Sundance Institute Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue Travels to San Diego March 6 - 9

Sundance Institute Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue Travels to San Diego March 6 - 9 Sundance Institute and the Museum of Photographic Arts to Collaborate and Host Free Screenings, Discussions and Workshops

Film Forward to harness the power of storytelling to bring audiences together around the world starting in Mississippi and continuing on in seven other locations domestically (California, Michigan and Pennsylvania) and internationally (Mexico, Taiwan, China, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Indonesia) reaching more than 10,000 people

Filmmakers Hilla Medalia (Dancing In Jaffa) and Srdan Golubovic (Circles) Travel With the Program

Posted Feb 6, 2014

Park City, UT 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 San Diego, California. For a full schedule of events in California visit sundance.org/filmforward and to view content from past trips visit sundance.org/video/playlists/film-forward/. Over the past three years Film Forward has reached more than 46,000 people in more than 11 countries and 12 US cities.

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, religion, ethnicity 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.

Common themes explored in the films include tolerance, overcoming adversity and the transformative power of art. The program in San Diego will focus on communities in conflict and the unique circumstance of living with boundaries and borders. In each location, Film Forward seeks audiences that have limited access to independent film, students and the local filmmaking community.

FILM FORWARD uses the powerful medium of film and storytelling to bring people of different cultures, viewpoints, and backgrounds together in a shared dialogue, said Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. We are pleased to present Film Forward in collaboration with Museum of Photographic Arts and look forward to the discussion that the films will stimulate with the audiences.

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 San Diego and see if my film can challenge audiences to see their community in a new way.

On behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts, I am pleased to support these Film Forward activities, said Joan Shigekawa, Senior Deputy Chairman of National Endowment for the Arts. Given its location, San Diego is the perfect city to host a conversation around Dancing in Jaffa and Circles and their central themes of reaching across borders and boundaries. It is an exciting opportunity for audiences and filmmakers to connect, listen, and learn.

The Museum of Photographic Arts is excited to be a partner with Film Forward because we believe in the power of high quality independent film to promote dialogue on a global scale, said Deborah Klochko, Executive Director of The Museum of Photographic Arts. San Diego is the ideal location for this collaboration because of the diverse cultural groups in such a small region. We share a border with Mexico and San Diego has the largest refugee population in the United States; we are a microcosm of world issues.

Sundance Institute staff members traveling with the program are: Film Forward Director Meredith Lavitt, Director of Special Programs and Senior Programmer of the Sundance Film Festival Caroline Libresco and Film Forward Manager Bethany Clarke.

The first completed Film Forward program location includes Mississippi. Following Film Forward's visit to California (San Diego); Mexico (Tijuana); Michigan (Detroit, Dearborn, Ann Arbor); Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Lancaster); Taiwan; China; Bosnia & Herzegovina; and Indonesia.

Dates, specific venues, partners and schedules for each location will be announced at www.sundance.org/filmforward.

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 Documen

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