Posted on September 22nd, 2011

Independent Television Service (ITVS) recently awarded KLRU a $750 Women & Girls Lead grant to fund costs associated with a Community Cinema screening in early September at Windsor Park Branch Library.

Women and Girls Lead is a multiyear public media initiative to leverage independent documentary film and public service engagement to amplify the voices of women and girl leaders, expand understanding of gender equity, and engage a network of citizens and organizations to tune in and get involved.

Community Cinema brings communities together through independent film by providing resources and opportunities for education, engagement, and action — transforming film and public broadcasting into powerful resources for individuals, communities and organizations.  Community Cinema presents a different documentary the first Tuesday of the month at a public library.

Peace Unveiled is the film that took center stage on September 6th.  It told the story of three women who organized in late 2009 when ground was being laid for peace talks with the Taliban.  In order to protect women’s interests, they maneuvered against formidable odds to have their voices heard in a peace jirga and high peace council.

Peggy Kelsey of The Afghan Women’s Project spoke at the event about her personal visits to Afghanistan.  She had interviewed a few of the women in the film for her book.  Gaea Logan, a psychologist who started the Dakur project and who specializes in neurology behind psychological states, also spoke.  She discussed the psychological strength it took the women to stand up and demand to be heard in front of the war lords who were on the peace panel.  Audience discussion primarily focused on the topic of hope for the future of Afghanistan, and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn more about the issues presented in the screening.

Thank you, ITVS, for making this Community Cinema event possible!

Posted on August 31st, 2011

Posted on August 16th, 2011

KLRU has again partnered with Austin Public Library’s Windsor Park Branch and ITVS’ Independent Lens for monthly Community Cinema film screenings and discussions. The events take place the first Tuesday of each month at 7 pm at Windsor Park Branch Library located at 5833 Westminster Dr. Austin, TX 78723. This years films are:

September
Peace Unveiled
When the U.S. troop surge was announced in late 2009, women in Afghanistan knew that the ground was being laid for peace talks with the Taliban. Peace Unveiled follows three women who immediately began to organize to make sure that women have a seat at the negotiating table. One is a savvy parliamentarian who participated in writing the Afghan constitution that guarantees equality for women; another, a former midwife who is one of the last women’s rights advocates alive in Kandahar; and the third, a young activist who lives in a traditional family in Kabul. Convinced that the Taliban will have demands that jeopardize women’s hard-earned gains, they maneuver against formidable odds to have their voices heard in a peace jirga and high peace council. We go behind Kabul’s closed doors as the women’s case is made to U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, General David Petraeus and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who promises the women that “peace and justice can’t come at the cost of women and women’s lives.” But will this promise be kept? Narrated by Tilda Swinton.

October
Deaf Jam
Aneta Brodski, a deaf teen living in New York City, discovers the power of American Sign Language poetry. As she prepares to be one of the first deaf poets to compete in a spoken-word slam, her journey leads to an unexpected collaboration.

November
We Still Live Here (Âs Nutayuneân)
The Wampanoag nation of southeastern Massachusetts ensured the survival of the first English settlers in America, and lived to regret it. AS NUTAYUNEAN – We Still Live Here tells the story of the return of the Wampanoag language, the first time a language with no Native speakers has been revived in this country. Spurred on by an indomitable linguist named Jessie Little Doe, the Wampanoag are bringing their language and their culture back.

December
Lioness
How did five female Army support soldiers–mechanics, supply clerks and engineers–end up fighting alongside the Marines in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq War? Directors Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers give an intimate look at war through the eyes of the first women in U.S. history sent into direct ground combat, despite a policy that bans them from doing so. Through harrowing personal stories, these women candidly share their experiences in Iraq as well as from their lives back home to form a portrait of the emotional and psychological effects of war.

January
Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock
As a black woman who was a feminist before the term was invented, Daisy Bates refused to accept her assigned place in society. The life of Daisy Bates tells the story of her life and public support of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, which culminated in a constitutional crisis–pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself.

February
More Than a Month
Shukree Hassan Tilghman, a 29-year-old African American filmmaker, is on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. Through this tongue-in-cheek journey, MORE THAN A MONTH investigates what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in a “post-racial” America.

March
Revenge of the Electric Car
Filmmaker Chris Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars. Without using a single drop of foreign oil, this new generation of car is America’s future: fast, furious, and cleaner than ever.

