THIS MAY: STORY LEADS TO ACTION presents STORY OF BROKE, part of the STORY OF STUFF PROJECT

This May, STORY LEADS TO ACTION presents... from the creator of the paradigm shifting short The Story of Stuff comes the... STORY OF BROKE followed by a discussion with members of the Story of Broke team Thursday, May 17th at 7:00 PM at 92Y Tribeca

The Story of Stuff Project, was created to leverage and extend the impact of the Stuff film. The goal: to amplify public discourse on a series of environmental, social, and economic concerns. Facilitate the ever growing Story of Stuff community and their involvement in strategic efforts to build a more sustainable just world.  Members of the Story of Broke team will be in attendance with green economy activists. Tickets are $12 - Click here to purchase tickets. 92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013 92Y Tribeca's cafe has an array of food and refreshments for your pre-event delight.

Story Leads to Action: Cheshire Ohio: A Question of Power, Post-Screening Wrap-Up

"We need power, but we want clean power."

April's Story Leads to Action screened a rough-cut screening of Eve Morgenstern's documentary, Cheshire, Ohio: A Question of Power.

The documentary tells the story of the small town of Cheshire, Ohio (a town that sits on southeast side of the Ohio River, just above West Virginia) and its citizens' struggle with the power company American Electric Power (AEP). Director Eve Morgenstern was drawn to the story of Cheshire Ohio when she came across an article covering how a small town was forced to disappear by a big corporation.


Cheshire Ohio: A Question of Power explores the effect of this buyout on the citizens. But not all of the citizens welcome the buyout. Eighty-two year old Beulah "Boots" Hern refuses to sell her home to AEP and states, "I've got my dogs, and I've got my guns and they're loaded."


The documentary begins around 2004, after AEP bought out the town of Cheshire  for $20 million (approximately $100,000 per citizen).  AEP opened the Gavin Power Plant along the Ohio River bank of Cheshire in 1974 and 1975. Years later, citizens noticed the coal-fired plant was producing blue plumes of toxins into the air and people were becoming sick. In 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the Gavin plant in violate of the Clean Air Act. But it wasn't until 2002 when the EPA stated they would now require the Gavin plant to burn a lower sulfur coal as well as submit to regular testing that AEP took action in buying out Cheshire. Rather than taking accountability, AEP sought to buy out the town of Cheshire, thereby forcing its citizens to abandon their homes and relocate. (x)

After the screening, the audience offered feedback to Eve on the rough-cut of the documentary, voicing their concerns for Cheshire Ohio  and other unknown towns possibly facing similar health and environmental concerns. Some viewers felt a sense of anger such a situation had to occur before others took notice. Other viewers felt hopeful the documentary's topic would allow for change, and to alleviate such future conflict between big corporations and small towns.
--But everyone agreed the people need to become more aware of their sources of power and the effect their usage has both on the towns that harvest the power, and the companies that supply it.

Cheshire Ohio: A Question of Power offers an eye-opening perspective on a story that might otherwise be lost-- one that examines the hidden truths behind obtaining power (both electric and monetary), as well as what defines home.

Chicken & Egg Pictures Grantees Go to HotDocs!

Congratulations to all the Chicken & Egg grantees screening at Hot Docs, which is running from April 26th to May 6th!

In the area? Check them out!

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Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Directed by Alison Klayman

China’s most famous international artist, Ai WeiWei, is shown with unprecedented access in this Sundance special jury prize-winning portrait. Artistic consultant for the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics and named the most powerful contemporary artist by ArtReview magazine, Ai gained worldwide attention after his arrest and two-month detention by Chinese authorities last year. Amid growing concerns for his safety and facing a constant battle with the government, including the bulldozing of his studio, physical attack and his blog being taken offline, he continues to express his feelings towards strict Chinese censorship through his art and social media. Blurring the boundaries between activism and art, Ai has gained international acclaim and a devout following.

Thu, Apr 26th @ 6:30 PM
Thu, Apr 26th @ 9:30 PM
Sat, Apr 28th @ 4:15 PM

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Brooklyn Castle

Directed by Katie Dellamaggiore

Public school I.S. 318 is a chess powerhouse, producing national champions straight out of junior high. The secret to the school’s success? Coaches who hold leadership skills and divergent thinking above standings and trophies, and students eager to learn and improve. Brooklyn Castle follows the challenges and triumphs both on and off the chessboard as the financial crisis brings severe budget cuts to after-school programs.

