Next member meeting

The Annual Artist member meeting will take place on November 4 at 12pm at our Melwood Avenue location. The primary item on the agenda is to conduct the election for seats on the Board of Directors of Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Read Statements from Members Running for the seats on the Board of Directors by clicking here.

To be eligible to vote in this election, you must have attended one of the Quarterly Members Meetings in 2006 and be a current member in good standing. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please feel free to contact amy@pghfilmmakers.org. To read about the candidates running for election, please see the list below.

Agenda 11/4/07

1. Call to Order

2. Voting for Board of Directors

3. State of the Organization

4. Election Announcements

5. Other Business

Starting at 11:30am, light brunch will be served to all members attending this meeting. Please join us for coffee, juice and breakfast treats.

Access member: Bob LaBobgah

Jul 19, 2007

Bob LaBobgah will present his films installation “Dada Puppet & The Oracle Trilogy” at Gallery 707, on Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. Opens August 31, 2007, 5-8pm, and runs through Oct 6.

Access member: Areya Simmons

Jul 19, 2007

Artist member Areya Simmons, who heads to college this fall at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia, will major in Film and Television. She credits her experiences at Pittsburgh Filmmakers for her choice of study.

"The Media Literacy workshop that I took part in with Teresa Foley was a wonderful learning experience," Simmons says. "It was one of the things that turned my interest in documentary video production into a complete passion and respect for the art of the film medium."

In August 2005 — at the age of 16 — Areya made her first film, "Hg and Me," based on her own experiences with mercury poisoning. She edited this project at Filmmakers. The film won First Runner-up and Viewers Choice at the SciTech Spectacular C.A.U.S.E. Challenge, a student film festival sponsored by Bayer Corporation. It was later chosen as an Official Selection in the 3rd Annual Denver International Indigenous Film and Arts Festival. That experience led to her full immersion into the medium.

This year Areya received the Gates Millennium Scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates began awarding 1,000 college scholarships to deserving minority students this year. Of the 11 recipients from PA, Areya Simmons is the only Gates Scholar from Pittsburgh.

Areya was born in Pittsburgh, but lived in Somerset County until the end of eighth grade, when she moved back to Pittsburgh. She attended Woodland Hills High for one semester before leaving due to illness. Her mother, Stephanie, home-schooled her through the end of high school.

Also an avid golfer, Areya has completed a second short documentary, produced vignettes for UPMC, edited presentations, and is currently working on her first feature-length documentary. Furthermore, Areya has taken dual-curricula college courses at the Community College of Allegheny County, and has volunteered in her community for over a decade. To learn more about this accomplished teen, visit her website at www.areyasimmons.com.

Access member: Andrew Maietta

Feb 28, 2007

Rumor of Blue Sky is a documentary-in-progress about the historic smog disaster in the industrial town of Donora, Pennsylvania. In October 1948 an air temperature inversion trapped a thick cloud of industrial pollution in this Monongahela Valley town. During the six-day environmental event, half the area’s population – 6,910 people – became ill and 20 lives were lost. The tragedy was the impetus leading to the first federal Clean Air Act.

A series of twenty-two oral histories have been captured on high-definition videotape (about 24 hours of footage). This collection of first-hand accounts, conducted by oral historians from Steel Industry Heritage Corporation and the Donora Historical Society, captures the smog survivors’ dramatic recollections of life in Donora before, during, and after the smog tragedy. Retired workers give us a view from inside the mills and how little workers and employers were aware of the dangers of industrial pollution at the time. According to one lifelong resident, "We had to sweep our porches almost everyday to get rid of the particulate matter that came from the mills. Smoke from the mills meant that the men were working, and we had what we needed to survive."

Through the use of videotaped oral histories, expert testimonies, archival materials acquired from period newspaper and magazine articles, newsreels, personal memorabilia, and present-day footage of the town, the filmmakers hope to advance our knowledge and understanding of this episode in our area’s history.

