Live Q&A with War/Dance Directors, Sean & Andrea Nix Fine

Live Q&A with War/Dance Directors, Sean & Andrea Nix Fine

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Live Q&A with War/Dance Directors, Sean & Andrea Nix Fine

by Ruhani Singh

Directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine joined Shine Global Co-Founder, Albie Hecht, for a live Q&A about their Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary War/Dance. You can watch it now below!

War Dance Documentary Film

War/Dance follows three children, Nancy, Domenic, and Rose, who find hope in the future by competing in Uganda’s national music and dance festival.  Their historic journey is a stirring tale about the power of the human spirit to triumph against tremendous odds.

 

Live Q&A

“No one was asking these people, these kids, about their story. So when we asked them, they were very excited to open up” 

– Sean Fine, Director

This Q&A session helps the audience get a better understanding of the different obstacles Sean and Andrea faced making a film in an active war zone area.

“That’s all people think these kids are, that’s all they are, the only voice is like horror or an image of them with a gun and we wanted to change that and make people care” 

– Sean Fine

A surprise appearance occurs from one of the main children in the film, Dominic Akina, who talks about his experience and the kind of work he is doing now in Canada as a filmmaker himself. He shares his journey of being a war survivor and says,  “So I learned very early on to kind of fence myself and my go-to survival mode is basically to run, run, run, and I kind of learned instinctively to take care of myself.” For him, in a dire situation like that, hope was the only thing he couldn’t lose.  

“It was a combination of like make me care, make me relate and I think that’s what happens, hopefully, in the film, and you start to feel and care because you’re understanding and connecting.” 

– Andrea Nix Fine

 

Click below to view this provocative conversation after watching the impactful film War/Dance, a real-life story about a group of children whose love of music brings joy, excitement, and hope back into their poverty-stricken lives full of terror and loss.

Subscribing to Shine Global on YouTube is one of the easiest, most helpful ways to support us in our mission of making films about underserved youth and their families. Thank you so much for your support!

Through Our Eyes: Homefront and Virtually Free at Heartland Film Indy Shorts

Through Our Eyes: Homefront and Virtually Free at Heartland Film Indy Shorts

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Through Our Eyes: Homefront and Virtually Free at Heartland Film Indy Shorts

The full film lineup for the 4th Annual Academy Award®-Qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival is now available and we are pleased to announce that two of Shine Global’s films have been selected to play in the “Youth Impact” program: Through Our Eyes: Homefront by Director Kristi Jacobson and Virtually Free by Director André Robert Lee.

The festival is organized by the non-profit arts organization Heartland Film with the mission to “curate, promote and celebrate thoughtful and engaging films from diverse perspectives.”  This year, they reviewed 3,300 submission for the Indy Shorts Film festival to program 201 short films included in 33 themed programs which are available to watch virtuallyand in person in Indianapolis July 20-25.

–> Get your tickets for the Youth Impact program to watch Shine Global’s films here

Through Our Eyes: Homefront is directed by News and Documentary Emmy Award winner Kristi Jacobson (The Election Effect: Anmal, A Place at the Table, Solitary) and produced by Shine Global’s Alexandra Blaney and Catalyst Films’ Netsanet Negussie. There are currently 1.9 million service members and veterans relying on caregiver support in the United States, and 3.4 million children live in the homes of these caregivers. In HOMEFRONT, three children of veteran families cope with the emotional impact of having a wounded parent, navigate the unique challenges of visible and invisible injuries sustained during military service, and together journey toward collective healing.  The film is produced by Sesame Workshop in association with Shine Global and will be premiering on HBOMax on July 22 after the world premiere at Indy Shorts.

Virtually Free, Directed by André Robert Lee and produced by Shine Global’s Susan MacLaury and Alexandra Blaney, is a documentary about unlikely allies in Richmond, VA who partner to transform the juvenile justice system and stop mass incarceration. In the film, we meet Sid, Taee, and AR, three teens currently being held in a detention center who are offered the chance to become activists speaking truth to power by participating in a local arts organizations’ program.

Meet our 2021 Summer Interns

Meet our 2021 Summer Interns

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Meet our 2021 Summer Interns!

Meet our 2021 Summer Interns joining us remotely this semester: Linda Chen, Teresa Chico, Emma Dax, Charlotte Juan, and Ruhani Singh.

Linda Chen
A New York native, Linda Chen is currently a rising junior at Barnard College studying Political Science and Human Rights with a minor in English. At Barnard, she is the Managing Editor of the Barnard Bulletin and a former intern for the Athena Center for Leadership. It was at Athena where she discovered an interest in film after working alongside the development staff at the Athena Film Festival, Barnard’s annual festival that celebrates women’s leadership. Joining Shine Global this summer as an outreach intern, she is excited to learn more about the nonprofit sector and how visual storytelling can be used as a powerful medium to promote grassroots activism and inspire social change. 

 

Teresa Chico
As a double major at Bates College in Africana and Rhetoric, Film & Screen Studies, I was drawn to the opportunity to combine my passions for film and social justice, much like the work that Shine Global does in their films. I truly believe in film as a powerful form of storytelling with the potential impact of educating a wide range of people. I am also interested in learning more about how nonprofit media operates.

