Outreach in the Deaf Community Campaign

White Space Writer/Director/Actress Maya Washington,
Actor CJ Jones, Interpreter Lisa Arroyos,
 Actress/Poet Tanya Alexander at
Hollywood Black Film Festival

Throughout the past year, White Space has made its way around the United States and remote parts of the world as far away as Budapest. Although the film has appeared in two deaf film festivals (Seattle Deaf Film Festival and Maine Deaf Film Festival) and one disability festival (Cinema Touching Disability Festival), 2013 will be focused on reaching deaf audiences with the work that has opened the eyes of many of in the hearing world.

The biggest challenge for White Space on the festival circuit is that most "mainstream" festivals do not present captioned versions of the films presented.  As a result, attendance by deaf or hard of hearing patrons at mainstream festivals is nearly non-existent.

Whenever possible, White Space Poetry Project curates screenings and other events to include American Sign Language interpreters, deaf actors, poets and community partners in the deaf community.  2013 presents a great opportunity to do even more.


Maya Washington and Lisa Arroyos

With the help of community partners, friends and others like Youth Performance Company, VSA Minnesota, Sign World TV and Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, White Space Poetry Project will continue to provide accessible low to no-cost screenings of White Space, panel discussions, poetry performances and writing workshops for youth and adults. The push will involve outreach efforts in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and Washington, DC.


Poetry Workshop Students





Hundreds of hearing students have engaged with the work of White Space Poetry Project throughout 2012.  Through the 2013 Deaf Outreach Campaign, the focus will shift to creating opportunities for hearing and deaf students, teaching artists and poets to work with both hearing and deaf audiences in addition to continued collaborations between deaf and hearing poets as well as "mainstream" educational environments.

White Space Poetry Project has created a unique experience for all who have come into contact with the magic of White Space and the idea that creative opportunity exists between the hearing world and the deaf world.  Creating bridges and common ground between hearing and deaf culture can be challenging for those on both sides of the equation, yet the rewards are great and the White Space that connects us all.

If you are interested in supporting the work of White Space Poetry Project in 2013, consider a tax-deductible gift to our annual giving campaign today!


Khary Jackson and Jonathan Roberts
at Loft Literary Center

 







White Space in the Winner's Circle

Shon Fuller and Maya Washington at HBFF Closing Night

White Space screened at Co- Kisser Poetry Film Festival on October 6th, 2012 at Minnesota College of Art and Design and Hollywood Black Film Festival at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood on
October 27, 2012 

White Space took home three awards between the two festivals including "Best Short" at Hollywood Black Film Festival, "Best in Category," and "Best of the Fest" at Co-Kisser Poetry Film Festival.

White Space supporters came out in Los Angeles and Minneapolis in support of the audience favorite. White Space Poetry Project members and White Space cast were in attendance at the Hollywood screening. CJ Jones, Zendrea Mitchell, Tanya Alexander, Shon Fuller and interpreter Lisa Arroyos shined in Hollywood at the after party at the St. Felix.  MSU Hall of Famer, and retired NFL running back  Clint Jones (Vikings, Chargers) and family were also in attendance.

White Space singer/songwriter Herschel and the Detainees performed Herschel's poem, "Wednesday Love," the inspiration for the ASL poem, "White Space" from the film, after the screening at Co-Kisser to rave reviews. Also in attendance at Co-Kisser were White Space Poetry Anthology poets and artists Sandy Beach and Meghan Maloney-Vinz.



Herschel & the Detainees at MCAD

White Space in Wichita October 19th and 20th

White Space will screen Friday October 19th at 3:30pm and Saturday October 20th at 5pm in the Dramatic Shorts Program at Rock Island Studios during the Tallgrass Film Festival this weekend!

Tickets are available at the festival box office


From Tallgrass Film Festival:

“In a world overrun by film festivals, Tallgrass remains a largely undiscovered gem. The festival is big enough and smart enough to curate a top-notch program, but modest enough to nurture an atmosphere in which filmmakers mingle with each other and audience members.”
  -Geoff Edgers, producer/star of Do It Again and Boston Globe Arts Reporter

The 10^th Annual Tallgrass Film Festival will be held in and around downtown Wichita, Kansas, October 18 - 21, 2012. The festival showcases more than 120 films from around the world and is the largest independent film festival in the state of Kansas. The four-day event has become a hallmark of the city's cultural landscape and the festival is internationally renowned for its world-class cinematic programming.

