The Artivist Collective

Celebrate the Artivist Film Festival’s Winning Films And
Award Honoree Kristen Bell
At the Festival’s Closing Night Ceremony
Saturday, August 20, 2011
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Artivist Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood
Thursday 8/18 – Saturday 8/20

LOS ANGELES, CA – August 16, 2011 – The Artivist Collective presents its 8th annual Artivist Film Festival August 18, 19, 20, 2011 at the historic The Artivist Collective presents its 8th annual Artivist Film Festival August 18, 19, 20, 2011 at the historic Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, California.  This year the closing night awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 20th from 6:00 to 10:00PM.  Highlights include the Artivist Awards given to ten films and Artivist Award Honoree Kristen Bell, known for her film (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Burlesque, etc.) and television work (Heroes, Veronica Mars, etc.), as well as her philanthropy (Alzheimer’s Association, Invisible Children, PETA, SCPA, etc.).  Actress Rachel Bilson will present the award to Bell.  Also on hand will be Master of Ceremonies Dan Nainan and presenters Persia White and Marco Antonio Regil.  The closing night ceremonies are complimentary to the press and public (as is the entire festival) but seats are limited and must be reserved in advance. in the heart of Hollywood, California.  This year the closing night awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 20th from 6:00 to 10:00PM.  Highlights include the Artivist Awards given to ten films and Artivist Award Honoree Kristen Bell, known for her film (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Burlesque, etc.) and television work (Heroes, Veronica Mars, etc.), as well as her philanthropy (Alzheimer’s Association, Invisible Children, PETA, SCPA, etc.).  Actress Rachel Bilson will present the award to Bell.  Also on hand will be Master of Ceremonies Dan Nainan and presenters Persia White and Marco Antonio Regil.  The closing night ceremonies are complimentary to the press and public (as is the entire festival) but seats are limited and must be reserved in advance.  To do so please visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/193484.  The Egyptian Theatre is located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.  To learn more about the festival please visit http://festival.artivist.com.

This year the festival will present a total of 41 independent narrative and documentary films from around the globe over the course of the three-day festival, which kicks off on Thursday, August 18th at 5:00PM.  Seats for many of the screenings can be reserved in advance by visiting http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/69318.  Advance reservations are highly recommended since most, if not all, screenings and events are expected to “sell out.”  To view the At-A-Glance three-day schedule please visit:  http://festival.artivist.com/film-guide/viewing-schedule.html.  To read a synopsis about all festival films please visit:  http://festival.artivist.com/film-guide.html.

During the closing night ceremony ten Artivist Awards will be presented to films that embody the festival’s mission to strengthen the voice of activist artists – Artivists – while raising public awareness for social global causes.  The evening of August 20th begins at 6:00PM with red carpet arrivals.  The awards presentation commences at 7:00PM and an after-party in the Egyptian Theatre’s courtyard gets underway immediately following the Awards Ceremony.

Ten participating films have been chosen to receive a 2011 Artivist Award in these five categories:

• Human Rights:
- Best Feature:  Because We Were Beautiful (Indonesia, Netherlands), Director Frank van Osch
- Best Short:  Umoja: No Men Allowed (Kenya, Australia), Director Elizabeth Tadic

• Children’s Advocacy:
- Best Feature:  Surfing Soweto (South Africa), Director Sara Blecher
- Best Short:  Grace (Philippines, Switzerland), Director Meagan Kelly

• Environmental Preservation:
- Best Feature:  Spoil (Canada, U.S.), Director Trip Jennings
- Best Short:  The Leaves Keep Falling (Vietnam, USA), Director Julie Winokur

• Animal Advocacy:
- Best Feature: Green (Indonesia, France), Director Patrick Rouxel
- Best Short:  Saving Pelican 895 (USA), Director Irene Taylor Brodsky

• Artivist Spirit:
- Best Feature: Love Hate Love (USA), Directors Don Hardy, Dana Nachman
- Best Short:  Crooked Beauty (USA), Director Ken Paul Rosenthal

- To read more about the films and filmmakers honored with these awards please visit:  http://www.artivist.com/festival/media/press-releases/23675-2011-film-awards.html

The Artivist Film Festival and Awards are dedicated to recognizing activist efforts of filmmakers, specifically in the areas of human rights, child advocacy, environmental preservation, and animal welfare.  Each year the festival also honors celebrity advocates.  Past honorees include Peter Fonda, Olivia Wilde, Hank Azaria, Ted Danson, Alyssa Milano, Daryl Hannah, Matthew McConaughey, Joaquin Phoenix, James Cromwell, Mira Sorvino, Tippi Hedren, Mike Farrell and Ed Begley, Jr.

