CHANNELS – STORIES FROM THE NIAGARA FRONTIER 2009 Premiere

Read about in today’s cover story in Artvoice!

Featuring work by current and former Media Study grads Ron Douglas, Loren Sonnenberg, & Diedie Weng
When: Sunday, December 6th, 3 pm
Where: Market Arcade Film & Arts Center, 639 Main Street
Suggested Donation: $5

On Sunday, December 6th at 3pm, Squeaky Wheel invites the public to the Channels – Stories from the Niagara Frontier premiere screening of newly produced films, to be held at the Market Arcade Film & Arts Center (639 Main St). Channels – Stories from the Niagara Frontier, now in its third year, is Squeaky Wheel’s production program that matches documentary filmmakers with grass roots initiatives and groups to collaboratively create documentary films about important (and often overlooked) issues specific to this region. This innovative collaboration results in a documentary film that the organizations can use to promote social awareness about their cause for years to come.

The participating groups are Preservation Buffalo Niagara, the Coalition for Economic Justice, Native American Community Services, and Read To Succeed. Participating filmmakers are Diedie Weng, Christine Zinni, Ron Douglas, and Loren Sonnenberg. This premiere screening is a great way to meet with these local organizations and filmmakers and learn how to get involved in your own community! Channels – Stores from the Niagara Frontier is supported by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

PROGRAM OF FILMS:

Building on the Past for Our Future by Diedie Weng aims to promote a conversation about low-income communities’ efforts and struggles in revitalizing neglected historical Buffalo neighborhoods by valuing the people and the place as assets.

Dawn ’til Dusk: Buffalo Workers and the Fight for Jobs With Justice by Christine Zinni focuses on 4 workers whose income from full time employment is well below the federal poverty level, showing how people are fighting back to bring about change.

Unseen Tears: The Impact of Native American Residential Boarding Schools in Western New York by Ron Douglas focuses on Western New York Native American communities who are attempting to heal the wounds and break the cycle of inter-generational trauma resulting from the boarding school experience.

The Ecology of Reading by Loren Sonnenberg shows the innovative and holistic approach the Read To Succeed coalition and other organizations in Buffalo bring to the field of literacy education.

Please contact Dorothea Braemer for further information and hi-resolution images.

Center for the Moving Image announces "Bridge Project" student grant awards

Seven DMS graduate students have been awarded grants through the Center for the Moving Image (CMI) in the Department of Media Study to support individual films based on their participation in “The Bridge: An International Art Initiative”.

Last spring the CMI hosted Richard Foreman, a pioneer of American avant-garde theater, and his collaborator Sophie Haviland for an intensive two week film and theater production at the Ukrainian Center in Buffalo. The footage created from that project is now part of “The Bridge”, which has been to nine countries conducting similar workshops. The students will be using the footage made in Buffalo to create their own films.

The seven grant recipients for 2009-10 are: Anna Scime ($1000), Scott Ries ($1000), Kerri Kieser ($1000), Yuichiro Yamada ($1000), Olivier Delrieu-Schulze ($1000), Loren Sonnenberg ($1000), and Brett Williams ($500). A screening of their work will be held in Buffalo and New York City next spring.

Emmy award-winning filmmaker Elliot Caplan, Artistic Director of the CMI and UB professor of Media Study said, “We were the first location chosen in the United States for this prestigious and far-reaching project. We are thrilled that our students will be able to contribute to its continued success and capitalize on this opportunity by producing another generation of work.”

The grants were made possible through the generous support of the Liberace Foundation and the Dean’s Office in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information on The Bridge: http://www.bridgefilm.com/Site/INDEX/INDEX.html

URFEST Traveling Film Festival

URFest (Urban Renewal Traveling Film Festival) is a nationally touring documentary film festival from Buffalo, NY that screens films with the goal of starting community dialogues about urban revitalization. Organized by MFA Loren Sonnenberg and featuring films by Media Study folks. Check out their cross-country schedule and let all your friends know they’re coming to a town near you!

www.urfest.com/
URFest on Facebook

FILMS:
Buffalo ReUSE: Building Community by Carl Lee focuses on the multi-faceted work of Buffalo ReUSE to deconstruct houses in order to create jobs and community. Produced by Squeaky Wheel.

We Need Food Not Bombs by Ron Douglas explores how a grassroots organization in Buffalo has built community through sharing food in opposition to violence.

We Own It by Loren Sonnenberg is a story about cooperative home ownership that follows Buffalo’s Nickel City Housing Cooperative through the purchase, renovation, and setup of their second community oriented (mostly non-student) cooperative house.

PUSHing People Power: Rebuilding Buffalo’s West Side by Ruth Goldman is a story about ordinary citizens working together to create and sustain an urban community that values sustainable and equitable housing, jobs and lifestyles. More info about PUSH. Produced by Squeaky Wheel