Shine Board Member Profile: Bill MacArthur

Shine Board Member Profile: Bill MacArthur

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Shine Board Member Profile: Bill MacArthur

 

As part of an ongoing series, we want to introduce you to the Shine Global family and especially our outstanding and hard working board members who help move Shine forward.

Bill MacArthurName: William MacArhur
Joined Shine Board of Directors: 2014
Title: President, Brooksville Development LLC
Current Role at Shine: Member of the Board of Directors, Member of the Governance and Nominations Committee

After a stint teaching in Asia in the early 60’s and law school in the mid 60’s, I practiced law on Wall Street and then in Tokyo. A year traveling back from Japan with a wife and four year old, including six months driving and camping from Afghanistan to Amsterdam, cemented my interest in the developing world and the challenges faced by people, particularly children, in places like Asia and Africa. After ten more years in international banking, I decided 35 years ago that it was time to go out on my own so that I could have the flexibility to pursue not only making a living but also other activities that interested me. Since then I have been able to combine a career as a real estate investor and developer in the US and Southeast Asia with a deep interest and active involvement in a number of international non-governmental organizations which work in the education, health and environmental spaces on whose boards I serve and to which I can now give an amount of time and energy about equal to that I give my day job. Obviously the challenges faced by children in the developing world, which Shine has chronicled are very much impacted by education, health and the environment.

Why did you join Shine’s board and why have you stayed on for several years?

I actually met Susan and Albie (and Kay) over ten years ago, before Shine was born, when we found ourselves together in Northern Uganda looking into the impact of the Lord’s Resistance Army on the local communities and riding around behind a truckload of soldiers. I was there with a health focused NGO and Susan and Albie were just contemplating starting Shine and were hot on the trail of tramadolhealth.com a good story built around the thousands of children that would walk miles into Gulu every night to sleep on the streets for safety from kidnapping by the LRA and being turned into child soldiers. That story materialized a year or so later in a different form as War/Dance. I had no previous experience with film, and I was fascinated watching them dig into the creation of a narrative, seeing the passion and commitment they brought to the exercise and realizing the power of the story telling which could be done through documentaries. While I did not go on the board initially, I kept in close touch with Albie and Susan, helped where I could and joined formally about four years ago. I remain convinced of the power of story telling to effect change and that keeps me on the board.

What’s a favorite Shine moment for you?

Certainly my favorite moment was attending the ten-year anniversary party and meeting Dominic, one of the three central characters in War/Dance. Here was a child who ten years before had recently escaped horrific bondage, was featured in a Shine documentary and was now graduating from a first class US university as a direct result. And he was just one of many young people attending the party who had been featured in Shine documentaries and whose stories of survival and success serve as inspiration to so many other children facing difficult circumstances.

How do you use your specific skill set in your work as a Shine board member?

I’m not sure I have a specific skill set that is directly applicable to Shine’s work (or one at all, for that matter!). I have a deep interest in the condition of young people in the developing world and many of Shine’s films have been set there – so I suppose my experience in Asia and Africa is generally applicable. Also, serving on many other non-profit boards, I have acquired some relevant experience in governance. Mostly, like other board members, I think it is the commitment to a cause we all share that makes a contribution of energy possible.

What is a Shine challenge that you feel supporters should know about?

As has been pointed out by my colleagues, the process of identifying, creating, marketing and distributing these films is not without significant cost and funding is always an issue. Shine has been fortunate in that it has had a number of people who believe strongly in its mission and have been willing to provide or otherwise source funding at critical points in its history, but there can never be enough of that kind of help. Without the enormous amount of time, energy and other resources devoted to Shine by Susan and Albie, and particularly Susan, Shine could not have achieved the significant success it has, but it also needs the continuing commitment of resources by the board and others. Also, there can never be too many good stories to tell.

See the full list of Shine’s Board of Directors Members and Board of Governors Members here and read the first four profiles of board members Dario Spina here, Keith Brown here, Kay Sarlin Wright here, Marilyn DeLuca here, and Al Cattabiani here.

Films about Refugees

Films about Refugees

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Films about Refugees

 

On Friday, President Trump signed a new executive order that would indefinitely ban all Syrian refugees from resettlement in the U.S. and reduce by more than half the number of refugees from anywhere that can seek safety here.  The majority of the 65 million people fleeing war and persecution in this world are women and children and this ban places children who are fleeing for their lives at risk.  The public outcry over the weekend was loud and clear, with protests at airports and cities around the country.

We’ve put together a list of both fiction and documentary films that can tell you more about refugees throughout history and across the world (in order of release date).

