DER is a supporter of the talented teens who manage and show their work at the DIYDS Film Festival. We invite you to get involved.

CALL FOR ENTRIES!!

2006 “Do It Your Damn Self!!” National Youth Video and Film Festival at the Boston Public Library and the Brattle Theater

November 17-19, 2006

DEADLINES
Preliminary: June 30, 2006
Final: September 15, 2006 (extended)

Visit www.diyds.org to download an entry form, follow the instructions and send your complete submission to:
The Community Art Center
119 Windsor St.
Cambridge, MA 02139

A complete submission should include:
. your piece(s) on miniDV or DVD (If your piece is selected, we will need it on miniDV.)
. complete entry form
. release form signed by all copyright owner(s)
. self-addressed stamped envelope, if you want your tape returned (please do not send master copies.)
. the appropriate fee ($15 for the first entry; $5 for each additional entry). Make checks or money orders payable to: The Community Art Center, Inc. If the fee is a hardship, please contact us.

Note: Please do not send entries in fiber-filled mailers, as they may damage the media.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 617.868.7100 ext.17 or
linwood@communityartcenter.org

The Teen Media Program is a proud recipient of a nationally-prestigious Coming Up Taller award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Upcoming projects include screenings of “Juicy (remake)” at the Los Angeles Film Festival June 24th. TMP teens are also working on a documentary about Hurricane Katrina. Stay tuned!

In my years of composing music for films and television, I’ve had the privilege of scoring a number of projects narrated by Walter Cronkite, but I’ve never had the chance to score a film about this amazing man - that is, until now.

This coming Wednesday evening (July 26 - check your local listings for broadcast times), the feature PBS primetime series “American Masters” will premiere a new film about the life of Walter Cronkite. It’s virtually impossible to remember the pivotal moments in recent history without seeing these moments as reported by Cronkite - the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, man’s first steps on the moon, Viet Nam - the list is virtually endless.

Produced by Tatge/Lasseur Productions for WNET/New York and PBS, this film focuses on the intriguing life of this CBS reporter and commentator as he led America through some of its most trying and difficult times, and in the process became known as “the most trusted man in America”.

You can listen to a few shortened music samples from the score, below. Although they will mean more when heard with the film, these music samples should at least give you a rough idea of how the score is woven into this documentary.
(click on the links below, or copy and paste these links into your browser)

“Opening Theme” Excerpt:
www.jdkmusic.com/samples/CronkiteSample1.mp3

“Remembrance” Excerpt:
www.jdkmusic.com/samples/CronkiteSample2.mp3

“Kennedy Assassination” Excerpt:
www.jdkmusic.com/samples/CronkiteSample3.mp3

“Triumph - Man on the Moon” Excerpt:
www.jdkmusic.com/samples/CronkiteSample4.mp3

Guido Verweyen, director of SASTUN is the Senior Producer/DP on Driving Force for A&E, about a race car driver family. It premieres Monday July 17th at 9PM.

As many of you have shared with us, there are additional people out there who, although unable to join us in Rajasthan, would very much like to support our work through donations. Appreciating this fact, and also having reached a point where guest rider fees cannot fully support our program of ever-expanding charitable work, we have begun a larger fundraising initiative to subsidize our relief programs. To enable us to raise funds more effectively, we have established a relationship with Documentary Educational Resource (DER.org) giving the 501(c)(3) non-profit status to both our Give the Gift of Sight and Give a Goat programs. Now anyone who is interested can make a tax-deductible charitable donation If you are interested in making a tax deductible donation please make your checks out to DER and mail it to Relief Riders International, 304 Main St, Great Barrington, MA 01230

Children receiving educational materials at Sotwara. Photo by Barry Boscoe
Behind the Scenes of Relief Riders’ Aid Programs
Because of the growing interest in our life-changing cataract eye surgery program, we have added some important new information to our website about blindness in India and how our approach to providing surgery is helping. Beyond statistics we share information about our philosophy and use of mobile clinics for treatment. We’ve also added a new detailed page of Frequently Asked Questions, which provides more detail on our mission and results. Click here to learn more.

Upcoming Rides
There are still spaces available on some of our rides. If you are considering joining one of our upcoming trips, call now to learn more. If you would like to make a reservation on one of our trips please e-mail us your mailing address, and we will send you a reservation kit.

Khirod Relief Ride: Oct. 1-16, 2006 : Going back to Khirod is especially meaningful for us, since the people of Khirod provided us with the inspiration for our first cataract eye surgery camp. The riding also promises to be thrilling as we will travel through varied terrain such as dunes, dried up riverbeds, and spend a couple of nights in the Temple at Lohargal.

New Year’s Relief Ride Dec. 28 - Jan. 12, 2007 : We’re planning excellent surprise festivities to celebrate the New Year! Day-to-day, riders will enjoy the unusual landscape which provides stunning views of the Sambhar Lake Salt flats paralleling the Aravelli hills. Our relief efforts will take us to Panchota where we will hold our free eye surgery camp.

Nagaur Relief Ride Feb. 20 - Mar. 7, 2007 : One of the poorest regions of Rajasthan, the people of the remote and beautiful Nagaur region are often neglected by larger health service providers and are a wonderful group for us to serve. Providing visitors with a breathtaking experience of the Indian desert, the area gives riders the chance to travel through rolling dunes, visit imposing palaces, and take in the sculptured temples of red and yellow sand stone which display some of the finest creations of Rajput civilization.

