FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Thursday, May 28, 2009 | 10:30 a.m.–noon

Sexploited: Media Exploitation of Sexism

This session will include a screening of the presenter’s Media Education Foundation film, Generation M: Misogyny in Media and Culture, which will be followed by a discussion with audience members. The film highlights the sexism of mass media and how sexist images and narratives continue to be profitable for media of all kinds. The film also explores female empowerment and asks whether the hypersexualized archetypes that pervade media today offer empowering role models for women or whether they offer archaic sexist models of femininity repackaged as a new, but false, form of female empowerment. This session should particularly benefit educators and individuals of all kinds who are interested in the development of gender identity, media communications, and feminism, and those who are concerned about the sexism that continues to pervade media and society.

Thomas Keith, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy
Lecturer, California State University-Long Beach
and Lecturer, California Polytechnic University-Pomona
Fontana, California
americanphilos@aol.com

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Friday, May 29, 2009 | 10:00 a.m.–noon

Last Chance for Eden

Last Chance for Eden is a documentary about eight men and women discussing the issues of racism and sexism in the workplace. They examine the impact of society's stereotypes on their lives in the workplace, in their personal relationships and within their families and in their communities. In the course of their dialogue, they also explore the differences and similarities between racism and sexism—an area that has seldom been researched, but has heatedly become a very important issue needing to be understood and dealt with. www.stirfryseminars.com

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Friday, May 29, 2009 | 10:30 a.m.–noon

Way of the Warrior

Produced by Patty Loew (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe), Wisconsin Public Television, Way of the Warrior offers a Native perspective during this season when the new Ken Burns series The War brings this subject to the forefront of national attention.

http://www.wpt.org/wayofthewarrior/index.cfm

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Friday, May 29, 2009 | 10:30 a.m.–noon

Bilal's Stand

Director: Sultan Sharrief
Producer: Terri Sarris

The film focuses on the life of a Detroit high school senior, Bílal, and his family's long-owned taxi stand. "The Stand," as they call it, has been the source of all activity and money for the family for the last sixty years, and it seems like Bílal is about to carry the torch. However, after secretly submitting a college application, and taking up ice carving in order to win a scholarship, he is forced to decide whether he will continue working at the Stand-the only life he's ever known-or take a chance at social mobility. The film is based on a true story and deals with issues of educational challenges, access to higher education, faith, and the notion of social mobility vs. community abandonment.
About the Director:

In addition to writing and direction Bilal's stand, Sultan Sharrief is co-founder and Director of the Student EFEX Program (Encouraging the Filmmaking EXperience). He produced The Spiral Project/film nominated for an MTV Movie Award), filmmaker of Mural; an Intern at EXTRA and CELEBRITY JUSTICE; and the founder and captain of the Michigan Ice Carving Team. His experiences have all helped him to learn and have forged connections with many people in the University community as well as the entertainment industry.

www.bilalsstand.com www.studentefex.net

About the Producer:
Terri Sarris is a media maker and educator. Inspired by interests and education in media production and dance/choreography, her creative work weaves together dance and media in a variety of forms. Sarris is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including grants from the Michigan Council for the Arts, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and an "Annie" award from the Washtenaw Arts Council. Terri Sarris teaches multi-camera studio production, single camera digital video, and film in the Screen Arts and Cultures Department.

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Friday, May 29, 2009| 1:15–2:45 p.m.

The Texas Bilingual Education Story: Celebrating Our Legacy

From mid-18th century Texas to the present, The Texas Bilingual Education Story journeys through history, weaving archival footage, on-site coverage of school programs, rare interviews and expert commentary into an unprecedented portrait of one of the most remarkable civil rights accomplishments in public education. The documentary focus to the issues extant in present bilingual education practices and will provide an understanding of the evolving socio-political trends that no doubt will guide the future development of education programs for English language learners. This video documentary is produced by the Texas Association for Bilingual Education.

Rudy Rodríguez, Ph.D., Retired Professor, College of Education, University of North Texas—Denton, Texas www.dentonisd.org rrodriguez@coe.unt.edu

Dr. Rodriguez produced a video commissioned by the Texas Association for Bilingual Education on the history of the Texas bilingual education program. Dr. Rodriguez primary responsibilities include: program development, grant writing scholarship for students, program promotion and student recruitment and advising.

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Friday, May 29, 2009| 2:15–4:15 p.m.

Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North

Director, Producer, and Writer: Katrina Browne
Co-Director, Editor, and Writer: Alla Kovgan

Co-Director and Executive Producer: Jude Ray
Co-Producer and Executive Producer: Elizabeth Delude-Dix
Co-Producer: Juanita Brown

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North is a feature documentary film that tells the story of Producer/Director Katrina Browne's wealthy New England ancestors, the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Cameras follow as Browne and nine fellow descendants undertake a journey of discovery to Rhode Island, Ghana, and Cuba. Retracing the steps of the notorious Triangular Trade, we uncover a family's, a region's, and a nation's hidden past.