September Outreach and Screenings

Ryan Lane and Maya Washington
 with CSUSB students

White Space Poetry Project was busy throughout the month of September starting with a private screening at California State University San Bernardino for student leaders during the CSUSB Club Conference on September 10th, 2012. Following an address by CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales, White Space Writer/Director and WSPP Creative Director Maya Washington motivated students with a keynote "How to Make a Dream a Reality" followed by a Q &A with Washington and White Space star and ABC Family's Switched at Birth actor Ryan Lane.



Kyla Marshall, Jonterri Gadson,
Maya Washington,
T'ai Freedom Ford, Shelby Stokes

The New York Premiere of White Space occurred at Urbanworld Film Festival September 22nd, 2012 which garnered a spotlight piece on Indiewire's Shadow and Act. White Space screened along side some amazing short films including award winners Ralph Scott's touching Barbasol and Jesse Atlas' suspense driven Record/Play.   Cave Canem poets T'ai Freedom Ford, Michelle Whitaker, Jonterri Gadson, Shelby Stokes, Kyla Marshall, L. Lamar Wilson and Juliet P. Howard attended the White Space screenings along with White Space Poetry Project friends and supporters.





Maya Washington

During Social Media Week, Creative Director Maya Washington participated in a panel discussion sponsored by California Youth Connection at W Hollywood on September 26th, 2012.  The panelists discussed how their organizations are using social media to connect with and empower youth.

White Space Screening in Budapest

You Hungary? White Space screens this SATURDAY 9/8 in FICTINFO 8. BLOCK (113') of the Budapest International Short Film Festival 12:00 – 14:00 VÖRÖSMARTY SMALL HALL!!!

http://busho.hu/

Principal Photography Anniversary

Celebrate this amazing milestone with us at White Space Poetry Project.  It's been a year full of triumphs, new friends and festivals.  We have been overwhelmed by the response we've received at screenings throughout the country and even remote parts of the world!

Please continue to follow our progress and the exciting news that continues to unfold!

Enjoy this special message we've created for you, our devoted supporters!  We couldn't have done this without you!

Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival

White Space will screen at the 2012 Run & Shoot Filmworks Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival on Tuesday August 7, 2011 in the Shorts Program beginning at 1:30pm in the MV Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available directly through the festival.

 Established in 2000, Run&Shoot Filmworks is a national transmedia company that creates innovative content across all forms of media, including television, digital, feature films, music programming, commercials,events, and original photography. The brainchild of Director, Producer, and Cinematographer Floyd A. B. Rance III, our sole objective is to continue to create aggressive innovative content…Commercials, Music Videos, Films.

In 2002, RSF established the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival which was designed to provide an upscale platform dedicated to showcasing and honoring emerging filmmakers in a relaxed environment. Now in it’s 10th year, the Run&Shoot Filmwork’s MVAAFF is an emerging, sophisticated event on the radar of many entertainment executives and industry tastemakers.

http://www.mvaaff.com/festival-itinerary

White Space Wins Indie Soul Special Recognition Award at 2012 Boston International Film Festival

The White Space Production Team received notification that White Space was awarded the Indie Soul Special Recognition Award at the 2012 Boston International Film Festival on April 22, 2012.  The Boston International Film Festival was created to celebrate the art of filmmaking and to honor the filmmakers who make it all possible.  This is a festival dedicated to rewarding artists for their individual talents and for their creative expression through the medium of film. 

The festival strives to bring together in Boston local, national and international filmmakers by promoting the world's most artistic and creative independent and experimental films.   The festival's goal is to encourage and support the work of worldwide independent filmmakers and to promote their products as an art concept and as a valuable contribution to world understanding.


http://www.bifilmfestival.com/biffpress.html

White Space Screening at Northern Spark Festival

Just weeks after winning Best Short Film at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, White Space will make another stop in Minneapolis during the Northern Spark Festival on Saturday June 9th at Saint Anthony Main Theatre with two screenings (8:58pm, 10:45pm) in a Shorts Program sponsored by the Film Society of Minneapolis/ St. Paul. 

"Northern Spark is an active celebration of the creativity of artists and the creative programming of cultural organizations. Last year, during the night of June 4, 2011, there were 50,000 visits to 100 projects by more than 200 artists in collaboration with 60 cultural organizations and sponsors at 34 venues in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Northern Spark was a one-night creative explosion.

