Born into Brothels

from the BBC: Born into a brothel in the Indian city of Calcutta, Avijit Halder's life has undergone a dramatic transformation.

The 20-year-old is currently pursuing a degree at one of the top film schools in the US. It all started with the filming of an Oscar-winning documentary, Born into Brothels, which dealt with the lives of the children of Indian sex workers.
Avijit Halder was one of eight children of sex workers who featured in the 2004 documentary film, co-directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. read rest of article

Kids with Cameras foundation

HRW YOUTH PRODUCING CHANGE: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

I posted this on the CoCo website, but I thought I'd put it here as well. If anyone is working with youth filmmakers, the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival has put out their Call for Submissions for 2010. Check out the website for the submission form, and the deadline is December 10, 2009.



Please spread the word!

Housing is a Human Right NYC multimedia project

Housing is a Human Right Teaser from Housing is a Human Right on Vimeo.

housingisahumanright.org

Housing is a Human Right is a multi-media documentary portrait of the struggle for Home in New York City. The project collects and shares first person stories of Home, community and ongoing efforts to maintain or obtain housing, celebrating our desire for a place to call Home. The stories act as a reminder that home is as tenuous a space in New York City as the shelter that sustains it.

Watch Housing is a Human Right Videos

Waterfire Providence

Waterfire Providence , a sculpture by Barnaby Evans installed on the three rivers of downtown Providence. WaterFire’s one hundred sparkling bonfires, the fragrant scent of aromatic wood smoke, the flickering firelight on the arched bridges, the silhouettes of the firetenders passing by the flames, the torch-lit vessels traveling down the river, and the enchanting music from around the world engage all the senses and emotions of those who stroll the paths of Waterplace Park. WaterFire has captured the imagination of over ten million visitors, bringing life to downtown, and revitalizing Rhode Island’s capital city.

Youth Film Program Suggestions

The Human Rights Watch film festival is looking for youth filmmaking programs to collaborate with this year. If you know of any organizations that are working on a film project, let me know!

Hope you're all having a good school year.

Chrissie Orr's Santa Fe Project on Migration, Rights

El Otro Lado is an unusual collaborative public art project by Chrissie Orr about migration, human rights, boundaries and a sense of home, underway in Santa Fe, N.M.T he intergenerational cross cultural participants are actively involved in developing symbolic maps/cartograms, visual representations and audio recordings of their stories, their journeys, their landmarks, their boundaries and their sense of place and home. 

An intensive series of workshops are underway with youth at Tierra Encantado Charter School, with additional workshops for families, women, children and individual community members. The workshops are specifically designed to provide a safe space for all to be able to share and express delicate stories and topics in relation to migration, journey and human rights. Community-based organizations, art institutions, educational entities and positive community mentors supported the design of the workshops. El Otro Lado provides the opportunity for a community-wide activation of the perennial and profound inquiry into, “Who am I?”

El Otro Lado BLOG

Community Artists on the Job

The Long, Hot Summer of Service: Community Artists on The Job

By Arlene Goldbard

And the word for this summer is … service! New national service initiatives are making headlines, generating new hopes for community arts jobs. Read on to learn what’s happening right now and to explore what could happen in the lead-up to 2010, the 75th anniversary of “Federal One,” the constellation of federal arts programs that employed an estimated 40,000 writers, performers, visual artists and others from 1935-39. read on

this is from the CAN website

also take a look at
Social Imagination: Documenting Engagement in Canada: nine mid-career artists from across Canada to examine the practice of community-based arts and the potential of digital video as a means to document the aesthetics of engagement inherent in their work.