We celebrate with World Youth Alliance for its recent achievements. WYA is a global coalition of young people dedicated to promoting the dignity of the human person in policy and culture and to building solidarity between young people from developing and developed countries.

Last month, WYA worked closely with the United Nations at the 51st Session of the Commission of Social Justice to communicate the critical role of the family unit within society. At the session, WYA’s advocacy fellow from Mexico, Maria Jose Manzano, gave this strong statement on the importance of family in the process of eliminating poverty:

Poverty eradication requires recognizing the role that families play in the lives of all persons. Social development, and therefore economic development, cannot occur without a fundamental recognition of the family by the state and society. Young people first experience solidarity in their families. It is where ideas of tolerance and respect for differences are fostered, cherished and then carried out into the wider community.

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In the European segment, WYA is making progress in training and motivating young people to get involved with their community. WYA dedicates itself to engaging the younger generations in participating in communal affairs through effective tools such as hosting workshops and emphasizing intrinsic human values. The workshops and training hosted by WYA impress the idea that efforts to achieve sustainable development must put the authentic needs of the human person first; these efforts must focus on eliminating poverty in order to enable people to live in conditions in which they can flourish. These living conditions are achievable if people have access to nutrition, water, sanitation, housing, healthcare, education, and skills training. To further this vision it is important for younger people to learn and perpetuate such understanding!

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Lastly, 5 films from WYA’s film festival, the Manhattan International Film Festival, are set to be screened at the U.N. in April. These films include–

“Head Over Heels” by Timothy Reckart (United States)
“A Summer Tale” by Anita Rivaroli and Irene Tommasi (Italy)
“Man of Squares” by Inshallah Montero (Philippines)
“Tanglaw” by Adrielle Esteban (Philippines)
“Yes, I’m Gary” by Christian Manzi (United States)

Email Alexis Kende (culture@wya.net) for more information and inquiries about invites. Dates and details coming soon!

Eric Leiser and Jay Mesonek seek to produce meaningful art that combines spiritual, surreal, experimental, and natural elements to draw attention to the beauty and mystery of the natural world. They are multi-media artists who have worked together since childhood, and currently work together at their production company, Albino Fawn Productions.

Their exhibition “Heartcore” will transform the Living Gallery in Williamsburg into an interactive installation forest environment. Eric’s work for the exhibition arose from the love of his childhood home in Northern California. He says, “the heavenly vibration of natural beauty found in it’s redwood forests, wild oceans, and transcendental landscapes combined with the radical lifestyles and ecological awareness of the people are key to understanding the bases for all my previous artistic work.” Jay’s work is focused on the mystery and wonder of nature and grace. Jay seeks “to extend healing through my interpretation of encounters with the divine mystery.”

The “Heartcore” exhibition will run from February 16th through March 16th from 7:00 pm—10:00 pm at The Living Gallery BK. To find out more about the exhibition, click here.

Goldin + Senneby Documentary Screening

Image courtesy of Goldin + Senneby

Friday, February 1, 3:30pm 

At Regus Meeting Room, 112 West 34 St, 17th Floor

Published on November 01, 2011 by Sandy Son

The 6th International Arte Laguna Prize is dedicated to visual artists from all over the world and it is divided into 5 sections:painting, sculpture, photographic art, videoart and performance, virtual art.

The awards total amount is 170.000 EUR, including:

5 money Prizes of 7,000 EUR for the winner artists, one for each section.

6 Art Residencies: Loft Miramarmi – Vicenza, Carlo Zauli Museum – Faenza, Glass School Abate Zanetti – Venice, Art Stays – Slovenia, iaab – Basel, Technymon India ARTresidency – Mumbai.

2 Business for Art: STILE Original Design offers a money prize of 8,000 EUR and the development of an art project; another project will be offered by the jewelery company FOPE of Vicenza.

2 International Festivals: participations in Open in Venice and Tina B in Prague.

26 Personal Exhibitions in International Art Galleries: a network of international galleries to introduce the artists to the market of Contemporary Art. Each gallery will select an artist for organizing a solo exhibition.

Furthermore 110 finalists will be chosen by an international jury to participate to the collective exhibition in Venice, and their artworks will be published in a bilingual catalogue.