For us, Northern Spark is about transformation. It is about seeing the Twin Cities in a new light. It�s about making the place where you live a place you want to be, not where you return after being inspired somewhere else. It is about the dynamic intersection of art and science and technology and engineering and design and urban planning and nature and culture. It is about the power of artists to make us think and wonder." (Northern Spark)

http://2012.northernspark.org/index.php

If you live in the Twin Cities, you won't want to miss this Minneapolis screening!

Minnesota Public Radio News Interview with White Space Poetry Project

With deaf character, artist helps students find their voice | Minnesota Public Radio News

White Space Wins Best Short at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival

Tom DeBiaso, Guest Programmer  and 
 Maya Washington, White Space
Writer/Director

White Space was awarded Best Short at Minneapolis-St.Paul International Film Festival during the Closing Night Award Ceremony May 3rd.  The award includes a $5,000 prize good for post production services at Splice.

Best Short Presented by Splice

Awarded to a film exhibiting excellence in the short genre, this competition includes selections from the narrative and documentary programs, and includes prizes given to both the best national and international short, and the best short film from the MINNESOTA-Made program.

The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival is the most ambitious and best attended film event in the Upper Midwest. Over its three-week run, the Festival presents an exciting and diverse slate of some 300 narrative, documentary and short films from over 60 countries, hosts many visiting filmmakers to introduce and discuss their works, sand includes an array of events, panels, discussions, and parties. The Festival takes place on the five screens of the St. Anthony Main Theatre, set along the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis.

Over its three-decade history, the MSP International Film Festival has developed an exemplary reputation for presenting a distinctively diverse and imaginative line-up of international cinema, as well as American independents and alternative cinema, documentaries, experimental, and local and regional films. It continues to expand, last year presenting films to an audience of more than 40,000, hosting over 100 filmmakers and stars, and exhibiting films from 61 countries from all around the world.

Maya Washington's White Space Screening at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival - Twin Cities Culture - April 2012 - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota

Maya Washington's White Space Screening at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival - Twin Cities Culture - April 2012 - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota

White Space Screening at Minneapolis--St. Paul International Film Festival Thursday April 26th

White Space is an Official Selection of the Minneapolis--St. Paul International Film Festival and will screen in the Minnesota Made Shorts Program on Thursday April, 26th at 7pm at Saint Anthony Main Theatre (115 Southeast Main Street St Anthony Main, Minneapolis, MN 55414).

White Space Poetry Project is especially excited about this screening, as Minneapolis is White Space Writer/Director Maya Washington's hometown,

 "We are so excited to be in the Twin Cities, a place where we've received so much throughout this journey.  It is a blessing to bring the work to a community that has embraced us from the beginning."

You can join White Space Poetry Project at the screening and a Minnesota Made after party at Red Stag Super Club (509 1st Avenue Northeast Minneapolis, MN 55413) immediately following the screening.

Tickets are available through the festival box office and admission to the after party is free.

Festival Tickets/ Information

White Space Official Selection Maine Deaf Film Festival Screening April 14th

White Space is an Official Selection for the 10th Annual Maine Deaf Film Festival. This will be the second Deaf festival screening and the third fully accessible screening of the film.White Space will screen on Saturday evening April 14th, along side the Independent Lens Broadcast documentary, Deaf Jam.

The screening will be at the University of Southern Maine’s Talbot Auditorium.  Supporters interested in attending should check the festival websites for updates as the Film Schedule is subject to change. www.mainedeaffilmfest.com

Additionally the Festival website features a number of important updates in ASL like the one below.

White Space Screens in Three Festivals In One Weekend!

For our supporters in Miami, Maryland, and Seattle we are excited to announce that White Space is an Official Selection at Women's International Film & Arts Festival, WAMMFest and Seattle Deaf Film Festival and will be screening this coming weekend!

WAMMFest Women and Minorities in Media Festival Thursday 3/29/12 at 6pm

http://pages.towson.edu/elankfor/wammfest/Schedule.html

Women's International Film & Arts Festival Friday at 3:30pm

http://www.womensfilmfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/WIFF-Schedule-2012-final_2.pdf

Seattle Deaf  Film Festival Sunday 4/1/12 at 1pm

http://sdff.strangertickets.com/films/4634445/white-space


Please come out and support White Space if you live near one of this weekend's festivals!

White Space Headed to Miami and Boston!

White Space is an Official Selection for both the Women's International Film & Arts Festival in Miami, FL March 28th- April 1st 2012 and Boston International Film Festival in Boston, MA April 13th -22nd 2012.

