Sundance Institute Announces FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue Travels to Maine Sept. 0 Oct. 4

Sundance Institute Announces FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue Travels to Maine Sept. 30 Oct. 4 Producer Michael Gottwald (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Director Laura Nix (The Light In Her Eyes) to participate.

Posted Sep 2, 2013

Sundance Institute and U.S. Federal Cultural Agencies Collaborate with the Maine Office of Tourism, Town of Monson, Mount Desert Island High School and Bangor High School To Host Free Screenings, Discussions and Workshops

Maine is The Last Stop for Third Year of FILM FORWARD

Los Angeles, CA Sundance Institute and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities announced today that FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue will host free screenings of eight films, moderated discussions and panel discussions for the first time in Maine, September 30 through October 4. Filmmaker Laura Nix (The Light In Her Eyes) and producer Michael Gottwald (Beasts of the Southern Wild) are traveling with the program. For a full schedule of events in Maine visit sundance.org/filmforward and to view content from past trips visit sundance.org/video/playlists/film-forward/.

FILM FORWARD, a partnership of Sundance Institute and four U.S. federal cultural agencies, is a touring program that offers film screenings, workshops and discussions designed to foster dialogue and cross-cultural understanding. It uses the power of cinema to promote broader cultural understanding, inspire curiosity and enhance awareness of shared stories and values across generations, language, education and borders. The partnering federal agencies are the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and The Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The FILM FORWARD program in Maine will visit several schools, and we are incredibly excited to discuss independent film with a student audience, said Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. In addition to screening eight feature films that speak to common themes, we look forward to enriching the classroom experience with visits from filmmakers and lively discussions about global ideas.

During the making of The Light In Her Eyes, we uncovered a lively debate about women's roles as mothers, teachers, wives, workers, sisters and daughters, said filmmaker Laura Nix. I am excited to meet audiences in Maine through the FILM FORWARD program and to reach common ground with the universal themes that touch us all.

Through the power of film and the point of view of an optimistic six-year-old, Beasts of the Southern Wild shows audiences how a small community overcomes catastrophe, said producer Michael Gottwald. Screening the film in Maine will mean reaching new audiences and discussing situations unique to the characters that also relate to communities around the world.

FILM FORWARD seeks audiences that are new to independent film, students and the local filmmaking community in each region. Common themes explored in the films include issues surrounding family, friendship and community, as well as the intersection of tradition and modern culture.

Sundance Institute staff members traveling with the program are: FILM FORWARD Manager Jacqueline Carlson, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund Director Kristin Feely and Sundance Institute Director of Program Operations Eva Rinaldi.

FILM FORWARD's visit to Maine will be the final destination of year three. Completed programs include: California, Mexico, Colombia, China, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Washington, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

FILM FORWARD Year Three Films:

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Director: Benh Zeitlin) In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a six-year-old girl exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural order is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions.

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (Director: Stacy Peralta) A gang of disenfranchised kids reject mainstream culture, channel their controlled desperation into a loser activity and redefine winning in the process. Mentored by a former world champion skateboarder, the Bones Brigade became historys most influential skateboarding team. Their countercultural impact continues to affect change with best selling video games and books and millions of kids who embrace skateboarding around the world.

Chasing Ice (Director: Jeff Orlowski) Acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog was once a skeptic about climate change. But through his Extreme Ice Survey, he discovers undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Chasing Ice reveals Balogs hauntingly beautiful, multi-year time-lapse videos of vanishing glaciers across the Arctic, all while delivering fragile hope to our carbon-powered planet.

La Misma Luna (Under The Same Moon) (Director: Patricia Riggen) Even across thousands of miles, the special bond between a mother and son can never be broken. It gives hope to Carlitos, a scrappy nine-year-old boy whose mother, Rosario, has gone to America to build a better life for both of them. While Rosario struggles for a brighter future, fate forces Carlitos' hand and he embarks on an extraordinary journey to find her.

The Light in Her Eyes (Directors: Julia Meltzer and Laura Nix) Houda al-Habash, a conservative woman preacher in Damascus, Syria, calls girls to the practice of Islam, teaching them that pursuing their ambitions is a way of worshipping God. Shot right before the uprising in Syria erupted, The Light in Her Eyes offers an extraordinary

LINK:	http://www.sundance.org/press-center/release/film-forward-travels-to-m...
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