Salam Neighbor (2015)

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Salam Neighbor is an award-winning film and campaign to connect the world to refugees. In an effort to better understand refugee life, filmmakers Chris and Zach spent one month living alongside displaced families in the Za’atari refugee camp. As the first filmmakers ever allowed by the United Nations to be given a tent and registered inside a refugee camp, they were able to get a never before seen look into the world’s most pressing crisis. Their experience uncovered overwhelming trauma but also the untapped potential our uprooted neighbors posses.

Official Website | Rent/Own Online | Subscription

Who Is Dayani Cristal? (2012)

Who-Is-Dayani-CristalDeep in the sun-blistered Sonora desert beneath a cicada tree, Arizona border police discover a decomposing male body. Lifting a tattered t-shirt, they expose a tattoo that reads “Dayani Cristal”. Who is this person? What brought him here? How did he die?  And who—or what—is Dayani Cristal? Following a team of dedicated staff from the Pima County Morgue in Arizona, director Marc Silver seeks to answer these questions and give this anonymous man an identity. As the forensic investigation unfolds, Mexican actor and activist Gael Garcia Bernal retraces this man’s steps along the migrant trail in Central America. In an effort to understand what it must have felt like to make this final journey, he embeds himself among migrant travelers on their own mission to cross the border. He experiences first-hand the dangers they face and learns of their motivations, hopes and fears. As we travel north, these voices from the other side of the border wall give us a rare insight into the human stories which are so often ignored in the immigration debate.

Rent/Own Online | Subscription | Blu-Ray/DVD

District 9 (2009)

district9logoThirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth — not to conquer or give aid, but — to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens’ welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. When a company field agent (Sharlto Copley) contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place he can hide: District 9.

Rent/Own Online | Blu-Ray/DVD

Sin Nombre (2009)

hero_EB20090401REVIEWS904019992ARSayra (Paulina Gaitan), a Honduran teen, hungers for a better life. Her chance for one comes when she is reunited with her long-estranged father, who intends to emigrate to Mexico and then enter the United States. Sayra’s life collides with a pair of Mexican gangmembers (Edgar Flores, Kristyan Ferrer) who have boarded the same American-bound train. Directed by Cary Jôji Fukunaga.

Rent/Own Online | Blu-Ray/DVD

War Dance (2007)

Shine Global’s first film, the Oscar®-nominated War Dance, is set in war-ravaged Northern Uganda, and will touch your heart with a real-life story about a group of children whose love of music brings joy, excitement, and hope back into their poverty-stricken lives. Nancy, Domenic, and Rose, three children who have suffered horrific brutalities and are living in an internally-displaced persons camp, momentarily forget their struggles as they participate in music, song, and dance at their school. Invited to compete in a prestigious music festival in their nation’s capitol, their historic journey is a stirring tale about the power of the human spirit to triumph against tremendous odds.

Official Website | DVD on Amazon | DVD on Netflix

 Children of Men (2006)

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant refugee woman to a sanctuary at sea. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron and also starrting Julianne Moore and Chiewtel Ejiofor.

Rent/Own Online | SubscriptionBlu-Ray/DVD

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), a Hutu, manages the Hôtel des Mille Collines and lives a happy life with his Tutsi wife (Sophie Okonedo) and their three children. But when Hutu military forces initiate a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi minority, Paul is compelled to allow refugees to take shelter in his hotel. As the U.N. pulls out, Paul must struggle alone to protect the Tutsi refugees in the face of the escalating violence later known as the Rwandan genocide. Over 1 million people were brutally murdered in three months, but this man saved lives one at a time.

Rent/Own Online | Subscription | Blu-Ray/DVD

The Long Way Home (1997)

This Academy Award winning documentary depicts the struggles of European Jews after the end of WWII. Using interviews with Holocaust survivors, newsreel footage, and readings of letters, journals, and news reports, and narration by Morgan Freeman, the film tells the story of those freed from concentration camps in 1945. Suffering disease, malnutrition, and shock, many survivors are faced with also not having a home to return to. Some lived in Displaced Persons camp while others were part of the movement to establish Israel in Palestine.

El Norte (1983)

When a group of Mayan Indians decides to organize a labor union to improve conditions in their village, their community is violently destroyed by the Guatemalan army. Teenage siblings, Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez) and Enrique (David Villalpando) manage to escape the massacre and decide to start a new life in El Norte — the USA. The two trek through Mexico, meeting a variety of characters and facing trials and tribulations on their journey toward lives as illegal immigrants in Los Angeles.

Free Online | Blu-Ray/DVD

And a few more:

Fire at Sea (2016)

The Journey to Europe (2016) – watch the documentary series on The New Yorker.