The overarching mission of WIFF is to become the premiere film festival in the world for women to network, screen their films, and recognize the brilliance and accomplishments of women throughout the globe.We believe the images of women on film directly effect how women are perceived, valued and treated in society. With women representing only 7% of film directors, every effort should be made to enhance the opportunity for women’s voices to be heard, and to present a wider range of roles and identify choices for women. Designed to promote women in the film industry and celebrate women’s accomplishments, the festival consists of panel discussions, workshops, and symposia. WIFF’s goals include empowering women of all ages to see themselves in a broader context.

---Women's International Film Festival

The Boston International Film Festival was created to celebrate the art of filmmaking and honor the filmmakers who make it all possible. This is a festival dedicated to rewarding artists for their individual talents and for their creative expression through the medium of film. The festival strives to bring together in Boston local, national and international filmmakers by promoting the world’s most artistic and creative independent and experimental films.  The festival's goal is to encourage and support the work of worldwide independent filmmakers and to promote their products as an art concept and as a valuable contribution to world understanding.

--Boston International Film Festival





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White Space Screenings at Sedona International Film Festival

White Space is an Official Selection 
of Sedona International Film Festival!

Screening Times:

(Immediately Preceding the feature QUILL)

Wednesday 2/22/12 at 9:20am
Saturday 2/25/12 at 12:00pm

Harkins Theatre 2081 W. State Route 89A in West Sedona, AZ.

Tickets available through the festival at http://www.sedonafilmfestival.com/Page.asp?NavID=128

White Space an Official Selection for Seattle Deaf Film Festival

White Space just received notification that it will be screened at the 2012 Seattle Deaf Film Festival. This is an especially exciting development for White Space Poetry Project as this serves as the first festival acceptance where the primary focus is films created by and for the Deaf Community! 

Seattle Deaf Film Festival

March 30 - April 1, 2012
Kane Hall 120, University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Festival Website

Deaf Spotlight is thrilled to present our main event, the Seattle Deaf Film Festival (SDFF), where you will have many opportunities to see a variety of short and feature films by, about and for the Deaf Community! We believe that through cinema, we can promote a vibrant community of emerging and experienced Deaf filmmakers, actors and producers. You'll see films from the United States as well as from all over the world, in five categories: drama, documentary, animation, comedy and mystery!

White Space Screening at San Diego Black Film Festival Friday January 27th, 7pm

Tanya Alexander in White Space

Join us for a White Space Screening!

Friday January 27th, 2012 at 7pm

The San Diego Black Film Festival

Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15,

701 5th Avenue

San Diego, CA 92101

(located on the 5th at G.)

White Space is an Official Selection of the 2012 SDBFF!

We hope that our supporters in San Diego and Greater Los Angeles will join us at the festival! White Space is screening in a coveted Friday night slot at 7:30pm before a screening of the feature film, Unspoken Word. There will be a Q and A after the screening with White Space Writer/Director Maya Washington and White Space Production and Cast members.

Tickets are $10 through the festival.
Screening Schedule and information
available at the SDBFF Website
http://sdbff.com/

PARKING: Horton Plaza (only a couple of blocks from there) offer three hours free parking with validation. Validation is free. Simply insert your parking ticket in any of the various parking validation kiosks located throughout Horton Plaza.

Caution: Each minute after three hours is very expensive. Consider arriving early and seeking-out free parking on the streets (which are far and few between) or simply purchase all-day parking at various parking lots in the Gaslamp Quarter. ($17-$20), car-pool and split the cost, if you plan on attending the festival longer than three hours, as most attendees do. But the easiest and least expensive way to do the San Diego Black Film Festival is to consider taking the bus or Trolley.

DRIVING: From the east county areas, take I-94 West to downtown, (94 West becomes F Street in downtown, and runs directly into parking facility at mall). From I-8 West, take 163 South, continue on 10th Avenue, make a right on F Street (F Street runs into parking facility at mall). From North County or Los Angeles area, take I-5 South to downtown, exit on 10th Avenue. Make a right on F Street (F Street runs into parking facility at mall). From Escondido, Riverside, San Bernardino areas, take I-15 North, 163 South. Continue to F Street (right).  F Street runs into parking facility at mall). Once at the mall, simply walk to 5th& G Street.

WALKING: The entrance to the San Diego Black Film Festival is at 5th & G.

We hope to see you there!