Monday, May 28, 2007

Of Churches, Synagogues, Wages, and War

One of the things we do 'behind the scenes' at DNWA is put out the word when Dare Not Walk Alone is playing. And one of the best ways of doing this, we have found, is to let churches and synagogues in the area know about the screening. Why churches and synagogues? The fact is, many Christian ministers and Jewish rabbis played a major role in the civil rights movement of the twentieth century (and in the movement to abolish slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries).

Indeed, in addition to being a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King was an ordained minister and a driving force behind the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which harnessed the power of black churches to protest the Jim Crow laws. But some white churches were also heavily involved with King and the SCLC as 'brothers in non-violence,' as were many rabbis (as the film describes, some fifteen rabbis came down from New Jersey in 1964 to help in the marches and other acts of of civil disobedience in St. Augustine, Florida). Of course, King was also supported by many humanists, agnostics, atheists, and persons of other faiths.

The positive role of some white churches was sadly obscured by the entirely negative role of other white Christians. As depicted in the film, blacks were barred from some white churches and even arrested for attempting to attend services. Fortunately, things have changed somewhat since then, as witnessed by the ceremony of apology and reconciliation documented in Dare Not Walk Alone.

However, there still exists a black church/white church divide in America, more so than in other countries (which is why the executive producer's mother, who is white and attends a very integrated church in England, makes a point of attending a black church when she comes to Florida). Which brings us to the Black Church page. This is a very interesting web site which helps you find a black church in your neighborhood. (It also plays some terrific gospel music while you are at the site.) And, quite frankly, it helps a white person get a black perspective.

For example, we noticed that the news section of this site was quick to headline the passage of an increase in the minimum wage, a big event for many people but almost a non-event for the major news networks. We know the measure was buried in a war spending bill (and it does not, in our humble opinion, boost this critical economic baseline far enough or fast enough). But it was big news to many Americans, black and white.

While the separation of church and state is controversial, and the separation of black and white churches may be seen as unfortunate, the fact is, religious groups of all kinds are doing a power of good in our society today. And that is why we reach out to them when we want people to know Dare Not Walk Alone is coming to their town.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Dare Not Walk Alone to Play Breckenridge Fest: Colorado Here We Come!

Dare Not Walk Alone is coming to Colorado! The award winning civil rights documentary will be screened on Friday, June 8, as part of the Breckenridge Festival of Film. Click here for details.

If you have already seen the film, please tell everyone you know in Colorado about this screening. Yes, we know Colorado is a big state, but we sincerely believe it is worth the drive from Anywhere, Colorado, to Breckenridge, Colorado, to see this film (besides Breckenridge is a cool place to visit and the whole festival looks like a winner).

We know that a lot of people drove a long way for the Columbus, Ohio, screening, and look what happened: DNWA won the Audience Award!

Remember: This is the civil rights story they don't tell you in school.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Greetings Pennsylvania! Dare Not Walk Alone to play Southside Festival

Next month Dare Not Walk Alone will be playing in Pennsylvania, screening at the SouthSide Film Festival in Bethlehem, PA. Check here for details. (Festival runs June 19-23).

After winning the Audience Award at the Deep Focus Film Festival in Columbus, Ohio, it will be very interesting to see how audiences
in Bethlehem react to the film. We're not sure yet if anyone from the film can be there for the screening. We will keep you posted.

And of course, as our growing band of loyal supports knows, a new festival booking is a new chance to put out the word. Got friends and family in the Bethlehem area? Tell them about the screening. As always, your efforts are greatly appreciated and they DO make a difference. THANK YOU!

p.s. The wonderful folks at THINKFilm are also telling us that there will be another screening in June, place to be announced, so watch this space.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Vote for Dare Not Walk Alone?

We know that a lot of our supporters are thinking of ways they can help move the project forward, toward the goal of theatrical and DVD distribution. Here is one suggestion, visit this site:

Movie Review - Dare Not Walk Alone - eFilmCritic

This is a web site that solicits public input on movies...if you have seen a movie they want you to rate it. So we invite those of you who have seen DNWA to visit and express your opinion. We don't know how much attention this site gets, but as the saying goes, "Every little bit helps."

THANKS!

p.s. We finally persuaded Jeremy to start carrying a cell phone [again] so it is possible for people to call him [again]. We don't feel comfortable publishing the number here, so if you need to get in touch with him please email "scobb at scobb dot net" and we might be able to help. Also check out: www.myspace.com/darenotwalkalone

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Indianapolis Fliers Now Available (and prizes too)

Anyone wishing to help spread the word about Thursday's screening of Dare Not Walk Alone in Indianapolis is welcome to download and print this Adobe pdf flier.

Also, we are extending our photo and essay competition to Indianapolis. Because we have no travel budget left (the film has been shown at 7 festivals already this year) we cannot attend all of the screenings, but we'd love to know how they went AND we do have some great t-shirts left. We will award four of them as follows:

  1. best cell phone photo of the screening,
  2. best regular digital photo of the screening,
  3. best essay (400-800 words) about the film by person under 18,
  4. best essay (500-1000 words) about the film by person over 17.
Email essays and photos to "info at dnwa dot info" (ask someone to help you if you don't see the email address in those characters). Make sure no picture is larger than two megabytes. If you want to send multiple pictures, send a separate email for each one.

Winning entries will be posted on this blog and winners will also receive a signed copy of the DVD when it is released (hopefully later this year). There is no need to include a postal address when you enter. We will contact you by email if you win. All the usual rules apply, like judges decision is final, DNWA has right to publish entries, etc.

GOOD LUCK!

(Note: We are not looking for not pictures of the film itself but pictures of people at the screening, perhaps before or after the film. Please DO NOT USE FLASH during the film or do anything else that makes us regret this idea. Thanks!)

Last Chance Indianapolis! Dare Not Walk Alone 2nd showing May 3

Greetings Indianapolis!

If you missed Saturday's screening of Dare Not Walk Alone at the Herron School of Art, you still have time to make the 3:45pm showing this Thursday, May 3rd, at the NUVO Screening Room (Landmark).

Variously described as "the greatest civil rights story never told" and "the grittiest version of civil rights history you'll ever see," Dare Not Walk Alone is an award-winning festival favorite that recently beat such crowd-pleasers as Air Guitar Nation and The Waitress to win the Audience Award at the Deep Focus Film Festival in Ohio. If you think you know the history of your civil rights, think again, and please, see this film.

Thank you!