"It's not that he thought outside the box.
He didn't accept that there were any boxes."
- Denardo Coleman
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Ornette Coleman died five years ago on June 11, 2015. When we started Project Shirley, Ornette: Made in America was really just another one of her films. It didn''t seem as dazzling as her other movies. But the more we watched it, the more we saw its brilliance. Still so ahead of its time that the critics haven''t caught up to it yet, this film by the iconoclast director of the iconoclast jazz composer and musician is the greatest pairing of filmmaker and subject in cinema history. Shirley always made films in the shape of her subject, her editing dictated by the story rather than by auteurist elitism. The film is free jazz at its purest and a joy to watch.
Meeting Ornette at his 85th birthday and being invited to his funeral by his equally amazing son Denardo, were two of the most emotional moments of our careers. Our son came with us to the funeral. I hope he will remember Denardo''s quote at the funeral. It''s words to live a better life. This March 9th will be his 90th birthday. He will always be with us.
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"I am proud of how she was able to come to
terms with what happened to her when she
was just a toddler and re-create her life anew."
- Mark Cary
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Diana Serra Carey died last month at the age of 101. It was a long, incredible life. A Hollywood star by the age of five, a has-been at the age of seven, and a star reborn in her 80s, Diana's life was not always easy, and frequently there was hardship. But she lived her life to the fullest and gave fully of herself to everyone she met. Her dazzling blue eyes, her the interest in everything, and her kindness and attentiveness to everyone she met (in her late 90s, she would call us to see how we were doing), made her an extraordinary person to know. Vera Iwerebor's Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room chronicles the star's illustrious and difficult history and captures the tenacity and grace of a brave and elegant survivor.
If you''d like to remember her, the Niles Film Museum in Niles, California was Diana's cherished home away from home. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that contributions be made to a GoFundMe account to help cover outstanding medical expenses.
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To celebrate the lives of Ornette Coleman and Diana Serra Cary -
DVDs and Blu-rays are just $20.20!
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Say Amen, Somebody
on National Public Radio
Plus TCM and Online Premieres!
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Over the decades, Milestone has been very lucky to have a number of films reviewed by NPR''s Howie Movshovitz. We were thrilled to finally meet this wonderful journalist at last year's Denver Silent Film Festival. (Which Howie has lovingly programmed for ten years now.) Last week, Howie produced an amazing report on NPR's Morning Edition on the restoration and release of George T. Nierenberg's great gospel documentary, Say Amen, Somebody. You can listen to this terrific piece here!
We are also thrilled to announce that Say Amen, Somebody will make its Turner Classic Movies premiere on March 3 (12:15 am)!
And for those who can't wait to watch or own Say Amen, Somebody, Milestone has made the film available for online streaming or downloading on our VHX channel! Click here!
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In memory of the incredible Billie Barrett Greenbey (1928- Feb. 28, 2020)
"We're not ministers, and we're not preachers, but we're singing about the good news and the good times happening with the Lord."
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The Association of Moving Image Archivists launches an important new program to promote diversity and inclusion in the field!
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As president of AMIA, Dennis has been very fortunate to have a Board and membership invested in progressive initiatives. AMIA is very proud to announce The AMIA Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship Program (ADIFP), the result of collaborative work done by AMIA and the NFPB Diversity Task Force to assess and evaluate the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of audiovisual archiving. Those efforts have made clear that the profession needs to take major steps to become more equitable and inclusive and more representative of the communities it serves and the histories it shepherds. The Fellowship Pilot is made possible through a contract with the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), with funds provided by the National Film Preservation Board. Dennis is very thankful to all the people involved in getting the program off the ground including Casey Davis Kaufman, Teague Schneiter, Snowden Becker, Laura Rooney, ADIFP Pilot Project Manager Moriah Ulinskas, and the AMIA Board and staff. We''d also like to thank the host sites who have volunteered so far: 'Ulu'ulu: The Henry Ku'ualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawai'i, California Revealed,
National Museum of African American History & Culture, George Blood LP and the Rhode Island Historical Society.
READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE!
FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED! Apply Here!
