Dances With Films has released their lineup, schedule and ticketing! Here is the “Crossing the River” page with a link to ticketing for the June 1st screening at 2:45 pm!
CROSSING THE RIVER
Transcending hate is an act of revolution.
DANCES WITH FILMS!!!
THRILLED to announce that “Crossing the River” will screen in the competition shorts section at Dances With Films at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 1st at 2:45 pm! Hope to see some of you there!!!
Director Emilie McDonald’s interview with WKCR 89.9 FM NY Tuesday, April 30th
Just received the very exciting news that director Emilie McDonald’s interview with WKCR 89.9 FM NY will air tomorrow night, Tuesday April 30th from 9:30-10 pm EST.
You can either tune into 89.9 or stream it live from the top right corner of the WKCR website.
Let us know what you think!
Best Ensemble Cast award at the NYC Downtown Short Film Festival!
We’ve had some wonderful screenings lately. WAMMFest was a wonderfully curated screening with many films from around the world representing diversity in filmmaking. The Q&A was filled with thoughtful and far-reaching questions and it was a great experience. The NYC Downtown Short Film Festival was also a highly enjoyable screening last week. The audience was filled with many people who have been supporters of the film all along, along with members of our team Co-Producer Tammy Arnstein, Associate Producer/”Ted” a.k.a. Bruce Smolanoff, Color Correctionist Karla Carballar and Post-Production Sound Design & Sound Editor Gabriel Gutiérrez Arellano. The film was well-received and we just found out this morning that CTR received the Best Ensemble Cast award at the festival! We couldn’t be more honored!
9th Annual NYC Downtown Short Film Festival Screening!
We are very excited to announce that after rounds of Audience Choice Screenings, “Crossing the River” has been chosen as an official selection of the 9th Annual NYC Downtown Short Film Festival! If you enter the code DUO, tickets are $10 in advance and will be $15 at the door. The event includes a cocktail reception and informal reception with the filmmakers afterwards.
Detailed info about CTR’s screening is as follows:
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
8:00 pm
Duo Multicultural Arts Center
62 East 4th Street (between 2nd Ave/Bowery)
New York, NY 10003
1 1/4 hours of shorts, then complimentary cocktail reception upstairs with filmmakers
We are thrilled to have our official NYC premiere and truly hope to see some of you there!
Screening times for WAMMFest on April 9, 2013
“Crossing the River” will screen at WAMMFest (Women and Minorities in Media Festival) outside of Baltimore, MD on Tuesday, April 9th in the 7-9:30 pm slot! Very excited to share our film! Description and clip of the film here.
Also, due to a generous grant received by the festival, screenings are free but tickets must be reserved!
graphic design by Kacie Rodriguez
Project RACE and interview with Susan Graham
We are thrilled to announce that we have developed a partnership with the amazing multiracial advocacy organization Project RACE. You can read more about them on our Partners page or on their site. In the meantime, dive into our interview with Founder and Executive Director Susan Graham below.
How did the idea for Project RACE first develop?
The idea for Project RACE (Reclassify All Children Equally) came about as the result of a few separate incidents. When I received my 1990 census form, I did not see a racial category for my two multiracial children. Wanting to do the right thing, I called the US Census Bureau, explained my situation, and asked if I could designate two races for my children, even though it was a “mark only one” question on the form. The Census Bureau employee told me they were asked that question a lot and he said he would find out. Finally, he said he talked to a supervisor and “the children take the race of the mother.” I asked him why arbitrarily the mother and not the father? His voice became very hushed and he said, “Because in cases like these we usually know who the mother is, but not the father.” I was shocked and angry at this answer. It was enough to propel me into taking action. About the same time, my son was starting kindergarten where we lived outside of Atlanta. A form was sent home asking me to check one box to indicate my child’s race, among other demographic information. I called the school, explained my son was multiracial and asked how I should mark that. They told me I did not even have to fill out the information and that I could send it back without checking a race, which I thought, was progress. I found out later that because I did not fill in a race, my son’s kindergarten teacher was told to fill out a race for him, based on her “knowledge and observation” of him on the first day of school. She marked him down as black. So now we had the same child who was considered “white” on the census, “black” at school, and “multiracial” at home. I thought something should be done so that multiracial children could embrace their entire heritage and data could be more accurate. I started to look into this and found a woman in Ohio who was trying to do the same thing there. Together with my son, we decided to start Project RACE. We had no idea then that it would grow into a national advocacy force. Now, 23 years later, we are still fighting for equal civil rights for multiracial children, teens, adults, and our families.
