I am going the micro-donations route for funding my next round of projects by giving away free copies of the Touching Bass CD at various locations throughout Philadelphia, PA. A list of locations will be up on this website by December 1st. If you like the music on the CD then I ask that you consider making a contribution of $5 to $25. I am currently working on three projects, Touching Bass, Tango Macbeth, and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. I have a commitment, in writing, from public television station WHYY in Philadelphia that they will broadcast the three films upon completion. If you are interested in making a larger donation which is tax deductable, please contact me at hipcinema23@yahoo.com. The Art Sanctuary has been kind enough to serve as the fiscal conduit for all three projects. Thank you for supporting independent American cinema. Click on the side bar item under A Chance to Make a Difference or here at Make a Micro-Donation to support Hipcinema Productions. If you live outside of Philadelphia, you can click on the link to iTunes or CD Baby to hear the CD. Thank you!
This video clip, Casey’s Last Breath, is a scene from the screenplay of Touching Bass. In London, an American expatriot, Casey Montgomery, dreams of home in North Philadelphia and his daughter Zera. After his last words, he passes away in his London flat. His daughter Zera arrives home from work and discovers her father has passed away. Look for the feature film in 2011. Starring Warren Oree and Sia Kpakiwa. Written and directed by Nadine Patterson.
I just saw over 38 films at the London Film Festival in October. Many were from non-European countries. It is amazing how little international content we have access to in the United States. And the major internet providers filter out a lot of that content. At the London Film Festival big Hollywood premieres like Men Who Stare at Goats play alongside films like No One Knows About Persian Cats. I also gained more confidence in the film projects I am currently working on for Harmony Image Productions. Globally people seem to be a bit more sophisticated about story structure, character development, and plotline. American filmmakers should take note of the various ways of telling stories and break out of the 3-act structure strait jacket.
Nadine Patterson at the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival on Leicester Square.
Greetings. I had great time in Boston at the NAMAC Conference (National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture). I participated in an Open Session on making the media arts field and the foundations that support them more diverse, less sexist, racist and elitist. Tall order. We have spent the last 40 years since the Civil Rights Movement pushing Affirmative Action and African Americans still are at a disadvantage when it comes to health, education and employment. Women have made some strides, but they still face salary inequities and the glass ceiling. Not to mention the breakdown/segregation along ethnic, economic/class lines, sexual orientation, and disability (please send a better word for this). We have a lot of work to do! For a field that supposedly believes in diversity, the leadership ranks are overwhelmingly monolithic. How can we change this! Send me your comments here and let’s get to work on a manifesto! The plan is to 1) write it; then 2) get organizations and individuals to sign off on it; and 3) enact/follow through on the principles in practice. Let’s take this on together, one person at a time. Please leave a comment. Thanks.
Nicholas, Nadine, Saskia, & Javier chill out at the Brandywine Workshop during DIY DAYS PHILLY
I had a blast at DIY DAYS here in Philadelphia on August 1st. This one day conference was sponsored by The Workbook Project and PIFVA. The sessions were held at University of the Arts and the after party at the Brandywine Workshop. My favorite quote of the day is from John Threat, “Nothing goes viral unless you sneeze on a few people.” People came from LA, Orlando, New York, New Jersey and every place in between to connect with Philly area media makers and exchange ideas. Shout out to Lance Weiler, Zeke Zelker, and Caroline Savage for pulling this amazing group of volunteers and speakers together. To see images and info from the conference go to the DIY DAYS page here. Peace.
I showed four films on June 19th: Thirty-Eight Twenty; I Used to Teach English; Anna Russell Jones; and Cosmic Trane. Thanks to PIFVA and Media Concepts for the subsidy grant that allowed me to assemble these works from 1987 to 2003 onto DVD to preserve these documentaries about North Philadelphia. Click here for audio clip from the introduction.
At the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival on Friday June 19th from 11am to 12:30pm I will give a special screening and discussion on music, film, and the influence of North Philly art and culture in my film work. It’s free! Just come to the West Oak Lane Senior Center. The Senior Center is located at 7210 Ogontz Avenue in Philadelphia. It’s a mini retrospective of my films over the past 20 years and most of these film are not on Youtube. These docs feature Philly artists/teachers such as Marshall Allen, Toni Cade Bambara, Sam Brown, Germaine Ingram, Carol Johnson, Anna Russell Jones, Odean Pope, Marcia Pincus, Ursula Rucker, Ed Shockley, and the music of Warren Oree and the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble. [pictured above Bobby, Marlene, and Thurdmond circa 1960 at the #2 Bus stop on Pulaski Avenue in Nicetown-Tioga]
NAACP Report Shows Television Industry Still Falls Seriously Short In Achieving Diversity
Organization’s ‘Out of Focus, Out of Sync—Take 4′ Report Urges Quick Action, Establishment of Task Force Encompassing Network Heads to Create Standards
Hollywood, CA, (Dec. 18, 2008) – The NAACP Hollywood Bureau today announced its latest findings in a new report titled “Out of Focus, Out of Sync—Take 4” that shows the entertainment industry, particularly television, continues to fall seriously short in achieving diversity.
NAACP officials warned that without quick action to reverse the bleak statistics cited in the 44-page report, the industry could face political action.
“At a time when the country is excited about the election of the first African American president in U.S. history, it is unthinkable that minorities would be so grossly under-represented on broadcast television,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous.
“Perpetrating the situation is the fact that the few African Americans in higher positions in that industry lack power to green light new series’ or make final creative decisions, which has translated into a critical lack of primetime programming by, for or about people of color,” said NAACP Hollywood Bureau Executive Director Vicangelo Bulluck.
The “Take 4″ report cites statistics that show an ongoing trend where African Americans and other minorities continue to be under-represented in nearly every aspect of television and film businesses, while largely being denied access to significant positions of power in Hollywood.
Specifically, the report reveals that hiring, promotion and acting opportunities for minorities are directly tied to highly subjective practices, a closed roster system and potentially discriminatory membership guild requirements. The serious shortage of minority faces on primetime television can also be traced to the virtual disappearance of black programming since the merger of UPN and WB networks into The CW network, according to the report.
To help remedy the situation, the report recommends the establishment of a task force comprised of network executives, educators and NAACP coalition partners to update a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between parties and create best practice standards throughout the industry.
“The NAACP has a long history of working in partnership with the networks, studios, guilds, agencies and others to create substantive opportunities for people of color in front of and behind the camera,” Bulluck added.
For more information and to download a copy of the report, visit naacp.org.
Hipcinema Comment: You can always invent another special program for ‘minority makers’. However I believe the key to changing the industry is to provide capital to independent filmmakers who support diversity in front of and behind the camera. ‘Minority makers’ in America of Asian, Latino, and African descent need to work together in making and marketing our films.
Fundraising is one of the most difficult parts of filmmaking. (The most difficult thing is writing a good script!) So our model, in these difficult financial times, is micro-financing. We can fund the creation of the feature Touching Bass if we sell 10,000 CD’s of the soundtrack. This soundtrack is a solid creation of good jazz music composed by bassist Warren Oree with Umar Raheem on saxophone, Adam Faulk on piano, and JuJu Jones on drums. WRTI has given the album plenty of air play over the past few months. You can purchase a CD from Sound of Market Street in Philadelphia (11th Street just south of Market, on the 2nd floor). We will list other stores that sell it in the future. If you want to purchase a copy online, click onto the links in the sidebar under “Buy Our Soundtracks on Sale Here”. To all of the people who have purchased a copy, THANK YOU. Visit us on myspace and become our friend.
