Sundance Institute Announces FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue Travels to Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 9-5

Sundance Institute Announces FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue Travels to Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 19-25 Sundance Institute and U.S. Federal Cultural Agencies Collaborate With The U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo and Deblokada to Host Free Screenings, Discussions and Workshops

Filmmakers Musa Syeed (Valley of Saints) and Stacy Peralta (Bones Brigade: An Autobiography) To travel With the Program to Sarajevo, Mostar, and Siroki Brijeg

Posted Sep 16, 2013

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 with moderated discussions, panels and artist roundtables in Bosnia and Herzegovina. FILM FORWARD will collaborate with the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo and Deblokada, a Bosnian-based artist association supporting creative potential through film, theatre and mixed media art forms. Filmmakers traveling with the program are Musa Syeed (Valley of Saints) and Stacy Peralta (Bones Brigade: An Autobiography). For a full schedule of events in Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 federal partners include 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.

Collaborating with the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo and an organization like Deblokada offers us the opportunity to connect with international artists committed to encouraging civic engagement and global dialogue through storytelling, said Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. We are honored to present FILM FORWARD in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to use film as a powerful medium that brings people of different cultures, viewpoints, and backgrounds together in a shared dialogue.

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography goes beyond skateboarding to reflect on what it means to be part of a family, the power of ambition and coming of age, said director Stacy Peralta. Skateboarding, just like film, can encourage people around the world to break down barriers and recognize similarities in us all.

Valley of Saints allows audiences around the world to discuss and reflect on their notions of home, from environmental responsibility to cultural identity, said director Musa Syeed. I am excited to meet with audiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina through FILM FORWARD and start global dialogue around these universal themes.

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 Director Meredith Lavitt, FILM FORWARD Manager Bethany Clarke, Sundance Film Festival Director John Cooper and Sundance Institute Editorial Manager Nate von Zumwalt.

Following FILM FORWARD's visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the program will visit Maine (September 30 October 4). Completed programs this year include California, Mexico, Colombia, China, Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Washington.

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 Isl

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