Sun, Apr 29th @ 6:30 PM
Tue, May 1st @ 9:00 PM
Sat, May 5th @ 1:15 PM   

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Call Me Kuchu

Directed by 

Malika Zouhali-Worrall & Katherine Fairfax Wright

Uganda, a country where over 40 per cent of its citizens are Roman Catholic, has become ground zero in an American evangelical war on the “homosexual agenda.” Enter David Kato, a veteran activist who’s been working tirelessly to repeal his country’s homophobic laws and liberate his fellow gay and transgendered citizens—called “kuchus”—from persecution. Kato’s mission is intensified when a new anti-homosexuality bill proposing death for HIV-positive gay men is introduced. Meanwhile, the country’s newspapers are outing kuchus under headlines such as “HOMO TERROR! We Name and Shame Top Gays in the City.” Kato is one of the few to publicly denounce these actions, insisting “if we keep on hiding, they will say we are not here.”

 

Wed, May 2nd @ 9:45 PM
Thu, May 3rd @ 7:00 PM
Sat, May 5th @ 9:00 PM 

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Finding North 

Directed by Lori Silverbush & Kristi Jacobson

One in four American children doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from. From hard-working families surviving on food bank hand-outs to children of low-income households facing obesity because of a reliance on cheap fast food, Finding North puts a different face on poverty—that of the working poor. Rosie is a fifth-grader who struggles to concentrate at school, distracted by constant hunger. Barbie, a single mother, is trying to rise above the poverty of her childhood to provide a better life for her children. 

Tue, May 1st @ 7:00 PM
Thu, May 3rd @ 1:00 PM
Sat, May 5th @ 1:30 PM

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The Invisible War

Filmmakers: Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering

The Invisible War is about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the US military. Today, a female soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The number of assaults in the last decade alone reached the hundreds of thousands. Focusing on the powerfully emotional stories of several young women, the film reveals the systemic coverup of the crimes committed against them and follows their struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice. 

Fri, Apr 27th @ 3:30 PM
Sat, Apr 28th @  9:00 PM
Sat, May 5th @ 3:15 PM

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The List
Directed by Beth Murphy

As the war in Iraq began, a young American named Kirk Johnson felt duty bound to use his knowledge of Arabic and the region to go over and assist in the reconstruction of the country, despite being ethically against it. When the US began to leave the country following the conflict, many of his Iraqi colleagues became targets due to their affiliation with the US. After many were killed, attacked or forced into exile, Johnson decided to create a list of their names to fight the American bureaucracy that was turning a blind eye and refusing them the chance for a new, safe life in America

Mon, Apr 30th @ 6:30 PM
Wed, May 2nd @ 4:45 PM
Sun, May 6th @ 4:00 PM

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Sexy Baby

Directed by: Jill Bauer & Ronna Gradus

Welcome to Generation XXX, where sexy is everywhere from tween marketing to reality TV. A tight trio of stories gives the full picture of a society where labiaplasty passes for empowerment and online porn substitutes for sex ed. With easy access to anything and everything online, TMI plus technology is altering female sexual identity and self-esteem, especially in young girls.

Tue, May 1st @ 9:00 PM
Thu, May 3rd @ 6:45 PM
Fri, May 4th @ 7:00 PM

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Semper Fi Receives the 2012 Ridenhour Prize for Documentary

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to report that Semper Fi: Always Faithful was a recipient of the 2012 Ridenhour Prize for Documentary, awarded April 25th 2012 at a special luncheon in Washington D. C. with our own co-founder Judith Heldfand attending in support for this fantastic documentary.

From the official press release:  “The 2012 Ridenhour Prize winners each present a portrait in courage: A woman who blew the whistle on one of the biggest financial frauds in history; a dedicated military man who spoke out to protect his fellow soldiers; a lead interrogator for the FBI who warned against torture in a groundbreaking 2011 book; a film about the Marine who uncovered one of the largest water contamination incidents in US history; and a hero of the civil rights movement who is still fights for justice.” 

"At a time when our nation hungers for integrity in public life, The Ridenhour Prizes shines a bright light on those who are dedicated to the hard, often lonely work of truth-telling," said Andy Breslau, President of The Nation Institute, which co-sponsors the Prizes. "The 2012 winners are a tonic against easy cynicism and a call to all of us to do better."

