Rachel Gordon Media

Welcome to the improved EnergizedFilms.com! Please be sure to write with any useful feedback!

I’ve confirmed shooting dates for the introductory documentary to homeopathy I’ve been working on for the past year – currently titled Full Body Centric – going to be at the American College of Homeopathy in Phoenix May 22-26!

New Projects!

I’m working with a new film! Focusing on life story and background of Louisa May Alcott, and having aired on PBS’ American Masters, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women explores her adventures as well as the rich cultural context in which she created literature both childlike and dark. You can find out more about the film by going to www.alcottfilm.com

News!

ALA??? Though not confirmed yet, I will most likely be attending the annual American Library Association conference in DC in June so please let me know if we can connect there!

AsiaPacificFilms.com received a really wonderful mention in The Ebert Club’s recent newsletter! I’m not a member, but perhaps you are and will be able to appreciate the write-up.

Diana Braun will be speaking with Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy at the AAIDD conference (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) June 9-11 in Rhode Island. This panel discussion will also include Dr. Valerie Karr of the Victor Pineda Foundation and Dr. Hank Bersani and will be focusing on the specifics of how Diana set up and maintained her independent lifestyle with Kathy. Diana also just participated in the Disability Policy Seminar sponsored by the Association of University Centers on Disability in Washington DC.

Body & Soul also screened at the PacRim Conference on Disabilities in Hawaii on April 13.

And a new way to use film – Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy is being used by the College of Direct Support to train direct care service providers. A curriculum was developed by CDS based on the film and it just launched this month! It was presented with ANCOR and with Pennsylvania Providers Conference. More information can be found at www.collegeofdirectsupport.com

Thanks much for your support and innovation in using independent films in your community. Stay tuned for a link to Kickstarter.com for Full Body Centric as well as purchasing links to my previous films.

How quickly 3 months have passed! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season and have had a productive start for 2010!

For those of you interested in Asian Studies, or living in Philadelphia, I will be attending the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies on behalf of AsiaPacificFilms.com from March 25-28. I’m looking forward to it, they have such interesting discussions programmed!

Second personal bit of fun news is that I was recently the focus of a blog post concerning the film that I am now in post-production on, In the Family Way. I got called a superhero and she even went into all of my previous films. I am still speechless, at least speechless for me.

http://www.homunculusprods.com/directing-way-rachel-gordon-director-family-way

I will be participating in a conference call with the MFA Documentary program at the University of North Texas on March 25 for a discussion focused on helping film students understand the marketing and distribution landscape for their finished films.

Alice Elliott and Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy have the most news:

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy is now part of the American Documentary Showcase, a program of contemporary documentaries offered to US Embassies for screening abroad. Funded by, and as a cooperative program with, the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, the Showcase is designed to promote American documentaries and their filmmakers at international venues. For more information go to www.documentary.org

Alice participated in a United Nations Television interview about disability rights being human rights for the series Global Connections. It has already started airing and continues to do so.

Alice going to Israel with film for their first international film festival about challenging the concept of disability. The Reframing Reality Film Festival is April 27-29.

Alice was a guest lecture the School of Visual Arts series Process and Style based on her experience with The Collector of Bedford Street.

Diana Braun just gave speeches on March 5 and 6 at both the St. Louis Arc and the Down Syndrome Association of St. Louis.

To keep up with Alice and Diana, visit www.welcomechange.org

To wrap things up this time I share an article by fellow (awesome) filmmaker Randi Cecchine, which contemplates how funding can affect styles of filmmaking:

http://www.aivf.org/magazine/2010/03/doc_funds_and_form

Thanks for your continued interest in independent film. If you wish me to delete you from this list, don’t hesitate to ask. Please also feel free to forward along to anyone you think might be interested.

Rachel