Wanda's Picks

Jed Rothstein, Director/Producer, Before the Spring, After the Fall.

Three years before the Arab Spring, a group of young Egyptian rock musicians struggled for freedom amidst the stifling dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Two brothers among them, the sons of a dissident political prisoner, would help lead the uprising in Tahrir Square and the struggle for the future of their country.  Airs tonight on ITVS.

Bio: Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Jed Rothstein specializes in hard-to-get stories from around the world that help people understand one another better.  Whether seeking out  heavy metal musicians who become Arab-Spring revolutionaries (PBS's Before the Spring After the Fall); pioneering doctors (HBO's Coma and Pandemic); Al Qaeda terrorists (The Oscar-nominated HBO documentary Killing in the Name);  defenders of free speech (The 2009 Sundance film Shouting Fire); journalists on the front lines (Independent Lens' Democracy on Deadline) or fundamentalist Christian college kids training to take over Washington (God's Next Army), Rothstein works with people to help them tell their own stories in their own words. His films have played in film festivals around the world, enjoyed special screenings at the United Nations, and been broadcast on HBO, PBS, the Discovery Channel, IFC, Channel 4, the BBC, and elsewhere. When not loitering in global hotspots, Rothstein has worked as a senior producer on a weekly television show and a consultant and writer for numerous documentaries.  He lives in New York with his wife, the writer Mira Jacob, and their son.

Jed Rothstein, Director/Producer, Before the Spring, After the Fall.

Three years before the Arab Spring, a group of young Egyptian rock musicians struggled for freedom amidst the stifling dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Two brothers among them, the sons of a dissident political prisoner, would help lead the uprising in Tahrir Square and the struggle for the future of their country.  Airs tonight on ITVS.

Bio: Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Jed Rothstein specializes in hard-to-get stories from around the world that help people understand one another better.  Whether seeking out  heavy metal musicians who become Arab-Spring revolutionaries (PBS's Before the Spring After the Fall); pioneering doctors (HBO's Coma and Pandemic); Al Qaeda terrorists (The Oscar-nominated HBO documentary Killing in the Name);  defenders of free speech (The 2009 Sundance film Shouting Fire); journalists on the front lines (Independent Lens' Democracy on Deadline) or fundamentalist Christian college kids training to take over Washington (God's Next Army), Rothstein works with people to help them tell their own stories in their own words. His films have played in film festivals around the world, enjoyed special screenings at the United Nations, and been broadcast on HBO, PBS, the Discovery Channel, IFC, Channel 4, the BBC, and elsewhere. When not loitering in global hotspots, Rothstein has worked as a senior producer on a weekly television show and a consultant and writer for numerous documentaries.  He lives in New York with his wife, the writer Mira Jacob, and their son.

1. Ayodele "WordSlanger" Nzinga, Ph.D., joins us to talk about the August Wilson Century Cycle, part 7, Two Trains, which is opening this August, 2014 in Oakland.

2.Arielle Julia Brown (Project Director/Founder)speaks about Love Balm for My Spirit Child--- A choreo-play based on testimonies from Bay Area mothers whose children were lost to gun violence, directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, opens at Brava! For Women in the Arts, Theatre Center in San Francisco, 2781-24th Street at York, July 11-20, 2014 shows Fri-Sat 8 p.m.; Sun 3 p.m. Tickets are: $10-25. Visit http://www.brava.org/

Actors/Artistic Collaborators

Ayodele Nzinga is an Actor/Artistic Collaborator in the work, so she joins us as well.

3. American Experience presents: Stanley Nelson's Freedom Summer. The award-winning director joins us by phone from the largest 50th Anniversary Freedom Summer Conference at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi: http://freedom50.org/ The film, along with Nelson's earlier, Freedom Riders is up for viewing on the website: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365156751/

4. Michael Gene Sullivan and Velina Brown speak about the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s 2014 premiere, The Ripple Effect— opening July 4th at San Francisco's Dolores Park. Visit www.sfmt.org & http://www.michaelgenesullivan.com/

Music: Avery Sharpe’s Ain’t I a Woman “Son of Mine;” Keb’mo’s "Someday We’ll All Be Free"; clips from S. Nelson’s Freedom Summer

1. Ayodele "WordSlanger" Nzinga, Ph.D., joins us to talk about the August Wilson Century Cycle, part 7, Two Trains, which is opening this August, 2014 in Oakland.

2.Arielle Julia Brown (Project Director/Founder)speaks about Love Balm for My Spirit Child--- A choreo-play based on testimonies from Bay Area mothers whose children were lost to gun violence, directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, opens at Brava! For Women in the Arts, Theatre Center in San Francisco, 2781-24th Street at York, July 11-20, 2014 shows Fri-Sat 8 p.m.; Sun 3 p.m. Tickets are: $10-25. Visit http://www.brava.org/

Actors/Artistic Collaborators

Ayodele Nzinga is an Actor/Artistic Collaborator in the work, so she joins us as well.

