Happy Holidays from BDC!!!

 

BDC Member Benefits include hosted screenings, discounts to workshops, events and professional services (i.e., color correction, sound mixing, etc.) from our many partners, listing in the BDC Catalog & Directory, and more.

 

Join or Renew today!

 

Wishing you a blessed and joyful holiday season!

BDC Screenings   My Thiero Boys: A Lifestyle Dealing with Autism by Vana Thiero **FREE** THIS Wednesday, December 4th 7pm RAW SPACE 2031 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Blvd., NYC Btw 121st and 122nd Sts. RSVP Requested vthiero@aol.com My Thiero Boys, a film by the mother of two boys diagnosed with autism, is a raw, candid and insightful documentary that presents the joy and humor within the painful and emotional battles parents face daily in the world of autism. * * *

BDC Members Midnight Media Capture to launch MMC Stage Founders, Nicole Franklin and Giovanna Aguilar And they want to hear from you!   Please take the quick survey below! BDC Member Nicole Franklin wants to hear from you!  Nicole and Giovanna Aguilar, as part of their company, Midnight Media Capture, are launching a new and exciting content monetizing platform: MMC Stage.  With MMC Stage filmmakers, artists, entrepreneurs can use our interactive platform to monetize content.  Discounted rates will be available to BDC Members! Please fill out this brief survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/58QHYFV58QHYFV You can see a description of the platform here: http://midnightmediacapture.com/mmc-stage/ * * *

BDC Support   The Harlem Cultural Council Needs You! Support the Campaign! Only 9 days left!  click pix to watch video A documentary film by Patricia DeArcy Sponsored by Fractured Atlas http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-harlem-cultural-council--2  The Harlem Cultural Council commemorates the legacy of jazz great Billy Taylor, along with vocalists Emory Taylor and Jeannie Faulkner who founded the "Harlem Cultural Council" and gave birth to NYC's most celebrated innovations - the Dance Mobile and the Jazz Mobile. You will hear from these trail blazers and other community greats about the exciting times of the 60's and the origin of these art institutions as well as many other art programs produced by the Harlem Cultural Council. * * * 2 Weeks left to support the  Death Metal Angola Resilience Tour The Death Metal Angola Resilience Tour is a series of screenings, town-hall discussions, and concerts in communities throughout the United States that have been hit hard by economic and natural disasters. DMA will partner with local schools, community centers, community leaders, and many more to provide a platform for them to connect with each other and share thier stories of resilience, and strategies for renewal. * * *

BDC Catalog & Directory is accepting submissions! The BDC Catalog & Directory is a searchable database of BDC members' work and contact information available to production companies, networks, press, distributors, educators and others interested in purchasing, screening, distributing member films and hiring our members. This BDC-exclusive resource is an invaluable opportunity to reach audiences, increase visibility, promotional opportunities,as well as get work and generate revenue. We have already received requests from CBS, The Documentary Channel, ASPiRE, Magic Johnson's new cable network, to name a few. But they can't reach you and we can't refer you if you're not in it, so please submit your information now! Please send an email for further instructions to: Catalog@bdcnewyork.org (Please do not send emails to Sabrina or Nicole's personal emails. Thanks!) You MUST be a current BDC Member to be included. Click below to join the BDC or renew your membership.  Become a Member

BDC Members     DOCUMENTED Acquired by CNN FILMS and in competition at IDFA!   by Jose Antonio Vargas Co-Produced and Edited by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon Read More:  CNN Acquires Vargas' Immigration Film, DOCUMENTED Amy Entelis, a senior vice president at CNN who oversees the film unit, said Vargas takes the immigration story out of the context of a Washington political battle and instead "makes that story very pointedly human." And if you're in Amsterdam, please join us at IDFA! International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam November 20 - December 1 click here for IDFA schedule & tickets In 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times Magazine. "Documented" chronicles his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his journey through America as an immigration reform activist/provocateur; and his journey inward as he re-connects with his mother, whom he hasn't seen in 20 years.   * * *  Midnight Media Capture to launch MMC Stage Founders, Nicole Franklin and Giovanna Aguilar And they want to hear from you!   Please take the quick survey below! BDC Member Nicole Franklin wants to hear from you!  Nicole and Giovanna Aguilar, as part of their company, Midnight Media Capture, are launching a new and exciting content monetizing platform: MMC Stage.  With MMC Stage filmmakers, artists, entrepreneurs can use our interactive platform to monetize content.  Discounted rates will be available to BDC Members! Please fill out this brief survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/58QHYFV58QHYFV You can see a description of the platform here: http://midnightmediacapture.com/mmc-stage/ * * *