                                                    

Congratulations, Semper Fi: Always Faithful.--We wish you continued success!

Dispatches from the Field: Looking Back on the Premiere of Our School

As Our School celebrates its one-year anniversary since it premiered, Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to present the first installment of a new blog series titled "Dispatches from the Field" written by director Mona Nicoara. This blog series will be written by filmmakers, for filmmakers, with a focus on their personal successes and struggles as they set out to complete their documentary.

Thank you to Mona for writing our first installment and sharing her story!

Looking Back on the Premiere of Our School
by Mona Nicoara

In March 2012, the Romanian Minister of Education made a loud, public commitment to include Our School into national teacher training curricula at all levels. This had been the intention all along, since starting out development work on the film back in 2005: To get Our School into the education systems of those countries where the issue of racial segregation of Roma in school was the most pressing. But the long way here has been neither straight nor obvious.

I came to the project as a human rights activist who had done extensive work on Roma rights. I knew the issue, knew pretty much everyone working on it — and had their support. I really thought that we’d be pretty much snap our fingers when the film was finished — and all the NGOs working on Roma education would rush to snatch the film from our hands and screen it for decision-makers all over Europe.

To be fair, some of that happened, right away: The London Secretariat of Amnesty International came on board after seeing a fine cut of the film, and have remained faithful partners for more than a year, encouraging their country groups to co-present some of our national premieres, organizing panels and Q&As, and taking the film over after our festival premieres for community screenings in places like Denmark, Greece or France. Works like a dream.


But we had some early wake-up calls, too: Our world premiere, scheduled simultaneously with a long-overdue review of the Czech Republic and Greece’s compliance with European Court of Human Rights judgments on school segregation, fell short of expectations. The Prague festival where we premiered was run by an organization that had just left an NGO coalition for desegregation in the Czech Republic — so it became clear, very quickly, that they were not going to promote the film. The local NGOs were busy waging war on the recent appointment of right-wing extremists in the Ministry of Education. Bringing decision-makers into a screening room was out of the question. And then there was a Czech press, which turned out to be more excited about films they had heard about from other festivals coming to Prague than about a world premiere which was, in their view, untested. (Lest this sound like a total failure, let me add this: The audience was just fantastic — warm, engaged and supportive.)

We learned two lessons: First, we needed to concentrate on making Our School a success as a film before it could be taken seriously as a tool. In the countries where we want to work most, there is no established culture of using documentaries as tools for change. For people to even begin to consider the social value of the film, we needed to first command as much of an artistic spotlight as we could. And, second, we needed to time events not so much around obvious advocacy opportunities as around the needs of our partner organizations. If that means waiting, so be it.

It helped that we had fantastic opportunities to position the film artistically right off the bat: A high-profile North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival; our fantastic Romanian premiere at the prestigious Transylvania International Film Festival; a grand jury prize for Best US Documentary at Silverdocs and nominations for the Silver Eye for Best Eastern European Documentary and a Gopo Award for Best Romanian Documentary; over 40 festivals during the first year alone; and some darn good press.

Some time towards the end of our first year out in the world, the invitations we had been seeking all along started coming in — from the various intergovernmental organizations which form the alphabet soup ruling Europe, from major funders and donor agencies, and from local partners who had very clear ideas of how Our School could be of use to them. It’s not always easy to work around our partners’ schedules to coordinate these actions with our continuing festival run (and try to get as much bang from our travel bucks as possible) — but, somehow, by hook or by crook, we’ve been able to make it work each time we needed to.

The screening we had in March in Bucharest is a very good example of that. The film had been in various festivals in Romania for nine months, gathering interest and momentum. As we were trying to figure out the best timing for an advocacy screening in Bucharest, an invitation to take part in the One World Romania festival arrived. We knew right away that this was a good fit: This is an strong, intelligently programmed and socially engaged festival (the proportion of consequential Chicken and Egg and Sundance Documentary Fund-supported projects selected each year would be downright funny if it didn’t make perfect sense). They had a history of organizing high-profile public debates around documentary films — and they were willing to do the same for Our School.

