By Laura Brewer, on August 21st, 2012%
As more and more libraries join GFI’s Global Public program, Laura Brewer discusses how public libraries aren’t just for books anymore…
The dazzling interior of the Seattle Public Library.
Fall, or “Back-to-school” season, used to be one of my favorite times of year. I loved checking school supply items off my lengthy list. I looked forward to pouring over syllabi, seeing my friends more regularly, and holing up in the library doing research for term papers. But more than anything, by the end of August I was eager to leave summer’s freeform behind for the structure of the academic year.
Continue reading FEATURE: Education and Your Public Library
By The Global Film Initiative, on April 19th, 2012%
Alejandro A. Riera, of the Chicago Latino Film Festival, on giving Latin American cinema the respect it deserves, and working with GFI to bring new Global Lens films to the Windy City
As we celebrate our third year with GFI, Global Lens Series Manager Jeremy Quist asked me to reflect on the state of Latin American film distribution in the United States. And the more I thought about the subject, I found myself asking: When will Latin American cinema get the respect it deserves?
Yes, our cinema has an illustrious history that dates back to the silent era and includes such high points as the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema; the rise of Brazil’s Cinema Novo movement in the 50s and 60s; the emergence of post-Revolutionary Cuban cinema in the 60s and 70s; and, more recently, what some critics describe as the “New Argentinean Cinema.” And yet, even when countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela — not exactly film production powerhouses — are coming out with powerfully moving visual narratives, Latin America cinema keeps getting short shrift by media, critics and film distributors alike in this country, even though the growth of the Latino population outpaced any and all estimates.
Case in point: Miss Bala, Gerardo Naranjo’s extraordinary film about a beauty pageant contestant who unwittingly
Continue reading OPEN MIC: An Antidote to Lost Opportunities
By The Global Film Initiative, on March 10th, 2012%
The Brooklyn Public Library
Our public library program is in full swing this spring with the Brooklyn Public Library! San Francisco and Missoula are next, with Memphis and Park City on the horizon…
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we love public libraries. From their goals of public education and engagement, to the diverse architecture of buildings large and small all across the country—they are cultural icons that hold a physical space in every community, and represent a truly free exchange of ideas that we cherish.
And so, this month, in homage to our ever-growing affinity for public libraries, our friends at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) will be presenting our most favorite film series, Global Lens 2012, to audiences in one of New York’s most celebrated boroughs.
Why? Because BPL is one of a handful of lucky institutions invited this year to join our Global Lens Public Library Program, which we launched last year to promote education and cultural literacy in communities all throughout the United States (some of you may remember that we partnered with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries to kick off the program).
Continue reading Global Lens Goes Public!
By Santhosh Daniel, on October 28th, 2011%
Global Lens makes its long-awaited debut at public libraries across the U.S.
 Big books, small books, magazines and catalogs. Shelves that stretch like buildings on a city block. Millions of words by thousands of people, pressed onto paper and compressed into a building…
Ever since I was a child, I’ve had an affinity for libraries. For me, they represent a space without limits or borders, a place of collected knowledge that lends itself to the imagination. In fact, I wrote my first poem in a library (after checking out a book on haiku), and spent many afternoons as a teenager cultivating my then-nascent interest in film, sitting in a corner watching the classics [on a VHS player].
Of course, libraries have evolved since my childhood, and none more profoundly than the American public library; what once began with Benjamin Franklin and a social-activity of lending books to his friends has now evolved into a community institution, media center and learning resource. And also, a crossroads of people and cultures, a place where new immigrants meet old residents, artists share space with academics and every language is within arm’s reach on a shelf.
And so, it’s only natural that we bring Global Lens to that environment.
Continue reading Global Lens Gets a Library Card!
By Hilary Lawson, on October 4th, 2011%
The official announcement is a few weeks away, but we’re spilling the beans. Here’s an exclusive glimpse of a few films from next year’s lineup! Drumroll please…
  We’ll start with two very special films: AMNESTY, by Albanian newcomer Bujar Alimani and FAT, BALD, SHORT MAN—Carlos Osuna’s unique and endearing [rotoscope] portrait of a man in the middle of, well, middle age.
Both films will have their official Global Lens release in New York this January, but if you’d like a sneak preview, check them out at the Chicago International Film Festival (October 6th-20th)!
Hmmm…want more? Well, we don’t want to give too much away. But, as an additional teaser, check out the trailer below for another excellent film from the 2012 series: CRAFT, by Brazilian auteur Gustavo Pizzi!
By The Global Film Initiative, on June 17th, 2011%
Films from the Global Lens 2011 film series are now playing at the following venues and festivals across the U.S. and Canada (and beyond!):
Asia Society (Hong Kong): THE WHITE MEADOWS (dir. Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran) July 14th-31st
Brooks Museum of Art/Indie Memphis (Memphis, TN): Presenting the complete Global Lens 2011 film series Check the film calendar for screening information
Cinema St. Louis/Webster University (St. Louis, MO): Presenting the complete Global Lens 2011 film series Check the film calendar for screening information
Danish Film Institute Cinematheque (Copenhagen, Denmark): THE WHITE MEADOWS (dir. Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran) June 25th
Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA): THE INVISIBLE EYE (dir. Diego Lerman, Argentina) A USEFUL LIFE (dir. Federico Veiroj, Uruguay) July 17th-25th
Global Lens now playing on Virgin American flights!
Continue reading NOW PLAYING: Museum of the Moving Image, Northwest Film Forum, the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival and more!
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