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 Pleasantville, NY - Four senior citizens from Westchester County are telling their life stories to 13 high school students in an education program called UNSCRIPTED taught at the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) in Pleasantville this summer.
This is the fifth year of the summer program in which students learn the craft of documentary filmmaking and visual storytelling by creating their own original films about a senior citizen. The students take part in the entire documentary filmmaking process including research, writing a proposal, conducting interviews, filming, and editing. The production experience is enhanced by the study of the documentary genre through discussions, film screenings, and film clip presentations.
This year UNSCRIPTED has been made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA is dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education.
The subjects are humanitarian Robert L. Bernstein, who lives in Bedford; political advisor Theodore C. Sorensen, a resident of Pound Ridge; environmental activist Maureen Morgan of Ossining, and labor camp survivor Jack Stockel of Pleasantville. The students are from Briarcliff, Chappaqua, Croton-on-Hudson, Irvington, Pleasantville, Yorktown Heights, Carmel, and Stony Point. This year, Brady Shoemaker and Eric Pfriender will be teaching the class. The red carpet premiere of the films will be held on October 14 at 7:00 pm at the Film Center. The event will be free and open to the public.
JBFC will open its new Media and Education Center to the public in January of 2009. The new facility will increase the educational opportunities offered at the center and allow for growth and expansion of the current curriculum. In addition to the UNSCRIPTED program, JBFC currently offers a variety of education programs in film and visual literacy. Other programs include SEE•HEAR•FEEL•FILM and ANIMATION: MINDS IN MOTION! for grades 3 and 4, CINEMANIA for Middle school, CLASSROOM TO SCREENING ROOM for Middle and High school, WORLD CREW for college students, and various Adult Education classes.
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a not-for-profit cultural arts organization in Pleasantville, New York dedicated to: presenting the best of independent, documentary and world cinema; promoting visual literacy and making film a vibrant part of the community. The programs are inspired by the power of film to challenge, educated and inspire; to transport us to worlds beyond our own; and to create community through shared dialogue and cultural experience. Since the opening in 2001, over 1,000,000 people have seen over 3,000 films from more than 40 countries. From students learning critical viewing skills and discussing films with the filmmakers, to creating their own animated shorts, the Film Center uses the visual imagery of film as a catalyst for learning. Each year, over 15,000 students participate in the six programs that the Film Center teaches. To learn more about the Jacob Burns Film Center, visit www.burnsfilmcenter.org. To view a selection of work in various JBFC education programs visit www.youtube.com/user/burnsfilmcenter.
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