WHAT: 2008 Making Your Media Matter Conference
SPEAKERS:
- Julia Bacha, filmmaker, CONTROL ROOM
- Bristol Baughan, head of documentary film, Good magazine
- Heidi Boisvert, co-creator, "ICED!"
- Eric Brown, co-creator, "PeaceMaker"
- Salome Chasnoff, executive director, Beyondmedia Education
- Giovanna Chesler, filmmaker, G6 Pictures
- Sonya Childress, community outreach, HIP-HOP: BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES
- Leba Haber, filmmaker and interaction designer, WHERE MY LADIES AT?
- Daniel Hartman, director of business development, See3Communications
- Byron Hurt, filmmaker, HIP-HOP: BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES
- Leena Jayaswal, filmmaker, AN IMPRESSION: DISCHORD RECORDS
- Senain Kheshgi, filmmaker, Dishoom Pictures, PROJECT KASHMIR
- Nenad Maksimovic, program manager, CooperaTiVa TV Series, Academy for Educational Development
- Ivan Marovic, creator, "A Force More Powerful"
- Sameer Padania, manager, The Hub presented by Witness
- Dennis Palmieri, director of communications, Independent Television Service, carrier of "World Without Oil"
- Greta Patel, filmmaker, Dishoom Pictures, PROJECT KASHMIR
- Melissa Roberts, project manager, Free Range Studios
- Suzanne Seggerman, president and co-founder, Games for Change
- Virginia Williams, filmmaker, New View Films, FRONTRUNNER
- Leighton Woodhouse, communications director, Brave New Films
WHERE: Abramson Family Recital Hall, Katzen Arts Center, American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW; Washington, D.C., 20016
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 7 and Friday, Feb. 8; For times of specific events, see below
DETAILS: Registration is $100; $50 for students with ID. For information, call 202-885-3778
MEDIA:Maggie Barrett, AU Media Relations, 202-885-5951 or barrett@american.edu
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 10, 2008) - American University's Center for Social Media will hold the 2008 Making Your Media Matter Conference Thursday, Feb. 7 and Friday, Feb. 8. All events will be held in the Abramson Family Recital Hall in the university's Katzen Arts Center.
The conference is for established and aspiring filmmakers, non-profit communications leaders, funders and students looking to learn and share cutting-edge practices for creating media that matters.
Conference speakers include a variety of filmmakers, nonprofit communications executives, activists, outreach specialists and media pioneers. Panel discussions will address the latest tools and trends in creating and distributing social issue media. The schedule of events is as follows:
Feb. 7
- 4 to 5:30 p.m.: Registration and demos
- 5:30 p.m.: Larry Kirkman, dean of AU's School of Communication will deliver a welcome address.
- 5:45 to 7 p.m.: "Games for Social Change: How Games and Video are Playing Well Together"-Panel discussion focusing on how online games are mobilizing audiences around social issues. Panelists are Boisvert, Brown, Marovic and Palmieri. Moderated by Seggerman.
- 7 to 9 p.m.: Reception
Feb. 8
- 8 to 9 a.m.: Registration and demos
- 9 a.m.: Filmmaker George Stony will deliver a brief introduction.
- 9:15 to 10:30 a.m.: "Plight Entertainment" -Panel discussion focusing on how filmmakers can pitch and tell stories that address hard-to-swallow topics. Panelists are Bacha, Baughan, Chasnoff and Chesler. Moderated by Jayaswal.
- 11 a.m. to noon.: Keynote Address-Hurt and Childress discuss HIP-HOP: BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES, a film that explores issues of manhood, misogyny, violence and creativity in hip-hop.
- Noon to 1 p.m.: Birds of a Feather Lunch-Conference attendees and panelists discuss different topics in break out groups during lunch.
- 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: "Crossing Cultural Boundaries"-Discussion and presentation about how filmmakers and organizations are using media to promote intercultural understanding. Panelists are Kheshgi, Maksimovic, Patel and Williams.
- 3 to 4:30 p.m.: "Short Shorts and Hot Platforms" -Panel discussion featuring some of the most progressive practitioners on the public media landscape openly discussing their successes and failures. Panelists are Haber, Padania, Roberts and Woodhouse. Moderated by Hartman.