Please talk a little bit about Project RACE Kids, Project RACE Teens, and Project RACE Grandparents.
My son testified in Washington about the need for a multiracial classification in 1993, when he was eight years old and again in 1997 when he was 12. Soon after, he had the idea to start Teen Project RACE, which gained more and more membership. When he left for college, his younger sister took it over and when she went to college, we opened up the search and were very pleased to find our next three teen presidents. The teens have held bone marrow donor drives, made several videos, and are frequent contributors to our blog. They have a presence on Facebook, Tweet often, and keep up with social media. They are awesome! Olivia Mukendi is the current president and we recently officially changed the name to Project RACE Teens to be consistent with our other branches. Karson Baldwin’s two older sisters Kayci and Kendall were both Teen Project RACE presidents, and Karson started Project RACE Kids when he was 10. Our kids are very active. They blog, have teen panelists, review books that are age appropriate, and have many ideas for what they can do in the coming years. We realized recently that we were getting many inquiries from grandparents of multiracial grandchildren. We began Project RACE Grandparents as a response to a need and are still in the formative stages.
What does Project RACE mean to you personally?
That’s a great, but tough question. Project RACE is the only organization that has truly filled the need for advocacy for the multiracial population. I’m a civil rights activist at heart, so it has given me an important platform, personally. However, Project RACE is not just Susan Graham; we have fabulous volunteers all over the country. Our niche is public policy for multiracial people. My role has been to teach people about advocacy and how to best influence public policy. I have not done this as an academic, but have been “feet to the floor” in walking the walk and talking the talk. I’m proud of what everyone has accomplished with Project RACE.
What changes have you seen as a result of Project RACE’s efforts? Also, is there a particular story that comes to mind of how someone has been helped?
Project RACE has been responsible for so many positive changes in public policy, forms used in education, by the medical community, and with employers. But two stories always come to mind. By the time my daughter started kindergarten in Fulton County, Georgia, it was a totally different experience than when my son enrolled at the same school three years earlier. My daughter was able to look at the application form, point to the multiracial box and say, “That’s my box. “ We had a mother in North Carolina who contacted me because her interracial family was in a very rural area, and her son had been discriminated against at his school because he was biracial. It spread to their home, and racist graffiti had been displayed in their yard. I asked her to go online and take her son to the page on our website that talked to kids about our work and had photos and bios of famous multiracial people. She did and called me back to tell me her son had openly cried when he saw those pictures and said, “I never saw anyone who looked like me before.” It was a very emotional time for all of us.
What would be your ultimate goal for Project RACE’s work? What is your vision of a more-perfect world?
The ultimate goal for Project RACE’s work would be to have multiple check-offs standard on all forms with multiracial terminology included. One word can change the life of a child and children need to see that multiracial children are included in our day-to-day lives. They need to be recognized for their entire heritage. My vision of a more-perfect world would be a world without racism against any group and with inclusion of all people as equals.
Black History Month
So many things to reflect on this month, some extremely positive and some appalling.
We have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go. Equality is a vision and in many minds and hearts an obvious truth, but in the larger society there is still work to be done.
I continue to read stories about cross burnings and other hate crimes. It is inconceivable to me that these acts are continuing to happen, that such ignorance and hate can exist in people’s hearts when the writing is on the wall: it is all too clear how human we all are, how much we share, how we are equal in every way except how we are treated (and how we treat others).
I also continue to read stories that inspire me and give me hope: Obama’s reelection, people joining together to fight for human rights of all stripes: racial justice, same-sex marriages, freedom of religion, and so much more.
It has been 49 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 went through Congress. How far we have come. And how we must work even harder and have more resolve in our bones and love and our hearts to make sure this document is followed to the letter in everyday life, 2013.
“Crossing the River” to screen at WAMMFest 2013!!!
Hi all,
We wanted to let you know that “Crossing the River” will be screening in April at WAMMFest (Women and Minorities in Media Film Festival) in Maryland!
If you live in the area, would love to see you there!
Emilie & the CTR team
Mint Press News Article on “Crossing the River” and the history of cross burning
Thoughtful article today by Carissa Wyant in Mint Press News about “Crossing the River” and the history of cross burning: http://www.mintpress.net/new-film-tackles-discrimination-takes-on-cross-burning/.
Desiree Ross as Michaela in “Crossing the River”
