Media That Matters at the Center for Social Media


Each year the Center for Social Media at American University hosts the annual “Media That Matters” forum.

This year’s theme, “Storytelling across Platforms,” focuses on today’s evolving media world in which publics can engage with creative projects across platforms such as radio, the web and mobile devices, as well as film and TV. The featured keynote speaker is Katy Chevigny, Co-founder and Senior Director of Arts Engine, Inc, and Producer for Pushing the Elephant, our March Community Cinema film.

Media That Matters is an opportunity to join established and aspiring filmmakers, non-profit communications leaders, funders and students working to learn and share cutting-edge practices to make their media matter, February 10 and 11, 2011 at American University in Washington, DC. Visit the Center‘s website to see the detailed agenda. Regular registration $100, Students $50, Fair Use Workshop $50.

MTM is presented in partnership with the Media That Matters Festival, which is a project of Arts Engine, Inc.

02/05/2011 | admin | Tags: , , | No Comments »

All Roads Film Festival kicks off with “Reel Injun”

The All Roads Film Festival and ITVS are co-hosting the Washington DC premiere of Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian September 28th at National Geographic Headquarters. There will be a Q&A with filmmaker Neil Diamond after the screening. The All Roads Film Festival is part of the All Roads Film Project, a National Geographic program created to provide an international platform for indigenous and under-represented minority-culture artists to share cultures, stories and perspectives through the power of film and photography.

This is the second co-hosting between ITVS and the All Roads Film Festival featuring a film from Community Cinema. Miss Navajo was our first event and a big hit with the audience. Reel Injun should be no different.


Neil Diamond takes an entertaining, insightful, and often humorous look at the Hollywood Indian, exploring the portrayal of North American Natives through a century of cinema and examining the ways that the myth of “the Injun” has influenced the world’s understanding—and misunderstanding—of Natives. Narrated by Diamond with infectious enthusiasm and good humor, Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian is a loving look at cinema through the eyes of the people who appeared in its very first flickering images and have survived to tell their stories their own way.


Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond, one of Canada’s foremost Aboriginal filmmakers, hails from the Cree community of Waskaganish on the coast of James Bay. His recent credits include The Last Explorer (2009), a feature-length docudrama retracing the steps of Diamond’s own great uncle, Aboriginal guide George Elson, on an ill-fated voyage into the heart of uncharted Labrador. An integral part of the Rezolution Pictures International creative team, Diamond has directed two award-winning documentaries: One More River (2004), a behind-the-scenes look at the Quebec Cree’s decision to accept another hydro project on their land, was named Best Documentary at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québecois, while awards for Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec (2004) included Top Prize and Audience Pick at Norway’s Riddu Riddu Festival.


“Reel Injun” also opens the 2010 – 2011 season of Community Cinema starting in October. The following screenings are scheduled:
    - Washington DC Jewish Community Center Sunday, October 10 at 3 PM
    - Busboys and Poets Monday, October 11 at 5 PM (Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day).


A campus screening is planned for October 24 on the George Washington University Campus with Kino Fist!, the GWU Student Film Group.


Francene Blythe, director of the All Roads Film Project and Film Festival will join the panel for the Community Cinema presentations of “Reel Injun” on October 10 and 11. On October 11, Kiros Auld who appeared in the Terrence Malick film The New World (2005) will talk about his experiences on the set in Jamestown, VA; and Karen Zill of the National Association for Media Literacy and author of the ITVS discussion guide for Reel Injun will join the panel October 11.

To purchase tickets to the All Roads Film Festival, visit http://nationalgeographic.com/allroads, or call 202-857-7700

Community Cinema events in October are FREE with RSVP. Email: reelinjun[at]communitycinema-dc[dot]org or call 202-939-0794.

09/21/2010 | admin | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

A New Season….A New Website

Community Cinema [DC] is kicking off the 2010 – 2011 with a brand new look and a DC perspective. The site is revamped for Community Cinema fans to “talk back” about our events and films. That’s what Community Cinema is all about.

Our new site introduces a DC perspective from Anthony “Ted” Nigrelli.  Known around Flickr, DCist, and Creative Commons sites as “Mr. T in DC,” I chose Ted’s photo of a D.C. flag tag on H Street, in NE as the banner image for the new look.  It’s seldom people identify DC by its neighborhoods or people who live here year round.  Ted is originally from Long Island, NY.  Judging by his photos, he’s definitely into being a DC guy.

You can take a tour of Mr. T in DC’s via this Flickr link;. Below is our on-line interview for you to know more about Ted.

Michon Boston
ITVS Regional Outreach Coordinator
Washington, DC

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It’s hard to find photos of DC that don’t look tourist post cards. What catches your eye in the city besides the Capitol and the mall?
Photos of DC that don’t look like tourist post cards are easy to find, you just have to get out into the neighborhoods and look around. What catches my eye in general are the row houses of Washington DC, in all their variety. They can be brick, stone, painted or unpainted, tall, short, wide, narrow, and from various historical time periods. The cornices and rooflines often catch my eye while exploring the city. Don’t forget about the alleys as well; some of them are pretty interesting and photogenic.

DC is described as a transient city? How long have you been in Washington, DC? Why do you stay?
I think that studies have shown Washington, DC, to be no more transient, or only slightly more transient in nature compared to other large American cities.

I’ve lived in the DC area since 1991, and DC proper since 1996, so I’m certainly not an example of a transient DC population. Besides my job, what keeps me from leaving are the areas wonderful cultural attractions, relatively fast and clean transit options, and the people and places I’ve grown attached to over the years.

How did you get interested in photography?

When I was a child, I had a Kodak Instamatic and fondly remember dropping film off to be developed at the local Fotomat kiosk. Later, I purchased my first SLR, a Minolta X-370, back in the early 1980s. After awhile, I began to lose interest in photography, as film gave way to digital, and the entire world of photography seemed in flux. The APS format came and went, and as digital technology advanced, I became drawn in again. The combination of affordable, capable modern DSLRs, combined with the ease of posting photos online on Flickr and other social networking sites, proved irresistible, so I plunged back into photography in 2007.

What is your favorite DC spot(s)?
My favorite DC spots all seem to have to do with water. I love Hain’s Point, the SW waterfront promenade, walking over any of our Potomac bridges, the Boulder Bridge over Rock Creek, the plaza in Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, and the fountain in the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden.

What makes DC the place to be?

DC is definitely the place to be! The population is growing, crime is declining, formerly underdeveloped neighborhoods are on the rise, and the area’s economy is hanging in there, going against national trends. We’re on the move with new bike-sharing and streetcars on the way, new community libraries under construction, and there always seems to be interesting new cafes and restaurants opening – not to mention the fact that we have a cool President and First Lady who enjoy getting out and exploring the city!

09/01/2010 | admin | Tags: , | No Comments »