For Immediate Release
Friday, October 3, 2014
Contacts:
Kate West, Community Cinema Coordinator and Graduate Assistant, SIU College of Mass Communications & Media Arts, (618) 453-5060, kate.west@wsiu.org
Beth Spezia, WSIU Outreach Coordinator, (618) 453-5595, beth.spezia@wsiu.org
Local Community Cinema Series Kicks Off New Season on October 18
MCMA, WSIU, Carbondale Public Library to Host Monthly Film Screenings Through April 2014
Carbondale, Ill. -- The SIU Carbondale College of Mass Communications and Media Arts (MCMA), WSIU Public Broadcasting, and the Carbondale Public Library have joined forces for a fourth season of Community Cinema, a series of free film screenings from the PBS series Independent Lens. Each screening will be held at the library on the third Saturday of every month at 2:30pm (excluding December). Screenings will be held monthly through April 2014, except for December.
The new season kicks off on Saturday, October 18 at 2:30pm with MAKERS: Women in Comedy. The confirmed discussion facilitator for the October film is Susan Patrick Benson, Associate Professor, SIU Department of Theater. Other facilitators are in the process of being confirmed.
MAKERS: WOMEN WHO MAKE AMERICA is a six-part PBS series profiling the impact women have had over the past 50 years in six industries -- comedy, politics, space, war, business, and Hollywood. A landmark broadcast and digital-video initiative developed by AOL, MAKERS aims to be the largest and most dynamic collection of women's stories ever assembled.
MAKERS: Women in Comedy tracks the rise of women in the world of comedy, from the “dangerous” comedy of '70s sitcoms like Maude to the groundbreaking women of the 1980s American comedy club boom and building to today's multifaceted landscape. Today, movies like Bridesmaids break box office records and the women of Saturday Night Live are often more famous than their male counterparts. Contemporary comics, including Joan Rivers, Chelsea Handler, Mo'Nique, Sarah Silverman, Ellen DeGeneres, Jane Lynch, and Kathy Griffin talk about where women started in this competitive, male-dominated profession and where they are determined to go.
Additional details about the film are available at http://www.pbs.org/makers/season-two/women-in-comedy/.
The remaining schedule is as follows: Evolution of a Criminal (November 15), A Path Appears: From the Creators of Half the Sky (January 17), American Denial (February 21), The Homestretch (March 21), and Limited Partnership (April 18). Each screening will feature a facilitator and guest speakers who will participate in a discussion with the audience about the topics raised in the films. An updated local web feature will be available later this month at http://www.wsiu.org/communitycinema.
For more information about WSIU's Community Cinema screenings, contact Kate West, Community Cinema Coordinator and Graduate Assistant, SIU Carbondale College of Mass Communications and Media Arts, at (618) 453-5060 or kate.west@wsiu.org.
Community Cinema is a service of Independent Television Services (ITVS) and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
About WSIU Public Broadcasting
WSIU Public Broadcasting is licensed to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University and is an integral part of the College of Mass Communication & Media Arts on the Carbondale campus. The WSIU stations reach more than three million people across five states and beyond through three digital public television channels, three public radio stations, a radio information service, a website, and an education and community outreach department.
WSIU's mission is to improve the quality of life of the people they serve. The WSIU stations partner with other community organizations to promote positive change and to support the academic and public service missions of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Learn more and get the latest station news online at wsiu.org and on WSIU's Facebook and Twitter pages.
WSIU's programs and services are partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
About Community Cinema
Community Cinema is a groundbreaking national civic engagement initiative featuring free screenings of films from the Emmy-winning PBS series Independent Lens. Presented by Independent Television Service (ITVS) in partnership with local public television stations and community organizations, these in-person events and online social screenings bring community members together to learn, discuss, and get involved in key social issues of our time. For a complete lineup and more information about the Community Cinema series visit: http://communitycinema.org/
About Independent Lens
Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS Monday nights at 10 pm. The acclaimed series features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by Independent Television Service, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation at facebook.com/independentlens and @IndependentLens.
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