NomadsLand Founder speaks on Future of Film Panel with SnagFilms and WIFV

SnagFilms is a leader in documentary exhibition and filmanthropy. At this Weds One you will learn how you can take advantage of their platforms to promote your work.
SnagFilms is committed to finding the world‘s most compelling documentaries, whether from established heavyweights or first-time filmmakers, and making them available to the wide audience these titles deserve.

SnagFilms.com is a website where you can watch full-length documentary films for free, but we’re also a platform that lets you “snag” a film and put it anywhere on the web. With a library of over 850 films, and rapidly growing, you’re bound to find films that resonate with your interests. We make it easy for you to find a film that shines a light on a cause you care about. You can then open a virtual movie theater on any web site, so any one can watch your favorite SnagFilms for free.

SnagFilms can be summed up in four words: Find. Watch. Snag. Support.

FIND. Whether using our custom search tools, browsing by topic, or tuning into one of the great channels provided by our partners, with a few clicks you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for.

WATCH. By streaming films worldwide, on-demand, 24×7 and with no software installation or downloading required, we have radically expanded the audience for documentary films. All you need is a decent broadband connection. Just click play, go full-screen, and lean back and enjoy our films.

SNAG. Widgets let you take your favorite SnagFilms with you wherever you like to go online. Open a virtual movie theater right in your webpage, blog, Facebook or MySpace page, or just about any other place online you can think of.

SUPPORT. At their best, documentaries don‘t merely entertain us, they engage and inspire us to action. We provide a link for you to a charity related to the topic of each film (many of them selected by the filmmaker) so you can get involved, immediately. And just by embedding our widgets, you’ve donated your pixels and helped support independent film.

Confirmed Panelists:
Ross Koenig, Snag Films
Davin Hutchins, NomadLands LLC

RSVP to membership@wifv.org
$10 WIFV Members; $20 public

BIOGRAPHIES
DAVIN HUTCHINS is a filmmaker, producer and social entrepreneur specializing in news, documentaries and new media with a emphasis on international social issues and online delivery platforms. In addition to running NomadsLand, he is also the Director of the Independent Digital Distribution Lab at PBS & ITVS, where he strategizes with independent filmmakers, PBS and ITVS about acquiring new audiences through partners like iTunes, Amazon, NetFlix, Roku and Hulu. Hutchins has fifteen years experience in television journalism and has worked with CNN, BBC World, TechTV, Witness, Internews, SnagFilms, the U.S. State Department and The Huffington Post. In 2008-09, as Managing Producer at American News Project in Washington, D.C (now the Huffington Post Investigative Fund), he produced investigative video reports on immigration, the environment and the 2008 U.S. presidential race which appeared on outlets such as The Huffington Post, Al Jazeera English, CNN and Talking Points Memo. His online video reports have tallied more than two million views and tens of thousands of comments. Hutchins directed “The Art Of Flight”, his debut feature documentary which featured at AFI Fest Hollywood, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam and Bangkok International Film Festival.

Date(s): March 3, 2010
Time: 6:30 PM
Sponsor:
Location: Interface Media Group 1233 20th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Dupont Circle South METRO
Web Address:
Email: membership@wifv.org

After two successful years, NomadsLand’s Films That Matter screenings is being rebranded the “NOMADSLAND PRESENTS FILM” SERIES in conjunction with Busboys and Poets.

Our aim this year is to coordinate closely with Washington, D.C. area nonprofits and social enterprises to create 6 themed nights on important social issues and frame the discussion with a fantastic feature documentary.

Historically, screenings have been sponsored by NomadsLand.com in conjunction with legendary progressive eatery, bookstore and salon Busboys and Poets. Each screening consists of an independent feature film and 30-minute roundtable discussion. We often invite international filmmakers to field questions after the screening – whether in-person or via video conferencing.

We invite members of the DC nonprofit community who are involved with campaigns surrounding these issues to co-plan events as well.