 

 

Emma Dax
Emma Dax is a rising senior at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, studying Screenwriting with minors in Environmental Studies and Gender Studies. Originally from a rural town outside Philadelphia, Emma grew passionate about environmental and social issues while in high school. With hopes to mesh her love for film and entertainment with humanitarian causes, Emma was drawn to Shine Global’s mission. As Shine Global’s summer Production Intern, Emma hopes to learn more about how film and nonprofits come together to inform audiences and change the world. She is eager to help with all aspects of Shine Global’s online content creation– from scripts to final edits. In her free time, Emma enjoys hiking, cooking, and making art!

 

Charlotte Juan
Charlotte Juan is currently a sophomore at New York University studying Marketing and Statistics. Originally from Connecticut, she spent years as a Girl Scout volunteering within her community, and has seen firsthand the impact that garnering attention for a cause can do to create a substantial change in people’s lives. She has also loved being a part of the behind the scenes process of creating films since high school, after joining the film club. After a great experience during the spring semester, she is excited to continue working with Shine this summer to keep making a difference.

 

Ruhani Singh
Ruhani is an international student from India, currently a rising junior at Muhlenberg College, double-majoring in Theatre & Film Studies. At Muhlenberg, she is the President of International Students Association & Top Naach (a South Asian dance and cultural club). As a Theatre student for many years, Ruhani now wishes to showcase her love for films by further delving into the industry and highlighting the experiences of marginalized voices. Her goal as a filmmaker is to tell stories that matter and help create more awareness and change. As a marketing intern at Shine Global, Ruhani is inspired to share her passion for children’s social justice and help give voice to those who wish to take action and inspire change.

 

Learn more about internship positions at Shine Global here: https://shineglobal.org/internships/
 

Liyana now screening in African schools using solar power!

Liyana now screening in African schools using solar power!

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Liyana now screening in African schools using solar power!

In April, Sunshine Cinema in partnership with Internews and Melon High School, hosted their first community based free solar powered screening of Liyana in Gweru, Zimbabwe.

Per Sunshine Cinema, “after the screening the audience was very touched by the story of Liyana, and some of them related more with the story because it dealt more with issues of being an orphan and not having any support structure but most of them gained a lot of strength and wisdom from Liyana’s actions and determination.”

See pictures here:

Produced in Association with Shine Global and Directed by Aaron and Amanda Kopp, in this award-winning documentary/animated film, a talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland collaborate to write an original African tale about Liyana, a girl on a dangerous quest. Inspired by the children’s darkest memories and brightest dreams, their fictional character’s journey reveals parallels between her fate and that of the young storytellers.

WHERE TO WATCH LIYANA
Direct TV | Sundance Now | AMC+ | Apple TV | Amazon | Google Play | Fandango Now | DVD/Blu-Ray | Book A Community Screening

The Power of Art in the Face of Homelessness: Live Q&A with Inocente and Directors Sean & Andrea Nix Fine

The Power of Art in the Face of Homelessness: Live Q&A with Inocente and Directors Sean & Andrea Nix Fine

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The Power of Art in the Face of Homelessness: Live Q&A with Inocente and Directors Sean & Andrea Nix Fine

by Ruhani Singh

 

“It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it”
– Nelson Mandela  

 

Shine Global Co-Founder, Albie Hecht, in conversation with Directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, and artist Inocente, answer questions following a screening of their film Inocente on December 9th, 2020 as part of Shine Global’s 15th Anniversary Screening Series.

Inocente: the power of art

Inocente is both a timeless story about the transformative power of art and a timely snapshot of the new face of homelessness in America: children. The challenges are staggering, but the hope in her story proves that the hand she was dealt does not define her. Instead, her dreams do.

 

Live Q&A

“We were interested in finding a story that could come to life through the idea of the challenges of homelessness, and kids were the face of that, but no one was really hearing from them.” 

– Andrea Nix Fine (Director) 

 

This stimulating conversation with the Directors of Inocente, Sean and Andrea Fine, and Inocente herself, helps the audience understand the inner world of Inocente and what she felt as a homeless girl, using painting as an outlet to express her emotions.

“How did you manage to keep up with the pressure of creating those numerous art pieces and then dealing with what was happening in your life?”  Hecht asked.

“A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was 15 years old and had a lot of energy so I had a lot of energy,” Inocente said, her inspiration being Adaptation and adapting her art to her surroundings.

When Hecht asked all three of them what were some of the challenges they faced while creating this influential documentary, Sean and Andrea replied by saying it was figuring out the editing, and how they would tell the story while keeping the focus on the character driving the narrative. Here, it was filming an artist who is creating art about herself.

 

The panelists then spoke on the issue of homelessness. 3 millions kids are still homeless in just America, with millions and millions more facing this brutal reality all around the world.

“This film will be relevant as long as we have all these issues,” said Inocente. And in order for people to even do their small part, they must start “doing the research and taking initiative with that first question,” she said.

Inocente is another one of the many dynamic films Shine Global has produced to help create awareness about social issues surrounding children, where “the power of the film is the way to help affect social change,” as stated by our Co-Founder, Albie Hecht in the discussion.

Click below to view this thought-provoking conversation after watching the inspiring film of Inocente, a girl with hopes and dreams, and the determination to make them come true against all odds.

 

 

Subscribing to Shine Global on YouTube is one of the easiest, most helpful ways to support us in our mission of making films about underserved youth and their families. Thank you so much for your support!