FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2015
AIFF PARTNERS WITH COMMUNITY & IMMIGRATION LEADERS.
The Arlington International Film Festival is honored to partner with community and immigration leaders to bring DON’T TELL ANYONE to Boston, a film that encourages a shift in our culture in shaping how people talk about immigration and immigration reform and what that means not only for Boston but our country at-large.
Synopsis: In a community where silence is seen as necessary for survival, immigrant activist Angy Riverajoins a generation of Dreamers ready to push for change in the only home she’s ever known — the United States. Hers is the quintessential Americ succes story: Angy is the author of the country’s first and only advice column for undocumented youth, and her YouTube channel boasts over 27,000 views as she comes out of the shadows to inspire her peers.
Mikaela Shwer is an award-winning editor and filmmaker with a passion for bringing important stories to life. Her work was recognized early in her career when she won the Emerging Editor award with the short film 100 Mountains for the Adobe Real Ideas Studio student program at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Since then, Shwer has worked on numerous projects for HBO, the Sundance Channel and PBS, including the Peabody Award-winning series Brick City and critically acclaimed independent films Call Me Kuchu and Like the Water. In 2012, Shwer joined Steeplechase Films, working with award-winning filmmaker Ric Burns to help bring vibrant documentaries to the screen.
Emerson College: The Bright Lights screening and talk series is sponsored by the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College.The mission of the series is to provide engaging visual media related events to the Emerson College community as well as the wider Boston community. These events range from screening of student, faculty and alumni work to the work of local, national and international artists as well as demonstrations, lectures, discussions and presentations by industry professionals. Bright Lights seeks to create an environment where visual media is not only viewed and appreciated but where a dialogue is fostered and a community of media makers, academics and aficionados are engaged and supported. All events are free and open to the public. Events take place every Tuesday and Thursday evening during the semester with the exception of occasions when the college is closed (such as holidays, spring break, inclement weather). http://Emerson.edu/brightlights
The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) is the largest organization in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees. We serve the Commonwealth's one million foreign-born residents with policy analysis and advocacy, institutional organizing, research, training and leadership development, and strategic communications. http://www.miracoalition.org
FWD.us is an advocacy organization created to help organize the broader tech community to promote a bipartisan policy agenda – including comprehensive immigration reform, education reform, and support for scientific research – that will boost the knowledge economy to ensure more jobs, innovation and investment, now and in the future. You can learn more at http://www.FWD.us
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 400 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, their unforgettable storytelling and their timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues. http://www.pbs.org/pov
Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) is an award winning organization with its mission being to foster appreciation for different cultures by exploring the lives of people around the globe through independent film. In 2013, AIFF was awarded the Alan McClennen Community Arts Award by the Arlington Center for the Arts and the Gold Star Award by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Through the founding and growth of AIFF, the mission has also focused on enriching the community and broadening the view of our world and ourselves. Utilizing the power of collaboration, AIFF has engaged and involved students, volunteers, businesses and town leaders, fellow arts organizations, and of course, filmmakers and directors from around the world. AIFF believes that the arts are here to connect us, to communicate across boundaries, and touch our common humanity. For festival and year-round programming, please visit our website: www.aiffest.org
Contacts:
Anna Feder / Director of Programming
Bright Lights Film Series
Emerson College
anna_feder@emerson.edu
www.Emerson.edu/brightlights
Jeff Gross / Director of New Americans Integration Institute
MIRA Coalition
jgross@miracoalition.org
www.mira.org
Andi Dankert / FWD.us
andi@fwd.us
www.FWD.us
J. Alberto Guzman / Arlington International Film Festival
arlingtonfilmfest@gmail.com
www.AIFFest.org
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