3. American Experience presents: Stanley Nelson's Freedom Summer. The award-winning director joins us by phone from the largest 50th Anniversary Freedom Summer Conference at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi: http://freedom50.org/ The film, along with Nelson's earlier, Freedom Riders is up for viewing on the website: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365156751/

4. Michael Gene Sullivan and Velina Brown speak about the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s 2014 premiere, The Ripple Effect— opening July 4th at San Francisco's Dolores Park. Visit www.sfmt.org & http://www.michaelgenesullivan.com/

Music: Avery Sharpe’s Ain’t I a Woman “Son of Mine;” Keb’mo’s "Someday We’ll All Be Free"; clips from S. Nelson’s Freedom Summer

JOHN PIERRE, JD, speaks about MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM SUMMER 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE

Inter-generational Action Agenda at Tougaloo College - Jackson, Mississippi, June 23 - 29, 2014

John K. Pierre has been on the law faculty of the Southern University Law Center since 1990 and was promoted to vice chancellor in 2006. Pierre is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Texas Bar Association.  He has previous teaching experience as a visiting and adjunct professor at California State University, Southern Methodist University School of Law, Loyola University Law School, Southern University College of Business, Saint Leo's College, Webster University, Louisiana State University, and Baton Rouge Community College. He received the bachelor's degree in accounting from Southern University in 1980, a master's degree in tax accounting from Texas Tech University in 1982, and a juris doctor degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1985. Pierre has published numerous articles on tax law, sales and contracts, real estate and commercial law, ranging from magazine features to legal journal and law review articles.

We close with a prerecorded interview with Blair Doroshwalther, dir., Out in the Night (2013) and film subjects, Patreese Johnson and Renata Hill. Out screens June 26, 2014, 9:30 p.m. and June 28, 2014, 1:30 p.m. as a part of Frameline38. Out looks at the case of the New Jersey 4, 4 young Lesbian women arrested, charged and imprisoned when they defended themselves from first verbal then physical attack. The four women who faced the most time were those who maintained their innocence. Patreese and Renata are two of them.

JOHN PIERRE, JD, speaks about MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM SUMMER 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE

Inter-generational Action Agenda at Tougaloo College - Jackson, Mississippi, June 23 - 29, 2014

John K. Pierre has been on the law faculty of the Southern University Law Center since 1990 and was promoted to vice chancellor in 2006. Pierre is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Texas Bar Association.  He has previous teaching experience as a visiting and adjunct professor at California State University, Southern Methodist University School of Law, Loyola University Law School, Southern University College of Business, Saint Leo's College, Webster University, Louisiana State University, and Baton Rouge Community College. He received the bachelor's degree in accounting from Southern University in 1980, a master's degree in tax accounting from Texas Tech University in 1982, and a juris doctor degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1985. Pierre has published numerous articles on tax law, sales and contracts, real estate and commercial law, ranging from magazine features to legal journal and law review articles.

We close with a prerecorded interview with Blair Doroshwalther, dir., Out in the Night (2013) and film subjects, Patreese Johnson and Renata Hill. Out screens June 26, 2014, 9:30 p.m. and June 28, 2014, 1:30 p.m. as a part of Frameline38. Out looks at the case of the New Jersey 4, 4 young Lesbian women arrested, charged and imprisoned when they defended themselves from first verbal then physical attack. The four women who faced the most time were those who maintained their innocence. Patreese and Renata are two of them.

We open with an interview with Angelique Kidjo, Grammy award-winning recording artist deemed "Africa's greatest living diva" by NPR. In addition to international touring, she has used her visibility to campaign for women's rights, provide education opportunities for girls, and support environmental initiatives. She performs Sat., June 21, 2014, 8 p.m. at the Nourse Theatre, 275 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA (415) 392-4400 www.ciis.edu/publicprograms We close with an interview with Thomas Allen Harris, dir., Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photography and the Emergence of a People, which is a part of Frameline38 and scenes June 21, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco. Visit www.frameline.org Following an award-winning festival run, which saw Through a Lens receive an African Oscar for Best Diasporic Documentary (African Movie Academy Awards,) Social Justice Award (Santa Barbara International Film Festival,) Programmers' Best Documentary Award (Pan African Film Festival,) along with a TEDDY Award nomination (Berlin International Film Festival) and screenings all over the world, the film has its New York theatrical premiere Aug. 27 through Sep. 9 at Film Forum  This will be followed by a national theatrical release by First Run Features,  See also http://1world1family.me

http://chimpanzeeproductions.com

We open with an interview with Angelique Kidjo, Grammy award-winning recording artist deemed "Africa's greatest living diva" by NPR. In addition to international touring, she has used her visibility to campaign for women's rights, provide education opportunities for girls, and support environmental initiatives. She performs Sat., June 21, 2014, 8 p.m. at the Nourse Theatre, 275 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA (415) 392-4400 www.ciis.edu/publicprograms We close with an interview with Thomas Allen Harris, dir., Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photography and the Emergence of a People, which is a part of Frameline38 and scenes June 21, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco. Visit www.frameline.org Following an award-winning festival run, which saw Through a Lens receive an African Oscar for Best Diasporic Documentary (African Movie Academy Awards,) Social Justice Award (Santa Barbara International Film Festival,) Programmers' Best Documentary Award (Pan African Film Festival,) along with a TEDDY Award nomination (Berlin International Film Festival) and screenings all over the world, the film has its New York theatrical premiere Aug. 27 through Sep. 9 at Film Forum  This will be followed by a national theatrical release by First Run Features,  See also http://1world1family.me

http://chimpanzeeproductions.com

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!