Shine Global is re-teaming with Sean and Andrea Fine on our new project INOCENTE!
September 2, 2010
Shine Global is very happy to announce that we are re-teaming with the directors of War/Dance, Sean and Andrea Fine, in our upcoming project INOCENTE. We will also be working with Emanuel Michael of Unison Films and Yael Melemede of Salty Features.
In San Diego, a young teenage girl’s eyes stare into a compact mirror. She paints a dramatic black swirl around her eye. Never knowing what her day will bring, the one constant she counts on is knowing how it will begin – – with paint.
INOCENTE is an intensely personal and vibrant coming of age feature documentary about a young artist’s fierce determination to never surrender to the bleakness of her surroundings.
At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be caged by her life as an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years. Color is her personal revolution and its extraordinary sweep on her canvases creates a world that looks nothing like her own dark past – – a past punctuated by a father deported for domestic abuse, an alcoholic and defeated mother of four who once took her daughter by the hand to jump off a bridge together, an endless shuffle year after year through the city’s overcrowded homeless shelters and the constant threat of deportation.
Despite this history, Inocente’s eyes envision a world transformed…where buildings drip in yellow and orange, where pink and turquoise planets twinkle with rescued dreams, and one eyed childlike creatures play amongst loved babies and purple clouds. Inocente’s family history is slowly revealed through her paintings, which are brought to life onscreen in an animated storyline of her own creation and woven throughout the narrative.
Told entirely in her own words, we come to Inocente’s story as she realizes her life is at a turning point, and for the first time, she decides to take control of her own destiny. Irreverent, flawed and funny, she’s now channeling her irrepressible personality into a future she controls. Her talent has finally been noticed, and if she can create a body of work in time, she has an opportunity to put on her first art show. Meanwhile, her family life is at a tense impasse – – if she legally emancipates herself from her mother to strike out on her own, she’ll risk placing her brothers in foster care, but to stay is unbearable.
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. Neither sentimental nor sensational, INOCENTE will immerse you in the very real, day-to-day existence of a young girl who is battling a war that we rarely see. The challenges are staggering, but the hope in Inocente’s story proves that the hand she has been dealt does not define her, her dreams do.
Visit our INOCENTE Project page and stay tuned for updates!
Attend the Emmy Awards With Us!
August 16, 2010
Don’t miss out on the opportunity for you and a guest to attend the 31st Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards in New York City at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located in the Time Warner Center. Visit CharityFolks.com to bid on this once in a life time experience!
Start out your special evening at the cocktail dinner reception before the Awards Ceremony, where you will mingle with media industry executives and talk with Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, the directors and Susan MacLaury and Albie Hecht, the producers of the documentary film War/Dance. The film has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for Best Documentary and Best Cinematography. War/Dance was nominated in 2008 for an Academy Award. Following the reception, you will join the filmmakers in orchestra seats for the Awards Ceremony.
War/Dance was Sean and Andrea’s directorial debut at Sundance. The husband and wife team has filmed in more than 30 countries to bring powerful human stories to the screen. They met while directing films for National Geographic and formed Fine Films in 2003. Honors include an Emmy, a Chris Award, and honorable mentions at the New York Film Festival and the Missoula Wildlife Film Festival. The Fines live in the Washington, D.C., area with their two-year-old son.
Albie Hecht oversaw production at Nickelodeon Movies, where he has produced films such as Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events starring Jim Carey and Meryl Streep, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and The Rugrats Movie. Hecht was nominated for an Oscar in The Academy’s inaugural Best Animated Feature category, as the Producer of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which was a Golden Globe Nominee as well.
For television Hecht discovered and developed SpongeBob SquarePants, guiding the franchise into the multi-billion dollar cultural phenomenon it is today. For Nick Jr., he oversaw the production of breakthrough hits like Blue’s Clues and developed the successful Dora the Explorer franchise. Hecht is currently serving as Executive Producer of Shine Global’s second feature length documentary, THE HARVEST.
Susan MacLaury is a professor and the Executive Director of the non-profit film production company Shine Global and Hecht has spent over twenty years as a top film and television producer and network executive.
The Emmys will be attended by more than 1,000 television and news media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists. Emmy® Awards will be presented in 41 categories, including Breaking News, Investigative Reporting, Outstanding Interview, and Best Documentary, among others.
“From the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the struggling American economy, to the inauguration of Barack Obama, 2009 was a significant year for major news stories,” said Bill Small, Chairman of the News & Documentary Emmy® Awards. “The journalists and documentary filmmakers nominated this year have educated viewers in understanding some of the most compelling issues of our time, and we salute them for their efforts.”
War Dance Nominated for Two Emmys!
July 16, 2010
We are so very proud to announce that War Dance, our first feature documentary, has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for Best Documentary and Best Cinematography. A heartfelt thanks and congratulations to everyone involved, especially Sean and Andrea Fine. The awards join the Academy Award Nomination and twenty other festival recognitions for War Dance.
Nominations for the 31st Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards were announced July 15th by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The News & Documentary Emmy® Awards will be presented on Monday, September 27 at a ceremony at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City. The event will be attended by more than 1,000 television and news media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists. Emmy® Awards will be presented in 41 categories, including Breaking News, Investigative Reporting, Outstanding Interview, and Best Documentary, among others.
