Community Cinema, presented by Nashville Public Television, celebrates its seventh year in Nashville with a return to the main branch of the Nashville Public Library and six new documentaries culled from the upcoming Emmy and Peabody Award-winning PBS and NPT series Independent Lens.
The screenings and post-film discussions will take place from October to May and begin on October 18, 2014 at 2 p.m. with a special presentation of “Makers: Women in Hollywood,” producers Rory Kennedy and Linda Goldstein Knowlton’s showcase of the women of showbiz, from the earliest pioneers to present-day power players, as they influence the creation of one of the country’s biggest commodities: entertainment.
Sallie Mayne, former executive director of the Nashville Film Festival (NaFF), will coordinate the screenings.
“I’ve been a supporter of the Community Cinema series from its early days in Nashville partnering with NaFF, and I’m thrilled to once again be working with NPT,” said Mayne. “Fans of the series will welcome the return to the beautiful confines of the downtown Library and its state-of-the-art theatre. And then there are the films. This year’s strong slate of films is sure to engage the Nashville audience.”
Presented in partnership with ITVS, local public television stations and leading community organizations, Community Cinema holds preview screenings and discussion in over 90 cities across the country, making a real contribution on a range of current social issues by connecting communities with organizations, information, and the opportunity to get involved. NPT Presents: Community Cinema began in Nashville in 2008, and except for the 2013-14 season at NPT’s Studio A, has been held at the Nashville Public Library. It is presented locally in partnership with ITVS, the Nashville Public Library and the Nashville Film Festival.
A complete list of this year’s films and dates follows (click here for a link to view the 2014-15 season trailer):
NPT Presents: Community Cinema 2014-15.
MAKERS: WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD
by Rory Kennedy with Producer/Director Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Saturday, October 18, 2014 at 2 p.m.
Nashville Public Library, Main Branch
MAKERS: Women in Hollywood showcases the women of showbiz, from the earliest pioneers to present-day power players, as they influence the creation of one of the country’s biggest commodities: entertainment. Audiences hear from actress-producer-activist Jane Fonda; television powerhouse Shonda Rhimes, who created Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal; screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who re-imagined the traditional Disney princess by making Belle (Beauty and the Beast) a self-possessed, strong-willed young woman; director Ava DuVernay, who was the first African-American to win best director at Sundance for her film, Middle of Nowhere; writer-director-actress Lena Dunham; and Academy Award-winner Geena Davis. Narrated by Julia Roberts. Nashville Women in Film and Television is a partner with NPT for this screening and panel discussion. http://wiftnashville.org.
EVOLUTION OF A CRIMINAL
by Darius Clark Monroe
Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 2 p.m.
Nashville Public Library, Main Branch
In this gripping blend of documentary, true-crime, and personal essay, a filmmaker confronts his past, dissecting the circumstances that led him to commit a bank robbery as a young man, and his journey since that act. Project Return is a partner with NPT for this screening and panel discussion: http://www.projectreturninc.org.
A PATH APPEARS: FROM THE CREATORS OF HALF THE SKY
by Maro Chermayeff
Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 2 p.m.
Nashville Public Library, Main Branch
A Path Appears goes to Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Colombia, Haiti, and Kenya to reveal the incredible adversity faced every day by millions of women and girls, while also presenting glimpses of hope and change. From the team that brought you the groundbreaking Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.
AMERICAN DENIAL
by Llewellyn Smith, Christine Herbes-Sommers, and Kelly Thomson
Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 2 p.m.
Nashville Public Library, Main Branch
Using the story of Gunnar Myrdal’s 1944 investigation of Jim Crow racism as a springboard, American Denial explores the power of unconscious biases and how ideals of liberty, equality, and justice still impact notions of race and class today.
THE HOMESTRETCH
by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly
Saturday, April 18, 2015 (time TBA)
Nashville Film Festival at Regal Green Hills 16
Three homeless teens brave Chicago winters, high school pressures, and life on the streets to build a brighter future. Against all odds, they recover from a life of abandonment to create new, surprising definitions of home.
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
by Thomas Miller and Kirk Marcolina
Saturday, May 23, 2015 at 2 p.m.
Nashville Public Library, Main Branch
Decades before The Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, one gay couple, a Filipino American and an Australian, fell in love and over the course of 40 years took on the U.S. government to fight for marriage and immigration equality.
