CONCRETE, STEEL AND PAINT*

Directed by Cindy Burstein and Tony Heriza:   55 minutes, 2009, Documentary

7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

When men in a Pennsylvania state prison join with victims of crime to create a mural about healing, their views on punishment, remorse and forgiveness collide.  Finding consensus is not easy, but as the participants move through the creative process, mistrust gives way to genuine moments of human contact and common purpose.

This complex story raises important questions about crime, justice and reconciliation, and dramatically illustrates how art can facilitate dialogue about difficult issues.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS FILM ON THESE WEBSITES: New Day Films   &    Concrete / Steel / Paint

LISTEN TO A PODCAST WITH THE FILMMAKERS, CLICK HERE 

JOIN DIRECTOR TONY HERIZA AND MURAL ARTS PROGRAM ORGANIZER JANE GOLDEN FOR DISCUSSION AFTER THE SCREENING!

Since co-founding the Community Media Workshop in Dayton, Ohio in 1974, Tony Heriza has been involved in many aspects of media for social change: producing, editing, teaching and working with community organizations. His work has been broadcast nationally on PBS and featured in many festivals. He is now the Director of Educational Outreach for the American Friends Service Committee and along with his co-producer, Cindy Burstein, is an active member of the New Day Film distribution co-operative.

Since the Mural Arts Program began in 1984 as a component of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network, Jane Golden has been the driving force, overseeing its growth from a small city agency into the nation’s largest mural program, a catalyst for positive social change and a model for replication across
the country and around the globe.

Read more about Jane and the Mural Arts Program here.

*An On Screen/In Person program made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

PROCEED AND BE BOLD*

Directed by Laura Zinger:   90 minutes, 2008, Documentary

7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. is an internationally recognized printing press artist known for his socially and politically charged works of art.  At age 40 and unsatisfied with his comfortable, middle-class life, Amos traded in his computer for a printing press and his white collar for a pair of overalls. Armed with life, liberty, peanuts and a meager yearly income of $7,000, Amos cranked out a new, rebellious declaration of independence.

The film joins Amos in a fascinating account of his story, while examining the pretensions and provisions of the art world. The work of this self-proclaimed “Humble Negro Printer” raises emotionally-charged questions and reveals remarkable depth beneath the bold print. By learning the rules and then choosing to break them, Amos redefines what life (and letterpress printing) can be: exhilarating and revolutionary.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FILM / ARTIST / FILMMAKER AT THESE WEBSITES: 20K FILMS, PROCEED ,  AMERICAN CRAFT, AMOS KENNEDY

JOIN DIRECTOR LAURA ZINGER  AND AMOS PAUL KENNEDY JR. FOR DISCUSSION  AFTER THE SCREENING!

Laura Zinger is the founder and owner of Chicago-based, creative content production company 20K Films. Her 2008 initiative, Proceed and Be Bold has been screened in countries around the world.  Zinger has worked for various film companies, including MGM, Pretty Pictures and MOJO, a post-production trailer house. In addition to 20K Films, Zinger works as the Web Video Producer for Milk For Thought, a new national website dedicated to connecting, empowering and supporting breastfeeding mothers.

Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. is a journeyman letterpress printer living in rural Alabama, and the thought provoking subject of the film Proceed and Be Bold!  He is a remarkable man and exciting mentor to budding art students or retiring corporate workers ready to finally take on the art form than means something to him or her.

*An On Screen/In Person program made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

MILKING THE RHINO*

Directed by David E. Simpson:   85 minutes, 2008, Documentary

7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

Milking the Rhino examines Africa’s deepening conflict between humans and animals in an ever-shrinking world. It is the first major documentary to explore wildlife conservation from the perspective of people who live with wild animals. Shot in some of the world’s most magnificent locales, the film offers complex, intimate portraits of rural Africans at the forefront of community-based conservation: a revolution that is turning poachers into preservationists and local people into the stewards of their land. With memorable characters and spectacular locations, this film tells intimate, hopeful and heartbreaking stories of people from Kenya and Namibia.

MEET DIRECTOR DAVID SIMPSON FOR DISCUSSION AFTER THE SCREENING!

David E. Simpson is a producer, director and editor who has crafted award-winning documentaries for over 25 years. His pioneering film about disability culture, When Billy Broke His Head, garnered dozens of major awards including a jury prize at Sundance and a duPont-Columbia Baton for journalistic excellence. David directed Refrigerator Mothers, about the mothers of autistic children, which won top honors at many festivals and aired on public television’s POV.  Milking the Rhino aired on PBS’ Independent Lens and screened at over five dozen film festivals on six continents.

*An On Screen/In Person program made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

FILM ARCHIVES

The films listed below were featured in our past Free Film Series. Scroll down to see all posts or browse by month in the archives, found in the left panel near the top of our blog.

We’d love some feedback! Please feel free to comment on any of the films you’ve seen.

For additional recommended films not included in our film series, please visit our Recommended Films page.pMany of these films have been donated to and are available in our local public library. e.

What’s ‘Organic‘ about Organic?

