Films and Trainings
“I’ve seen the results of other trainings. Nothing compares to what your trainees have accomplished.” – Carol Dynsinger, Professor, NYU Tisch, Oscar Winning Filmmaker, “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if You’re a Girl)”
These films were made during documentary filmmaking trainings provided by Community Supported Film in collaboration with local organizations. Locals define the training and story needs and recruit women and men with backgrounds in a diversity of storytelling mediums, including print, radio, photo or TV journalism, theater, poetry etc. The selected trainees produce short stories from the local perspective on important social and economic development issues. Their films are used in local and international Screen&Discuss campaigns to influence public opinion and policy from community halls to the halls of power.
New Immigrant and Refugee Visions
New Immigrant and Refugee Visions is a collection of ten documentary films by and about immigrants in the United States. These short films provide a unique insiders’ perspective on the integration challenges immigrants and refugees face and the contributions they make to our culture, economy and social fabric. The filmmakers made these short films to engage communities in dialogue about immigrants and immigration in the United States.
Owning Our Future
The ten films in the collection Owning Our Future: Haitian Perspectives in Film were made by Haitians from across the country. Their films provide a unique opportunity to experience Haiti as it is lived by street vendors, business women, artists, farmers and more. These stories nourish an understanding of the world that counteracts the relentless focus of western media on battlefronts, crises and disasters which leave core-causes and long-term development issues unaddressed or misunderstood.
The Fruit of Our Labor
Afghan women and men from all of the country’s divided ethnic groups came together to make the ten films of The Fruit of our Labor: Afghan Perspectives in Film. Their films bring to life Afghan’s efforts to address their challenging social and economic conditions and provide a fresh perspective on the needs and issues of Afghans. For many, these films provide the first opportunity to hear from and witness the daily lives and work of Afghan civilians who have been caught in decades of extremism fueled by geopolitical conflicts.