“From the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the struggling American economy, to the inauguration of Barack Obama, 2009 was a significant year for major news stories,” said Bill Small, Chairman of the News & Documentary Emmy® Awards. “The journalists and documentary filmmakers nominated this year have educated viewers in understanding some of the most compelling issues of our time, and we salute them for their efforts.”
This year’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Frederick Wiseman, one of the most accomplished documentarians in the history of the medium. In a career spanning almost half a century, Wiseman has produced, directed and edited 38 films. His documentaries comprise a chronicle of American life unmatched by perhaps any other filmmaker. Wiseman’s films typically focus on institutions, analyzing their inner workings and dramatizing the conflicts and dilemmas that arise in the course of carrying out their mission. Wiseman has received numerous awards over the course of his career, including three Emmys, Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships, The George Polk Career Award (2006) for “contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting,” and the Dan David Prize (2003) “for achievements having an outstanding scientific, technological, cultural or social impact on our world.”
For a full list of nominees please see http://www.emmyonline.tv/mediacenter/news_31st_nominees_data_list.html
A farewell
July 8, 2010
Albie Hecht, Susan MacLaury, and Rebecca Katz in 2008
Just over 2 and half years ago, I was hired as Shine’s first full-time employee and Executive Assistant. I was a recent college graduate, bright-eyed with a fiery passion for all things cinematic. Before starting work full time, Susan invited me to the opening of WAR DANCE at the Angelica in New York City. The emotional power and raw storytelling in the film astounded me, and I knew that this would be more than just a job for me, it was to become one of the most rewarding learning experiences of my life.
Through the years, I have had the privilege to be involved in every aspect of production and non-profit management. My tenure at Shine has been integral on a personal and professional level. Not only has it allowed me to discover my goal of becoming a film producer, but I have also found a family of mentors, colleagues, and friends. I have to thank Susan, Albie, Ruth Sarlin, Robin Romano, all of my fabulous interns, and board members for putting their trust in me to help Shine run smoothly on a daily basis.
This summer I will start graduate school at the University of Southern California in the Peter Stark Producing Program. I am leaving Shine in the very capable hands of former intern, Alexandra Blaney, who I know will do a stellar job holding down the Shine Global fort. Thank you all for giving me this amazing opportunity! This is not a real goodbye, just a ’see ya later…’
Sincerely,
Rebecca Katz
LA Events a Success!
June 22, 2010
LA Events a success!
The two screenings of the new Harvest footage were a great success!
Shine would like to thank the California Endowment, one of the grant supporters of the Harvest, for hosting one of the screenings and Jim Hecht for opening up his home to host the other.
We met a lot of new people interested in the Harvest and in Shine’s work who we hope will continue to follow and support us as well as seeing some faithful supporters.
Thanks to all who came and made the events such a great success!
Stay tuned for the next opportunity to see footage from the Harvest in your area!
Shine Global in Los Angeles!
May 11, 2010
Shine is planning two preliminary screenings of exclusive footage from THE HARVEST in Los Angeles in mid-June. We are excited to share some of the footage that Robin has brought back with our donors and supporters on the West Coast. Shine hopes to expand our donor base and add more members to our Board of Governors. We are looking forward to hearing reactions to never-before-seen footage of THE HARVEST! We’ll keep you posted!
Two Hugely Successful Events in Texas!
April 12, 2010
In February and March a few extremely generous hosts organized fundraising events for Shine to raise funds for The Harvest. We raised an incredible amount of money that is integral to finishing this documentary and putting together a marketing plan! We are so grateful to all of the attendees and our remarkably giving hosts. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
In addition, we want to highlight The Valley Alliance of Mentors for Opportunities & Scholarships (VAMOS), a nonprofit organization run primarily by devoted volunteers. Its goal is to provide renewable scholarships to all deserving Hispanic students in Hidalgo, Cameron, and Starr counties (Texas) for the purpose of completing a post secondary education. VAMOS is run by many of our generous donors, and we are so proud of the work that they do. Please check out their website, http://www.vamosscholars.org/index.php.
Updated Harvest Trailer!
March 3, 2010
We are happy to announce that a new version of THE HARVEST trailer is up on the homepage of our site as well as on Youtube. To watch it and other Shine videos on Youtube please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYEmolAeBmU. Become a follower on Youtube and comment! We love to hear your feedback!
The Harvest Enters Post Production
February 16, 2010
With most of the principal shooting finished, we are now in the midst of post production on The Harvest. We are working with Charlie Sadoff and Nick Clark of Mighty Pictures, who already edited The Harvest trailer so beautifully. So far, we have seen powerful scenes revolving around 12-year-old Zulema and her family. We are excited to move forward with editing and complete a rough cut!
Happy 2010!
January 4, 2010
We, at Shine Global, hope you had a wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year! We are welcoming the new year with gusto and are excited to be starting post-production on The Harvest. 2009 was a fantastic year for Shine, and we are hoping that 2010 will be even better! Stay up to date with us by joining our mailing list here and help us produce content that will raise awareness about the plight of children from around the world by donating here. Thank you for your continued support in 2010! We look forward to a wonderful and productive year!