BDC Support     The Harlem Cultural Council Needs You! Support the Campaign! Only 14 days left!  click pix to watch video A documentary film by Patricia DeArcy Sponsored by Fractured Atlas http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-harlem-cultural-council--2  The Harlem Cultural Council commemorates the legacy of jazz great Billy Taylor, along with vocalists Emory Taylor and Jeannie Faulkner who founded the "Harlem Cultural Council" and gave birth to NYC's most celebrated innovations - the Dance Mobile and the Jazz Mobile. You will hear from these trail blazers and other community greats about the exciting times of the 60's and the origin of these art institutions as well as many other art programs produced by the Harlem Cultural Council. * * * Death Metal Angola Resilience Tour The Death Metal Angola Resilience Tour is a series of screenings, town-hall discussions, and concerts in communities throughout the United States that have been hit hard by economic and natural disasters. DMA will partner with local schools, community centers, community leaders, and many more to provide a platform for them to connect with each other and share thier stories of resilience, and strategies for renewal. * * *

BDC Screenings     My Thiero Boys: A Lifestyle Dealing with Autism by Vana Thiero Wednesday, December 4th 7pm RAW SPACE 2031 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Blvd., NYC Btw 121st and 122nd Sts. RSVP Requested vthiero@aol.com My Thiero Boys, a film by the mother of two boys diagnosed with autism, is a raw, candid and insightful documentary that presents the joy and humor within the painful and emotional battles parents face daily in the world of autism. * * *

BDC Catalog & Directory is accepting submissions! The BDC Catalog & Directory is a searchable database of BDC members' work and contact information available to production companies, networks, press, distributors, educators and others interested in purchasing, screening, distributing member films and hiring our members. This BDC-exclusive resource is an invaluable opportunity to reach audiences, increase visibility, promotional opportunities, as well as get work and generate revenue. We have already received requests from CBS, The Documentary Channel, ASPiRE, Magic Johnson's new cable network, to name a few. But they can't reach you and we can't refer you if you're not in it, so please submit your information now! Please send an email for further instructions to: Catalog@bdcnewyork.org (Please do not send emails to Sabrina or Nicole's personal emails. Thanks!) You MUST be a current BDC Member to be included. Click below to join the BDC or renew your membership.  Become a Member

BDC Festivals DOC NYC begins this Thursday! November 14-21 IFC Center and SVA Theatre Started by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, DOC NYC is the largest documentary film festival in the United States, with over 130 films and events. click on pix for festival lineup BDC is very proud to present an impressive selection   of films at the festival:    The Stuart Hall Project by John Akomfrah **NYC Premiere**    Mon, Nov 18th, 7:15pm IFC Center Acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival, John Akomfrah's new film is an emotionally charged portrait of cultural theorist Stuart Hall.  A complex and deeply insightful thinker about subjects as diverse as feminism, Marxist methodology, migration and American hippies, the 82 year-old, Jamaican-born Hall is one of the most inspiring voices of the post-war Left.  Accompanied by a Miles Davis soundtrack, The Stuart Hall Project is an exhilarating journey though the second half of the 20th century.    God Loves Uganda by Roger Ross Williams (expected to attend) Tues, Nov 19th, 4:45 pm IFC Center In 2010, Roger Ross Williams won the Academy Award for his documentary short, Music by Prudence, becoming the first African-American director ever to receive an Oscar.  In God Loves Uganda, he follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting the "sexual immorality" of homosexuality, and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow Biblical law.  An impassioned and provocative call for change, God Loves Uganda "is strong, head-shaking stuff" (Variety).  Courtesy of Variance Films.       Gideon's Army by Dawn Porter (expected to attend)    Wed, Nov 13th, 9:30 pm IFC Center Gideon's Army follows Travis Williams, Brandy Alexander and June Hardwick, three young public defenders who are part of a small group of idealistic lawyers in the Deep South, challenging the assumptions that drive a criminal justice system strained to the breaking point.  Can these courageous lawyers revolutionize the way America thinks about indigent defense and make "justice for all" a reality?  Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films. We also want to give a shout out to some films made by our BDC Friends.  Please check them out!   Lucky  by Laura Checkoway Sun Nov 17 9:15 & Thu Nov 21 4:30p *NYC Premiere*     Lucky Torres hides a lifetime of abuse and abandonment behind an angry, tattooed exterior.  But despite being homeless, unemployed and a single mother, the compelling Lucky still dreams of true love and success. Death Metal Angola  by Jeremy Xido Sat, Nov 16th, 9:45 pm *NYC Premiere*      Sonia runs the Okutiuka orphanage in Huambo, Angola's second largest city, nearly decimated by decades of civil war.  Her boyfriend, Wilker, is a death metal guitarist.  To raise awareness and funds for the orphanage, the industrious couple organizes the country's first ever national rock concert, tapping into the unexpected healing power of hardcore music. * * * BDC Catalog & Directory is accepting submissions! The BDC Catalog & Directory is a searchable database of BDC members' work and contact information available to production companies, networks, press, distributors, educators and others interested in purchasing, screening, distributing member films and hiring our members. This BDC-exclusive resource is an invaluable opportunity to reach audiences, increase visibility, promotional opportunities, as well as get work and generate revenue. We have already received requests from CBS, The Documentary Channel, ASPiRE, Magic Johnson's new cable network, to name a few.  But they can't reach you and we can't refer you if you're not in it, so please submit your information now! Please send an email for further instructions to: Catalog@bdcnewyork.org (Please do not send emails to Sabrina or Nicole's personal emails. Thanks!) You MUST be a current BDC Member to be included. Click below to join the BDC or renew your membership.  Become a Member

Support DIFRET - an inspiring testament to the courage of women and girls

DIFRET 

by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari

Based on a true story, DIFRET is a testament to women's courage in the face of staggering injustice.

