Hello Indie Community and Fans!

I know brains are slowly shutting down for the holidays so here’s a selection of positive news as well as what to look forward to in the new year. I should note that I took the liberty to add some of you for the first time after conversations we had at conferences so if you wish to be removed, just tell me kindly and I’ll happily do so.

Larry Selman, of The Collector of Bedford Street, traveled to Los Angeles in October to receive the prestigious Caring Award from the Caring Institute, alongside fellow recipient Colin Powell! Larry was nominated for the award by the Kiwanis International, an organization who utilizes Larry’s story in their youth leadership training. www.welcomechange.org

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy screened for the University of Guam on November 12. It will also screening at Mumbai International Film Festival from Feb 3-9, 2010 in programming for women’s issues. It also won the Audience Award and the Second Place Jury Award at “The Way We Live” Festival in Germany! www.dianaandkathy.com

I will be receiving a $500 “sponsorship” grant from the Virginia Film Office for the new short (fiction) video project that I am almost done shooting – In the Family Way. Last day of shooting will be in December before the holidays and I hope to show a rough cut early in the new year.

New Services!

Having attended multiple conferences on usage of media in education and employment training over the past few months, I am developing new tools that I would love to discuss.

1) A program that fits into a single class period (including time for questions) about the types of distribution that filmmakers-in-training should think about during production. Students exiting film school tend to focus on getting their finished product in a theater, or listed with Netflix, but this discussion focuses on the other ways that their media could be used and how to build an audience for any work.

2) A film series focused on a variety of disability issues for state agencies and non-profit/advocacy groups. Topics covered include independent living, self-advocacy, transitioning to employment.

3) And after years of only focusing on non-fiction content, I’m slowly veering into combining fiction content for classroom use. I will match current content I already work with to fictional work to provide a more well-rounded – perhaps provocative – sense of important subject matter.

More NYWIFT events coming up!

I’m co-producing a 3 part series in collaboration between NYWIFT and Marymount Manhattan College. The series will take place January 12, 19, and 26. It is free to attend. The series is called “Imagining Genre, Race, and Disability in Film & Television”.

I hope the holiday season treats you well and I hope you’ll respond about the usefulness – or not – of the ideas listed above. If you think anyone can use this information, please feel free to pass it on.