The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC), a cultural arts institution with a dual mission of film and education, has received financial and product support from Sony Electronics for WORLD CREW 2008. As the sole corporate sponsor of WORLD CREW 2008, Sony is providing three of its new PMW-EX1 professional camcorders to the participating students.
WORLD CREW provides college students with the opportunity to explore the world within and around them through documentary filmmaking. The program was successfully piloted in Uganda last summer, when students documented several remarkable stories, including that of a 14-year-old AIDS orphan solely responsible for his family, and a former child soldier slowly rebuilding his life. This summer, eight students are examining the rich and diverse cultures in Westchester County. Neighbor’s Link, a Mount Kisco based organization dedicated to strengthening the community by actively enhancing the healthy integration of recent Latino immigrants, assisted the Film Center in identifying the subjects for the students’ documentaries.
The program instructor is Dave Davidson, an independent documentary filmmaker for 25 years and the founding Director of the MFA in Media Arts Production program at the City College of New York. He joins JBFC’s Director of International Programs, Susan Todd, an Academy Award nominated filmmaker, educator, and founder of Archipelago Films with the program this year. The students will create three short films which will be premiered at a red carpet event at the Film Center this fall and will also be shown in the “Global Watch 2008” series at the Film Center in November.
“We’re extremely proud to support this effort and to encourage the use of technology by young creative talents, by providing the tools they need,” said Shari Sentlowitz, education marketing manager at Sony Electronics. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s video professionals, and at Sony, we take our responsibility towards education very seriously.”
JBFC will open its new Media and Education Center to the public in January of 2009. The new facility will increase the educational opportunities offered at the center and allow for growth and expansion of the current curriculum. In addition to the WORLD CREW program, JBFC currently offers a variety of education programs in film and visual literacy. Other programs include SEE•HEAR•FEEL•FILM and ANIMATION: MINDS IN MOTION! for grades 3 and 4, CINEMANIA for Middle school, CLASSROOM TO SCREENING ROOM for Middle and High school, UNSCRIPTED for high school, and various Adult Education classes.
