Congratulations to Docs in Progress alum Jes Therkelsen (THE BEST PART OF EVERYTHING, screened September 2005). The finished film won an award for Student Production at the 2007 Peer Awards, held at the National Press Club. We also want to celebrate with Docs in Progress co- founder Adele Schmidt, whose production company Journey Films also won a Peer Award for Best Entertainment Film (over 30 minutes) for ALBERT SCHWEITZER: CALLED TO AFRICA. Adele produced and edited the docudrama. The Peer Awards are sponsored by TIVA (formerly ITVA-DC) and recognize the highest achievements in the regional film and video industry.
BALLOU, a film about a year in the life of a Washington DC high school’s acclaimed marching band, was featured on ABC’s Good Morning America on September 24, 2007 . Producer Casey Callister and director Michael Patrei were interviewed, along with the band’s director as part of the segment. The film is yet to be released but has already scored quite a bit of buzz and was the catalyst for the Washington DC Public Schools to release $3.2 million for music and extracurricular programs. Docs in Progress co-founders Adele Schmidt and Erica Ginsberg served as story consultants for the film. Click here for more information on the film.
READY TO PLAY will air on PBS’ Washington DC affiliate WETA on Monday, August 20, 2007 at 10 pm. Jennifer Crescenzo’s film about a softball league in the Glover Park neighborhood was workshopped at Docs in Progress in January 2005.
REDEMPTION STONE which screened at Docs in Progress in January 2007, has been accepted to the IFP Market. The short documentary by Tom Dziedzic about one man’s lifelong journey to find redemption, is one of only seven shorts accepted by the prestigious market.
YALE RUSSIAN CHORUS, which screened at Docs in Progress in November 2005, has been retitled KHORISTORIA: THE STORY OF THE YALE RUSSIAN CHORUS. Catherine Mattingly’s film premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festival in Massachusetts in August 2007 at a special screening which included a performance by 30 alumni of the famed chorus. The film was also chosen for screening at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in October 2007. Click here for more information.
THE PREACHER AND THE POET (screened May 2006), Dean Hamer’s short film about the challenges of being young, black, and gay, has been selected as a finalist in theIndependent Lens Online Shorts Festival. Hamer’s partner, Joe Wilson , who participated in our first Peer Pitch program back in 2005, was a finalist in Current TV’s Seeds of Tolerance Competition. Wilson won a $10,000 prize for his film WE BELONG about two gay teenagers fighting prejudice in rural America.
WE CAME TO REMEMBER (screened November 2005), Hugh Drescher’s film about the reunion of a group of World War II veterans, has since been retitled AIR GROUP 16: WE CAME TO REMEMBER. It will air nationally on PBS Memorial Day weekend in primetime.
BLACK DIAMONDS (screened July 2006), about the impact of mountaintop removal on the environment and people of Appalachia, was recently called “riveting” and “textured” by Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday. Filmmaker Catherine Pancake has been awarded a grant from the prestigious Paul Robeson Fund to help with grassroots outreach. The film has been playing the film festival circuit and has been acquired by Bullfrog Films for distribution.
TUMAINI LETU/OUR HOPE (screened July 2006), Natalie Halpern’s short film about Kenyan women who care for children orphaned by AIDS, received the Best Short Documentary Award at the New York AIDS Film Festival in December 2006. It has screened at festivals across the country, including the Chicago International Film Festival. The film has been shown on Capitol Hill, at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, at universities and schools, and local broadcasts in New York and Washington DC.
Jennifer Crescenzo adapted segments of her documentary READY TO PLAY (screened at Docs in Progress in January 2005) for interstitials on the Glover Park neighborhood for WETA, Washington DC’s PBS affiliate. Click here to learn more about the WETA Neighborhoods segments.
In March 2006, John Monte and Aaron Rockett (who screened 90 MILES APART at Docs in Progress in September 2004) screened their latest short in competition at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California. VACATIONING IN AFGHANISTAN took the filmmakers to the countryside of Afghanistan where they get behind the headlines and enjoy spontaneous encounters with the ordinary people. This film was also workshopped at a February 2006 Peer Pitch co-sponsored by Docs in Progress and Women in Film and Video.
Karen Zider’s film MOVING FORWARD (previous titled EMPOWERED WOMEN when it screened at Docs in Progress in November 2004) was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on Friday, February 17, 2006 as part of MOMA’s Documentary Fortnight program. The film looks at micro credit programs in Colombia. The film has also been acquired by distributor Cinema Guild.
THE LAST COLONY (screened June 2004), Rebecca Kingsley’s documentary about Washington DC’s struggle for political representation, was the subject of an election day column in the Washington Post on November 2, 2004.
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