Film Forward Travels To Michigan September 04

Park City, UT Sundance Institute and the Presidents 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 Detroit, Ann Arbor and Dearborn, Michigan September 22-25. For a full schedule of events and venues in Michigan visit sundance.org/filmforward.

Film Forward, a partnership of Sundance Institute, the Presidents Committee and three 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.

The program in Michigan will focus on communities and change, beating the odds, acceptance, and the human experience behind the headlines. Common themes explored in the films traveling with the program this year include acceptance, overcoming adversity and the transformative power of the arts to heal and bridge differences. In each location, Film Forward seeks to engage audiences that have limited access to independent film, and artists.

Storytelling through film illuminates different ways of thinking and brings about understanding of new cultures, said Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. We look forward to showing these films in Michigan which we hope will inspire a dynamic exchange of ideas.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is proud to support Film Forward and the civic engagement it promotes through film, said Malcom Richardson, Senior Partnership Officer. Film Forward programs demonstrate how the humanities actively expand knowledge of other cultures, perspectives and history, while the films and participating filmmakers help us understand the issues we face as citizens.

Dancing In Jaffa is about defying expectations and believing that change is possible, said filmmaker Hilla Medalia. No matter where the film is shown audiences around the world will relate to the common themes and issues expressed by the students. I am excited to engage audiences in dialogue in Michigan and see if my film can challenge audiences to see their community in a new way.

The 2014 season of Film Forward will reach over 10,000 people through international (Mexico, Taiwan, China, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Indonesia) and domestic locations (California, Michigan, Mississippi and Pennsylvania).Sundance Institute staff members traveling with the program are: Film Forward Director Meredith Lavitt, Film Forward Manager Jacqueline Carlson and Sundance Institute Manager of Diversity Initiatives Moira Griffin.

FILM FORWARD Year Four Films:

Circles (Directed by: Srdan Golubovic )

Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will have to confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome the guilt, frustration, and the urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs?

International Narrative

Dancing in Jaffa (Directed by: Hilla Medalia)

Renowned ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulaine, takes his belief that dance can overcome political and cultural differences and applies it to 11 year old Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. What occurs is magical and transformative.

International Documentary

Fruitvale Station (Directed by: Ryan Coogler)

The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.

US Narrative

If You Build It (Directed by: Patrick Creadon)

If You Build It spends a year in the life of one of America's most innovative classrooms. Designer/activists Emily Pilloton and Matt Miller, together with their high school students, unleash the power of humanitarian design to help their struggling community in rural North Carolina.

US Documentary

The Rocket (Directed by: Kim Mordaunt)

A boy who is believed to bring bad luck leads his family and a couple of ragged misfits through Laos to find a new home. After a calamity filled journey through a land scarred by war, the boy sets off to prove he's not cursed and builds a giant rocket to enter the most lucrative but dangerous competition of the year: the Rocket Festival.

International Narrative

The World Before Her (Directed by: Nisha Pahuja)

Moving between two extremes the intimate verit drama of the Miss India pageant's rigorous beauty bootcamp and the intense regime of a militant Hindu fundamentalist camp for young girls The World Before Her delivers a provocative portrait of India and its current cultural conflicts during a key transitional era in the countrys modern history.

International Documentary

Twenty Feet From Stardom (Directed by: Morgan Neville)

Millions know their voices, but no one knows their names. Twenty Feet From Stardom shines a spotlight on the untold true story of the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century.

US Documentary

Valentine Road (Directed by: Marta Cunningham)

On February 12, 2008, eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head. With keen insight, the film connects the human wreckage of Larry's and Brandon's troubled lives both bullied and both searching for a sense of belonging.

US Documentary

Federal Partners

The Presidents Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) bridges the interests of American federal agencies and the private sector, supports special projects that increase participation and excellence in the arts and humanities, and helps incorporate these disciplines into White House objectives. First Lady Michelle Obama is the Honorary Chairman of the PCAH.

The National Endowment for the Arts was establis

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