
Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

SALANDER/BLOMKVIST: CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES at the Brooklyn Museum

/ / Comments Off on SALANDER/BLOMKVIST: CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES at the Brooklyn Museum

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

“Planned Parenthood, I’m Here For You!” Comedy Tour with Lizz Winstead, Lisa Lampanelli, and more!

/ / Comments Off on “Planned Parenthood, I’m Here For You!” Comedy Tour with Lizz Winstead, Lisa Lampanelli, and more!

[Via Planned Parenthood]

LIZZ WINSTEAD, SANDRA BERNHARD, LISA LAMPANELLI, JOAN WALSH AND AMBROSIA PARSLEY PERFORM ONE NIGHT ONLY IN A BENEFIT FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NEW YORK CITY

The Daily Show Co-Creator and Air America Co-Founder

Hits NYC on Sept 22nd with her “Planned Parenthood, I’m Here For You!” Comedy Tour

New York, NY — Co-creator of The Daily Show and co-founder of Air America Radio, political satirist Lizz Winstead brings her razor-sharp wit and hilarious spin on current events to The Gramercy Theatre on September 22nd at 7:30PM. The event is part of her “Planned Parenthood, I’m Here for You!” summer tour; all proceeds will go to support the work of Planned Parenthood of New York City.

Joining Ms Winstead will be by comedy legend & author, singer/songwriter, actor Sandra Bernhard, stand-up comic and Lovable Queen of Mean, Lisa Lampanelli, Joan Walsh, editor-in-chief of Salon.com, and alternative pop/rock singer-songwriter Ambrosia Parsley, creator of “Ambrosia Sings The News” on Air America.

Winstead was inspired to develop the tour by her long-standing support of Planned Parenthood’s work.

“Women’s health has become the number one focus of the radical right – even worse, it has been reduced to a bargaining chip,” said Winstead. “I say enough is enough, and so should anyone who has relied on Planned Parenthood for basic health care, or knows someone who has. Planned Parenthood has been there for me in every facet of my reproductive health, and now I want to be there for them.”

Winstead comes to NYC as part of twelve city – ten state tour benefiting local Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country.

Tickets for the Gramercy Theatre/NYC event will cost $50, $75 and $150, and are available for purchase through http://bit.ly/LizzWinsteadNYC.

“We are thrilled to see Lizz’s energy and sense of fun going to support our work, and we’re looking forward to a much-needed dose of humor and sanity on Sept. 22nd” said PPNYC President and CEO, Joan Malin

Winstead added, “If creating jobs is the number one priority for politicians in this country, why are they so focused on my uterus? My uterus doesn’t create jobs, in fact it no longer even does the one job it’s supposed to!”

Event Details:

Who: Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show and co-founder of Air America Radio
Sandra Bernhard, comedy legend, author, singer/songwriter and actor
Lisa Lampanelli, stand-up comic and Lovable Queen of Mean
Joan Walsh, editor-in-chief of Salon.com
Ambrosia Parsley, alternative pop/rock singer-songwriter and creator of “Ambrosia Sings The News” on Air America.

What: One-night-only New York City performance of Lizz Winstead’s “Planned Parenthood, I’m Here for You!” summer tour
All proceeds benefit Planned Parenthood of New York City.

Where: Gramercy Theater
127 East 23rd Street, between Park Avenue and Lexington
New York, NY 10010
(212) 777-6800

When: Thursday, September 22, 2011
6pm: VIP Reception (includes meet & greet with Lizz & friends!)
7pm: General Admission

Tickets: VIP Tickets: $150 (includes meet & greet with Lizz & friends!)
Orchestra: $75
General Admission: $50

Tickets are available for purchase at http://bit.ly/LizzWinsteadNYC

For more information about the tour, or to follow Winstead’s adventures on the road, visit her blog at http://tour4pp.wordpress.com.