This year, Artivist proudly welcomes back Petrobras as its Official Community Partner.  Since 2004, Petrobras has supported the growth of the international Artivist Film Festival and Artivist Awards.

KPFK (http://www.kpfk.org) reprises their role as a media sponsor this year.

The festival is also sponsored proudly by Kanon Organic Vodka (http://www.kanonvodka.com) and Hansen’s Natural (http://www.hansens.com).

About Petrobras –
Petrobras, a Brazilian energy company, has a 30 year history of distributing ethanol from sugar cane as fuel for vehicles, and is now committed to increasing the production and exports of ethanol.

At its new research center, scientists are looking for ways to produce ethanol from farming byproducts, which can increase production without the need for more farming land.

Petrobras is the largest funder of Cultural Arts Programs in Brazil, and a partner of hundreds of social, animal welfare, and environmental projects, such as the protection of endangered sea turtles, spinners dolphins and the manatee, as well as initiatives on carbon capture, water protection, biodiversity, and climate change.  As the only company in the energy sector that is part of the Global Compact Board of the United Nations, Petrobras commits its corporate governance to the 10 principles set forth by the United Nations.

Understanding the interdependence between humanity, animals, and the environment is crucial in our global community. By working with individuals and groups, organizations and companies, we can create long-term solutions to our global problems (http://www.petrobras.com.br/en).

About Kristen Bell –
Bell, an avowed vegetarian since age 11, has a long history of working with charitable and NGO-related causes. She traveled to Brazil as a volunteer while a student at New York University.  While there, she helped medics deliver two babies during her work in an underprivileged community. During the time she lived in Michigan, Bell fostered animals from Michigan Humane Society, and she now supports the San Diego-based Helen Woodward Animal Center.

She also advocates for Invisible Children, which works to create awareness of the plight of the people of Northern Uganda, the voter education charity Declare Yourself as well as such well known charitable organizations such as PETA, SCPA and the Alzheimer’s Association. She was a member of the 2007 American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet.

“I believe empathy is our most important impulse. Helping others is what makes human beings great. I am just responding where I see my skills can help meet a current need, and I think we have a duty to protect and love one another. 

Artivist embodies these principles and helps bridge the gap between awareness and action,” says Bell.

Internationally known for her work in Veronica Mars and in the films Burlesque (with Cher and Christina Aguilera) and When In Rome (in which she starred opposite Josh Duhamel), she will next be seen starring in the new Showtime series House of Lies, opposite Don Cheadle, premiering in January 2012.  Soon after, she will be seen in Universal Pictures’ film Everybody Loves Whales, opposite Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski, being released on January 13, 2012.  She also recently wrapped filming Movie 43, for the Farrelly Brothers, which is being released on April 13, 2012.  Currently, Bell is filming the feature film Outrun, for director Dax Shepard.

About Rachel Bilson –
Rachel Bilson’s latest production, her CW pilot Hart of Dixie, will premiere on September 26, 2011.  She also recently wrapped the independent film L!fe Happens opposite Kate Bosworth.  Other film credits include starring as the female lead in Waiting for Forever as well as in Jumper for 20th Century Fox Studios, as well as The Last Kiss, with Zach Braff, which was directed by Tony Goldwyn for Paramount.  She also stared opposite Andy Garcia in a film comprised of a series of shorts called New York, I Love You.   Bilson has also appeared twice as a guest star on the hit television series How I Met Your Mother as well as Josh Schwartz’s Chuck.  Other TV credits include The OC (a series regular for four seasons on the Fox Network) and guest-starring roles on That ’70s Show, Mad TV, 8 Simple Rules, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The Artivist Film Festival, Artivist Satellite Festivals, and Awards –
The Artivist Collective (www.artivists.org) presents the only film festival specializing in progressive issues of the environment, social justice and animal rights.  Since its inception in 2003, Artivist Film Festival has screened 400+ films representing more than 60 countries, and has produced film festival tours in Los Angeles, New York, London, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Lisbon, that have reached more than 35 million people.