Directed and Produced by Shelley Rogers:  59 minutes   / 2010 /   Documentary

7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

What’s Organic illustrates that the organic food debate extends well beyond personal choice and into the realm of social responsibility.  It delves into the debates that arise when a grassroots agricultural movement evolves into a booming international market.  As the film moves from farm fields to government meetings to industry trade shows, we see how our health, the health of our planet, and the agricultural needs of our society are all intimately connected.  The film compels us to look forward, towards a new vision for our culture and encourages us to ask, “How can we eat with an ecological consciousness?”

JOIN THE DIRECTOR, CO-PRODUCER AND A ST. JOHN ORGANIC FARMER AT OUR POST FILM DISCUSSION!

Shelley Rogers grew up in rural East Tennessee. Shelley has a Master’s degree in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University and a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Smith College. She has worked as a freelance Assistant Director/Assistant Camera on several independent film productions in New York City and has served as a production intern at the Media Education Foundation and in GOOD Magazine’s web video department. She believes it is our social responsibility as citizens in a democracy to stand up for our right to live in a healthy environment and have access to diverse, independent media. She maintains an urban existence in NYC by growing vegetables on her fire escape and composting her kitchen scraps.

Marty Mesh started his career as an organic farmer and now serves as an advocate for organic farmers throughout the world.  He volunteered countless hours of advice and input to this film because he feels that there is great potential for the film to empower and inspire audiences to support organic agriculture.

Josephine and Hugo Roller started Josephine’s Organic Greens on St. John in November 2006.  Despite island challenges of poor soil, harsh weather and cost of land, they have persevered giving St. John restaurants, visitors and residents a flavorful, healthy, local choice for organic greens and herbs.

*An On Screen/In Person program made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

BEATBOXING – THE FIFTH ELEMENT OF HIP HOP*

Directed by Klaus Schneyder:   55 minutes, 2011, Documentary

7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

The film celebrates the incredible art form of making music using only the human body through vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one’s mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.  Linked to the hip hop movement and stemming from the hardship of poverty and the lack of instruments, a pioneer was inspired to imitate drum rhythms with his mouth – his brilliance creating the term ‘Human Beatbox’.

The documentary features artists from New York, California, Florida, Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Austria and Germany, who demonstrate their amazing techniques which often seem impossible to audiences at first sight, but see for yourselves….

MEET THE PRODUCER AFTER THE SCREENING!

Angela Viscido is a videographer, editor, entrepreneur and president of Eclectrix, Inc., a full service multimedia company specializing in live performances.  Angela has been committed to the visual and performing arts for the past 29 years.  This includes starting a company to enhance talent in the actors, dance and music industries by creating and developing marketing visuals for the performers. Angela is currently working both in New York City and UK.

*An On Screen/In Person program made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

FREE SWIM

Directed by Jennifer Galvin:  50 minutes   / 2009 /   Documentary

7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

Free Swim is about the paradox of Caribbean coastal people not knowing how to swim. Taking place on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas we follow a group of kids as they overcome their fears, and reconnect with their environment by learning to swim in open waters.  With fresh memories of a friend drowning and the conflicts of growing tourism, for these kids it’s not just about floating, but gaining new skills for their future.

In the U.S. about 60% of ethnically diverse children are unable to swim and African-American children drown at three times the rate of Caucasian children. Free Swim uses the topic of learning to swim as a way to explore more complicated aspects of life on Eleuthera, such as influences on community function by the media, drowning, tourism, overfishing, and education.  The story thread is woven with footage of children learning to swim in their backyard sea. Underwater footage shows the challenges of learning to breathe in a new environment and the powers of discovering a beautiful, new world.

 MEET EXPERTS IN LEARNING TO SWIM AT OUR POST FILM DISCUSSION!

Learn about St. John programs that teach our youth how to swim.  Featured guests include Dean Doeling, “Using Sport for Social Change” and the ‘Just Swim’ event and Laurel Brannick, champion of the VI National Park ‘Learn to Swim’ program.

Free Movie Night
with Acadamy Award Nominee Rick Goldsmith

7:30 PM

St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

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THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

by Rick Goldsmith and Judith Ehrlich (92 min) 2009

Nominated for a 2010 Academy Award as Best Documentary Feature, this important film has won numerous other awards. It is especially relevant in this era of wikileaks.

Daniel Ellsberg narrates his own true story in “The Most Dangerous Man in America”. In 1971 he was a leading Pentagon Vietnam War strategist who concluded the war was based on decades of lies. He leaked 7,000 pages of top-secret documents to The New York Times, a daring act of conscience that lead directly to Watergate, President Nixon’s resignation and the end of the Vietnam War.

“Detailed, clearly told, persuasive” - The New York Times

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Meet the Filmmaker!

Rick Goldsmith, along with his co-producer and co-director Judith Ehrlich, are nationally known documentary filmmakers whose cogent and inspirational films deal with the themes of personal risk, conscience, dissent and commitment to ideals.

Goldsmith was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and came of age during the war in Vietnam. He studied architecture and dabbled in film at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1975 he traveled west and has lived in the Bay Area ever since. Please join us in welcoming this Oscar-nominated filmmaker to St John.

Free Movie Night

7:30 pm

St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay

SUGAR
A feature length film by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (120 min) 2008

JUST IN TIME FOR BASEBALL SEASON!

SUGAR follows the story of Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Sugar, a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro De Macoris, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system, but when his play falters, he begins to question the single mindedness of his life’s ambition.