Free Community Event on Wednesday, May 11
Pleasantville, NY – In celebration of 15 years of uniting community around the media arts, the Jacob Burns Film Center presents The Power of Story, a special evening in partnership with SongwritingWith:Soldiers on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30. The program will feature conversation, film clips, and live music inspired by the work of this groundbreaking organization to celebrate the transformative power of story and music. Panelists include Mary Judd, Darden Smith, filmmaker Jon Siskel, and Staff Sergeant Rob Spohr, along with a Live Musical Performance by singer/songwriters Darden Smith and Mary Gauthier.
Darden Smith, who is founder and creative director of SongwritingWith:Soldiers, along with Executive Director Mary Judd, have been dedicated to improving the lives of soldiers since 2012 by pairing veterans, active-duty service members, and military families with professional songwriters in retreat settings to craft songs about military experiences and the transition home. Along with Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier, filmmaker Jon Siskel, and SW:S veterans, they will share the stories, images, film clips, and collaborative songwriting which defines SongwritingWith:Soldiers as a home for creativity, connections, and strength.
Presented with support from Community Partners at WFUV 90.7 Public Radio, Fordham University.
This is a free community event. Please RSVP to ssoliman@burnsfilmcenter.org with the subject line “SW:S at JBFC,” your first and last name, and the number of tickets needed. (Limit is 4 tickets per person)
In conjunction with the evening, there will be a Media Exhibition of participating veterans’ portraits by Michael O’Brien in the JBFC Theater’s Jane Peck Gallery on the third floor.
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit cultural arts organization dedicated to: presenting the best of independent, documentary, and world cinema; promoting 21st century literacy, and making film a vibrant part of the community. Located on a 47,500 sq. foot, three-building campus in the center of Pleasantville, the JBFC is just 30 miles outside of New York City. Since the opening in 2001, over 2,000,000 people have seen over 5,400 films from more than 40 countries The campus includes the 27,000 sq. foot Media Arts Lab, the JBFC’s state-of-the-art education center, a creative and educational community for storytellers in the digital age, offering one-time workshops, intensive courses, and weekend programs for children and adults of all ages. To learn more about the Jacob Burns Film Center, visit www.burnsfilmcenter.org.
