“It's confirmation that movies are worth making when people around the world tell me they identify with a character in my film.”
—Debra Granik, FILM FORWARD Filmmaker
Destinations California/Mexico

California/Mexico

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  • Where: Imperial County, CA and Mexicali, Mexico
    When: February 26-March 1, 2013

    FILM FORWARD partners for a second year with the Imperial County Film Commission and Mexicali Rose for a border-crossing program in Imperial Valley, CA and Mexicali, Mexico.  Filmmakers Stacy Peralta (Bones Brigade: An Autobiography) and Jerry Rothwell (Town of Runners) join the program for four days of film screenings, discussions, and workshops at venues as diverse as cultural centers, a skate shop, high schools, outdoor screening venues, libraries, museums, and the legendary Slab City.  

    Bones Brigade: An Autobiography shares the story of the famous “Bones Brigade” skateboarding team as they transition from being outsiders to discovering what it truly means to “win”.  Town of Runners follows four young Olympic hopefuls from training with their coach in the small town of Bekoji, Ethopia to joining national running teams as they grapple with modernity entering their traditional way of life.

    Other films that will be screening with this program but without filmmaker representatives are: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Chasing Ice, The Light In Her Eyes, The Loving Story, Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna), and Valley of Saints.

    Schedule Of Events

    All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

    Tuesday, February 26th
    11:00am: Town of Runners (Private)
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Imperial High School

    3:30pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Director Stacy Peralta will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    San Diego State University, Imperial Valley Campus

    5:30pm: The Loving Story
    El Centro Community Garden

    5:30pm: Beasts of the Southern Wild
    El Centro Library

    5:30pm: Chasing Ice
    Imperial Valley Desert Museum

    6:00pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Director Stacy Peralta will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    City of Brawley Skate Park

    7:00pm: Town of Runners
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Ejido Estación Delta
    Cancha Central

    7:00pm: Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Centro Estatal de las Artes (CEART)
    Foro Experimental
    Calzada de los Presidentes y Ciudad Victoria s/n, Zona del Rio Nuevo

    Wednesday, February 27th
    12:00pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Director Stacy Peralta will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    UABC University, Centro de Estudios y Producción Audiovisual (UABC) Sala de Cine, Jose Antonio Prieto s/n Ex Ejido Coahuila, Unidad Universitaria Mexicali II

    1:15pm: Town of Runners (Private)
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Calexico High School

    5:00pm: Town of Runners
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    UABC University, Centro de Estudios y Producción Audiovisual (UABC) Sala de Cine, Jose Antonio Prieto s/n Ex Ejido Coahuila, Unidad Universitaria Mexicali II

    5:30pm: Chasing Ice
    El Centro Community Garden

    5:30pm: Valley of Saints
    Imperial Valley Desert Museum

    7:00pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Director Stacy Peralta will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Cheap Tricks Skate Shop

    7:00pm: Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Ejido Estación Delta
    Cancha Central

    8:00pm: Valley of Saints
    Centro Estatal de las Artes (CEART)
    Foro Experimental
    Calzada de los Presidentes y Ciudad Victoria s/n, Zona del Rio Nuevo

    Thursday, February 28th
    9:00am: Town of Runners (Private)
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Cecyte Misiones
    Calzada Continente Europeo y Calle Arroyo Calamajue s/n
    Fraccionamiento Valle de las Misiones

    12:00pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Director Stacy Peralta will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Juanita Salazar Lowe Art Gallery at Imperial Valley College

    2:00pm: Town of Runners (Private)
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Southwest High School

    5:30pm: Valley of Saints
    El Centro Community Garden

    5:30pm: Under The Same Moon (La Misma Luna)
    El Centro Library

    5:30pm: The Light In Her Eyes
    Imperial Library

    5:30pm: The Loving Story
    Imperial Valley Desert Museum

    6:00pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Fraccionamiento Casa Digna

    5:30pm: Town of Runners
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    The Range at Slab City

    7:30pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Director Stacy Peralta will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    The Range at Slab City

    Friday, March 1st
    10:00am: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography  & Town of Runners Workshops (Private)
    Directors Stacy Peralta and Jerry Rothwell will share their perspectives on documentary filmmaking
    UABC University, Centro de Estudios y Producción Audiovisual (UABC) Sala de Cine, Jose Antonio Prieto s/n Ex Ejido Coahuila, Unidad Universitaria Mexicali II

    1:00pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography  & Town of Runners Workshops (Private)
    Directors Stacy Peralta and Jerry Rothwell will share their perspectives on documentary filmmaking
    Mexicali Rose

    5:00pm: Town of Runners
    Director Jerry Rothwell will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Instituto de Investigaciones Culturales 

    5:30pm: Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Imperial Valley Desert Museum

    8:00pm: Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
    Director Stacy Peralta will be in attendance for Q&A following the film
    Casa de la Cultura
    Avenida Madero y Altamirano
    Zona Centro

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    In The News

  • Program Collaborators

    Imperial County Film Commission
    The Imperial County Film Commission is a nonprofit organization proactively marketing Imperial County as a destination for the motion picture, television and related industries, for the purpose of stimulating economic development, creating jobs, providing and supporting educational opportunities in Imperial County.

    Mexicali Rose
    Mexicali Rose is a grass roots communitarian organization dedicated to providing free access to artistic media for the community youth of Mexicali, Baja California. Mexicali Rose Media/Arts Center is located in the neighborhood of Pueblo Nuevo, one of the city's oldest and most vibrant areas historically and the area closest in physical vicinity to the U.S./Mexico border. The organizers were brought up and are based in this region and recognize a real need for different options for the youth of this community.

