Cinereach Blog

When forced to choose between the fragile cohesion of her middle-class family and loyalty to her best friend, a Bronx teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.

Please vote for Cinereach Grant Recipient PARIAH, a film by Dee Rees & Nekisa Cooper, in the Netflix Find Your Voice Film Competition.

Netflix and Film Independent are looking for the next great independent filmmaker. Ten filmmakers were chosen from thousands of applicants from around the country to submit a short video for public vote. Five finalists will be determined by the total number of stars their submission receives.

PARIAH is a semi-finalist in the competition, and we need your help to move PARIAH into the final round. The winning filmmaker will receive a $150,000 cash production grant plus resources and other production services for a total prize value of more than $350,000!

Voting ends July 5th, so please vote now!

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Tags: Dee Rees, Nekisa Cooper, Netflix Find Your Voice Film Competition, Pariah

by Adella Ladjevardi in Featured, Grants | No comments

To help celebrate the 2009 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (HRWIFF), Cinereach has presented the 2009 Cinereach Award, a $5,000 prize, to Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini for their film Back Home Tomorrow. The festival concludes Thursday, June 25th.

Paolo Santolini and Fabrizio Lazzaretti

In Back Home Tomorrow, directors Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini deftly weave together the stories of two children affected by war during their stays in the caring hands of Italian aid organization Emergency. Yagoub fled with his family from Darfur to the Mayo Refugee Camp in Khartoum. He has to undergo a serious heart operation, but neither his family nor his fellow tribesmen can come up with the money to pay for it. Murtaza is recuperating in a hospital in Kabul after losing his left hand to a landmine. The directors expertly interweave these two fascinating and heartfelt stories without commentary to create a film of complexity, resonance, and hope.

“Back Home Tomorrow exemplifies the meaningful and artistic filmmaking that Cinereach is committed to supporting,” said Cinereach Creative Director Michael Raisler. “We’re proud to join with Human Rights Watch in acknowledging the achievements of these and other filmmakers who use the power of film to promote dialogue and facilitate cross-cultural understanding.”

Q&A with Fabrizio Lazzaretti (director), Paolo Benzi (producer) and Paolo Santolini (director)

Cinereach presented the award to the filmmakers at their Friday night HRWIFF Screening, where Lazzaretti, Santolini and Back Home Tomorrow Producer Paolo Benzi participated in a lively Q&A with an audience that was deeply moved by the film.

Last year’s Cinereach Award went to The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) Directed by Ellen Kuras and Co-Directed by Thavisouk Phrasavath. The film went on to win Best Documentary at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Spectrum Award at Full Frame among others, and was nominated for an Academy Award and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. It will air on PBS’ acclaimed P.O.V. series July 21, 2009.

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Tags: 2009 Cinereach Award, Back Home Tomorrow, HRWIFF, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival

by Reva Goldberg in Cinereach, Featured, General, Grants | No comments

LINK TV presents the U.S. television premiere of the original documentary program CINEMA ENCOUNTERS IN TEHRAN, a Cinereach grant recipient.  Shot on location in Tehran, this program seeks to bridge the cultural and political rifts between Iran and the U.S. through the collaboration of young Iranian and American filmmakers.  In 2007, the Link TV crew followed American filmmakers Yoni Brook, 25, and Musa Syeed, 23, to the Cinema Verite Film Festival in Tehran.  There, they meet two Iranian filmmakers, Atefeh Khademolreza, 24, and Abbas Amini, 26, with whom they decide to make a film juxtaposing the lifestyles of a poor carpet weaver and a wealthy carpet merchant in Tehran.  The program documents their efforts to overcome cultural, sociopolitical and linguistic barriers using the universal languages of cinema and friendship to create a film together.

CINEMA ENCOUNTERS IN TEHRAN is part of the BRIDGE TO IRAN series, Link TV’s response to the cultural and political tensions that have developed between Iran and the U.S. since the 1979 Iranian revolution.

