Category: Past Events

Centering Care, Consent and Community in Visual Storytelling – March 25

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Centering Care, Consent and Community in Visual Storytelling


Mon, 25 Mar 2024
17:30 – 20:00 CET

The Hague Humanity Hub
Fluwelen Burgwal 58, The Hague

Join ART WORKS Projects, Re-Present Media, Video Consortium, and The Hague Humanity Hub for a community learning event on best practices for consent-based, trauma-informed, and community-centered visual storytelling. Organised with the Movies that Matter Festival, the evening will engage diverse participants who have been using visual storytelling to create impact, whether in grassroots organising, advocacy, education, fundraising, or policy change.

Over the course of the evening, we will hear from Jennifer Huang, Director and Producer of The Long Rescue, the 2022 recipient of the Storyboard Impact Community Fund from Movies That Matter Industry Film and Impact initiative. We will also host a panel discussion discussing cases from different organisations and mediamakers. Participants will be able to share their ideas on how we can develop hands-on tools that will nurture industry-wide change and promote ethical, responsible, and respectful storytelling processes for trauma survivors, mediamakers, and the people and organisations who amplify these stories.

This initiative is part of the Humanity Hub’s programming in collaboration with visual advocacy organisations aiming to emphasise storytelling, photography, filmmaking, and other visual media as essential tools for conveying narratives, fostering understanding, and amplifying the voices of vulnerable groups. These are critical tools for anyone working in the peace, justice, and humanitarian field. Our primary goal is to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among visual advocacy organisations, extending valuable insights to the broader peace and justice community.

We warmly invite filmmakers as well as other practitioners – including social justice and peace advocates, campaigners, fundraisers, policy makers, justice and legal practitioners, and representatives from civil society organisations – to join us. This event is a unique opportunity for mutual learning, allowing us to deepen our collective understanding of how we can employ visual storytelling in a more ethical, responsible and respectful manner.

Free and open to the public.

Register on Eventbrite.

EFM Toolbox Programme 2024: Restorative Practices for BIPOC Creatives

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We were invited back to present our session, Restorative Practices for BIPOC Creatives, for the European Film Market Toolbox Programme. The EFM Doc Toolbox Programme and EFM Fiction Toolbox Programme are part of the European Film Market’s Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. The programs empower filmmakers from marginalised groups and the Global South to gain market intelligence, business tools, and connections for effective navigation in the global film market.

Our session focused on principles and practices for BIPOC filmmakers and creatives working within environments rooted in white supremacist culture. The vision was to focus on working sustainably and effectively amid predictable challenges that arise. Themes of the session included shifting perspectives on approaching the work, handling challenging situations in new ways, and building community.

Chad Santo Tomas featured in SF Commons Presents: Personal Docs

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For Us, By Us fellow, Chad Santo Tomas, was featured in BAVC Media‘s SF Commons Presents: Personal Docs event on December 14, 2023 at Ninth Street Independent Film Center in San Francisco.

The event highlighted personal documentary filmmaking from local Bay Area filmmakers through a series of snippets from films and moderated discussion with the filmmakers about the challenges and triumphs in their creative process from development to distribution. Other featured filmmakers were Elizabeth Herrera, Mabel Valdevizio, and Vanessa Smith.

Arts Administrators of Color Network Annual Convening 2023

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Toni Bell, Re-Present Media’s Impact Consultant, and Jennifer Crystal Chien, Re-Present Media’s Director, presented a workshop, Restorative Practices for BIPOC Arts Administrators, at the Arts Administrators Color Network Annual Convening on November 12, 2023 in Chicago.

This workshop focused on principles and practices for BIPOC arts administrators working within environments rooted in white supremacist culture. The vision was to focus on working sustainably and effectively amid predictable challenges that arise.

We discussed common institutional and interpersonal dynamics within white dominant culture organizations and introduced restorative practices and strategies within the areas of sustainability, recentering BIPOCs, and community building.

Concepts we covered included:

  • Letting go of having to convince or get the approval of others and the idea that “struggle” is a necessity
  • Engaging in strategic healing practices
  • Making language, concepts, and attitudes from your cultural perspective(s) as the root of communications
  • Acknowledging power differentials between groups by using Dr. Ken Hardy’s communication responsibilities
  • Creating community, support, and programming that is needed without waiting for permission or funding
  • Cultivating a collective rather than an individualistic mindset in work
  • Understanding how to advocate for change while still creating and presenting art within your fields

The goal of this workshop was to support decolonization of participants towards healthier ways of relating to organizations, others, oneself, and the work, which relates to the conference theme of “We Will Flourish.” This session was intended for those who are BIPOC working with or inside white dominant culture organizations and environments and come from a collective empowerment cultural lens.

Workshop: Working with PBS – November 9

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Working with PBS
THU, NOVEMBER 9, 2023 @ 1:00PM–2:30PM PT
Virtual

Helping Independent Filmmakers Navigate the PBS System

Cost: Free for Filmmakers Collaborative SF members. Sliding scale ($0-$25) for non-members.

More info & tickets.

CO-PRESENTED BY FILMMAKERS COLLABORATIVE SF AND RE-PRESENT MEDIA

There are many ways independent filmmakers can work with PBS to get their film broadcast. This is a practical workshop covering:

  • Working with local stations.
  • Evaluating opportunities for independent films through multiple channels.
  • Acquisition opportunities with Common Carriage and existing series.
  • Co-production opportunities with organizations that program on PBS.
  • Working with aggregators such as National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA), American Public Television (APT), and PBS Plus.
  • Develop strategies to pitch and secure sponsors when possible.
  • How to help facilitate a successful carriage of your program on PBS.
  • How to get metrics on your PBS carriage.

