Off The Hook
Do people still say off the hook? Is that still a thing? Because things are off the hook at The Alliance this summer and our member organizations and artists are creating new work and offering new programs and designing futures that hold extraordinary power. Here’s some inspiration if you could use some:
This week is the Alliance Youth Media Virtual Summit. Our Youth Media Fellows, working collaboratively Kapi’olani Lee and Aimee Espiritu have designed and produced a program that includes five days of presentations, creative roundtables, screenings, and leadership workshops designed to elevate youth voices in intergenerational conversations, showcase youth-made media, and highlight best, emerging and evolutionary practices in the youth media field
Alliance member artists and organizations are deep into post-production for The Futures We Dream, a program of eight short films commissioned and produced for the Smithsonian Futures exhibition in the Arts and Industries Building in Washington, DC later this year. The films amplify unheard voices and perspectives across a diverse geography of America and illuminate themes of hope, resilience and the power of collective imagination. We’ve co-created and produced this show with the help of Alliance producer Valentina Vargas and an extraordinary team at The Smithsonian. The result is 8 intentional works of art, 8 evocative, futuristic, human stories — created by a dynamic network of visionary artists deeply embedded in community.Alliance member artists and organizations are deep into post-production for The Futures We Dream, a program of eight short films commissioned and produced for the Smithsonian Futures exhibition in the Arts and Industries Building in Washington, DC later this year. The films amplify unheard voices and perspectives across a diverse geography of America and illuminate themes of hope, resilience and the power of collective imagination. We’ve co-created and produced this show with the help of Alliance producer Valentina Vargas and an extraordinary team at The Smithsonian. The result is 8 intentional works of art, 8 evocative, futuristic, human stories — created by a dynamic network of visionary artists deeply embedded in community.
And congratulations to our friends at Pegasus Media Project, launching the first Arts2Work Pre-Apprenticeship program in Dallas, Texas. After an intensive production and post-production on-the-job training program, participants will work with client organizations and production companies from the Dallas performing arts community to tell stories of resilience building back from COVID shut-downs and invite audiences back (responsibly) into theaters and cultural spaces. Our job developers are already at work supporting career pathways as Associate Producers and Assistant Editors.
Off the hook, right? Please join us.
The eBulletin will be on hiatus in August and we will see you in the Fall!!
~ Wendy
Notes from the Field
Applications Open for International Center of Photography’s One Year Certificate Programs
ICP is seeking submissions for their One-Year Certificate Programs which will “provide advanced students with an intensive year-long course of study to strengthen personal vision, refine skills and technique, and explore the many disciplines informing media and art today.” Prospective students may apply to one of two programs, Creative Practices or Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism. The Creative Practices Program “embraces a diverse range of photographic approaches for innovative expression in an atmosphere of cooperative learning.” The Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism program teaches “investigative skills and technical knowledge necessary for students to advance in the complex and constantly changing world of visual storytelling,” and is taught by faculty and visiting photographers who are established in the documentary field. Applications must be in by July 31st for on-site instruction at ICP’s school in the Lower East Side, or August 15th for online students.
Arts2Work to Host Code Switching/Confronting Bias: A Workshop for Young Media Professionals
Program Director of Wide Angle Youth Media Keiona Gorham is set to lead a participatory workshop to explore code switching in professional environments. The workshop will explore code switching as a tool to navigate exclusion in creative industries and “offer creative and empowering strategies to help navigate and thrive in an industry struggling to confront a history + culture of bias and exclusion.” The workshop is held by Arts2Work and will occur next Wednesday, July 28th.
Empowering The Visual Storytellers of Tomorrow: A Career Exploration Event Presented by Pegasus Media Project and Arts2Work
Pegasus Media Projects in collaboration with Arts2Work is set to host the Career Exploration Workshop which will present participants with the full breadth of job opportunities in all types of media including digital, community organizing, and creative storytelling. The workshop, occurring Wednesday, August 4th, is a Master Class that will feature in-depth information from a diverse range of media professionals to help participants build creative skills and elucidate any questions they may have about media making.