URL: http://www.meetup.com/nomadslandfilmfestival/

In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing. After thirty years of war and five devastating years of Taliban rule, pop culture is beginning to return to the country. Since 2005, millions have been tuning in to Tolo TV’s wildly popular American Idol-style series Afghan Star. Like its Western predecessors, people compete for a cash prize and record deal. More surprisingly, the contest is open to everyone across the country despite gender, ethnicity or age. Two thousand people audition, including three extremely brave women. And when viewers vote for their favorites via cell phone, it is, for many, their first encounter with the democratic process.

After two successful years, NomadsLand’s Films That Matter screenings is being rebranded the “NOMADSLAND PRESENTS FILM” SERIES in conjunction with Busboys and Poets. Our aim this year is to coordinate closely with Washington, D.C. area nonprofits and social enterprises to create 8 themed nights on important social issues and frame the discussion with a fantastic feature documentary.

On January 3, 2010 in Washington, DC, NomadsLand Presents:

AFGHAN STAR

RSVP Here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149566718527&index=1

Could you ever forgive the people who slaughtered your family? In 1994, hundreds of thousands of Rwandan Hutus were incited to wipe out the country’s Tutsi minority. From the crowded capital to the smallest village, local ‘patrols’ massacred lifelong friends and family members, most often with machetes and improvised weapons.

Announced in 2001, and ending this year, the government put in place the Gacaca Tribunals—open-air hearings with citizen-judges meant to try their neighbors and rebuild the nation. As part of this experiment in reconciliation, confessed genocide killers are sent home from prison, while traumatized survivors are asked to forgive them and resume living side-by-side. Filming for close to a decade in a tiny hamlet, award-winning filmmaker Anne Aghion has charted the impact of Gacaca on survivors and perpetrators alike. Through their fear and anger, accusations and defenses, blurry truths, inconsolable sadness, and hope for life renewed, she captures the emotional journey to coexistence.

Official Selection Cannes Film Festival “Brilliant”

— One of the Best Documentaries of 2009 —Jennifer Merin, About.com: Documentaries

“Deeply Moving”—Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post

“Remarkable” —Lee Marshall, Screen International

“Excellent”—Peter Brunette, Hollywood Reporter

“Quietly devastating”—Kenneth Turan, LA Times

“An historic document of incalculable value, but also a superbly shot work of cinema”—Agence France Presse

After two successful years, NomadsLand’s Films That Matter screenings is being rebranded the “NOMADSLAND PRESENTS FILM” SERIES in conjunction with Busboys and Poets. Our aim this year is to coordinate closely with Washington, D.C. area nonprofits and social enterprises to create 8 themed nights on important social issues and frame the discussion with a fantastic feature documentary.

On March 7, 2010 in Washington, DC, NomadsLand Presents:

MY NEIGHBOR, MY KILLER

Filmmaker Anne Aghion will be joining us.

RSVP:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148860052380

Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for the rebel leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, puts 4 Congolese warlords on trial in The Hague, charges the President of Sudan with genocide and war crimes in Darfur, challenges the UN Security Council to have him arrested, and shakes up the Colombian criminal justice system. Will this tiny upstart court in The Hague tame the Wild West of international conflict zones and end the culture of impunity?

After two successful years, NomadsLand’s Films That Matter screenings is being rebranded the “NOMADSLAND PRESENTS FILM” SERIES in conjunction with Busboys and Poets. Our aim this year is to coordinate closely with Washington, D.C. area nonprofits and social enterprises to create 8 themed nights on important social issues and frame the discussion with a fantastic feature documentary.

On Feb. 7, 2010 in Washington, DC, NomadsLand Presents:

THE RECKONING

RSVP Here:

http://www.facebook.com/NomadsLandNetwork?v=app_2344061033&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=150031832942&index=1

“Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” is a cinematic feature length ethnographic film of 67 minutes. It is an exciting visual narrative, art documentary accompanied by a diverse musical score. Shot in January 2006 as a road trip film in the Sahara desert of Mali, Kiahkeya performers and a renegade camera team lived with the nomadic Tuareg/ Kel Tamashek tribes in remote areas of Mali near Mauritania, and visited Tuareg Festivals.