Rumor of Blue Sky — Producer/Director: Andrew Maietta; Associate Producer: Janet Whitney; Director of Photography: Mark Knobile; Audio Recordist: Dino DiStefano; Camera Assistant: Jeff Garton; Fiscal Conduit: Pittsburgh Filmmakers; Funding Provided by: Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Pennsylvania Heritage Parks Program, and The Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission.

Access member: Charlotte Gylnn

Feb 28, 2007

Two years ago I began shooting a feature-length documentary about my sister Rachel who is mentally retarded. The film is structured by the fight to fulfill Rachel's dream of living in a group home. Through this narrative thread more complex themes will be explored - who Rachel is, what it means to be a young adult with a developmental disabilities, my relationship with Rachel, and our mother's struggle to provide a quality life for her daughter.

This is a film that moves past the safety of political correctness and into Rachel's real world, a world that is full of interesting contradictions. Rachel loves magazines, newspapers, pencils, and pens but she can't read or write. She loves rap music and hoodie sweatshirts and has been so influenced by pop culture that she actually refers to things as "retarded." This film is not about trying to find a way for Rachel to fit into society, but helping her find a life that will make her happy.

We are currently in post production and hope to finish the film by January 2008, all we need is the money to finish editing it!

Access member: Chris Strollo

Feb 17, 2007

Two Pittsburgh based production and re-recording sound mixers – Chris Strollo and Sue Hartford – will be up for a Cinema Audio Society award in the Television Non-Fiction catagory. The awards will be held at The Biltmore Hotel in Hollywood. Their work was featured in 2006 on the PBS Series NOVA. The High Definition film titled "The Great Robot Race" was produced and directed by Joseph Seamans & Jason Spingarn-Koff. Joseph Seamans has worked out of Pittsburgh producing for National Geographic, WQED and WGBH of Boston. The film was narrated by actor John Lithgow and photographed by Mark Knobil.

The premise of the piece was to follow the contestants of the DARPA Grand Challenge: a Pentagon sponsored contest with a $2 million dollar prize. The goal was to create a driverless vehicle that could cross a 130 mile stretch of the Mojave desert. Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon Robotics program featured two autonomous Hummers in the race and were key subjects in the documentary.

For more details on the film see the NOVA website.
For info on the Cinema Audio Awards see their site.

Access member Bob LaBobgah Wins State Grant

Jan 31, 2007

Sixty-eight outstanding artists representing 22 counties in Pennsylvania have been named 2007 Individual Creative Artists Fellowship recipients, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts announced today. The goal of the PCA’s Individual Creative Artists Division is to encourage and enable outstanding Pennsylvania artists of all backgrounds to perform their work and display it to the public. The Council annually awards Fellowships of $5,000 and $10,000. Recipients are recommended after a rigorous evaluation process where qualified arts professionals review applicants’ work samples and support materials. The review process is anonymous, with the exception of the Arts Commentary and Folk & Traditional Arts applicants.

The Council works with partner organizations that provide administrative services for the PCA’s Fellowship program, collaborating this year with the Institute for Cultural Partnerships, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is a state agency that works to develop and promote the continued excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania, as well as to broaden the availability and appreciation of arts throughout the state.

2007 FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS in Allegheny County

Vicky Clark ($5,000 ... Arts Commentary - Perspectives on the Arts)
Julie Albright ($5,000 ... Literature - Fiction)
Fiona Cheong ($10,000 ... Literature - Fiction)
Sherrie Flick ($5,000 ... Literature - Fiction)
Mark OConnor ($5,000 ... Literature - Creative Non-Fiction)
Kevin Stemmler ($5,000 ... Literature - Fiction)
Drew Pavelchak ($5,000 ... Media Arts - Narrative and Animation)
Bob Labobgah ($5,000 ... Theatre - New Performance Forms)
James Osher ($5,000 ... Visual Arts - Photography).

