Conscious Filmmaking: Creators and Supporters of Stories That Change Us
SAT 10/4 // Doors Open 12:00pm // Panel Starts @ 12:30pm
(Tickets give you free access to opening night party @ Lot45 sponsored by Hotel BPM *** MUST RSVP)
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The Bushwick Film Festival believes in the power of conscious filmmaking. We love stories that transform the way we think, challenge the status quo, raise awareness to social issues and have an enlightened purpose. This year, we're presenting a special panel centered around the personal, social, and global benefits of using filmmaking as a tool to positively impact our communities through thought provoking and humanitarian efforts.
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Featured Panelists Include:
Marc Bicking: President of Epic Stone Productions
Marc Bicking is the founder of EpicStone Productions, a media financing company. After 30 years in corporate finance, he entered into the world of professional acting. He worked in television and film most notably in the role as full time stand in and photo double for Jack Nicholson. He formed BG Vehicles, LLC which provides vehicles for productions set within the 1960's to current day. Recognizing the opportunities within digital media and new channels of distribution, EpicStone was formed to assist up and coming writers, directors and producers to finance socially responsible and economically viable productions.
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Vivianne Njoku: Director of Cultural Sustainability of Filmmakers Without Borders
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, raised in and around Washington, DC, and currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, Vivianne A. Njoku/Van Alexander is a multi-media artist working most prominently in video, drum kit, performative storytelling and education. Professionally, Ms. Njoku has spent numerous years providing her services as a video artist for festivals, musicians and non-profits, as well as instructing youth in video production and progressive arts. The common thread in Ms. Njoku’s past and present work is providing youth with the tools to empower themselves to become critically-engaged citizens who strive for a just, equitable society.
Filmmakers Without Borders is fueled by creative minds operating at the intersection of art, education, and technology. Headquartered in New York City, our team of professional educators, filmmakers, and technologists is committed to leveraging the filmmaking process as a vehicle for promoting student empowerment and cross-cultural exchange in the developing world. It is our mission to connect experienced, passionate, and talented filmmakers/arts educators with youth in underserved communities.
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Lisa Dent: Director, Resources & Award Programs at Creative Capital
Lisa Dent is the Director, Resources & Award Programs at Creative Capital. Previously, Dent served as the associate curator of contemporary art at the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, held curatorial staff positions at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, and was a director at Friedrich Petzel Gallery in New York. In addition, Dent has worked in film and the performing arts as a scenic designer, art director, and producer on numerous projects. From 2004-08, Dent owned and managed Lisa Dent Gallery in San Francisco, where she presented the work of emerging and mid-career international artists including Makoto Aida, Matthew Cusick, Marcia Kure, Shane Aslan Selzer, Tim Sullivan, Basil Twist, Robin Ward and Hank Willis Thomas. She has taught courses in art history and production design at Cooper Union, University of California, Davis, Columbus College of Art and Design, and The Ohio State University. Dent received her BFA from Howard University, her MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and completed the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program in curatorial studies.
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Laurel Gwizdak: Education Director, Reel Works
Laurel Gwizdak is an educator, participatory filmmaker and community media activist dedicated to ensuring more people around the world can create and watch films that inspire action and connection. She works as the Education Director at Reel Works, a nonprofit filmmaking program that teaches documentary filmmaking to at-risk youth in Brooklyn. Previously she has worked as a Producer and Editor at Maryland Public Television and Stone Soup Films and a media educator at The Gandhi Brigade. Laurel is grateful to have the opportunity to work with communities around the globe – as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine, a Media Educator working with 10,000 Girls in Senegal and as a volunteer working with Video Volunteer’s IndiaUnheard program. Laurel holds a BA in Cinema Production from San Francisco State University and an MA in International Development Studies from The George Washington University where she focused her research on youth development and participatory filmmaking methodology.