We a few loyal partners on the ground, starting with Romani CRISS, the most prominent Roma NGO in Romania, who had also helped us jump-start the project and served as our fiscal sponsor during production; and the Roma Education Fund, one of our earliest funders, whose leadership had already been co-hosting screenings of Our School in the US Congress, at the opening of the Verzio festival in Budapest, and before a crowd of pro bono lawyers and Roma rights activists in Berlin. However, while these NGOs were strong on substance and more than happy to help, neither of them had the experience or staff capacity to organize a high-profile advocacy event around a documentary film. That task fell to ActiveWatch, a media-monitoring agency who had the substance, experience, capacity, and convening power to pull off such an event. Most importantly, they had Teo, a whip-smart and devastatingly organized staff member with whom, over the couple of months leading up to the event, I ended up talking probably more than I got to talk to my own family. That’s really what it takes to make these things happen.

It was all going according to plan until the Minister of Education changed, unexpectedly, one month before our screening. I knew the previous Minister (we had grown up in the same town and our parents knew each other). He was aware of the film. I knew he has interested in Roma education issues. The new Minister, however, was a total mystery. But he reacted very openly when approached, and promised to come to the screening. We kept our fingers crossed that the screening would actually stay on his schedule, and even managed to get a brief meeting with him the day before to confirm his presence, and make sure he understands the set-up of the event. Other officials, however, were less responsive: The President’s Office, the relevant Parliament committees, the Members of the European Parliament representing Romania did not send anyone to the screening, and it wasn’t for lack of trying on our (actually mostly Teo’s) part.

When screening time came around, we had an incredible energy in the room - the anticipation and support in Bucharest had been growing for almost one year, and it paid off big time for us. The 350-seat room was packed to the gills, with people jockeying for standing room. During the debate following the film, the Ministry committed to making Our School part of the teacher training curricula by the start of the new school year. The National Council for Combatting Discrimination asked for DVDs that they could start using in training programs the following week. And the Pedagogical Sciences program at the Bucharest University asked for a screening in two days. It’s hard to even imagine a stronger commitment from government agencies and relevant authorities - but it all came about in large part because we waited for the right opportunity and had the right partners on board.

We were lucky in other ways too: The next week we were able to present our campaigning goals in the Good Pitch2 organized during the Movies That Matter festival in the Hague. The timing could not have been better, coming off the success of our Romanian efforts. We were able to garner interest from new funders who offered to supplement the audience engagement and advocacy grants we received from the Sundance Documentary Fund and the Open Society Institute. One of our earliest funders in Romania, UNICEF, offered to take the film on at a regional level.

Finally, we received an invitation to do what we had been hoping to be able to do with this film since 2005: screen it before European Union officials in Brussels. That’s coming up in May, together with an effort to replicate our work in Romania in Hungary, and, hopefully, as more grants come in, to other places where school segregation of Roma is a burning issue: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, but also Italy and France.

It is exciting, but also daunting: There is an awful lot of countries where we need to do this kind of work. We have already been on the road with the film for over a year, yet we’re looking down the barrel of at least another year of this kind of work — and that’s after working six years to make the darn film. Thankfully, it’s worth it. And that’s what has been keeping us going all along, from the very beginning.


 

Firelight Media Presents Two-Day Workshop for Social Issue Media Producers

THE FIRELIGHT MEDIA PRODUCERS' LAB & OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS PRESENT:
Creating Social Impact through Story in a Transmedia World
A two-day seminar

The Firelight Media Producers' Lab & Open Society Foundations (OSI) cordially invites emerging producers and directors who have a work-in-progress to apply to the the latest seminar: "Creating Social Impact through Story in a Transmedia World." Over the course of two days, broadcasters, programmers, independents, executives, and community organizers will explore how social and transmedia has: diversified media content, altered means of production, and broadened platforms of distribution.

The seminar strives to uncover thoughtful answers to questions such as: What is the role of public media, historical and social issue content, and independent producers in this rapidly shifting environment? Are there places where producers of social justice content and transmedia content providers meet?

Panel topics include The Documentary Channel, Frontline, PBS, Producer of "Bully", a Story Leads to Action workshop around "The New Black", a presentation by Donald Thoms, a pitch panel, and a workshop by award-winning camerman, Bradford Young!

Interested emergent producers and directors please complete the linked application and email to: stacey@firelightmedia.org with “Firelight & OSI Application May2012” in the subject line. All applications must be received Monday, April 27, 2012 by 5:00pm (EST). Download a copy of the application here.