Earlier this year, Artivist Film Festival launched a nationwide expansion of its programming with simultaneous screenings in six cities in the U.S., beyond its traditional annual programs in Los Angeles and New York. The other cities included Austin, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, Sedona and Washington D.C.

Among the films presented at the Artivist Film Festival over the years have been Academy Award winner Born Into Brothels and Academy Award nominee Super-Size Me as well as the Los Angeles Premiere of critically-acclaimed documentaries God Sleeps In Rwanda, Fast Food Nation, Emmanuelle’s Gift, Zeitgeist, Trudell, Stolen Childhoods, and Regeneration.

The Artivist Film Festival has been publicly endorsed by internationally recognized NGOs such as Amnesty International, Unicef – The United Nations Children’s Fund, HSUS – Humane Society of the United States, Global Green, Greenpeace, by Claes Nobel of the Nobel Prize Family, and by the United Nations Department of Public Information.

For more information, photos, or to arrange an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 and lynn@greengalactic.com.

"Eyes Nose Mouth" - photo credit: Noemie Lafrance

Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces its Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010. Dance on screen, or screendance, is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography. The festival includes screendance as well as all forms of dance media. “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematography styles, exhibition formats, and subject matter traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler… For Immediate Release: January 27, 2010

Dance Camera West
Announces Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival
Throughout Los Angeles – June 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces its Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010. Dance on screen, or screendance, is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography. The festival includes screendance as well as all forms of dance media. “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematography styles, exhibition formats, and subject matter traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler, “The festival includes everything from experimental shorts to documentaries – ranging from surreal visual abstractions to strict narratives.” Once again DCW partners with the city’s most prominent venues in offering a host of screenings, installations, and panel discussions with visiting international artists. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates at www.dancecamerawest.org. See below for a preliminary schedule of events.

Dance Camera West’s Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival opens at the REDCAT Theater in downtown LA, with its celebrated opening night party on Friday, June 4, 2010. The opening weekend program, “ScreenDance: A New Visual Language,” will captivate audiences on Friday and Saturday night with three separate presentations of short films from around the world. The following weekend, DCW will present two days of programming at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theatre on Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13 (program TBD). On the evening of June 19th, DCW showcases work from Los Angeles-based creators in its “Local Makers” program with an entertaining outdoor, community event at the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center. For the first time, DCW’s “Local Makers” program will include student work. Look also for events in collaboration with the Goethe Institute, Los Angeles Film Festival, and American Cinematheque.

Known as one of the world’s premiere presenters of dance media, Dance Camera West aspires to awaken and infuse the public mainstream with critical creative programming. DCW has expanded the audience for dance in Southern California with the presentation of more than 1,000 dance films from 43 countries since its inception in 2002.

“Dance media is pushing art in a new direction,” says Kessler, “as choreographers and directors continue to stretch our imagination and change the way we think about dance.”

Dance Camera West founder and executive/artistic director Lynette Kessler is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and media artist with an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Dance from York University in Toronto. Known for her innovative collaborations and dance work for the screen that have been shown in film festivals worldwide, Kessler has received numerous awards including a Lester Horton Dance Award, Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship, and an artist residency at Headlands Center for the Arts. She is a founding member of Media & Dance Network (MAD), has served on dance film review committees for EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center), American Choreography Awards, Dance on Camera Festival in New York, Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film in Toronto, and is a guest lecturer at UCLA, UC Irvine, and Cal Arts. Kessler sits on the board of directors for the following organizations: Buckminster Fuller Institute, Dance Channel TV, and the California Ear Unit. She is an active member of the advocacy groups: Arts for LA, California Arts Advocates, and Americans for the Arts. And she’s also on the Media Arts Advisory Committee to guide the new Media Arts initiative creating a fifth arts discipline for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Dance Camera West is a nonprofit organization committed to fostering and promoting the vibrant art of dance media from around the world. DCW aims to bridge the unique mix of film and dance communities in Los Angeles through the exploration of this hybrid genre. DCW also strives to create a broader and more engaged audience for dance and dance media by merging both performance and cinematic aesthetics. DCW is one of only a handful of organizations in the world that present dance media and the only one of its kind on the West Coast. The 2008 and 2009 festivals were featured in FOX News segments, Los Angeles Magazine selected Dance Camera West as its “Pick of the Month” for the June 2008 issue, the Los Angeles Times selected the Dance Camera West Dance Media Film Festival as one of the “Ten Best” dance events in Los Angeles for 2006 and 2007, and DCW was voted one of the “Top 25 Dance Organizations to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2005 and 2006.

