Arts Engine

Arts Engine is unique in the independent media world for its array of activities, including full production of award-winning documentaries, the annual creation of a widely recognized social-issue film festival and creation and maintenance of a virtual commons for filmmakers, activists, educators and students to share information. Arts Engine is also known for its staying power.

Arts Engine will be celebrating ten years of Big Mouth Films starting in the fall of 2007.

History

The organization currently called Arts Engine began under the leadership of co-founders Katy Chevigny and Julia Pimsleur in 1997 when they formed a partnership to create social issue documentaries. These two engaged social activists developed the core values and beliefs that have informed all of the projects since then and that make up Arts Engine’s powerful mission today. Six feature-length documentaries have been created since 1997, winning prestigious awards, gaining national recognition, and, as was the case with the Emmy-nominated film Deadline, reaching audiences in the millions. In 2000, during the height of the internet boom, Chevigny and Pimsleur were among the first to realize that social issue filmmaking was taking a dramatic turn. A new culture was emerging that would entirely change the face of media from televised monologues to internet-driven dialogues. And electronically facilitated dialogue and distribution channels opened opportunities to build online communities where no community existed before.

Committed to breaking down traditional hierarchies and status-markers, Arts Engine launched one of the few online commons for filmmakers and activists, called MediaRights.org, and created what is now the most comprehensive database of social issue documentaries in the nation, and possibly the world, with over 6,000 films registered. The success of this site led to the creation of the Youth Media Distribution Initiative (YMDi.org). They also developed and launched the Media That Matters Film Festival, one of the first online film festivals, and realized the incredible potential for online showcasing and distribution before many major festivals did. Now in its sixth year, the festival reaches tens of thousands of people annually and hosts hundreds of internet pages of information with “Take Action Links” on everything from AIDS in Africa, to water rights in Michigan, to the youth vote, LGBT issues, and sustainability. The ballast for this intense activism from the early beginnings in 1997 to today is the belief that exemplary visual storytelling on social issues can make change.

Big Mouth Films

Big Mouth Films produces feature-length, social issue documentaries independently and in collaboration with numerous companies and organizations. Big Mouth is best known for the Emmy-nominated film "Deadline".

"Election Day" (2007)

On November 2, 2004, millions of Americans put the world’s most famous democracy to the test at polling places across the country. Election Day follows a dozen of these citizens-from the plains of South Dakota to the palm trees of southern Florida-over the course of twenty-four hours. Uplifting yet troubling, their experiences offer rare insight into a hallowed American ritual.

"Election Day" premiered at South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in 2007 and will be broadcast on public television in 2008.

"Deadline" (2004)

What would you do if you discovered that thirteen people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. Deadline is a compelling look insider America’s prisons, highlighting one man’s unlikely and historic actions against the system.

"Deadline" won the Thurgood Marshall Journalism Award and was nominated for an Emmy.

"Arctic Son" (2006)

In the tiny Arctic village of Old Crow a father and son are reunited after 20 years apart. Stanley Sr. is a hunter, a rugged man of the land steeped in Native Vuntut Gwitchin traditions. Seattle-raised Stanley Jr., immerses himself in hip hop and partying. As their worlds collide, this moving father-son journey becomes a larger exploration of the complex relationship between tradition and modernity; nature and pop culture; addiction and independence; and the bigger quest we all embark at some point—the need to know who we are and where we belong.

"Arctic Son" will be released on POV on August 21, 2007.

"The Dishes" (in production)

This intimately revealing story takes the viewer from the band’s local haunts of Chicago to life on the road during their US tour. Through interviews and vérité footage, the film captures the realities of The Dishes’ life on the road and what it takes to endure the feat of holding it all together, a side of the brass tacks of rock rarely seen.

*"Journey to the West" (2001)
*"Outside Looking In" (2001)
*"Brother Born Again" (2000)
*"Nuyorican Dream" (2000)
*"Innocent Until Proven Guilty" (1999)

Media That Matters Film Festival

Launching its seventh year, the Media That Matters Film Festival is an interactive, yearlong celebration of short, high impact films on immigration, global warming, fair trade, gay rights, sustainable agriculture and many other pressing social issues. During its highly successful six-year history, Media That Matters has presented films that have gone on to catalyze national legislation, change corporate hiring practices, spur social action and inspire a new generation of filmmakers. The sixteen winning Media That Matters films were celebrated with a premiere at IFC Center in Greenwich Village on May 30th and an awards ceremony at HBO’s midtown headquarters on May 31st. Ira Glass, Byron Hurt and Al Maysles were among the luminaries presenting awards. Past awards ceremonies have included presentations by Tim Robbins, Al Franken, Chuck D, Woody Harrelson, Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple, Arrested Development’s David Cross, Reiko Aylesworth of 24 and comedian Sam Seder.As with each previous year, these new Media That Matters films will stream online at www.mediathatmattersfest.org starting on June 1, 2007. The site provides high quality video feeds, “take action links” and viewer forums on the social issues addressed in the films. After June 1, the collection will embark on a tour of 100+ locations across the United States and around the world. With nationwide distribution through Netflix, “do-it-yourself” screenings all over the country, and a high impact outreach campaign, Media That Matters is set to inspire hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, filmmakers, social activists and just about anyone to take action.

MediaRights.org

MediaRights.org has become the nation’s most comprehensive resource for issue-oriented media. Started initially as an online database of social issue documentaries, MediaRights.org has been a catalyst for social change, inspiring workshops, new educational materials and interactive screenings for filmmakers, activists and educators across the country. Currently MediaRights.org is the source for over 15,000 registered members and hosts more than 6,000 films in its online database. Moreover MediaRights.org has helped provide access to thousands of films that have through the years been used to encourage public dialogue and civic engagement by activists throughout the country.

Mission Statement

Arts Engine, Inc. supports, produces, and distributes independent media of consequence and promotes the use of independent media by advocates, educators and the general public. By fostering the production and use of independent film, video and new media, Arts Engine connects media makers and active audiences in order to spur critical consideration of pressing social issues.

The governing philosophy of Arts Engine is that the work of independent media makers is crucial to the enrichment of society and culture. With the growing consolidation of media worldwide, independent media makers face daunting obstacles in their efforts to introduce new perspectives into public debate. Advocates, educators and the public have limited access to media that illustrates a variety of points of view. In order to support the presence of diverse perspectives in our society, Arts Engine is dedicated to forging vital links between media makers and the public, and to realizing independent media’s potential for broad social impact.

External links

*http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/
*http://www.mediarights.org/
*http://www.artsengine.net/
*http://www.ymdi.org/
*http://www.deadlinethemovie.com/
*http://www.electiondaythemovie.com/