[New York, NY March 19, 2007] The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) today announced the launch of
Tribeca Teaches: Films In Motion, an innovative pilot program which kicks off March 19 and continues on as part of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, through April 28. In partnership with the
Bronx Preparatory Charter School, Tribeca Teaches: Films In Motionwill educate historically underserved middle and high school students in the South Bronx, about the art and process of filmmaking.
Tribeca Teaches is a three-part program that provides students with the tools to think-critically about film through a TFI -created school curriculum; brings the spirit of the Tribeca Film Festival to the Bronx through a TFI organized community day; and screens an eclectic mix of films to enhance student awareness of how film can be used to understand others and to cultivate their own unique voice.
“We hope that
Tribeca Teaches will play a significant role in providing the necessary tools in fostering film education, allowing the students creative freedom to focus on telling their own individual story,” said Jane Rosenthal, founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.”
A total of 90 middle school and 30 high school students will participate in the five-week curricular component of the program during which students will produce a “classroom snapshot” by creating their own films. The curriculum has been meticulously designed in order to encourage a greater understanding of the concept of community within students, on a personal, local, national and global level.
Tribeca Teaches: Films in Motion will be taught by the Bronx Preparatory Instructors, Tribeca Film Institute Teaching Artists and Visiting Filmmakers.
The five-week program will culminate in two events including an in-school film festival for the Bronx Prep community essentially expanding the Tribeca Film Festival experience to the Bronx Prep student body, bridging the gap between Tribeca and the Bronx. On Friday, April 27 three 2007 Tribeca Film Festival films will be screened at the in-school mini festival, and on Saturday, April 28 the Community Day will be held in celebration of the conclusion of
Tribeca Teaches: Films In Motion.
During
Tribeca Teaches, students will explore film beginning with written storytelling exercises, basic hands-on filmmaking training and in-class visits from alumni of the TFI Tribeca All Access program and Tribeca Film Festival filmmakers. Students will watch influential youth-made films, such as
A Girl Like Me (Reelworks Teen Filmmaking) and
Sonata (Ghetto Film School), among others, in addition to learning from the filmmakers themselves. TAA alumni and filmmaker Andre Robert Lee will host an interactive discussion on March 21 about his film-in-progress,
The Prep School Negro, while he shares what he experienced while attending the elite Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. On March 28, there will be a special question and answer session and screening for director Matt Ruskin’s
The Hip Hop Project, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and will be released nation-wide on May 11.
“Our goal with the TFI and Bronx Preparatory Charter School collaboration is to extend the reach of the Tribeca Film Festival beyond the neighborhoods of Manhattan,” said Tribeca Film Institute President Sydney Meeks. “By bringing talented artists and unique films
to classrooms in the Bronx, we will be able to foster a larger number of students’ appreciation for film and enrich their educational experience. It is our hope that the program will pave the way for future partnerships with schools in every borough.”
Over the course of the program students will be allotted a series of written and visual assignments that will lead up to their final project: a portrait of their culture, people and personality in their classroom as they see it, the “classroom snapshot.” These short video pieces will then be professionally edited and then screened for nearly 600 students, staff, families and friends as part of the Bronx Prep Community Day.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expose our students to the Tribeca Film Festival with such talented young filmmakers,” said Kristin Kearns Jordan, Executive Director of Bronx Prep. “Not only will they help teach students the basics of filmmaking, but by providing their own insights and inspirational success stories, they will have an immeasurable effect in cultivating and maintaining dreams of careers in film for our students.”
The Tribeca Film Institute’s inaugural
Tribeca Teaches: Films In Motion program will be held at the Bronx Preparatory Charter School, 3872 3rd Avenue, from March 19-April 28, 2007. For additional information, visit
www.tribecafilminstitute.org.
About the Tribeca Film Institute
The Tribeca Film Institute creates innovative programs that draw on the unifying power of film to promote understanding, tolerance and global awareness. Our commitment is to educate, entertain and inspire filmmakers and audiences alike, while strengthening the artistic and economic fabric of New York City and its Lower Manhattan community.
For more information visit
www.tribecafilminstitute.org.
About Bronx Preparatory Charter School
Bronx Prep is a charter school located in the South Bronx, which was founded on the belief that all children in America deserve an education enabling them to fulfill their potential and realize their dreams. Bronx Prep is committed to providing a quality instruction for underserved middle and high school students that challenges them to achieve at the highest levels and prepare them for enrollment at competitive colleges, civic involvement, and lifelong success. They opened their doors to the founding 100 fifth and sixth-graders in 2000 and are currently serving 540 students in grades 5-12.
