December 2018 Newsletter
Center For
Independent
Documentary
THE BOARD’S CORNER

A year-end message from CID's Board of Directors' President, Tony Logalbo:

At its most recent meeting on November 8 th, the Board of Directors of the Center for Independent Documentary (CID) voted to commence a periodic column for inclusion in the CID Newsletter. Through this means, we seek to join in a conversation with the filmmaking community and the many supporters of CID.

As a conversation starter, we are very pleased to announce the election of Eric Stange to the CID Board of Directors. Many of you know Eric as an accomplished documentary filmmaker. While we make no claim to any part of his success, CID was a partner in the very early stages of his professional filmmaking life. We are proud that he and CID have grown together in a sustained relationship, and we are grateful that Eric is able to be a part of CID in this new capacity. The other four members of the Board of Directors have served CID for many years. This new addition to the Board reflects the commitment of the Directors to expand the Board as part of an overall strategic plan to ensure that CID continues to exist for many years in continued uninterrupted service to the documentary film community.

So, what’s so important about documentary filmmaking? A look back over more than 35 years of CID’s existence reveals a library of films and a pantheon of filmmakers; films with a range of topics that might not otherwise have received attention, and filmmakers who might not otherwise have received the essential support and encouragement at their outset or along their way. In this current time, where charges of “fake news” are a daily assault and mutual trust is an eroding value, documentary filmmakers continue to trade in truth and the stories told through such films seek to build communal trust and understanding.

CID began in 1981 under a different name, as an instrument to create documentary programming for the local municipal cable television programming channels. By the mid 80’s, a new wider mission became evident. We changed our name, rewrote our mission and, with Susi Walsh as Executive Director and Fred Simon as Executive Producer, CID took on the shape and purpose it still has today.

The key word in our CID name is INDEPENDENT. Many of you know of CID’s role of fiscal sponsorship – handling the back-office work of each storyteller’s project. But there is more to the CID story. From its earliest days, CID has also provided essential educational and production services to documentary filmmakers.

This combination of services makes CID an almost unique organization, but also presents its continuing organizational challenge – how to fund the annual operational cost of CID that is not directly connected to an individual film project.

At the November 8 th Board Meeting, the Directors adopted an administrative budget of $184,000 for calendar year 2019. This is what it takes, literally, to keep CID’s lights on. About 80% of this cost will be funded from project sponsorship fees. Finding the remaining 20% is our annual challenge. Typically, It is made up from a combination of state operating support grants (from the Massachusetts Cultural Council) AND from individual donations.

Raising funds for a particular film project is challenging enough. Raising funds for the relatively hidden administrative support on which the whole creative structure rests can be daunting. Here’s where you can help. Become an annual donor to CID’s administrative budget. Click here to make a donation online or send your check to:

Center For Independent Documentary
1300 Soldiers Field Road
Suite #5
Boston, MA 02135

Help support the creative structure of CID. No donation is too small, or, for that matter, too large!

And tell us what you would like to hear periodically from the Board of Directors. Let’s continue this conversation.

Tony Logalbo
Board President
Industry News & Opportunities
PRODUCTION INSURANCE 101 WEBINAR TO BE RESCHEDULED
November's 'PRODUCTION INSURANCE 101' webinar is in the process of being rescheduled due to the Woolsey Fire in Southern California. Our thoughts are with our presenter and the rest of the communities in CA that have been affected by the recent fires.

We will be announcing the new date/time as soon as we have it. You can also check our website here for any updates.
PRIDE OF THE OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL NOW AVAILABLE FOR BOOKING
PRIDE OF THE OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL CRUISE, the first LGBT film festival on the high seas, is now available for booking! The cruise will take place from June 8th - June 15th, 2019 and will be sailing to Canada and New England from New York!

This year's cruise will be the Stonewall 50th Anniversary: Celebrating LGBT Military Veterans and Veterans of the Stonewall Revolution. Special guests will include Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, whose story was told in the film "Service In Silence" starring Glenn Close and Judy Davis.

Learn more and book your trip here.
CID Film News & Updates
DAWNLAND SPECIAL WORLDWIDE ONLINE SCREENING EVENT
On Wednesday December 5th at 5:30pm EST watch DAWNLAND from anywhere during this special free screening of the film, concert, and Q&A with filmmakers participants. 

WATCH ONLINE
At 5:30pm on December 5th go to the live stream on the  Dawnland facebook page  to watch the concert, film, and panel conversation. Throughout the event share your comments and questions with the Dawnland community on Facebook live. 

TO ATTEND IN PERSON AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE IN PORTLAND
WORLDS OF URSULA K. LE GUIN AT DOC NYC
WORLDS OF URSULA K. LE GUIN screened in seven countries in November, including a New York City premiere at DOC NYC , the largest documentary film festival in America. The film also won the Visionary Women Filmmaker Award from the Santa Cruz Film Festival in California, and the Audience Vote For Documentary from International Women Make Movies in Zaragoza, Spain. Stay tuned at www.worldsofukl.com for upcoming screenings.
TROUBLED WATER UPDATE
A message from the director of TROUBLED WATER , Will Parrinello:

We’ve had a productive few months since our last update – raising $26,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, $11,000 from the Berkeley Film Foundation, $10,000 from the Wallace Global Fund and $2,500 from the Silicon Valley Foundation. These generous contributors allowed us to travel back to Honduras to film an update to the story of murdered indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceresand Peruvian and indigenous farmer Máxima Acuña’s stories. 
 
In Honduras we filmed the beginning of Berta’s murder trial, where eight of the nine men accused of plotting her assassination are being tried. In Rio Blancho we filmed Berta’s three adult daughters, who have picked up where their mother left off in the struggle for indigenous rights. In Peru we filmed Máxima and her family farming their land at Tragadero Grande high atop a 12,500’ peak in the northern highlands of Cajamarca.
 