Which Way Home (2009)

God Grew Tired of Us (2006)

De Nadie (2005)

Lost Boys of Sudan (2003)

Ship of Fools (1965)

Casablanca (1942)

 

Notes from Susan: Take Heart, Be Hopeful

Notes from Susan: Take Heart, Be Hopeful

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Notes from Susan: Take Heart, Be Hopeful

 

1.20.17-Susan-DC-March-300x225By Susan MacLaury

I was one of a group of 10 who joined last Saturday’s Womens March in DC. The number of participants was higher than anyone had hoped – an estimated 500,000. The posters were amazing. The one that brought me to tears was simply written and included hearts scattered through the text. It read: “Rest, Barack. We’ve got this.” It was exhilarating to be part of a march so large and passionate. But it wasn’t until that evening when we watched the news that the true scope of the energy and determination of millions of world citizens hit us: More than a million Americans were joined that day by at least that many around the world – in all, more than 600 marches on 7 continents (See pictures here)

I want to express my deep sense of solidarity with everyone everywhere who represented very diverse causes: women’s reproductive rights; affordable health care; racial judicial injustice; reducing climate change… that came out to be counted, to give us all a much needed jolt of hope. Whether you demonstrated that day or not, take heart in the truth that every one of us can make a difference. Yes we can.

Shine Global 10 year Report: 2005-2015

Shine Global 10 year Report: 2005-2015

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Shine Global 10 year Report: 2005-2015

 

We are pleased to share with you Shine Global’s first “annual” report, covering 2005-2015 and showing our history, growth, impact, and vision for the future.

Click here to open on issuu

Thanks to your support, Shine Global has given voice to children by telling their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. 2016 saw us finish and sell The Wrong Light, The Eagle Huntress released theatrically, and introduced Liyana. As we look forward to the new projects we have in development for 2017 and beyond, we also wanted to look back at our first decade and everything that Shine has accomplished so far. Seeing how far we have come already gives us hope for how far we can go.

Thank you to every one of our board, staff, filmmakers, interns, donors, sponsors, film subjects, social media fans, and community partners for making this all possible.  And special thanks to the report’s designer Vinita Phord. We can’t wait to see what we do together in the next 10 years!

 

Download a copy of the report.

Shine Global’s 2016 Top 10

Shine Global’s 2016 Top 10

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The Eagle Huntress on Oscar doc shortlist

 

2016 was an exciting year for Shine – with projects such as The Eagle Huntress, The Wrong Light, and Liyana the Movie, parties, new board members, the launch of our IGNITE outreach program, and more! Check out our #2016Top10:

2016 was an exciting year for Shine – with projects such as The Eagle Huntress, The Wrong Light, and Liyana the Movie, parties, new board members, the launch of our IGNITE outreach program, and more! Check out our #2016Top10:

Posted by Shine Global Inc. on Thursday, December 29, 2016

The Eagle Huntress on Oscar doc shortlist

The Eagle Huntress on Oscar doc shortlist

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The Eagle Huntress on Oscar doc shortlist

 

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The Eagle Huntress is among the films included on the Academy Award shortlist for Best Documentary Feature at the the 89th Academy Awards.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s Documentary Branch determined the shortlist from 145 submitted feature-length documentary films.  The nominees will be announced on Jan. 24 and the Academy Awards ceremony takes place on Feb. 26 in Los Angeles.

The Eagle Huntress, directed by Otto Bell and produced in association with Shine Global, has also recently been nominated for a Producer’s Guild of America (PGA) Award and was named as one of the top 5 documentaries of the year by the National Board of Review in addition to many festival awards and critical acclaim.  The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January where it was bought by Sony Pictures Classics and features narration by Star Wars star Daisy Ridley and an original song by Sia.  It is now playing in select cinemas across the US and opening shortly in the UK.

When Shine Global first became attached to the film during principal photography, Shine’s Executive Director Susan MacLaury, who is also  an Executive Producer on the film, said, “We wanted to become involved in this film as soon as we heard the inspirational story of Aisholpan and saw the beautiful and sensitive way Otto was telling her story.”

The 15 shortlisted films are:

Cameraperson, Kirsten Johnson; Big Mouth Productions
Command and Control, Robert Kenner; American Experience Films/PBS
The Eagle Huntress, Otto Bell; Stacey Reiss Productions, Kissiki Films and 19340 Productions
Fire at Sea, Gianfranco Rosi; Stemal Entertainment
Gleason, J. Clay Tweel; Dear Rivers Productions, Exhibit A and IMG Films
Hooligan Sparrow, Nanfu Wang; Little Horse Crossing the River
I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck; Velvet Film
The Ivory Game, Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani;Terra Mater Film Studios and Vulcan Productions
Life, Animated, Roger Ross Williams; Motto Pictures and A&E IndieFilms
O.J.: Made in America, Ezra Edelman; Laylow Films and ESPN Films
13th, Ava DuVernay; Forward Movement
Tower, Keith Maitland; Go-Valley
Weiner, Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg; Edgeline Films
The Witness, James Solomon; The Witnesses Film
Zero Days, Alex Gibney; Jigsaw Productions