Artist members: Tiffany Ludwig & Renee Piechocki

Two Girls Working (Tiffany Ludwig & Renee Piechocki) will be in an upcoming exhibition at Dr. M. T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery at St John's University. From the Inside Out: Feminist Art Then and Now, curated by Claudia Sbrissa, February 22 - April 21, 2007, features a broad range of feminist art activity, from the early work of first-generation artists and recent work from contemporary artists. This show is part of the Feminist Art Project.

Artist member: Charlotte Toal

Artist member Charlotte Toal was part of the September 11 Memorial Portfolio of 445 donated prints and works on paper at VanDeb Editions Gallery in NYC.  The exhibit has been shown at hospitals, schools and university galleries throughout the country. Presented all together, the images have had a tremendous effect on thousands and thousands of people.

Announcing Recipients of the 2006 First Works Grants

For nearly 20 years small cash grants have been awarded to students and artist members who show promise. It was designed for beginning film and video makers to create a polished first work, which could then be used as a sample work to secure additional funding. This year nine grants were awarded, totaling $4800.

The winners are:
Matthew Bulleri, student (LaRoche College)
Shea Bordo, independent student
Jessica Coen, member (Point Park graduate)
Matt Cummings, student (Point Park University)
Melissa Downes, student (Point Park University)
Sean Eisele, student (University of Pittsburgh)
Andrew Keleman, student (University of Pittsburgh)
Thomas Oliver, student (Carnegie Mellon University)
Joshua Tonies, member

Judges this year were Thomas Poole and Sharmila Venkatasubban. Poole is Executive Director of the Public Access television station in the city, Pittsburgh Community Television. Venkatasubban is Assistant Curator for SPACE, an art gallery in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Applicants were judged on artistic promise based on an evaluation of the submitted sample works and the proposed projects.

The program is funded by Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Point Park University and Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

Winners of the 2006 High School Scholarship competition

Four winners were selected from over a dozen applicants to the competition. Each of the winners receives a scholarship to one of our summer workshops for high school students.

Jingyang Cheng (video) - Upper St. Clair
Katie Kaplan (video, photoshop art) - CAPA
Jamie Martina (video) - Mt. Lebanon
Daniel Roth (photography) - Winchester Thurston

Spotlight Member, Henry Simonds
The Forgotten to be released on home video!

1918 Productions, LLC and Headwater Films, LLC are pleased to announce the release of 2003’s The Forgotten on DVD and VHS.  The highly anticipated release of this award winning film will also kick off the start of a charitable donation program supporting US Veterans.

The Forgotten is set in Korea in October, 1950.  U.N. forces have crossed the 38th Parallel marking the beginning of the invasion of North Korea. During a vicious enemy assault, a decimated U.S. Army Tank Platoon flees in retreat, and two tanks find themselves lost and isolated from the company. Corporal William Byrne, an idealistic, God-fearing young enlistee, gets thrown into command of the stranded tanks after the death of the platoon's Sergeant. Fighting against unseen enemies and waning spirits, the tanks crisscross the unfamiliar landscape in search of hope and allies. Death, dissention, and a wounded North Korean POW test the wills of William and his crew. Struggling to maintain his faith, William's only escape from the suffering and frustration of war are the memories of his wife and the delusions of his morphine-addled mind. His story and that of the journey of tank crew Cowboy 2 is a story of sacrifice and a quest for redemption in a world where humanity and nature collide.

About The Forgotten
Filmed in eastern Pennsylvania in 2002, The Forgotten was released in late 2003 at several prestigious film festivals winning the Grand Jury Prize and Best Narrative Feature at Artsfest and Best Feature at the Sedona Film Festival.  The Forgotten was also selected as the opening night film for the 2004 Three Rivers Film Festival and the opening day film at the Riverrun International Film Festival.

About Headwater Films, LLC
Henry J. Simonds founded Headwater Films in 2001 to develop and finance his own film narrative & documentary projects as well as explore other media-based art.  Already an award winning writer and editor of documentaries, this is Henry’s first feature narrative project as a producer.

For additional information, log on to www.theforgottenthemovie.com.