We hope that you will be able to ride with us in India, this fall. The experience will prove to be uniquely filled with humanity and excitement!

As always, please contact us if you have questions about upcoming rides or would like more information about our relief missions.

Best,

Alexander Souri

Executive Director
Relief Riders International

“Be the change that you seek” –Mahatma Gandhi

The 13th annual Slamdance Film Festival has announced this year’s call for entries. Slamdance will he held January 18-27, 2007. Slamdance is the number one alternative Park City festival, held at the same time as Sundance. The main competition focuses on first time feature filmmakers, although all genres of films are welcome.

As a year round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of emerging talent and is dedicated to new filmmakers and their vision. Started in 1995 by a group of filmmakers, Slamdance continues to be organized and programmed “by filmmakers for filmmakers.” The annual Festival has been headquartered at Park City’s Treasure Mountain Inn since 1997. Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering independent films by first-time directors working with limited budgets. With a renowned film festival as its core, Slamdance has expanded its ventures to include thriving Screenplay and Teleplay competitions, slamdance.com, the Anarchy online short film competition, Dirty Dozen short film DVD series, a $99 Special short film production wing, a Games competition and a newly formed 99K Feature Project educational program. Entry forms and application information are available through the Slamdance website: www.slamdance.com. All film selections will be posted on the 2007 festival page during the second week of December.

Deadlines:
Early Deadline: August 28, 2006
Final Deadline: October 16, 2006
Short Films under 40 minutes: October 10, 2006

Visit www.slamdance.com for more information or to fill out an application.

Future Filmmakers Felix Awards
Thursday, July 20, 4-6pm, Plimoth Plantation, $5 at the door
Founded in 1999, the South Shore Video Contest merged with the Plymouth Independent Film Festival in February 2006 to become the PIFF Future Filmmakers Collaborative. The goal is to further develop the program by broadening its outreach and providing students with a venue for self-_expression as well as a forum for connecting with their peers in neighboring communities. Join us for the Felix Awards to celebrate our aspiring filmmakers. Special guests Glorianna Davenport and PIFF ’06 Honoree and Maverick Award Winner, Richard Leacock, will present awards and screen Ricky’s first film, Canary Bananas (1935), made when he was 14.

Opening Night Reception
Thursday, July 20, 7-11pm, Plimoth Plantation, $75/$125 Supporter Level,
(tickets available at Independence Mall, Kingston - customer service, or online via TicketWeb at www.plyfilmfest.org)
Mingle with filmmakers! Film, fun, jazz and art combine to make the Plymouth Independent Film Festival’s Opening Night Reception and Benefit a night to remember, with performances by Boston jazz greats Stan Strickland, Wes Wirth and Rakalam Bob Moses, interactive architecture artist and composer, Christopher Janney, an art exhibit by Carole Bolsey, and a Silent Art Auction. H’our dourves and cocktails (cash bar). Limited capacity.

Our featured musician, Stan Strickland, performed with jazz notables Herbie Mann, Shirley Scott and Marlena Shaw and has appeared at Jordan and Symphony Halls in Boston, at the Carnegie Recital Hall and Town Hall in New York, and in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center. Strickland teaches at the Berklee College of Music, Tufts University, and the Longy School of Music. In the spirit of this year’s Festival theme, “innovation,” Stickland will open the evening with a special solo piece, HeartBeats, accompanied by sounds generated by his body through a device that captures the electrical impulses to the heart and surrounding muscles via wireless telemetry. Created by Chris Janney, the work was premiered by Sara Rudner of the Twyla Tharp Dance Company at Boston’s ICA in 1983 and later used by Mikhail Baryshnikov for his “White Oak Dance Project.”

A Sense of Being There: With Richard Leacock and Collaborators
Screenings $8/$5 Students and seniors/ Masterclass and Panel $15 each
(tickets available at Independence Mall, Kingston - customer service, or online via TicketWeb at www.plyfilmfest.org)
Thursday, July 20 - Sunday, July 23, (throughout the weekend), Plimoth Plantation
Innovation is the theme of this year’s Festival. We look at the history of filmmaking through the eyes of the pioneers of cinema verité, Richard Leacock, Robert Drew, Albert Maysles and DA Pennebaker, and we examine the future of film. Many of Richard’s students will be screening their films as well - Robb Moss, Ross McElwee, Nicholas Negroponte, Artemis Willis, MJ Doherty, Glorianna Davenport, Nell Cox and others. This year we have the honor of working with Glorianna Davenport (founder of the Media Fabrics Department, formerly Interactive Cinema, at the MIT Media Lab). As our film partner, Davenport has programmed a remarkable event to pay tribute to film pioneer Richard Leacock. Special screenings, with Q&A and/or Intro, Masterclass and rare Panel discussion. Go to www.plyfilmfest.org for further details.

The Education Program of Cinema/Chicago presents 21ST Century Teaching Tools: Using Media in the Classroom, Teachers’ Institute (August 15 - 17, 2006). This three-day institute is designed to help teachers bring new perspectives to classroom study using contemporary media and film. Topics will include: Enhancing critical thinking skills, Bringing new perspectives to history studies, Promoting multicultural awareness and foreign language studies, Facilitation of student-led discussion, How media studies can be used to motivate at-risk students and more. Registration DEADLINE: July 19, 2006. For a detailed description of the sessions offered visit: www.chicagofilmfestival.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CIFFSite.woa/wa/pages/TeachersInstitute