November 2018 Newsletter
Center For
Independent
Documentary
PLEASE NOTE: MAILING ADDRESS CHANGE

As of November 1st, the CID office suite number will be changing. Our new address is:

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

From Susi Walsh, Executive Director of CID

One could never forget Tim McCarthy. Once you met him, he had a place in your heart forever. He walked into a room and his joy was infectious. He was the most “alive” person I’ve ever met - having faced death many years ago and having chosen to live fully, completely, and with purpose. He was a natural storyteller, an activist of the first order, fearless, and completely generous with his time and his affection. He was a mensch, and we will miss him beyond measure.

Tim came to our very first Kopkind/CID Film Seminars up in Vermont in 2006.  At the time, he was filming LGBT activists and events around the world, had been for years, and was beginning to think about how to edit the material he had and how he would get it out to others. He had thousands of hours of footage, a treasure trove of stories, and the desire to make a difference. Some of that footage eventually was used in “How To Survive A Plague”, the Academy Award nominated documentary about the AIDS crisis.  Most recently, Tim had just completed a documentary about the LGBT community of Uganda, “Voices Combating Homophobia in Uganda”, which he was excited about sharing.

Every image he captured and every story he saved contains the mark of his devotion to the LGBT community, to ending homophobia, and to creating a world of love and healing. Please take a moment to read more about his life and work here. 

A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 3 from 2- 3:30pm in the auditorium of Provincetown Town Hall, 260 Commercial St, Provincetown. An Artists Tribute for Tim will be held in the evening of the 3rd, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St, Provincetown.
Industry News & Opportunities
MASS MEDIA EXPO ON NOV. 3
Come visit the CID booth at the Mass Media Expo on Saturday, Nov. 3rd at WGBH in Boston!

It is an immersive daylong experience featuring exhibitions from over 50 film and media companies alongside a full schedule of panels and talks, film screenings, and interactive demos.

See the latest in camera and post technology, industry suppliers and services, VR demos, filmmaker organizations, and so much more.
Who attends Mass Media Expo? Producers, filmmakers, professionals in production and post, creative agencies, marketers, and related business and innovation communities.

Connect with who's who in the industry, learn about the latest trends in film and media content, and be inspired.

Buy tickets here.
FILM INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY LAB
Film Independent Documentary Lab is an intensive five-week program designed to help filmmakers who are currently in post-production on their feature-length documentary films. Through a series of meetings and workshops, the Documentary Lab provides creative feedback and story notes to participating filmmakers, while helping them to strategize for the completion, distribution, and marketing of their films. In addition, you'll get a pass to the LA Film Festival, year-round mentorship, and one lab participant will get $10,000 in support from Susan Murdy Documentary Film Fellowship.

Applications due Dec. 3rd. Learn more here.
ANNUAL MILLER/PACKAN FILM FUNDING INCREASED
The Rogovy Foundation is proud to announce an increase in its annual Miller / Packan Film Funding. Awarded bi-annually, the Fund will now award grants totaling $200,000 to between eight and twelve documentary film projects per year. The Winter open call ends November 15th, 2018, and the Summer open call ends June 15th, 2019.

Already providing $150,000 annually in grants for the past two years, the Foundation is committing an additional $50,000 per year to further impact funding opportunities for documentary filmmakers.

Learn more here.
CID Film News & Updates
DAWNLAND ON INDEPENDENT LENS
The Upstander Project is pleased to announce the national broadcast premiere of DAWNLAND will be on Monday, November 5th at 10pm EST on Independent Le ns (WGBH in Boston). The film will also be free to stream after the broadcast through the end of November in honor of Native American Heritage Month.

Dawnland is also screening in Boston tonight, November 1st at 7pm as part of the Bright Lights Film Series at Emerson. Filmmakers Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip will be in attendance. More details here.

Another free screening is scheduled for November 15th at 6:30pm at the Watertown Public Library with learning director, Dr. Mishy Lesser. Details here.
KEEPERS OF THE LIGHT BROADCAST PREMIERE
KEEPERS OF THE LIGHT, directed by Liz Witham and Ken Wentworth, will have its broadcast premiere on Thursday, November 15th at 9pm EST on WGBH.

Built over 200 years ago in a small Wampanoag community at the tip of an island in the Atlantic, the Gay Head Lighthouse is one of America's most famous beacons. From whaling days to electrification, Keepers Of The Light tells the story of evolving technology, heroism and shipwrecks, and the people who are called upon in each generation to keep the light, woven with the story of the recent race against time to save the historic beacon from falling over the edge of the rapidly eroding cliffs.
YOUTH AND GENDER MEDIA PROJECT ON TOUR
Jonathan Skurnick continues to tour the country with his YOUTH AND GENDER MEDIA PROJECT films. Recent appearances include:

  1. A screening of Becoming Johanna at the Out and Equal Workplace Summit for corporate LGBTQ inclusion staffers.Over sixty representatives from corporations all over the country came out to watch the film and many are excited to bring the team and the films to their employees for professional development sessions on inclusion.

  1. Three screenings of Becoming Johanna with Johanna in attendance at Duke University, sponsored by more than twelve different departments at the University, including the Duke Office Of Diversity and Inclusion, Duke Children's Hospital, Duke Community Family & Medicine, Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies at Duke University, and the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity at Duke.