###

Since 1916, Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) has been an advocate for and provider of reproductive health services and education for New Yorkers. Serving nearly 50,000 clients annually, PPNYC’s health care centers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island offer reproductive health services, including gynecological care, contraception, pregnancy testing, abortion, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and HIV testing and counseling. Through a threefold mission of clinical services, education, and advocacy, PPNYC brings better health and more fulfilling lives to each new generation of New Yorkers. As a voice for reproductive freedom, PPNYC supports legislation and policies to ensure that all New Yorkers—and, in fact, people around the world—will have access to the full range of reproductive health care services and information.
http://www.ppnyc.org http://www.twitter.com/ppnycaction http://www.facebook.com/ppnyc

Category: Blog, Events /

Dialogues with the Director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership

/ / Comments Off on Dialogues with the Director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership

Join The Institute for Women’s Leadership for their inaugural program, Dialogues with the IWL Director on Monday, September 19th, 2011 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. This event will be taking place at the ruth Dill Johnson Crockett Building (162 Ryders Lane, New Brunwsick, NJ).

As an attendee, you will listen as filmmaker Abigail Disney and peace activist Cora Weiss converse about topics relating to leadership, global politics, and gender; Alison R. Bernstein, the Director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership, will be moderating this discussion. If you’re able to get out of the city for a few hours, you should definitely check out this fantastic event. Both Abigail and Cora have incredible experiences and perspectives to share, as they are both involved with global activism and will offer a wonderfully unique paradigm for discussing this issues.

Email gareilly@rci.rutgers.edu by September 12th in order to secure your spot!

Abigail Disney, is a filmmaker and philanthropist. Her longtime passion for women’s issues and peace building culminated in her first film, the acclaimed Pray the Devil Back to Hell, about the Liberian women who peacefully ended their country’s fourteen-year civil war. She is Executive Producer of the groundbreaking PBS mini-series, Women, War, & Peace, the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the role of women in peace and conflict. The series airs on PBS in October, 2011. Disney is Co-founder and President of the Daphne Foundation, which works with low-income communities in the five boroughs of New York City. Her work in
philanthropy, women’s engagement and leadership, and conflict resolution has been recognized by numerous awards including the prestigious International Advocate for Peace Award from the Cardozo Law School’s Journal of Conflict Resolution. She holds degrees from Yale, Stanford, and Columbia

Cora Weiss, President, The Hague Appeal for Peace, has been a peace activist since the early 60’s when she was a national leader of Women Strike for Peace which played a major role in bringing about the end of atmospheric nuclear testing. Cora was among the civil society drafters of what became Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security which was adopted in 2000 and has been part of the campaign for its full implementation. She has devoted her life to the movements for civil rights, human rights, women’s empowerment, and peace. Ms. Weiss is a founder of the Global Campaign for Peace Education. Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and member of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, Ms. Weiss was also President of the International Peace Bureau (Nobel Peace laureate 1910); Co-Founder and Director of The Riverside Church Disarmament Program; Non- governmental Representative to the World Conferences on Women, Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995); and Executive Director of the AfricanAmerican Students Foundation (Airlift).

Category: Blog, Events /

“Overexposure” by Cristina Dominguez

/ / Comments Off on “Overexposure” by Cristina Dominguez

In a dark room
opening
by my fingertips

can I unravel
you
gently
to develop your thoughts

can I resist
my deep
insecure
tendency

girlchild afraid
to stay awake in the dark
itching, heart fidgeting
to flip on the switch

dark brown beach
with a worm hole center
quicksand caving into
the core

they’ve always been
wide-eyed
pupils of pain
studying nightmares

maps of the past
where, “you are here”
circles back
to present day

gripping the grief
pulled tight over them,
the winter solstice
that froze the fire

will eye blink
and miss it
squinting I
in the blur of hope

purposeful prints soaking
your imprint
in calm
but begging liquid

pressing: don’t hide from me this time

nakedly staring
spent, open and wet
limp in soft cold sweat
born in my arms

I’ll trace the braille
words are wishes,
subliminal images
to lost sight

Overexposed
in this split second shudder
of our inventure
I felt warm light

Category: Blog, Cristina Dominguez /
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee
Email Newsletters with Constant Contact