Now we need your help so we can get back into the edit suite to begin a rough assembly and first rough cut of the film. We’ll need to have a cut in hand before we can submit the film for completion funding from the Sundance Documentary Fund, Ford Foundation and other institutional funders of documentary film. Please check out our powerful 5-minute sample and consider making a year-end tax-deductible donation to our campaign through CID. 

Learn more and donate here.
FROM BAGHDAD TO THE BAY WINS FOURTH AWARD
FROM BAGHDAD TO THE BAY, directed by Erin Palmquist, has received it's fourth award! The Ojai Film Festival selected the film to receive their very special Festival Theme Award for Enriching the Human Spirit Through Film.

From Baghdad to The Bay  is a documentary that follows the journey of an Iraqi refugee and former translator for the US military. Wrongfully accused of being a double agent, tortured by the U.S., and ostracized from his family and country, Ghazwan Alsharif struggles to rebuild his life in the United States while coming out as an openly gay man.

Learn more about the film here .
LAKE OF BETRAYAL RECEIVES CINEMA VERITAS AND TELLY AWARDS
LAKE OF BETRAYAL , a documentary film about Kinzua Dam and the Seneca Nation of Indians produced by Paul Lamont and Scott Sackett, has been honored with the 2018 Cinema Veritas Award for Documentary.   Lake of Betrayal  also received a 2018 Silver Telly Award for documentary and two Bronze Telly Awards for editing and aerial cinematography.   Lake of Betrayal  is distributed by NETA and can be seen on PBS stations nationwide. It's also available on Amazon Prime . Library and educational copies may be purchased from VisionMakerMedia.org . Home DVDs are available at TowardCastleFilms.com .
SPACE TORAH PROJECT AT THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE
On November 7th, Executive Producer Rachel Raz and Verissima Productions teamed up with superb DP Austin de Besche and a crew of ten to film SPACE TORAH PROJECT after hours at the Museum of Science. They interviewed Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, the first male Jewish astronaut, who took a complete Miniature Torah scroll into outer space, and his Rabbi at the time, Shaul Osadchey, about the connections between our most ancient traditions and scientific exploration. They have reached 20% of their $50,000 goal. Learn more and become a sponsor here .
MINISTER OF LONELINESS PRODUCTION UPDATES

Production is underway in The UK! 
Stu Maddux and Joe Applebaum have spent the greater part of November in the UK shooting for  MINISTER OF LONELINESS . They spent most of the time in the West Midlands in England and in Glasgow, Scotland looking at local programs that have taken root to combat loneliness and isolation. These include men's soccer leagues for older isolated men called   Walking Football  (yes, walking!), a phone bank through  AgeUK   for older people to check in regularly on other older isolated people, a program to help isolated female asylum seekers adapt and combat inherent challenges, to a program helping retired older isolated men get out of their houses called  Men in Sheds .

They also met with many local government officials and made strides toward their goal of a meeting with Tracey Crouch, the former (and first) Minister for Loneliness in the national government. She oversaw the National Strategy around combatting loneliness and isolation that is now being implemented.

Next steps are shooting key interviews in Seattle and San Francisco, planning a segment in Boston dealing with Transgender Youth and then back to the UK in early February!

They, of course, continue to work hard raising funds to continue production. 
A REVOLUTIONARY TRIO: THE STORIES BEHIND THEIR FACES TO BE RELEASED IN DECEMBER

A REVOLUTIONARY TRIO: THE STORIES BEHIND THEIR FACES features Daguerreotypes of three men and women who lived during the Revolutionary War and who were still alive during the early days of photography. Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, in collaboration with Verissima Productions, set out to find the stories behind the photographs, which are part of her two volume "Last Muster" books. Thanks to a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation, they will be releasing the three, 15 minute segments in mid-December. All films will be free to the public.

To find out more, check the Facebook page for Verissima Productions, or go to their website to sign up for their newsletter.
SETH FEIN TALKS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ON CUNY TV
CUNY TV Digital Series recently spoke with Seth Fein, filmmaker and Brooklyn College film professor, for their Short Docs Web Series. Among the topics covered, was his new documentary-in-progress OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, about Washington's small screen Cold War against the Cuban Revolution on Latin American TV across the sixties.

Watch the interview here.
GLOUCESTER SPEAKS AWARDED PRODUCTION GRANTS
Shep Abbott, producer of GLOUCESTER SPEAKS, a feature documentary about the past, present and future of his beloved and iconic home town, has been awarded production grants totaling $17,000 by the Garland Legacy Project and the Essex County Community Foundation. Entering its fourth year of production, Shep expects to complete Gloucester Speaks in December, 2020.
CID Sponsored Film Of The Month
THE MONUMENT
Directed By Cheryl Furjanic

In the summer of 1969, a group of young people fought back against a police raid of a popular NYC gay bar. This Stonewall uprising became the match that ignited the still fragile gay rights movement. In the years that followed, the LGBTQ community would gather together near Stonewall in times of celebration, mourning, and protest. In 2016, the area surrounding Stonewall was designated as a National Monument. How and why did this location go from the site of a gay rights riot to a U.S. National Park in less than 50 years and what can we learn from Stonewall?

Read more and contribute to the film here.
Featured Resource Of The Month
"A Massive List of Winter 2019 Grants All Filmmakers Should Know About"
Another excellent list of grant opportunities from No Film School. This one covers deadlines starting in early December and ending in February.

Check out the full list here .
We are grateful for the generous support of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
Center For Independent Documentary | 1-339-364-1278 | www.documentaries.org