"Our Community" goes to California

Yesterday, my class at Pitzer College watched "Our Community" as part of our unit on Agriculture, Culture and Place. This marks the first time that the film has been shown outside of the state, which is quite exciting. My parents also entered it into the Slightly North of Boston Film Festival in Concord, so we'll see how that turns out. Distribution continues, with almost two hundred copies in circulation. I look forward to returning to Manchester, getting the film online, and showing it to more people.

DVDs and Screenings

Greetings from California!

I've come to realize that "Our Community" is but a small piece of a larger puzzle made up of activists, New Americans, organizations, and community members all working to make Manchester a more welcoming place. In addition, I am but a small piece of the "Our Community" puzzle. Two of the other pieces - Bill and Kathy Gillett - have been working very hard to distribute copies of the DVD and set up screenings and events for the film. If you would like a copy of the DVD, please e-mail me at brendangillett@gmail.com with your name, a mailing address and the number of copies you want. They are, thanks to the hard work of my Dad, being distributed for free. If you would like to host a screening or event (with someone from the team present) you can also e-mail me at the same address. It's indescribably helpful to be so supported, not having to take care of every aspect of this project on my own. For ways to get involved helping refugees with the project of resettling here, see the previous post.

Brendan

Community Resources

Hey y'all,

Below is a short list of a few volunteer opportunities that I've found via the doc work. All are open to new volunteers, so feel free to contact them.

New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees

Eva Castillo

NH Immigrant project Organizer

ecastillo@miracoalition.org

(603) 661-2873

The International Institute would like interested community members to know that:

· Volunteers are vital to its programs.

· Material donations like kitchen supplies, and linens are always welcomed.

· Monetary donations from community members directly support their work in the community.

If interested in any of these options (or if you have other suggestions) you should contact Ms.Wei Ng at wng@iinh.org who will help you find the most fulfilling opportunity. They also encourage you to follow them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/IntInstitute and Twitter at https://twitter.com/IntInstitute.

BRING IT

BRING IT, the afterschool program featured in the film, will be at Hillside Middle School this year. It will begin October 5 and will run from 5:30-8:30 every Tuesday/Wednesday through May as long as there's school.

If anyone is interested in volunteering or would like more information, they can reach Jodi Harper via e-mail at jharper@snhs.org, or via phone at 603-296-0442

Premiere

Whoa, way late on this entry. "Our Community" will have it's official premiere this Thursday, August 19th at the Currier Gallery of Art at 5:00 pm. The showing is open to the public, and I'll be doing a Q&A afterwards. If you plan on attending, please use the Beech St. entrance. Though it is two days before I leave for college, I am excited to finally be getting the film out into the community. We'll see where this leads.

And the Screenings Begin

Today, "Our Community" was shown at two different venues. The first was a class at the English for New Americans program, which is featured in the film. The second was the Southern NH ESOL Teachers' Network meeting. Both audiences seemed to enjoy the film. With a few more edits, "Our Community" will be ready to hit the city. It's exciting to be moving into the screening phase of the project. For so long, I was that kid making the documentary. Soon, I'll be that kid who made a documentary.

Rough Cut

Yesterday marked the first time that "Our Community" (which I've officially titled it) was put to DVD. I premiered it to my family. The cut is still rough, but it's almost there. Still waiting on those historical photos and name confirmations. Then I have to do a technical viewing to fix up some sound and transition issues, cut out any excess, add more B-roll (I've come to loathe B-roll) and generally make it shine. I also have an hour or so of footage marked "good stuff" which I need to look through to make sure it doesn't belong in the finished piece somewhere. The current piece runs 48 minutes long, and I must say, I'm very happy with it. I am hoping to have an official premier close to June 17th.

Final Pieces

The film is almost done. I am finishing the credits and adding titles to people's interviews. I am still waiting on confirmation for a few titles, but that shouldn't take long. I'm also waiting on some historical pictures from the Historical Association. Once I have those pieces, the rough cut will be ready to go. I haven't watched the whole thing through yet, but I am happy with it when I watch it in bits and pieces. Some things- my b-roll, shot composition, camera settings, sound, etc.- still look like they were done by a 19 year-old. However, it is mostly the technical details that aren't always where I'd like them to be. I must say that I am rather happy with the way I've put the puzzle pieces together. This project was always about content over form, and I would say that the content comes across. There are some things about this experience and this topic that will not come through in the film, but I am OK with that. While it could be better, I think this film will do what it is intended to do.