Jurors are: Igor Zanti – Art Critic; Alessio Antoniolli – Director Gasworks of London; Chiara Barbieri – Publications Director, Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Gabriella Belli – Director MART of Trento and Rovereto; Ilaria Bonacossa – Freelance Curator; Soledad Gutierrez – Curator at MACBA Barcelona; Kanchi Metha – Curator Indian Pavillon Prague Biennale; Ludovico Pratesi – Director Centro Arti Visive Pescheria of Pesaro; Maria Savarese – Freelance Curator ; Ralf Schmitt – Director Preview Berlin; Alma Zevi – Art Critic.

The application fees are: 50 EUR for one artwork and 90 EUR for two, but for artists Under-25 are 45 EUR and 80 EUR.

There is time until th 11^th of November to submit artworks.

Application form: http://www.artelagunaprize.com/index.php/enrollment-of-the-6-international-art-prize-arte-laguna.html

Info:
Arte Laguna Prize
tel. +39 041 5937242 (int.4) 
info@artelagunaprize.com
www.artelagunaprize.com

Published on October 12, 2011 by Sandy Son

The World Youth Alliance (WYA) invites young directors from around the world to submit original short films that effectively and creatively portray human dignity and authentic accounts of the human experience.

The short films of the finalists will be featured at the Manhattan International Film Festival Januart 27th-28th, 2012 at Marymount Manhattan College.

Submission Deadline: December 1st 2011

Please visit http://wya.net/ourwork/wya_international_film_festival.html?catid=237or email Alexis Kende at alexis@wya.net for more detail.

Published on July 11, 2011 by Julie Hamilton

This letter of encouragement to aspiring artists from Pixar Animator Austin Madison was recently posed by Letters of Note. The image of the letter is provided by Willie Downs’Animator Letters Project.

Published on March 28, 2011 by IAM Screening Series

Over the coming months, Mario Mattei, President & Creative Director of the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers will contribute thoughtful blog posts on selections from the IAM Cinema Series. We are grateful for the thought-provoking contribution.

IGVP is a guild of visual communicators devoted to peacemaking and breaking down stereotypes by displaying the beauty and dignity of various cultures around the world.

“The International Guild of Visual Peacemakers (IGVP) was created to build bridges of peace across ethnic, cultural, and religious lines through visual communication that is both accountable to an ethical standard and created by those who authentically care about people.

IGVP founders and volunteers support these visual communicators by promoting their work, providing a synergistic community, providing an ethical standard with accountability, and other types of practical support.

They encourage respectful discussion about hard topics among people who disagree yet work together for the good of our world. To promote diversity, authenticity, and accountability, we urge members to explore their peacemaking motives and to openly share their convictions with respect and humility.

IGVP is a collaborative peacemaking movement owned by every contributing member as well as the photographic subjects themselves, ultimately producing mutual respect and peace in contexts of endless diversity.”
Interested in hosting an IAM film night in your city, contact meaghan@iamny.org.

One Theme, Many Stories

In documentary storytelling we are often first compelled by a certain theme we want to explore. When approaching Visual Peacemaking specifically, we draw some boundaries around which themes will lead to effective stories and which ones won’t. Some themes lead to excellent stories but have no relevance to Visual Peacemaking–defined as breaking down stereotypes (or myths) about the “other” by displaying hope and shared humanity, and by telling stories that offer alternative perspectives.

I recently viewed a fiction film layered with themes. But one in particular stood out to me. This one theme could be explored time and time again, from multiple angles, in multiple contexts, and give birth to Visual Peacemaking stories.

The film, which I highly recommend, is Get Low (by Aaron Schneider). The protagonist, Old Man Bush, has made himself a recluse as a sort of penance for past actions which he cannot “fix.” By choosing this life in the woods, the surrounding townspeople develop negative myths and stories about him. When Bush seeks to throw a funeral party while still alive, seemingly to set some things straight, he and Buddy Robinson, his funeral coordinator, have a conversation that reveals the theme I am referring to.

Buddy says to the long-bearded hermit, “I also think people are so scared about what they don’t know, they make things up to feel better about it.” (approx 19:05)

The unknown leads to myths, which lead to fear, which lead to worse fear-mongering myths. It all begins with the unknown. And it can all change when the truth is revealed, which Old Man Bush seeks to accomplish in his own stubborn, manipulative, and vacilating way as he pursues throwing a massive funeral party for himself. But when we learn about his past, the complexity of the circumstances, and depth of his sorrow, we and the townspeople empathize. And from there new beginnings and healing are possible.

