Posted by Elena del Valle on September 28, 2016
Touching the Light (Tocando La Luz)
Photo, videos: Doc World, World Channel
Hoping to reach a diverse, young audience under 40, on September 18, 2016 Doc World, a new showcase of non-fiction storytelling from around the globe, launched a selection of 11 international documentaries. The series kicked off with the world premier of The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor. The staff at Doc World selected each film to serve as “a vignette of personal stories and the struggles of different cultures and societies.” Doc World is brought to viewers by World Channel, public television’s nonfiction, news and documentary programming. Scroll down to watch two video clips about the series.
Produced by award-winning filmmaker Arthur S. Dong, the The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor tells the story of Haing Ngor, one of the most recognized survivors of the Cambodian genocide and a man who became a worldwide ambassador for justice in his homeland, only to be murdered in a Los Angeles Chinatown alley. The film was based on Ngor’s autobiography and produced in a mix of animation and live action. All the films in the program will also stream at a later date, and another 10 films are scheduled to become available online later this year. Additional information on the Doc World series may be found at http://worldchannel.org/programs/doc-world/
Chris Hastings, executive producer, World Channel
“The stories we choose are focused primarily outside the United States,” said Chris Hastings, executive producer and creative director, World Channel when asked how the films were selected for inclusion. “That’s the main criteria for Doc World: the films take place outside the U.S. and tell a unique story about person, place, history or event that highlight communities Americans would not normally see. To be selected, the films first have to be great stories that are told in creative way and deal with an array of compelling themes (history, social issues, environment). We find the films for Doc World in few ways, starting with our partners in the U.S. that include ITVS, Center for Asian American Media, National Black Programming Consortia, and others who are actively funding and looking for films.”
Other documentaries in the series include: Tocando La Luz, World Premiere September 25; Five Days to Dance, October 2; Kismet, October 9; Among the Believers, October 16; Waiting for August, October 23; My Atomic Aunt, October 30; A Goat for a Vote, November 6; Tashi’s Turbine,November 13; Prize of the Pole, November 20; and Walking Under Water, November 27. All, except Among the Believers and the first two films, will be airing in the U.S. for the first time.
Hasting’s team attend international festivals like HotDocs in Canada and Sheffield Doc Festival in England to screen and meet with filmmakers to solicit submissions; are in contact with distributors like First Hand Films in Switzerland and Rise and Shine Media in Germany; and receive suggestions from public television channels, like the BBC and The Why Foundation in Denmark.
“It’s been amazing to see how many films that are out all over the world—and are great stories—which have not broadcast in the United States,” Hastings said by email via a publicist. “We are so grateful for what we found thus far. Our team at World is small but very diverse and with our partners we select the films for Doc World together.” When asked what the Doc World budget is he said, “Both Doc World and World Channel are funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”
About Doc World
About Tocando La Luz
Posted by Elena del Valle on September 23, 2016
Invisible Influence
Photos: Simon & Schuster, Deborah Feingold
The behavior of others around us affects our own, whether we realize it or not. So believe some researchers, including Jonah Berger, marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He points out that while firstborn children often perform well academically, have high grade point averages, and score high on exams, their younger siblings tend to pick a non academic path in an effort to stand out. As a result there are few firstborn elite athletes, but laterborn children are over represented in athletics.
In his book Invisible Influence The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior (Simon & Schuster, $26.99), a hardcover book published this year, he expands on the idea. He wrote the book for anyone trying to influence others or interested in what drives human behavior, the author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On (see Marketing professor explores popularity of things) explained by email when asked about the target audience for his second book.
Jonah Berger, author, Invisible Influence
“Contagious is about why products, ideas, and behaviors catch on, and the important role that word of mouth plays in this process,” he said when asked about the difference between the two titles. “Invisible Influence is also about social influence, but more about how it shapes behavior without people realizing it, and how people can apply those insights, both at home and at work. We think we make our own choices, but we’re actually wrong. Other people often make our choices for us.”
The cover was designed to illustrate the main idea of the book: that influence is often invisible. Look at it from one angle and you see the title, subtitle, author name and a reference to his previous book in black and white. Look at it from a slightly different angle and you see the words “everyone’s reading it” within a yellow starburst.
When asked to define invisible influence, Berger said, “Any situation where one person’s behavior or choices influences another’s.” In response to how being extroverted or introverted might play a role in being susceptible to influence he said, “A little, but both introverts and extraverts (extroverts) are shaped by social influence.”
The 264-page book is divided into five chapters: Monkey See, Monkey Do; A Horse of a Different Color; Not If They’re Doing It; Similar But Different; and Come On Baby Light My Fire. Contagious was a New York Times bestseller title in 2013 and named Best Marketing Book of 2014 by the American Marketing Association.
Click to buy Invisible Influence
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Posted by Elena del Valle on September 14, 2016
Third Horizon Film Festival
Image: Third Horizon Film Festival
This fall Miami, Florida movie lovers will have Caribbean themed film options during the first Third Horizon Film Festival. Thanks to funding from The Miami Foundation and the Knight Foundation (the festival was winner of the 2014 Knight Arts Challenge) between September 29 and October 2, 2016 the festival will showcase the work of Caribbean filmmakers at O Cinema, Wynwood, 90 NW 29 street, Miami, Florida 33127. Plans are in place to highlight eight full length features and a few short films.
“The Third Horizon Caribbean Film Festival aims to celebrate and empower filmmakers from the Caribbean and its diaspora,” said Donnamarie Baptiste, a consultant to the festival, by email. “With the democratization of filmmaking, the barriers to making a film have become less prohibitive. The festival aims to seize this moment to connect promising Caribbean filmmakers with the resources and opportunities they need to take their films to the world.”