Facilitated by Jennifer Crystal Chien and Kevin White, with special guests filmmaker Stephen Talbot (who has had films on PBS American Experience, Frontline, and Independent Lens) and former Vice President of Program Management at PBS, Donald Thoms (POV, Independent Lens, and VOCES).

Oaktown Stories – October 28

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Oakland’s communities tell our own stories through short personal films followed by community dialogues with guest speakers. This is the third in a series of three events in October 2023.

Sat, Oct 28, 1-3pm
East Bay Community Space
507 55th St, Oakland

For free tickets: https://re-presentmedia.ticketleap.com/oaktownstories2023-3/

“Synchronized” (Corinne Cueva) 
Inspired by Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi, Synchronized was produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and features voices from BIPOC LGBTQ+ Oakland residents along with beautiful takes of Oakland’s changing urban landscape.
– With guest speaker Maria Clara Merçon and community partner Carmen Wong (Three Thirty Three Arts).

“Wake The Town” (Bryan Wiley) 
Wake The Town features the personal stories of former Oakland residents from the Black community and their complex relationship with rapid gentrification.
– With guest speaker La’Donna Mitchell.

“Coach Emily” (Pallavi Somusetty)
Emily Taylor is an Oakland-based queer Black rock climbing coach who supports young girls and non-binary kids of color as they grapple with discrimination in the outdoors.
– With guest speaker and community partner Emily Taylor (Brown Girls Climbing).

Oaktown Stories – October 21

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Oakland’s communities tell our own stories through short personal films followed by community dialogues with guest speakers. This is the second in a series of three events in October 2023.

Sat, Oct 21, 3-5pm
EastSide Cultural Center
2277 International Blvd, Oakland

For free tickets: https://re-presentmedia.ticketleap.com/oaktownstories2023-2/

“Bayanihan & Resilience” (Jocelyn Tabancay Duffy)
Penny Baldado, a queer Filipino immigrant and proud owner of Café Gabriela, makes it through the COVID-19 pandemic by giving back to Oakland.
– With guest speaker and community partner Penny Baldado (Café Gabriela).

“My Name is Lai” (Lucy Saephan) 
Lai, a Mien American elder, shares her memories as a refugee survivor of war in hopes to heal invisible wounds and not be forgotten.
– With guest speaker and community partner Jae Saechao (Cold Rice Collective).

“This Adventure Called California” (Jennifer Huang) 
Recently-divorced Arnoldo comes to the United States from Mexico to win back his family but meets only brutality and despair, until a chance encounter at a racquetball court changes the course of his life.
– With guest speaker Arnoldo Lopez and community partners Rafael Bautista (US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking), Nur Jannah Kaalim (Filipino Advocates for Justice), and Josué Revolorio (Multicultural Institute).

Oaktown Stories – October 14

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Oakland’s communities tell our own stories through short personal films followed by community dialogues with guest speakers. This is the first in a series of three events.

October 14, 1-3pm
West Oakland Public Library
1801 Adeline St, Oakland

For free tickets: https://re-presentmedia.ticketleap.com/oaktownstories2023-1/

“Why More Black Americans Should Try Capoeira” (Chinwe Oniah) 
For an Afro-Brazilian art form, it’s surprising to see so few Black practitioners of capoeira in the Bay Area.
With guest speaker and community partner Contra Mestra Andrea (FICA Oakland).

“When The Garden Comes” (Jay Gash)
When The Garden Comes follows a multi-generational North Oakland family across themes of home, garden, and legacy.
With guest speaker Creasie Jordan and community partner Joshua Alperin (Oakland Public Library).

“ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton (1942–1989)” (A.K. Sandhu)
ALIVE IN BRONZE follows Fredrika Newton and Dana King (an activist and an artist) working to honor the Black Panther Party’s vital place in American history through the creation of a monument of its co-founder Huey P. Newton.
With guest speaker and community partner Fredrika Newton (Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation).

Getting Unstuck Webinar – June 15, 2023

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We co-presented the Getting Unstuck webinar with Show&Tell and Filmmakers Collaborative SF on June 15, 2023 at 1pm PT.

Identifying and overcoming common sticking points is essential to moving your film forward. Jennifer Crystal Chien, Director of Re-Present Media, and Kevin White, Executive Director of Filmmakers Collaborative SF, shared insights on how to build and maintain momentum to get your film funded, made, and out into the world. The webinar had over 300 attendees.

Silent Beauty screening at the Roxie – April 16

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Silent Beauty, directed by Jasmin Mara López, is screening at the Roxie in San Francisco on Sunday, April 16th at 1pm. The film will be followed by a Q&A with director Jasmin Mara López, moderated by Jennifer Crystal Chien. Following the screening, the Silent Beauty team will host a healing gathering open to survivors of childhood sexual abuse who identify as women.

When director Jasmin Mara López sees a photo of her niece with her grandfather, she is flooded by painful memories of her own childhood sexual abuse at his hands—and the following 24 years of her silence. In this cinematically striking and poetic documentary, López bravely films her story as a willful act to accept difficult truths while finding beauty in the process of healing. As she defies the cultural silence that pervades her family and confronts her abusive grandfather, who is a Baptist minister, a world of generational abuse unfolds, and she quickly discovers she is not alone. Through archival family footage and intimate moments with her family, López has created a film about confronting painful truths and the beauty one can feel when they reach the other side of grief.

For tickets: https://roxie.com/production/silent-beauty/

Following the screening, the Silent Beauty team will host a healing gathering open to survivors of childhood sexual abuse who identify as women. If you are a CSA survivor who identifies as a woman and would like to participate, please fill out this form.