2011-12 Season of Community Cinema Nashville Announced

From our friends at Community Cinema:

Season Opens Saturday, September 17 with Afghanistan-set “Peace Unveiled.”

ITVS, together with partner station Nashville Public Television (NPT) and series partners Nashville Public Library, Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) and Hands On Nashville, is proud to announce the 2011-12 season of ITVS Community Cinema Nashville. Now in its four year, Community Cinema Nashville returns with 10 compelling documentaries, eight of which are culled from this year’s lineup of the venerable PBS series “Independent Lens.” Two are from the upcoming five-part PBS special “Women, War and Peace.” Each film is followed by engaging panel discussions or performances and Q&A sessions. All screenings are free and take place one Saturday per month at 3:00 p.m., with a catered reception at 2:30 p.m., in the auditorium theatre at the downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street, except where noted.

The season opens in Nashville on Saturday, September 17 with “Women, War and Peace: Peace Unveiled,” Gina Reticker’s profile of three Afghan women determined to ensure that women have a seat at the table when the post-U.S. surge government under Hamid Karzai begins peace talks with the Taliban. The film, written by Abigail Disney and narrated by Tilda Swinton, is also part of a larger multi-year public media initiative called Women and Girls Lead that will focus, educate and connect citizens worldwide in support of the issues facing women and girls.

Combining independent documentary film, television, new media, and global outreach partnerships, Women and Girls Lead amplifies the voices of women and girls acting as leaders, expands understanding of gender equity, and engages an international network of citizens and organizations to act locally and reach out globally.

Nashville organizations serving girls and women are attending a Women and Girls Lead information session prior to the September 17 screening of “Peace Unveiled.” Organizational leaders will join ITVS regional coordinator Allison Inman, NPT president and CEO Beth Curley at 1:30 p.m. for lunch and a chance to preview clips from this season’s Women and Girls Lead films and the Community Cinema Nashville season, and learn about free resources organizations and individuals can use to further the missions of empowering girls and women here Nashville. RSVP to Allison_inman@itvs.org required. At 2:30 p.m., a catered reception will be open to the public in the conference room adjacent to the auditorium. Representatives from women’s grassroots peace and social justice initiative CODEPINK will be on hand demonstrating the More Than Warmth quilt project, inviting Community Cinema participants to help make quilts for the people affected by war around the world.

Films that are joining “Women, War and Peace: Peace Unveiled” at Community Cinema Nashville that are also part of the Women and Girls Lead initiative include “Women, War and Peace: Pray the Devil Back to Hell” (Gina Reticker / USA); “Taking Root” (Alan Dater, Lisa Merton / USA); “Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock” (Sharon LaCruise, Noland Walker / USA); and “Strong!” (Julie Wyman / USA).

Rounding out the season are “Deaf Jam” (Judy Lieff / USA); “We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân” (Anne Makepeace / USA); “More Than A Month” (Shukree Hassan Tilghman / USA); “Revenge of the Electric Car;” (Chris Paine / USA); and “Hell and Back Again” (Danfung Dennis / USA, UK, Afghanistan).

For a complete schedule and listing of films in the 2011-12 Community Cinema Nashville Season, please visit the Community Cinema page at wnpt.org/communitycinema.

Community Cinema Nashville, coordinated by Allison Inman, began in 2008 and has steadily built to an audience ranging from 70-200 per screening, with dozens of community partners contributing each month to reception activities and panel discussions. Other organizations that have participated in Community Cinema Nashville include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Community Food Advocates, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee, Oasis Center, Islamic Center of Nashville, Kilowatt Ours, Scarritt Bennett’s Wisdom House, eXile International, PFLAG Nashville, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Pakistani American Association of Nashville, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Nashville Musicians Association, Earth Matters Tennessee, Sustain VU, Middle Tennessee School for the Blind, Belmont University Copyright Club, Metro Beautification and Environment Commission, Metro Nashville Human Relations Commission, National Kidney Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Zeitgeist Gallery, and more.

“The Women and Girls Lead Initiative adds an exciting new element to this year’s season, both with the film choices and the engagement possibilities,” says Inman. “Last summer’s Women’s Empowerment Film Festival at the Library reached hundreds of girls and women, so I know our audience is hungry for these kinds of stories.”

For a complete schedule and listing of films in the 2011-12 Community Cinema Nashville Season, please visit the Community Cinema page at wnpt.org/communitycinema.