Cornerstone Theater Company and The California Endowment, in partnership with The Black Parallel School Board, will bring the community, policy makers, and the media together to dramatize personal stories of school discipline and to discuss alternatives to harsh practices on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at the State Capitol in Sacramento.  This bridge building event, Talk it Out: A Community Conversation to Fix School Discipline, will feature a dramatic reading of a new play, Willful, performed by students, community members and professional actors, with a focus on the current debate over the excessive use of “willful defiance” in school suspensions and expulsions.  The event is sponsored by the office of Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento and author of AB 420, a new bill that would restrict the ill-defined and overused “willful defiance” rationale for harsh disciplinary measures. Read the rest of this entry »

Theatre Raymond Kabbaz (TRK) presents A Journey Through Advertising, the second installment of TRK’s short film series, a presentation of thought-provoking, stylish and humorous ads from France and beyond, on Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 7:30pm.  The presentation features a selection of advertisements, in French, English, and Spanish (with subtitles in English as needed), including shockvertisements, prevention ads, advertisements related to the environment, spots on junk consumption, as well as ads which fuel the obsession for a perfect body.  Complimentary wine and cheese will be served at intermission.  The program is not suitable for children under the age of 12.  This event is made possible by La Maison de la Pub and the Film and TV Office of the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles.  Read the rest of this entry »

Dance Camera West, in association with Grand Performances and the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF), presents the Dirty Dancing Dance-A-Long at California Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles on Friday, June 22, 2012 at 7:45pm.  In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Dirty Dancing, this free event will feature a pre-show salsa lesson led by members of the Los Angeles urban Latin dance troupe CONTRA-TIEMPO, followed by a screening of the classic coming of age tale, widely considered one of the best dance films of all time.  Simultaneously onstage, CONTRA-TIEMPO will also act as a “shadow cast” during the film’s key dance sequences.  This pre-festival event ushers in the 11th annual Dance Camera West Dance Media Film Festival, which takes place from Thursday, June 28 to Saturday, June 30, 2012 in Los Angeles at LACMA and the Hammer Museum.

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Dance Camera West’s (DCW) 11th annual Dance Media Film Festival opens at LACMA with the screening of its highly anticipated shorts program, which will include special guests (TBD) on Thursday, June 28, 2012. The next day, Friday, June 29, also at LACMA, DCW pays tribute to Soul Train with a screening of the 90-minute documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip In America with special guest Jody Watley, as well as a longer shorts program.  The festival closes on Saturday, June 30, 2012 with a documentary program at The Hammer Museum.

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The inaugural Zeitgeist Media Festival (ZMF), uniting the world through socially conscious art, happens in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at The Music Box in Hollywood… and around the world on the same weekend!  The not-for-profit festival features music, visual and interactive art, poetry, comedy, and theatrics including a concert featuring forward-thinking artistic powerhouses such as world musician Natacha Atlas, El Willy & the Wolves with special guest guitar legend Billy Gibbons, violin virtuoso Lili Haydn, Ben Stewart’s Hierosonic, and the social comedy of Rick Overton (MC) and Lee Camp.  The Zeitgeist Media Festival runs from 2:00pm to 10:00pm and is an all ages event.  In addition to $40.00 per ticket, attendees must also contribute a small canned/sealed food donation to gain entrance. The Music Box is located at 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.
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The Artivist Collective presents its 8th annual Artivist Film Festival August 18, 19, 20, 2011 at the historic Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, California.  This year the closing night awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 20th from 6:00 to 10:00PM.  Highlights include the Artivist Awards given to ten films and Artivist Award Honoree Kristen Bell, known for her film (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Burlesque, etc.) and television work (Heroes, Veronica Mars, etc.), as well as her philanthropy (Alzheimer’s Association, Invisible Children, PETA, SCPA, etc.).  Actress Rachel Bilson will present the award to Bell.  Also on hand will be Master of Ceremonies Dan Nainan and presenters Persia White and Marco Antonio Regil.  The closing night ceremonies are complimentary to the press and public (as is the entire festival) but seats are limited and must be reserved in advance.

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Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its annual presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces its 10th Anniversary Dance Media Film Festival & Conference.  This year’s festival, entitled Dance Media: An Active Spectrum, which will also include a conference component, takes place at several venues around Los Angeles from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 19, 2011. In addition to a full program of provocative screenings, this year’s special anniversary event will also include a unique series of educational events, guest speakers, and networking opportunities for the international dance media community.  DCW once again partners with the city’s most prominent venues to offer this year’s screenings, installations, and panel discussions with visiting international artists.

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image from "North Horizon" by Thomas Freundlich and Valterri Raekallio

Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces the programming for its ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010.  Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography.  The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media.  “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematic styles, exhibition formats, and subject matters traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler… Read the rest of this entry »

Award winning filmmaker Jon Reiss is set to release his new book Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era on March 15, 2010. The book is a primer for filmmaking in the digital era covering distribution of all types of media content – feature films, shorts, webisodes, transmedia, vblogs, etc., and is the first to address the new distribution and marketing landscape facing filmmakers today.
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Dance Camera West‘s annual festival, recognized as one of the world’s foremost celebrations of dance on film, announces the Dance Camera West Eighth Annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout southern California in June 2009. A unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography, the month-long film festival features all forms of dance media. Chosen by Los Angeles Magazine as “Pick of the Month” for their June 2008 issue, Dance Camera West (DCW) again partners with the city’s most prestigious venues in offering a global perspective on a new visual language through a host of experimental shorts, documentaries, features, and symposiums with visiting international artists. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates – www.dancecamerawest.org. See below for the confirmed events.

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