MOTHER WIT Grantees AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY and THE INVISIBLE WAR to screen at San Francisco International Film Festival

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to announce two MOTHER WIT grantees screening at the San Francisco International Film Festival -- Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and The Invisible War. We would also like to congratulate Gimme the Loot, produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures' Natalie Difford. Congratulations!



Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman

At his Beijing studio, internationally heralded conceptual artist and dissident Ai Weiwei oversees an expert staff busily executing his ideas ahead of an upcoming show at the Tate Modern, a colony of cats freely roams the grounds (one, marvels Ai, can even open doors) and a bulky surveillance camera squats conspicuously atop a nearby pole—impatient to remind the tenants the state is watching. The battle between the Chinese government and Ai, a savvy devotee of Twitter and online activism, acquires many forms and shades. Alison Klayman’s camera captures an impressive range of them in this persuasive firsthand portrait, which doubles as a rousing snapshot of the New China.


San Francisco International Film Festival Screenings:
Monday, April 23rd @ 6:00 (Kabuki)
Wednesday, Apr 25th @ 9:15 (Kabuki)

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

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The Invisible War, by filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering

Oscar- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering deliver a hard-hitting, emotionally powerful investigative documentary exposing the epidemic of rape within the United States military. Incredibly, twenty percent of all service women have been assaulted. A female soldier in Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The number of assaults in the last decade alone is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands, and it’s not just women who are victimized. What emerges from the personal stories of multiple rape victims, many of whom are telling their stories for the first time, is a horrifying picture of the rights Americans give up when they choose to serve their country. Interviews with high-ranking officials and members of Congress describe the perfect storm of conditions that make rape in the military so prevalent and contribute to its long-hidden history—an eye-opening depiction that culminates in a forceful call for much-needed change. Winner of the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, The Invisible War urgently confronts the enemy within.

San Francisco International Film Festival Screenings:
Saturday, April 21th @ 4:00 (Kabuki)
Monday, April 23rd @ 3:30 (Kabuki)
Tueday, May 1st @ 9:15 (Kabuki)

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

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Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon and produced by Natalie Difford

Punctuated by retro gospel tracks and vividly evoking a sense of time and place, filmmaker Adam Leon’s first feature is a sharply observed, wryly funny story of friendship, urban community, burgeoning sexuality and artistic aspiration. Young New York graffiti artists Sofia and Malcolm (newcomers Tashiana Washington and Ty Hickson) resolve to one-up a rival gang by tagging the iconic Home Run Apple during a Mets game, an audacious and risky prank attempted by others but never accomplished.

A problem quickly emerges, however, when their source will only give them access to the stadium for $500, well beyond the means for the broke duo. Undeterred, Sofia and Malcolm set off to raise the funds by any means necessary, whether through borrowing, bartering, calling in favors, selling pot or even committing robbery. But as the pair find their moneymaking schemes foiled at every turn, it becomes clear that Gimme the Loot is less invested in heist-like hijinks than in observing the memorable and unexpected people, places and situations Sophia and Malcolm encounter during two sweltering New York City summer days.


San Francisco International Film Festival Screenings:
Friday, April 20th @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Saturday, April 21th @ 9:30 (FSC)
Tuesday, April 24th @ 6:30 (Kabuki)

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

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THE MOTHER WIT HUMAN RIGHTS FUND is dedicated to supporting women filmmakers and courageous human rights activists — be they men, women or youth — who together from both sides of the camera take on critical human rights struggles in the U.S. and around the globe. These films are meant to inspire, enrage and catalyze the collective belief and will needed to insure civil rights, reproductive health rights, environmental, racial and economic justice, education and literacy for all — and especially for women and girls. The films must lead with a story and help expand and extend the definition of human rights to mean all the basic rights needed to THRIVE — live, work, play, eat, learn and love — in peace.

TONIGHT! Story Leads to Action presents CHESHIRE OHIO: A QUESTION OF POWER

TONIGHT -- a special 60 minute rough-cut screening!

The story of a gun toting 83-year old woman who refuses to sell her house to the power plant next door.

CHESHIRE, OHIO: A QUESTION OF POWER
directed by Eve Morgenstern

Thursday, April 19th at 7:00 PM at 92Y Tribeca

CHESHIRE, OHIO: A QUESTION OF POWER follows the story of a gun toting 83-year old woman who refuses to sell her house to the power plant next door. But despite her refusal, the plant has moved ahead with their 20 million dollar deal to buy out most of Cheshire and bulldoze all the homes. What happened in this Ohio River town overrun by one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the world? A story of money, power, corporate dominance of American life and the increasingly difficult choices we face surrounding the environment, Cheshire, Ohio makes us think twice about home.