In addition to the planning of the upcoming June 2010 festival, Dance Camera West is also preparing a special 10-year anniversary event for 2011. In celebration of this milestone, the organization will host an international Dance Media Symposium in downtown Los Angeles, bringing together artists, dancers, educators, and film/television industry professionals. With a working title of Dance Media: The Active Spectrum, conference participants from the dance and media worlds will come together for a conversation on the exciting opportunities for expansive growth, creative expression, and innovation offered by new media. In addition to a full program of evening screenings, the 2011 anniversary event will also include a unique series of daytime panel presentations, guest speakers, and networking opportunities. A steering committee for the conference is being formed with notable artists and leaders from the international dance media community.

This year’s 2010 Dance Camera West festival is supported in part by Mortimer Levitt Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

See below for DCW’s June 2010 Festival Schedule as of 1/27/10:

➢ Fri. June 4 [8:00pm] and Sat. June 5 [6:00pm & 8:00pm] at REDCAT [downtown LA]
“Screendance: A New Visual Language” (contains adult content) – Opening Night Friday!
Opening night screening and party on Friday followed by two different screening programs on Saturday. In three unique screenings over two days, this collection of innovative dance films from around the world explores the intersection between movement and cinema.
- Fri. June 4 – 8:00pm – Screening and Opening Night Reception
- Sat. June 5 – 6:00pm screening & 8:00pm screening (all three screenings different)

REDCAT, Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (Walt Disney Concert Hall Complex)
631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213 237-2800; http://redcat.org)
- Tickets $15 opening night ($10 for CalArts or DCW members), $10 for other screenings ($7 for CalArts or DCW members)

➢ Sat. June 12 [7:00pm] and Sun. June 13 [2:00pm & 6:00pm] at the Hammer Museum [Westwood]
Programs TBD – Three Programs over Two Days at the Hammer

Hammer Museum – Billy Wilder Theater
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310-443-7000; www.hammer.ucla.edu)
- FREE admission, no reservations required; seating is first come first served

➢ Sat. June 19 [8:00 – 10:00pm] at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center [West LA]
“Local Makers – LA Choreographers and Directors” – Outdoor Screening
Dance Camera West presents an outdoor screening event whereby the park will be transformed into a cinematic cross-cultural display with four different screening areas. Student work will be included for the first time. K – 12 students from LAUSD have been invited to submit work (the Call for Entries ends April 15, 2010).
Even though all the films have one thing in common – they were all created by Los Angeles- based choreographers and directors – they’re as diverse as the Southern California landscape itself. The program presents everything under the sun (or moon in this case) during this family-friendly evening. Bring a flashlight, something to sit on, and join in the fun under the stars.

Cheviot Hills Recreation Center
2551 Motor Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90064 (310-837-4233)
- FREE admission, no reservations required

➢ Wed. June 30 [time TBA] at Goethe-Institute [mid-Wilshire]
A new documentary by Anne Linsel will screen as part of a special Pina Bausch Celebration at Goethe-Institute, the German cultural institution (more info TBA).

Goethe-Institute
5750 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323-525-3388; www.goethe.de/enindex.htm)
- price TBD

More June dates, venues and programs TBA for Dance Camera West’s Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates – www.dancecamerawest.org.

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For more information, press passes, photos, or to interview DCW’s founder Lynette Kessler, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213-840-1201 or lynn [at] greengalactic.com.