[HERITAGE-LIST] FYI: SPEAKING IN TONGUES news

[Scott G. McGINNIS]

We wanted to keep up to date on the tremendous progress we've made with Speaking in Tongues , the public television documentary about children growing up bilingual.

We were delighted to receive substantial support from public television through the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) this past summer and are very close to raising our full budget to complete the film.

We've continued filming and honing our story and are now about 70% done with production. We are starting to edit as we complete our filming, and expect to have the film done by the end of next summer. A new 2- minute trailer  lays out the more complex approach we are taking. If you have a minute, please check it out our website and let us know what you think.

On the community engagement front, we are working with Active Voice, the strategic communication specialists who develop programs for social issue documentaries to support community and institutional change.  They've held several focus groups with key educators and advocates to hone in on ways the film can be most useful. We are planning an ambitious national campaign targeting  primary stakeholders: foreign language, bilingual and English Language Development educators; community activists; parents; heritage language advocates; policy makers; and those concerned with developing our nation's cross cultural competencies. We expect to produce targeted short video modules with supporting print materials for a variety of uses: teaching, community advocacy, and policy work. We are  fundraising to begin implementing this program to make the most of the opportunity created by a national PBS broadcast.

We've already had a number of requests to use our trailer from groups advocating for language programs in their communities. The feedback from viewer surveys is very encouraging. The film is a good spring board for some very important conversations.
 
Lastly, we were encouraged when the project at this early stage was nominated for  the Fledgling Fund's Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries and was chosen for a coveted spot in the Independent Film Project's Market.

We look forward to completing film within the year and would be very interested in exploring ways our work can support yours. Please let us know, too, if have ideas about who might be interested in supporting the film's community engagement work.

Best,

Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider
PatchWorks Films


 
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PATCHWORKS FILMS  
Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider, Filmmakers

663 7th Avenue
San Francisco, CA  94118  USA  

(415) 387-5912 tel                     
(415) 203-5910   cell
marcia at patchworksfilms.net
ken at patchworksfilms.net
www.patchworksfilms.net