The post screening discussion will focus on story, structure and the most strategic audiences.

Tickets are $12 - Click here to purchase tickets.
92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013
92Y Tribeca's cafe has an array of food and refreshments for your pre-event delight.

Grantees THE LIST and SEXY BABY to screen at Tribeca Film Festival

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to announce two grantee films screening at Tribeca Film Festival -- The List, directed by Beth Murphy and Sexy Baby, directed by Jill Bauer & Ronna Gradus. Congratulations!
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After working for an aid group tasked with improving infrastructure in war-torn cities in Iraq, young American Kirk Johnson returns home to news that his Iraqi co-workers are being killed, kidnapped, or forced into exile by radical militias who perceived them as traitors because of their involvement with the U.S. Frustrated by his government's inability to safeguard its endangered allies, Johnson begins compiling a list of Iraqis seeking refuge and a new life in America—all of them desperately in need of an advocate.

The List follows Johnson's determined efforts over the course of four years and tells the personal stories of some of the Iraqis he has worked to save. Among the successful cases are Yaghdan and Ibrahim, friends and former colleagues who fled Iraq after receiving death threats, and who are now working with Kirk to bring others like them to the United States. This profound and essential film from director Beth Murphy (Beyond Belief, TFF 2007) offers a stirring portrait of an unlikely but passionate humanitarian who has championed the cause of America's Iraqi allies—many of whom have been ignored by the U.S. government.

Tribeca Film Festival Screenings:
Saturday, 4/21 @ 4:00PM (AMC Loews Village)
Tuesday, 4/24 @ 5:30PM (SVA Theater 2 Beatrice)*
Wednesday, 4/25 @ 3:45PM (Clearview Cinemas Chelsea)
Saturday, 4/28 @ 8:30PM (Clearview Cinemas Chelsea)

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

* After the 4/24 screening only: Stay for a conversation with director Beth Murphy, film subject Kirk Johnson, Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Paul Rieckhoff, and Assistant Director of Pro Bono Activities at Mayer Brown LLP Marcia Tavares Maack about the current state of Iraqis seeking asylum and issues surrounding post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers and refugees. Moderated by The New Yorker's George Packer.
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These days, sex doesn't just sell, it saturates our culture. In the age of runaway social media and "sexting," raunchy rap songs on pop radio and hardcore pornography at the click of a mouse—what's it like to be a woman? A girl? A teenage boy? Their parents? In their feature documentary debut, directors Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus follow a trio of characters to reveal the toll all this titillation is taking on America.

Twelve-year-old Winnie is a bright and precocious proto-feminist dividing time between Mom's house and Dad's in New York City, but not long after the bat mitzvah celebration that marks her entry into adulthood, the Lady Gaga-loving youngster starts growing up faster than her parents can handle. Pressured by remarks from her porn-loving boyfriend, 22-year-old Laura is spending thousands on surgery to have a top-shelf "designer vagina." And though she's officially retired from the adult film industry, 32-year-old Nakita Kash is making her living teaching housewives and college girls how to pole dance like a porno pro. If you thought nothing was shocking, Bauer and Gradus' mix of pop media collage and intimate character study will be a surefire conversation starter.
click to edit

Tribeca Film Festival Screenings:
Friday, 4/20 @ 7:00PM (AMC Loews Village)
Monday, 4/23 @ 3:00PM (Clearview Cinemas Chelsea)
Friday, 4/27 @ 8:30PM (Clearview Cinemas Chelsea)

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

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Kings Point Premieres at Florida Film Festival Tonight!

Chicken & Egg grantee Kings Point premieres tonight at Florida Film Festival!

Six residents of a typical retirement condo-community in the vicinity of West Palm Beach extol the virtues and the challenges of living in their geriatric paradise. Poignant, funny, and dark, Kings Point drills in on the real complexities these seniors face sustaining independence and humanity in the last chapter of their American Dream.

Screenings
Tuesday, April 17, 5pm at Regal Winter Park Village
Saturday, April 21, 1pm at Regal Winter Park Village

Click here for more information!