After two successful years, NomadsLand’s Films That Matter screenings is being rebranded the “NOMADSLAND PRESENTS FILM” SERIES in conjunction with Busboys and Poets. Our aim this year is to coordinate closely with Washington, D.C. area nonprofits and social enterprises to create 8 themed nights on important social issues and frame the discussion with a fantastic feature documentary.

On Dec. 6, 2009 in Washington, DC, NomadsLand Presents:

FOOTSTEPS IN AFRICA

The thematics of “Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” question the modern way of life which separates man from nature. The Nomad is aware of how modern man forgets that all of humans material possessions are just a false sense of security and freedom. The Tuareg choose to live in austerity, a truth of extremes that is the poetry of the Tuareg way of life, living in solidarity with the rhythems of nature.

“A nomad at heart are those who seek for freedom”

“Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” documents a universal tale of humans finding their path/freedom in life by living in simplicity with nature. Documented in a moment to moment manner the viewer experiences their mode of life, their relation to the earth and their perception on time. The viewer witnesses the Tuaregs mode of life, a survival from the soul. “Footsteps in Africa, A Nomadic Journey” captures the people in their element, investigating their music, their dance, their survival skills, and the rituals that the Tuareg carry within to keep their culture and heritage alive. Combined with commentaries of tribal chiefs, healers and seekers, the film allows the viewer to think and question the modern way of ‘development’, and how it differs from the simplicity of life and its cycles.

The filmmakers will be joining us for this event.

RSVP Here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172488351348&index=1

http://www.meetup.com/nomadslandfilmfestival/calendar/11561507/

Buy DVD:

http://www.footstepsafrica.com/shop.html

Global poverty did not just happen. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, the problem persists because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies — in other words, wealthy countries taking advantage of poor, developing countries.

Renowned actor and activist, Martin Sheen, narrates The End of Poverty?, a feature-length documentary directed by award-winning director, Philippe Diaz, which explains how today's financial crisis is a direct consequence of these unchallenged policies that have lasted centuries. Consider that 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate. At this rate, to maintain our lifestyle means more and more people will sink below the poverty line.

Filmed in the slums of Africa and the barrios of Latin America, The End of Poverty? features expert insights from: Nobel prize winners in Economics, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz; acclaimed authors Susan George, Eric Toussaint, John Perkins, Chalmers Johnson; university professors William Easterly and Michael Watts; government ministers such as Bolivia's Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and the leaders of social movements in Brazil, Venezuela, Kenya and Tanzania . It is produced by Cinema Libre Studio in collaboration with the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation.

Can we really end poverty within our current economic system? Think again.

The film has been selected to over 25 international film festivals and will be released in theatres in November 2009. Directed by Philippe Diaz, produced by Cinema Libre Studio with the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, 104mins, 2008, USA, documentary in English, Spanish, French with English Subtitles.

The Art Of Flight is a guerrilla documentary that was shot illegally in Egypt on camcorders and a laptop. The film serves as a back story to the 2006 massacre of Sudanese refugees in Cairo. The filmmaker was nearly arrested three times during the course of shooting. This feature length film tells the story of three people, a refugee from southern Sudan, a human rights activist from northern Sudan and an American journalist in self-imposed exile, all living in Cairo. For very different reasons, the trio has found themselves struggling to survive in Egypt, a U.S. financed dictatorship which has reluctantly become their home. The Art Of Flight features artwork of Sudanese painters living in exile. In addition to paintings from Sudanese artists and torture victims, the film also features an original soundtrack by Al-Khafiyeen, a musical ensemble of refugees who played together for a single night to score the film. The film delves deep into questions about the nature of charity, the consequences of American empire and the price of silence.