When asked about the selection of films Baptiste said, “First and foremost, we’re looking for films that have relevance to the people of the Caribbean. To that end, we’re focused primarily on filmmakers from the Caribbean or of Caribbean parentage who live outside of the region. That said, in an effort to encourage filmmakers outside of the region to set their films in the Caribbean, we do consider films by non-Caribbean filmmakers based on their relevance to the region.”
The festival’s line-up of movies is selected by a committee appointed by the festival, comprised of Jonathan Ali, Romola Lucas, Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, Keisha Rae Witherspoon and Robert Sawyer. Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, Keisha Rae Witherspoon and Robert Sawyer are co-founders of the festival. A spokesperson declined to identify a budget or staff numbers.
“The name Third Horizon comes from a feeling that popular entertainment is not diverse enough, and that every child should see themselves reflected in what is considered global entertainment,” said Fitzroy Jeffers, who is also executive director, from Barbados via a spokesperson, when asked about the meaning of the festival name. “Growing up I felt I was less than because of the color of my skin, and believed I was from the ‘Third World’-although we know that the ‘first world’ is powered by the blood, sweat and tears from the ‘third world.’ So Third Horizon is that moment and space where the stories, sounds and visions of the so called ‘third world’ find the support, audience, funding and distribution needed to give us equity.”
Full length films scheduled include: Ayiti Mon Amour, Memories of a Penitent Heart, Generation Revolution, The House on Coco Road, God Loves the Fighter, The Stuart Hall Project, Pressure and Crumbs; and shorts include: ABCs, Alto Vista, Antiman, Auntie, Doubles with Slight Pepper, Field Notes: An Unexpected Journey, Mommy Water, Parish Bull, and Short Drop.
Posted by Elena del Valle on September 2, 2016
Nurtured and Nuzzled
Photos: Platypus Media
Washington, D.C. company Platypus Media recently published Nurtured and Nuzzled, Criados y Acariciados (Platypus Media, $9.95), a bilingual booklet for children up to five years of age featuring pretty color illustrations by Mike Speiser. The project required thirty months from concept to review copy publication. The biggest challenge it faced was the translation.
When asked what prompted her to publish Nurtured and Nuzzled Dia Michels, publisher, Platypus Media, said, “Books are like food; they nourish us. Our work, as book publishers, is to excite kids about reading and to give adults the tools they need to keep kids engaged in books. Research shows that kids who love reading are more successful in life. And the latest research on the Word Gap, tells us that brain development is dependent on exposure to words and interactions with adults. We were not looking to publish an early childhood book when Mike Speiser’s art landed in our mailbox, but once we saw it, we knew it needed to be put into the world. Books have the power to change lives and, we hope that, in a small way, we can be a part of that process.”
“I chose species that people could relate to,” Speiser replied by email when asked how he selected the animals for inclusion. “There are so many animals to choose from, but they have different levels of appeal. Some of them you can’t possibly use. You don’t get a warm feeling when you look at, say, armadillos. A locust has a fascinating life, but no one wants to know about locusts. There are plenty of other species that are appealing, so I picked those. Elephants, penguins and flamingos have universal appeal. I want to do something for the planet. Connecting with people is my way of doing that. Almost everything we care about stems from our childhood experiences. I was lucky. When I was young, I had parents who were very attentive. We always had a cat and she had several litters of kittens. Being a witness to birth had a huge impact on me. I have been drawn to capture the magnificence of animals ever since. Picking animals that have broad appeal encourages readers of the book to help life. It is my way of celebrating life. “I want to reach children at that special age because that’s when their brains are developing really quickly. If I can get them to love animals when they are young, I can make a different in that child.”
Dia Michels of Platypus Media
“Originally the book was all about the artwork and the messaging,” Michels said when asked why she decided on a bilingual book. “In the winter of 2015, I was speaking at the National Fathers and Families Coalition of America conference in Los Angeles. I had a prototype of the book with me. A number of the attendees suggested it would be a more powerful book if it were bilingual. They stressed that adding Spanish would allow us to reach more kids, and, more importantly, kids who could really benefit from a book like this. I listened, and, as soon as I returned to the office, we started redesigning the book to add the second language.”
After researching bilingual education (she referred to sciencenaturally.com/files/BilingualEd.pdf) she became convinced that there were more Spanish speakers in the U.S. than there are in Spain; “that nearly 25 percent of all K-12 students in the U.S. are Latino—and the percentage is growing.” She went on to say that the numbers were compelling.
Mike Speiser, illustrator, Nurtured and Nuzzled
“Nurtured and Nuzzled, Criados y Acariciados was our first bilingual book,” said Michels when asked about similar projects in the future. “Once we made the commitment to make it bilingual, we wanted to carry that commitment to our other projects. Our sister company, Science, Naturally, produces math and science books for upper elementary and middle school. We are incredibly excited about the release of our first bilingual book for this list, One Minute Mysteries: More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! Misterios de un minuto: ¡Más misterios cortos que resuelves con ciencias! It is the bilingual edition of our best-selling One Minute Mystery books. We are now working on the bilingual edition of our bestselling math book: One Minute Mysteries: Short Mysteries You Solve with Math!, Misterios de un minuto: ¡Misterios que resuelves con matemática! will be released in April 2017. We will carry this commitment forward and work to create bilingual products for the foreseeable future. We hope to do another early childhood book with Mike Speiser exploring different habitats, but it is still on the drawing board.”
The work of Speiser, an artist who lives next to the Black Hills of South Dakota, has been featured on the covers of Wild Animal Baby magazine and on fundraising products for science organizations. His paintings have been displayed at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. He is involved with efforts to protect the natural world for future generations. He sent his wok to Platypus Media after seeing If My Mom Were A Platypus at his local library.
Click to buy Nurtured and Nuzzled – Criados y Acariciados
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