CINEMA ENCOUNTERS IN TEHRAN will premiere on Link TV on June 23 at 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT, with repeat broadcasts at 2 :00am ET/11:00pm PT, and on June 25 at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT and 7:36pm ET/4:36pm PT.  For full background information, additional airtimes, and to view the program streamed in its entirety, visit http://www.linktv.org/BridgeToIran.

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Tags: Bridge to Iran, Cinema Encounters in Tehran, documentary, Link TV, Musa Syeed, Yoni Brook

by Adella Ladjevardi in Featured, Grants | No comments

Congratulations to Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, the co-directors of OCTOBER COUNTRY! Their documentary film received the Sterling Award for U.S. Feature at this year’s SilverDocs Festival!

This year’s SILVERDOCS Sterling Award for a U.S. Feature goes to OCTOBER COUNTRY directed by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, which documents the multi-generational story of a working-class family coping with poverty, teen pregnancy, foster care and the ineffable horrors of child molestation and war. The directors will receive $10,000 cash.

The Sterling Feature Jury noted: “We want to congratulate Sky and the SILVERDOCS team for putting together a varied and compelling competition. The documentaries we’ve been watching all week motivated a heartfelt discussion amongst us. We have chosen a film that has resonated with us long after we viewed it. It is a film that is subtle and intuitively creative while presenting important social issues in a surprising way. It showcases an extraordinary fresh talent, which left us excited to see what they do next. We are thrilled to present the grand jury award to Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher for OCTOBER COUNTRY.”

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Tags: documentary, Donal Mosher, Michael Palmieri, October Country, SilverDocs, Sterling Award

by Adella Ladjevardi in Featured, Grants | No comments

Attention producers: here’s the official notice about this great opportunity from our friends at Film Independent.

FILM INDEPENDENT’S PRODUCERS LAB - Apply now!

Deadline: 6 July 2009
Application Fee: $55 Members, $75 Non-members

Designed to help filmmakers develop skills as creative independent producers, the Producers Lab is an intensive seven-week program running two evenings a week in Los Angeles in October and November. During the Lab, Fellows develop a strategy and action plan for bringing their feature film projects to fruition, including a detailed budget, schedule, and business plan.

A secondary goal of the program is to help advance the careers of the Lab Fellows by introducing them to film professionals who can advise them on both the craft and business of independent producing. Lab Fellows have one-on-one meetings with established independent producers and other industry professionals who act as advisors on the participant’s projects.

A maximum of ten projects are selected. Producing teams are welcome to apply.

Past Labs have been taught by Matthew Greenfield (Fox Searchlight), Effie T. Brown (producer, Rocket Science), Gina Kwon (producer, Me, You & Everyone We Know), and Ram Bergman (producer, Brothers Bloom).

Films that were developed in past Producers Labs include Suzi Yoonessi’s Dear Lemon Lima, Tina Mabry’s Mississippi Damned, Scott Prendergast’s Kabluey, and Jessica Sanders’s acclaimed documentary After Innocence.

For more information and an application click here.

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Tags: Film Independent, Producer's Lab

by Reva Goldberg in Featured, General, Grants, The Reach Film Fellowship | No comments

This Wednesday, June 17 at 6:30pm Cinereach comes to DCTV (87 Lafayette Street, New York, NY) to discuss the application process for its Reach Film Fellowship (RFF) program with prospective applicants. The event is free and open to the public but an RSVP is required at: protv@dctvny.org. The Fellowship provides a $5,000 grant, sponsorships, and industry mentorship annually to four young filmmakers making short films consistent with the Cinereach mission. Recent grads of film programs may apply. Self-taught filmmakers can also be eligible but are advised to discuss eligibility with Cinereach staff before doing so. Application and guidelines here.