The Alliance Features Aimee Espiritu’s Liberatory Design Lab
This Friday, July 23rd, as part of the upcoming Alliance Youth Media Virtual Summit, educator Aimee Espiritu will be demonstrating how to apply the “fundamentals of Liberatory design” to storytelling. The lab aims to equip participants with the tools to “notice the larger historical context of oppression and opportunity inherent in the storytelling process.”
Fill out our eBulletin submission form.
Media Policy Watch
by Priscilla G.
Two weeks ago, President Biden presented his exhaustive Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the Americas. The order, referencing Roosevelt’s trust-breaking actions against standard oil at the turn of the century, established a “whole-of-government effort to promote competition in the American economy.” It covers non-compete agreements, prescription costs, and right to repair with a strong focus on regulating Big Tech. The Order specifically addresses the FCC, calling for legislation that would make broadband more accessible and affordable as well as encouraging the FCC to restore Net Neutrality rules put in place by former FCC Chair Ajit Pai. According to Ars Technica, FCC reform is currently at a deadlock until a fifth commissioner is nominated as the current Commission is split 2-2 between Democrats and Republicans. “The FCC needs to reverse the damage done by the Trump administration, which presided over rising prices and declining investment in broadband while pretending that a do-nothing deregulatory approach would solve these problems.” said Free Press Vice President of Policy and General Counsel Matt Wood in a statement published by Free Press.
Ars Technica noted Biden’s lack of reference in his recent Order to previously stated plans to establish municipal broadband as part of his $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan. Though he has announced a $65 billion broadband deployment-deal, the fact sheet for the Order contained no specific information on how those funds would be allocated only stating that it would support “universal broadband infrastructure.” Ars Technica questioned if the GOP would support a broadband deal promoting municipal broadband given prior attempts at banning municipal broadband and their frustration with Democrat’s attempt to link a “reconciliation bill” to the bipartisan backed Infrastructure Bill.
Job Bank
Communications Manager, PhillyCAM (Philedelphia, PA)
Photographer, The Menil Collection (Houston, TX)
Curatorial Assistant, Menil Drawing Institute (Houston, TX)
Program Director, Pickford Film Center (Bellingham, WA)
Development Associate, DCEFF (Washington, DC)
Projectionist/Cinema House Manager, Speed Art Museum (Louisville, K&Y)
Workshops, Festivals, Convenings
First Look 20/21, Astoria, NY, July 22–August 1
Melbourne International Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia – August 5th-22th
New York Asian Film Festival, New York, NY, August 6th- 22nd
Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland – August 18th-25th, hybrid event
Sydney Film Festival, Sydney, Australia – August 18th – 29th
Sidewalk Film Festival, Birmingham, AL, August 23 – 29
CinemaCon, Las Vegas, NV – August 26 – 30
Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival, Vineyard Haven, MA, September 7th –12th
Grants and Calls
MountainFilm Commitment Grant
MountainFilm seeks non-fiction stories celebrating “adventure, activism, social justice, culture, environment and indomitable spirit.” Submissions must include a short video sample or trailer of their current project. A total of $30,000 will be awarded in grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Deadline: July 31st,
MountainFilm Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship
The fellowship will provide one documentary filmmaker in production or post-production with a yearlong mentorship. Included in the mentorship is edit and story consultation, networking opportunities and a $2,000 cash award. In addition, the fellowship includes a trip to Telluride during the festival over Memorial Day weekend, covering travel, lodging and a Mountainfilm pass ($3,000 value).
Deadline: July 31st
National Endowment for the Humanities Media Project Grant
The Media Projects program is looking to support the development, production, and distribution of radio programs, podcasts, long-form documentary films, and documentary film series that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Funding options include $75,000 for Development, $700,000 for Production, $1,000,000 for Chairman’s Special Awards.
Deadline: August 11
American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition
The Zoetrope Screenplay Competition considers feature-length film scripts, as well as pilot scripts for television/streaming services. Every script is read closely by a select handful of professional readers, and Francis Ford Coppola selects a winner from among the ten finalists for the chance to win a grand prize of $5,000.
Deadline: September 7
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