If you want to get busy doing Visual Peacemaking, ask yourself this: Do I know a person or group of people who have a myth surrounding them? Am I in a position to explore this and uncover something beyond the myth?

Published on February 22, 2011 by Meaghan Ritchey

Fourth edition of the International Short Film Competition – The Rimini Meeting Film Festival

The 4th Annual Rimini Meeting Film Festival (held in the city of Fellini’s birth) is an international event that encourages and nurtures encounters born from people who share a desire for truth, goodness and beauty.

An international jury composed of directors, producers and actors will select outstanding work that most represents the spirit and beauty of the art of filmmaking.  The festival is now accepting submissions for it’s early deadline.  The final deadline is May 6, 2011. Submit your short film of 10 minutes or less.

Register here.

More information here.

Prizes

1st Place: Free summer film course/s at the School of Visual Arts in New York City

2nd Place: Free summer film course/s at the School of Cinema, Television and   New Media of the Civic Schools of Milan, Italy

3rd Place: Valued prize

Published on October 25, 2010 by IAM

Rooftop Films is now accepting film submissions for 2011! Known internationally as one of the most dynamic film festivals in the world, Rooftop Films seeks to engage diverse communities by showing independent movies in outdoor locations.

Submissions can be made via Without A Box and an included submission form is not required. However, all submissions made not through Without A Box must include a submission form.

As a thank you for your participation, every filmmaker who submits a film will receive TWO free tickets to the 2011 Rooftop Films Summer Series (a $20 value).

Deadlines 
Earlybird: $10 ($5 via WAB), postmarked by December 5, 2010
Regular: $15 ($10 via WAB), postmarked by January 20, 2011
Late: $20 ($15 via WAB), postmarked by February 15, 2011
Without A Box Extended: $20, March 1, 2011*
* Without A Box members only.

Click here for DEADLINES, GUIDELINES, RULES and SUBMISSION FEES.
Then you can mail any submissions to:

Rooftop Films
PMB 401
285 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215 

Please read all guidelines and regulations prior to sending in your submission.

Published on September 28, 2010 by IAM

168 Writer-Filmmaker Summit

Oct. 9th 10:00 AM-1:00 PM PT (1-4 PM ET)

at the Showbiz Store and Café (in L.A. & NYC)

LA:    500 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049, (877) 320-8011

NYC: 19 W 21st St, New York, NY 10010 (866) 605-7006

A bi-coastal info-edu-networking event designed to connect the left or right coasts without using airplanes.

168 welcomes special guest Janet Scott Batchler (writer, “Batman Forever” USC Writing Professor), who will discuss “Pitching to Hollywood.”

The 168 Film Project includes worldwide filmmaking and writing competitions, and the 168 Film Festival.  All contestants create during the same week, based on randomly assigned, foundational scriptures.  Filmmakers get 10 days of preproduction and (7 X 24 or) 168 hours to complete production and post.  168 appeals to beginning and expert artists because of its challenge, opportunity and professionalism.  www.168project.com

Published on September 02, 2010 by Christy Tennant

Becoming an engaged film viewer requires discernment and intellectual curiosity. In an effort to foster such acumen, International Arts Movement announces the launch of the “IAM Cinema Series,” an annual film guide featuring one film per month and discussion questions designed for use by small, private gatherings.

The first film, Summer Hours, was selected by film critic and author Jeffrey Overstreet and will be viewed throughout the month of September in participating homes.

Following the format of the IAM Readers Guild, which launched in September 2009, the IAM Cinema Series is intended to be facilitated by small groups, encouraging involvement with one’s own community and the IAM community at large. Small groups of people, gathered in homes around the world, will watch and discuss the films and then blog their feedback on the International Arts Movement web site. The goal is for participants to grow their film repertoire while wrestling with big ideas and themes evoked on screen.

The IAM Cinema Series evolved from the film screenings and movie nights that have been a vital part of IAM’s programming for years. IAM’s mission is to gather artists and creative catalysts to wrestle with the deep questions of art, faith, and humanity in order to inspire the creative community to engage the culture that is and create the world that ought to be. The IAM Cinema Series celebrates the power of film as a medium for inspiration and engagement with the art of storytelling.

All of the IAM Cinema Series resources are available at no charge fromInternational Arts Movement’s web site. If you are interested in hosting the Cinema Series, please contact Meaghan Ritchey.

For more information about IAM, please visit www.internationalartsmovement.org.