    The purpose of this project is to give bordertown youth an avenue to express themselves and reflect their environment creatively and positively through art. By giving this craft to communities who might not otherwise have any media-related voice or capabilities, the project serves as a positive alternative to a new generation. Through art, kids can express and affect the issues that they are undergoing as young people in a place as culturally diverse and challenging as the U.S./Mexico border.

    The target age for the youth involved in this artistic community is 14-25 years of age.

    Venues

    Imperial Valley College
    Serving about 11,800 students last year, Imperial Valley College is comprised of one main campus (160 acres) in the midst of rich agricultural land, and an extended campus. The main campus consists of over 30 buildings situated on a beautifully landscaped corner, adjacent to major highways for ease of commute. The Imperial Valley College student population consists of 86% Hispanic students; 63% of total students are female. The average age of IVC students is 27 years, and more than 50% of the students work full or part time while attending IVC.

    UABC, Mexicali
    The Audiovisual Studies and Production Center (CEPA) is part of the School of Arts of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, and acts as a coordinator of the University's production in TV and video, assists in the specialization of the field, operates the University's Television Broadcast System as an outreach for knowledge in the arts and sciences, and acts as support for teaching and learning processes, promoting the institution and establishing a connection between the University and society. 

    CEART, Mexicali
    Since its opening on January 31st, 2005, the Centro Estatal de las Artes (CEART) has constructed itself as a space covering the necessities for artistic formation, production and promotion in the region. This State Arts Center of Baja California was conceived as a space for convergence destined to elevate the quality of the professional exercise of the arts, via formative programs, workshops, investigation, experimentation, creation and promotion of the different artistic disciplines practiced by specialists and creators of national and international prestige. 

    Instituto de Investigaciones Culturales (Musuem)
    The Instituto de Investigaciones Culturales-Museo (IIC-Museo) is a one of a kind institution in Mexico. It is an academic unit of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC)  which carries out activities proper to an investigations institute as well as the tasks belonging to a museum. It is a space that promotes 1) the scientific investigation of sociocultural phenomena belonging to the Mexican border region, 2) teaching oriented towards the formation of specialists in the matter, 3) the dissemination of the products of this investigation via museum exhibits, publications, seminars, book releases and other cultural events, and 4) the conservation of archaeological, ethnographic and historical collections that are a result of the proper investigations and of private donations. In this sense, this is an institute that preoccupies itself with the generation of knowledge, debate with specialists and contact with non-specialized audiences.   

    Casa de la Cultura
    Casa de la Cultura is one of the leading  cultural institutions in Mexicali.  It is a multi-disciplinary space where different artistic methods of expression are taught, such as music, photography, painting, and dance.  It is also a space for the exhibition of fine art, audiovisual works, theater, as well as home to the city's municipal photo archive.  Housed in one of Mexicali's iconic buildings, Casa de la Cultura continues to create, develop and promote some of the city's leading artists and proposals.

    Imperial Valley Desert Museum
    The Imperial Valley Desert Museum is a new facility in the heart of the Yuha Desert housing Native American and historic artifacts collected from within the Imperial Valley. Opening a new museum in the twenty-first century, we do not want to be seen as an exhibit within four walls, but we want to engage and interact outside of the limitations of the “box,” our new building, both metaphorically and physically. We are currently developing interactive exhibits to engage visitors with the Imperial Valley’s rich desert history.

    Slab City 
    Slab City is actually the abandoned Camp Dunlap Marine Training Facility, formerly located 3 miles east of Niland, California. This 640-acre compound, located approximately 120 feet below sea level in the desert near Salton Sea, began operating October 15, 1942 as a training ground for US troops during World War II. On March 5, 1946, it's operations ceased, and the buildings were removed and sold. By 1961, the base had been completely dismantled and abandoned. Only the cement foundations of buildings remained, thus providing a convenient name for the area, Slab City. Soon afterwards, RV campers began to occupy the area during winter months to take advantage of the rent-free parking. Attendance steadily grew over the years, and now thousands of visitors return to "The Slabs" each winter to enjoy the relatively mild climate and escape the harsh conditions found elsewhere.

    CECYTE Misiones (High School)
    CECYTE high schools serve the community by developing competent students ready to face the professional challenges that lie ahead in local, regional, and global environments.  CECYTE Misiones high school has built a positive presence in the often underserved West Side community of Mexicali, often referred to as "Santorales."   

    Ejido Estación Delta and Ejido Hipolito Renteria are Mexicali valley communities struggling to reconstruct after the 2010 earthquake.  Ejido Estación Delta was recently part of a Mexicali valley beautification effort via locally produced mosaic murals, right in the courtyard where the screenings would take place.  Video documentary of the community and mural process: http://vimeo.com/45392712

    Cheap Tricks Skate Shop, El Centro
    Cheap Tricks Skate Shop opened up in 2009 with the intention of being true to the core of skateboarding and to give skaters of the Imperial Valley a place to call home. Cheap Tricks is owned and operated by local skateboarders and remains completely dedicated to the skate scene. 

    El Centro Community Garden
    El Centro Community Garden is a grassroots program headed by local gardener Vincent Zazueta, whose mission is to "bring food to the hood." Their goal is to encourage younger generations to reconnect with the land. 

    City of Imperial Library
    The City of Imperial Library was first established in the City of Imperial in 1909 and had a total of 101 books. Carnegie library was built in 1909 and opened for business in 1910. It was devastated in the 1940 earthquake and subsequently had to be torn down. Temporary facilities were utilized during the war years and post-war years, until a new library could be built. The Library as it exists today was opened in 1953; therefore the City of Imperial Public Library is the Imperial Valley's oldest operating library.

    City of El Centro Library

    San Diego State University

    Brawley Skate Park

    Imperial High School

    Calexico High School

    Southwest High School

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