The power of this film comes from watching a white family discover and deal with information about their ancestors’ central role and the widespread northern complicity in building the economy of the United States through the slave trade. This session investigates how this film can initiate dialogue about historical privilege and institutional racism still persisting in what many hope is a colorblind or post-race society. Participants will explore how dealing with the history and awareness in this film can bring new possibilities to help individuals and groups connect the past and the present when addressing slavery and racism. This session will particularly benefit participants who want a framework for moving beyond cycles of domination and subordination to meaningful reconciliation and repair in their communities. For more information, please visit www.tracesofthetrade.org

Facilitator: Harold Fields is the Training Director for Traces documentary. He currently facilitates a monthly citywide racial dialogue in Denver that has been ongoing for 10 years, and he also is a facilitator for the national initiative Coming to the Table. It brings together descendents of former slaves and slave owners for dialogue and healing. Harold was a founder of Multi-Racial Families of Colorado, a support group for racially mixed families. hfields@tracesofthetrade.org

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Saturday, May 30, 2009 | 9:30–11:30 a.m.

Cable Show Highlights Positive Black/Latino Relations

Too often, when reporting incidents of friction and violence between African Americans and Latinos, the mainstream media smears those communities with the taint of gang wars, ethnic conflict over turf, soccer-game death counts and anti-immigration backlash. But in reality, the situation appears much brighter and a recent study shows that the clashes between the two groups are far less intense than the media portray. With its “if it bleeds it leads” mentality, the mainstream media is quick to report the isolated incidents of violence and competition between African Americans and Latinos. Yet what is typically disregarded in local newspapers and news broadcasts are the daily stories of shared community, friendships and familial bonds. Good news is too often marginalized, and the number of stories highlighting racial tensions is disproportionate to the low instance of actual ethnic conflict.

In this session, Griego will talk about his experiences in creating LA Alliance and show some of the first shows taped by the program. He will then lead a discussion with the audience about the actual state of relations between the African American and Latino communities compared with that projected by the mainstream media.

Victor Griego, President/CEO, Founder and Principal,
Diversified Strategies for Organizing (DSO) Inc. (consulting firm)—
Los Angeles, California

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Saturday, May 30, 2009 | 9:30–11:30 a.m.

Calavera Highway

Renee Tajima-Peña and Evangeline Griego

Winner Best Television Documentary San Francisco International Film Festival, 2008

When brothers Armando and Carlos Peña set off to carry their mother’s ashes to south Texas, their road trip turns into a quest for answers about a strangely veiled past. As they reunite with five other brothers, the two men try to piece together their family’s shattered history. Why was their mother cast out by her family? What happened to their father, who disappeared during the notorious 1954 U.S. deportation program Operation Wetback? "Calavera Highway" is a sweeping story of seven Mexican-American men grappling with the meaning of masculinity, fatherhood and a legacy of rootless beginnings. This film will be followed by question and answer with the filmmaker Renee Tajima - Peña.

For more information visit the Speakout web site at www.speakoutnow.org

Renee Tajima-Peña is an Academy-award nominated filmmaker, who has become a chronicler of the American scene with her documentary films "Who Killed Vincent Chin?," the acclaimed investigation into the beating death of a Chinese American in Detroit; and "My America…or Honk if You Love Buddha," a feature-length road documentary in search of Asian America where she encounters rappers, debutantes, laborers and freedom fighters. This past May 2008, Tajima-Pena received new acclaim as the recipient of the Golden Gate Award for best television documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival for her most recent film, "Calavera Highway." In an intimate and elegantly crafted work of cinema verité, Calavera Highway encompasses familial tensions, Mexican-American identity, the responsibilities of fathers (and sons) and the psychic malleability of map-drawn borders. It is a sweeping family saga told against the backdrop of the Mexican American experience, as seven brothers grapple with the meaning of masculinity and fatherhood, and the nature of family ties.

FILM PREVIEW AND DISCUSSION | Saturday, May 30, 2009 | 1:30–3:30 p.m.

Trudell

Sundance Film Festival 2005, US Documentary Competition
Artivist Film Festival 2005, Awarded Jury Prize for Human Rights
Seattle International Film Festival 2005, Awarded Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary

Trudell follows the life work of Native American poet/activist John Trudell. Filmmaker Heather Rae spent more than a decade chronicling his travels, spoken word and politics in a poetic and naturally stylized manner. The film combines archival, concert and interview footage.

The film preview will be Followed by a question and answer with the film's "subject" John Trudell (Santee Sioux), an acclaimed poet, national recording artist, actor and activist. bio here (Trudell is based in L.A.). John Trudell (Santee Sioux) is an acclaimed poet, national recording artist, actor and activist whose international following reflects the universal language of his words, work and message.

NCORE would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of Speak Out for providing this film, as well as participation and presentation by John Trudell.