As part of our summer line-up…NYCLU (Central Region Chapter) to host a La Americana Screening at ArtRage Gallery on August 11, 2009 !

About NYCLU (Central Region Chapter)

Chapter Director: Barrie Gewanter

The New York Civil Liberties Union, the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, promotes and defends the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution and New York State Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, and the right to privacy, equality and due process of law. We carry out our mission through public education, advocacy and litigation.

The Central New York Chapter, founded in 1963, is the official voice of the NYCLU in the region. The chapter serves Onondaga, Madison, Oneida, Seneca, Oswego, Cortland and Cayuga counties. CLICK HERE to find out more…

About ArtRage Gallery

Director: Rose Viviano

ArtRage Mission

The ArtRage mission is to exhibit progressive art that inspires resistance and promotes social awareness; supports social justice, challenges preconceptions and encourages cultural change. Each exhibit will be in collaboration with one or more community organizations in an effort to support their work, expand the traditional viewing “audience” and become a catalyst for organized action. Through collaborative networking, we intend to broadly appeal to people who would ordinarily never set foot in an art gallery. Our goal is to provide ArtRage visitors with an experience that encourages the breakdown of boundaries so that people can see themselves in the work and then in one another. And that, we believe, is the seed of a movement for cultural and social change. CLICK HERE to find out more…

With the summer upon us…so comes our new blog!  Feel free to look around,  follow us on Facebook & Twitter, check out our New La Americana Trailer, find out more about hosting a screening with your organization, share our blog with others (utilizing ShareThis), Sign up for our newsletter, suggest an organization for a screening, follow immigration news using “immigration newsladder”, etc.

Feel free to submit comments on the blog!  Thank you for your continued support!

Dora Leticia
Campaign Director, La Americana

La Americana at the Courthouse Center for the Arts! Click Here to find out more about this event.

Related Press: Review: Cinematic Stories from Latin America Elucidate Common Ground

By Jonathan Beebe/Special to the Independent

Excerpt:

WEST KINGSTON – In this month’s R.I. International Film Festival encore series, the Courthouse Center for the Arts gives us three films hailing from Latin America. Although language is the only feature holding these selections together, all three films are strong in their own right, with one of them being my favorite from this past year’s RIIFF program.

The centerpiece of the evening is the 65-minute documentary, “La Americana,” directed by Nicholas Bruckman and co-directed by John Mattiuzzi. The film follows more than a year in the life of Maria del Carmen Rojas, a single mother trying to make ends meet in New York City. Of course, if that was all that was going on in Carmen’s life, the film wouldn’t hold interest for very long. What makes her unique is the fact that her daughter, Carla, is living with her mother in Bolivia and Carmen is living and working as an illegal alien. What’s effective about the film is the way it not only gives this neglected woman a voice, but also shows just how common her story is for many struggling in the US.  Click Here to Read Entire Article

” This film puts a human face on many ethical issues tied to a failing health care system at the global level, and so it is a very valuable resource that is bound to stimulate a lot of thought and discussion among college students and professionals alike…”

“The film is a valuable resource for every U.S. citizen, and especially those who are in the position of making policy decisions about health care access and immigration…”

Click Here to Read Entire Article:  BioEthical Journal – La Americana Review (PDF)

La Americana is going to the LASA 2009 Film Festival – June 11-14, 2009

“The Festival and Exhibit focuses on films with content related to Latin America in all of its aspects: history, peoples, economy, current issues, debates, arts, politics, etc. Films come from all over the globe, and they all have in common that Latin America is their focus.”

CLICK HERE for the LASA 2009 Film Festival Program (PDF)

La Americana Educational DVD is the # 1 Selling DVD at Cinema Guild! Thanks to everyone for their continued support!

Click Here to find out more or order your copy today!

The La Americana Organizer’s Screening kicked off a discussion with key community organizers in the New York area!

Among the organizations in attendance were:

NYCLU
NICE
Make the Road New York
Queens Community House
Center of Cultures

La Americana will broadcast all next week on VPRO/Holland Doc in the Netherlands and much of Belgium!

Screening Times (Central European Time):

• Saturday, May 9, (11.00 & 19.30)
• Sunday, May 10, (13.50 & 23.45)
• Monday, May 11, (10.15 & 19.45)
• Tuesday, May 12, (15.35)
• Wednesday, May 13, (11.45 & 21.30)
• Thursday, May 14, (07.15 & 17.00)
• Friday, May 15, (14.00)

Our kick-off outreach screening begins at the Avon Theater in Stamford, CT.

Stamford, CT, Avon Theater
April 22nd at 7:30 PM
Co-Sponsored by CRISOL and The Stamford Sponsorship

The event will be followed with a panel on the movement for immigration reform by Director, Nicholas Bruckman and immigration attorney Philip Berns.

CLICK HERE to find out more!

When: Saturday April 18, 2009 at 12:30pm; Sunday April 19, 2009 at 1:00pm

Where: The NEW Salem Cinema on Broadway & Market NE (Salem, Oregon)

Click Here to Check out the Schedule

About the 2009 Salem Film Festival:

“The 2009 SALEM FILM FESTIVAL will take its cue from last year’s remarkable line-up of films and filmmakers to dazzle yet again, but with a TEN-DAY supply of the fresh, the fantastic and the first-rate! We have enthusiastically schemed and plotted another whirlwind of cinematic energy and emotion, of vitality and passion, of diversity and diversion, all to be splashed across the screen before your very eyes. When the lights have dimmed, prepare to be spirited away by the magic of the movies…”

Click Here to find out more!