April
Hell and Back Again
What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home – injured physically and psychologically – and build a new life? HELL AND BACK AGAIN that asks and answers these questions with the conflict in Afghanistan as the backdrop. Two overlapping narratives intercut: the life of a Marine on the war front, and the life of the same Marine in recovery at home – creating a realistic depiction of how Marines experience this war.

May
Strong!
A formidable figure, standing at 5′8″ and weighing over 300 pounds, Cheryl Haworth struggles to defend her champion status as her lifetime weightlifting career inches towards its inevitable end. STRONG! chronicles her journey and the challenges this unusual elite athlete faces, exploring popular notions of power, strength, beauty and health.

Posted on May 6th, 2011

Join KLRU and the Austin Public Library for free Community Cinema screenings on the first Tuesday of the month at the Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr,). Screenings will start at 7 p.m. with a discussion to follow each of the films. The next screening will be Two Spirits on June 7.

Two Spirits
Filmmaker Lydia Nibley explores the cultural context behind the tragic and senseless murder of Fred Martinez, a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16. Two Spirits explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl, and the essentially spiritual nature of gender.

Posted on April 8th, 2011

Join KLRU and the Austin Public Library for free Community Cinema screenings on the first Tuesday of the month at the Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr,). Screenings will start at 7 p.m. with a discussion to follow each of the films. The next screening will be Welcome To Shelbyville on May 3rd.

Welcome To Shelbyville
Set in the heart of America’s Bible Belt, Welcome to Shelbyville focuses on a small Southern town as they grapple with rapid demographic change and issues of immigrant integration.

Posted on April 6th, 2011

Thanks to everyone who attended our Community Cinema screening of Bhutto on April 5. All of these books, dvds and audio recordings help give more perspective to the events in the documentary. Each item is available for check out at any of the Austin Public Libraries.

Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the secret trade in nuclear weapons   
    Levy, Adrian

Descent into chaos: the US and the failure of nation building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
    Rashid, Ahmed

Enough to go around: searching for hope in Afghanistan, Pakistan & Darfur
    Duncan, Chip

Frontline Pakistan: the struggle with militant Islam
    Hussain, Zahid
(more…)

Posted on April 1st, 2011

Join KLRU and the Austin Public Library for free Community Cinema screenings on the first Tuesday of the month at the Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr). Screenings will start at 7 p.m. with a discussion to follow each of the films. The next screening will be Bhutto on April 5th. As the first woman to lead an Islamic nation, Benazir Bhutto led a life of Shakespearean dimensions. Her untimely death sent shock waves throughout the world, transforming Bhutto from political messiah to a martyr in the hearts of her people.

Our guest speakers will be:
Gail Minault, University of Texas Professor in the Department of Asian Studies and editor of The Extended Family: Women and Political Participation in India and Pakistan

Khotan Shahbazi-Harmon, Khotan Shahbazi-Harmon, host of Idea Lounge on KOOP

Posted on March 4th, 2011

Join KLRU and the Austin Public Library for free Community Cinema screenings on the first Tuesday of the month at the Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr,). Screenings will start at 7 p.m. with a discussion to follow each of the films. The next screening will be Bhutto on April 5th.

Bhutto
As the first woman to lead an Islamic nation, Benazir Bhutto led a life of Shakespearean dimensions. Her untimely death sent shock waves throughout the world, transforming Bhutto from political messiah to a martyr in the hearts of her people.

Posted on March 1st, 2011

Join KLRU and the Austin Public Library for free Community Cinema screenings on the first Tuesday of the month at the Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr,). Screenings will start at 7 p.m. with a discussion to follow each of the films. The next screening will be Pushing the Elephant on March 1st.

Pushing the Elephant
Pushing The Elephant chronicles the story of Rose Mapendo and how she escaped from the ethnic violence of the Democratic Republic of Congo to become a vital voice to help mend her divided country.

Posted on January 31st, 2011

Join KLRU and the Austin Public Library for free Community Cinema screenings on the first Tuesday of the month at the Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr,). Screenings will start at 7 p.m. with a discussion to follow each of the films. The next screening will be Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story on February 1st.

Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story
Follows the sad and startling story of Cyntoia Brown, who is serving a life sentence for murder at the age of 16. The camera first glimpses her the week of her arrest at age 16 and follows her for nearly six years. Along the way, nationally renown juvenile forensic psychiatrist, Dr. William Bernet from Vanderbilt University, assesses her situation.