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Tags: DCTV, Seminar, The Reach Film Fellowship

by Reva Goldberg in Cinereach, Featured, General, The Reach Film Fellowship | No comments

Paola Mendoza and Gloria LaMorte with their Audience Awards

Paola Mendoza & Gloria LaMorte’s film ENTRE NOS, a Cinereach grant recipient, won the Audience Award Narrative Feature at the Newport International Film Festival! To check out the ENTRE NOS blog, click here. For information about the Newport International Film Festival, click here. 

If you are in NYC come check out Rooftop Films’ Panorama this weekend. As part of the Panorama, Paola will be taking part in a panel this Saturday titled “Message vs. Craft: The Art of Effective “Issue” Storytelling.” For details on the panel, click Rooftop Films’ Panorama this weekend. As part of the Panorama, Paola will be taking part in a panel this Saturday titled “Message vs. Craft: The Art of Effective “Issue” Storytelling.” For details on the panel, click here. 

Congrats to the entire ENTRE NOS cast and crew!

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Tags: Cinereach, Entre Nos, Gloria LaMorte, Newport International Film Festival, Paola Mendoza, Rooftop Films

by Margaret Shafer in Grants, The Reach Film Fellowship | No comments

A still from BRONX PRINCESS, a film by Yoni Brook and Musa Syeed

This Friday June 12th, Rooftop Films will be screening BRONX PRINCESS, a Cinereach grant recipient, as part of their “New York Non Fiction” program. The film follows headstrong 17-year-old Rocky’s journey as she leaves behind her mother in New York City to reunite with her father, a chief in Ghana. Filmed during the tumultuous summer between high school and college, this funny and touching documentary tells Rocky’s coming-of-age story. For full program, click here. 

Saturday, June 13th, Rooftop’s Panorama will take place on the roof of the Old American Can Factory. The event will be a series of discussions and a screening of the film PERSONA NON GRATA. Cinereach, Shooting People, and IndiePix are teaming up to discuss “The Art of Effective ‘Issue’  Storytelling” and “Tips, Tools and Wisdom to Help You Make the Right Decisions For Your Film.” Paola Mendoza (Cinereach grantee and RFF advisor) will take part in the first panel, along with Justin Schein (NO IMPACT MAN), Fabio Wuytack (PERSONA NON GRATA) and Bilge Ebiri (New York magazine). Cinereach Grants Manager, Adella Ladjevardi will be on the second panel, along with Leah Sapin (Arts Engine), Janet Brown (Cinetic), Liz Ogilvie (B-Side), Tia Lessin (TROUBLE THE WATER), Andy Bichlbaum (THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD). For more information on the panels, and on how to purchase tickets, click here.

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Tags: Adella Ladjevardi, Bronx Princess, IndiePix, Musa Syeed, Paola Mendoza, Persona Non-Grata, Rooftop Films, shooting people, Yoni Brook

by Margaret Shafer in Cinereach, Featured, Grants | No comments

You can now view the 9th Annual Media That Matters Film Festival online! Check out the films here and make sure to spread the word!

9th Annual Media That Matters Film Festival

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Tags: arts engine, media that matters film festival

by Margaret Shafer in Cinereach, Featured, The Reach Film Fellowship | No comments

Talkback on Socially Conscious Shorts

Cinereach and Arts Engine teamed up to host a film screening and talkback at the Grassroots Media Conference this past Saturday, which was held at NYC’s Hunter College. Former Reach Film Fellow Annie P. Waldman, cinematographer Dan Carbone, as well as Media That Matters filmmaker Ben Herson, sat on a panel emceed by Reva Goldberg to discuss audience building and funding for short films.

Cinereach and Arts Engine also shared a table at the conference, to distribute information on opportunities for socially conscious filmmakers. The conference drew a crowd of organizations and individuals interested in media for social change. For more information on the Grassroots Media Coalition and Conference click here. For a look at the handout from our panel, which offers Ben and Annie’s advice on funding and building audience for socially aware shorts, click here.

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Tags: Annie P Waldman, arts engine, ben herson, Grassroots Media Conference, media that matters film festival

by Margaret Shafer in Cinereach, General, The Reach Film Fellowship | No comments