Jonathan recently signed with Speak Out, the country's foremost progressive speaker's bureau, which will help him reach more schools and companies with his transformative screenings and professional development sessions around trans youth inclusion.
SALLY TRAILER COMPLETED
The brand new trailer for the documentary SALLY, directed by Deborah Craig, is done! Watch it here.

Spanning nine decades from the 1930s to the 2010s, Sally tells the inspiring story of gay rights activist and feminist Sally Gearhart. Brilliant, charismatic, provocative and visionary, Sally worked side-by-side with Harvey Milk, was an icon to the first generation of lesbians to live openly and one of second wave feminism's most radical voices. Through contemporary witnesses, archival and found footage, animated sequences from Gearhart's cult novel "The Wanderground", and the octogenarian's own voice, Sally takes the viewer on a hilarious, complex and surprising journey to discover how a "good southern girl" became an "outrageous" lesbian separatist leader and then ended up living alone in the woods, left behind by those who shared her ideals and forgotten by history.
A CALL TO REMEMBER AT THE UK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
A CALL TO REMEMBER, directed by Ken Winikur, is playing in the UK Jewish Film Festival. The film is also nominated for a Suncoast Regional Emmy in the Historical Documentary Category.

The film focuses on the life of David Schaecter. Born in a small town in Slovakia, his harrowing tale of surviving the Holocaust takes viewers on a poignant journey. After surviving Auschwitz, David emigrates to the United States, rebuilds his life and gives back to his community.
PATERNAL RITES AT PLURALITIES NONFICTION FILM CONFERENCE

In November, Jules Rosskam, director of PATERNAL RITES, will be giving the keynote address at Pluralities Nonfiction Film Conference, a national gathering in San Francisco presented by the Doc Film Institute at SF State that brings together thought leaders and innovators who are pushing the field forward for nonfiction forms in the 21st century. Paternal Rites will screen as part of the conference program.

The Paternal Rites team is also booking their Spring 2019/Fall 2019 college, museum and microcinema tour, with stops planned in Amherst, MA, Houston, TX, Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA and more. Click here if you're interested in booking the film.
MINISTER OF LONELINESS PRODUCTION UPDATES

Joe Applebaum and Stu Maddux are off to the UK to shoot their feature-length documentary, MINISTER OF LONELINESS. They will be shooting in the Midlands area of England at a number of organizations with programs to combat loneliness and isolation that will help them identify subjects for the film. They will then be traveling to Glasgow, Scotland to continue. There they will be looking at programs to help refugees who experience severe loneliness and isolation - moreso than other groups. Again, they will be looking for subjects. They are also hoping to make contact with Tracy Crouch, Minister For Loneliness in the UK Government. Fundraising continues as well... as usual!
THE BANJO PROJECT KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

Please help spread the word about THE BANJO PROJECT Kickstarter campaign, which ends November 18th: click here for more info.

The Banjo Project is nearing completion on a digital museum - banjo.emerson.edu - for exploring overlooked, misunderstood and forgotten cultural heritage, featuring curated stories about the long and contested history of America's quintessential instrument. Produced and curated by Marc Fields, a multiple Emmy winner for his arts and culture documentaries on PBS, The Banjo Project is built on over 300 hours of original media including video interviews, performances and rare archival footage with many of the most influential musicians, historians, collectors and builders. A fraction of this material was used in his 2011 PBS documentary, Give Me The Banjo.
CID Sponsored Film Of The Month
PEPITO'S VIOLIN
Directed By Doug Block

This is a story about a violin, a family and an island. In 1945, Jose "Pepito" Figueroa was offered the opportunity to buy a Stradivarius violin, but he didn't have enough money. His friend was the editor of a local newspaper, El Mundo, who published an article saying that one of Puerto Rico's most talented musicians needed help purchasing a violin. Within two weeks, the Puerto Rican community made private contributions totaling more than $10,000, and the violin was his. Pepito had been a child prodigy, and was one of a renowned family of classical musicians from an island not known for classical music. He and his four brothers comprised the Figueroa Quintet. They traveled the world, winning awards and playing in prestigious concert halls as soloists, as a group, and in other combinations. In Puerto Rico, there was hardly an orchestra or ensemble that didn’t count on Pepito to play first violin. He was also an esteemed teacher for over forty years. Many of Pepito’s students went on to have prestigious musical careers of their own, including four Figueroas of the next generation who often perform together as the Figueroa Quartet. Pepito taught until his dying day, giving a final lesson from his hospital deathbed. Before he died in 1998, Pepito handed down the Stradivarius to his son, Pepe, and two nephews – the three violinists of the younger generation. They have shared it, taking turns playing it in important concerts.

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico. The repercussions of that powerful storm and its aftermath are still felt throughout the island. The devastation moved Pepe to action. He called the whole family together and proposed selling the violin, now worth over $4 million. With his share of the proceeds, Pepe intends to repay the gift once given to his father by supporting music education in Puerto Rico. For Pepe, rebuilding the island is not only infrastructure and electricity, but also the inspiration and joy that music can bring.

Read more and contribute to the film here.
Featured Resource Of The Month
"Fledgling Case Studies and Papers"
Fledgling publi shes white papers, case studies and impact stories in order to share different kinds of impact a s well as lessons that can inform and strengthen the field.

Find the archived case studies 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