Fundraising Campaign

Ends Tuesday Jul 23, 3:27pm EDT

**Help DIFRET reach its STRETCH goal of $40,000**
*Donation of any amount is greatly appreciated*

*Only 17 days and counting*

1996. Ethiopia. 14-year-old Hirut Assefa is abducted while walking home from school by a 29-year-old farmer who intends to marry her. Hirut shoots and kills her abductor with his own rifle, in an attempt to get back to her parents.

Hirut is charged with murder and is facing the death penalty.  Inspired by this young girl's courage, Meaza, a young lawyer, embarks on a long tenacious battle to save Hirut's life.

Funds raised during this campaign will be used for post-production costs and submission to the Toronto Film Festival.  Please help this gripping film get to Toronto!

**PLEASE SUPPORT TODAY** 

BDC Filmmakers Make 3 of Indiewire's Top 5 Films of the AFI DOCS Film Festival!

 

5 New Films To Watch Out For From AFI DOCS 

includes BDC Member Films "Documented" and "The New Black"

DOCUMENTED

Directed by Jose Antonio Vargas, Edited by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

(CENTERPIECE GALA Special Screening)

In 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times Magazine.  DOCUMENTED chronicles his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his journey through America as an immigration reform activist/provocateur; and his journey inward as he re-connects with his mother, whom he hasn't seen in 20 years.

* * *

The New Black   

Directed by Yoruba Richen, Produced by Angela Tucker, Yvonne Welbon

(In Competition, Audience Award Winner)

The New Black explores how African-American voters have become bitterly divided on the issue of gay marriage because of homphobia rampant in one of the pillars of the African-American community-- the black church.  In the process, the film uncovers the complicated and often combative histories of the African-American and LGBT civil rights movements.

Click here to watch Yoruba Richen and activist Karess Taylor-Hughes  

on MSNBC/s The Cycle

Click here to read Yoruba Richen's CNN Op-Ed  

on the historic Supreme Court ruling on DOMA

If you missed AFI, check out The New Black at 
Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco 

Saturday, June 29th 1:15pm

* * * 

BDC Support DIFRET  by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari (a feature film based on a true story) Fundraising Campaign Ends Tuesday Jul 23, 3:27pm EDT  1996. Ethiopia. 14-year-old Hirut Assefa is abducted while walking home from school by a 29-year-old farmer who intends to marry her. Hirut shoots and kills her abductor with his own rifle, in an attempt to get back to her parents. Hirut is charged with murder and is facing the death penalty.  Inspired by this young girl's courage, Meaza, a young lawyer, embarks on a long tenacious battle to save Hirut's life. Based on a true story, DIFRET is a testament to women's courage in the face of staggering injustice.  Funds raised during this campaign will be used for post-production costs and submission to the Toronto Film Festival.  Please help this gripping film get to Toronto! **DONATE TODAY**

BDC at LA Film Fest, AFI Docs and More!

BDC Festivals The New Black  by Yoruba Richen    Co-Prod by Angela Tucker and Yvonne Welbon World Premiere at LA Film Festival  **TONIGHT**  June 14th 7:30 pm  & June 16th 6:50 pm Also screening at AFI Docs in D. C. and the   Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York  An explosive new documentary which explores how African-American voters have become bitterly divided on the issue of gay marriage because of homophobia rampant in one of the pillars of the African-American community-- the church. In the process, the film uncovers the complicated and often combative histories of the African-American and LGBT civil rights movements. *  *  *   by Jose Antonio Vargas Edited by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon     CENTERPIECE GALA Screening Friday, June 21, 8pm  Smithsonian Institution - National Portrait Gallery  In 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times Magazine.  DOCUMENTED chronicles his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his journey through America as an immigration reform activist/provocateur; and his journey inward as he re-connects with his mother, whom he hasn't seen in 20 years. * * *

BDC Screenings Soul Food Junkies  by Byron Hurt  Special Performance by Dead Prez Imagenation @Von King Park, Brooklyn  Sunday, June 16th, 7pm Baffled by his dad's unwillingness to change his traditional soul food diet in the face of a health crisis, Hurt sets out to learn more about this rich culinary tradition and its relevance to black cultural identity. He discovers that the love affair that his dad and his community have with soul food is deep-rooted, complex, and in some tragic cases, deadly. * * * Homegoings by Christine Turner  @The Apollo Theatre, NYC Friday, June 21, 7:30p Special Performance by violinist Daniel Roumain (click below for details)  Homegoings is about renowned Harlem funeral director Isaiah Owens and African-American funeral traditions.  The event will feature a performance by film composer and violinist Daniel Roumain with members of the Harlem Chamber Players, and a discussion with director Christine Turner and Isaiah Owens. * * *