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The AIDS Memorial Quilt
Comes Home to San Francisco
and the Restoration of the Oscar?-winning
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt
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We have begun this newsletter with the report of three deaths, but this story is one of rebirth and restoration. Thirty-five years ago in San Francisco, at the height of the AIDS crisis, Cleve Jones conceived of a memorial to the victims, quilted panels that were four feet wide by six feet long - about the size of a grave. The organization he co-founded, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, became one of the greatest memorials and protest movements of our time. By the time it was displayed at the 1987 Washington DC National Mall, it gave everybody an immediate gut response to the vastness of the tragedy, and of the intense individual memories of those lost. Now, the 50,000 panels - 54 tons in weight - of the quilt have come back home to San Francisco and will be cared for by the National AIDS Memorial.
On April 3-5, the largest-ever San Francisco display of the Memorial Quilt will be held at the Golden Gate Park. We encourage everyone to plan a visit.
Last year, Dennis gave a speech where he stated that restoration of a film is a rejuvenation of the soul. Nowhere is this truer than this past year when the Academy Film Archive, UCLA''s Outfest Legacy Project and Milestone Films took on the task of restoring Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman''s COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT. This 1989 Oscar?-winner attempted to capture the vastness of the AIDS Quilt movement while focusing on just a few of the personal stories. It is a shattering film of the movement''s anger at their government''s indifference, the amazing lives that were lost, and a tribute to the love they left behind. We will be premiering the newly restored Common Threads this fall in New York along with three more indelible films by Epstein and Friedman. We will keep you informed in a future issue of our newsletter!
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"It is in its pure form that an art hits hard."
? Robert Bresson
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March 1-April 30...Film, Schedia Center, Athens, Greece
March 3-8.............Killer of Sheep, Associaci? cultural per la difusi? del cinema nord, Barcelona, Spain
March 3-8.............My Brother's Wedding, Associaci? cultural per la difusi? del cinema nord, Barcelona, Spain
March 3-8.............The Horse, Associaci? cultural per la difusi? del cinema nord, Barcelona, Spain
March 3-8.............Several Friends, Associaci? cultural per la difusi? del cinema nord, Barcelona, Spain
March 3.................Filibus, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville
March 4.................Killer of Sheep, Mehari Sequar Gallery, Washington, DC
March 6-8.............The Connection, Fairfax Cinema, Los Angeles, CA
March 7.................Portrait of Jason, Secret Movie Club, Los Angeles, CA
March 8.................Filibus, University of Colorado, Boulder
March 9.................Ornette: Made in America, Balboa Theatre, San Francisco, CA
March 11-18..........Maborosi, IFC Center, New York City
March 13................Shoes, @america, Jakarta, Indonesia
March 13-20.........The Exiles, Palfest 2020, Al-Quds, Palestine
March 14...............The Adventures of Prince Achmed, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds, WA
March 15-20..........Filibus, HippFest, Bo'ness, Scotland, UK
March 15................Say Amen, Somebody, LA Harbor International Festival, San Pedro, CA
March 15................Filibus, Alamo Drafthouse, Sloans Lake, Denver, CO
March 15................Killer of Sheep, Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 16................Filibus, The Campus Theater, Lewisburg, PA
March 17................I'm Going Home, French Institute, New York City
March 17................Bless Their Little Hearts, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston
March 18................The Adventures of Prince Achmed, Nitehawk Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY
March 19-21..........Sadie Thompson, KAVI, Helsinki, Finland
March 19-22..........On the Bowery, IMS Paulista, S?o Paulo, Brazil
March 20-25..........Filibus, Green Mountain Film Festival, Montpelier, VT
March 22................On the Bowery, IMS Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
March 26-29..........Portrait of Jason, CineQ, Birmingham, UK
March 27................Filibus, Duke University, Durham, NC
March 28................The Adventures of Prince Achmed, ArtYard, Frenchtown, NJ
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Milestone will donate $1 for each
DVD and Blu-ray sold online in 2020 to:
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A unique interfaith partnership is helping the most vulnerable refugees in Greece receive access to essential legal protection.
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The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society is doing everything they can to help refugees and their families build new lives in safety and freedom. They produced a video to share more about the kind of work they do on the ground in countries like Greece. For refugees, legal aid is essential to submitting a successful application for asylum. This is a process that can take years to complete, and HIAS is there every step of the way. Milestone supports their efforts.
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