State budget cuts affects Arts
Council
With the current budget crisis, the Alabama State Council
on the Arts will be taking a very sizable cut in it's funding. Early reports put
the cut at 10% but the actual cut may be closer to 47% from last year. This
is expected to affect many arts group who heavily depend on the State Arts
Council for funding. For more information pick up a copy of the Tuesday Sept 16,
2003 edition of The Birmingham News.
News of The Alabama Film
Office
Leland Whaley has left the
position of Film Commissioner in the Alabama Film Office to start his own
public relation/communications firm. Although his term was short, he did assist
the production "Heaven's Fall" in securing the Monroeville
courthouse for some trial scenes. With the current budget crisis there are no
immediate plans to fill the vacancy.
From the National
AIVF
The past months have seen our Senators and Representatives
becoming
increasingly responsive to the concerns of their constituents in
areas
important to independent media makers. Efforts to preserve funding for
the
arts and to evaluate media deregulation have been phenomenal. AIVF
members
have played an important role in asking for representation on these
issues.
We can accomplish even more during the second Annual Media
Advocacy Day,
Friday September 26, 2003. On Media Advocacy Day, AIVF members
across the
nation ask their legislators for continued representation on
Funding for
Media, Intellectual Property, and Public Policy issues. Our
Advocacy Toolkit
summarizes the issues and provides tips on how to have a
productive meeting.
Washington D.C. is not the only place to meet your
legislator and ask for
what you need: every Representative and Senator
maintains an office in their
home district. Media Advocacy Day is about
engaging with your legislator in
your district.
Join us this year on Media Advocacy Day. If you cannot
participate in a
local visit with your legislator you can set aside fifteen
minutes that day
to fax a letter, or make a phone call. Your participation
can be at any
level you choose, but it is important that you make your voice
heard!
For more information or to be listed as a delegation in
your community
email: members@aivf.org
AIVF informs and
advocates on behalf of issues of critical importance to the
independent
field.
Disney implements "Mission Impossible"
style DVDs
If you watched the '60s- '70s TV show "Mission
Impossible" then the fictional scene of ".. this tape will self
destruct.." could become your new reality. These new
temporary DVDs are manufactured with a time limit. The DVDs are made
with chemicals that react to oxygen, once you open the vacuum package you
have a set period of time to watch the movie. When the DVD goes bad you just
throw it away. Intended for the rental market (so that you don't have to bring
them back) the new Disney DVDs will be unwatchable 48 hours after opening
the wrapper. Disney plans to sell these 'self destruct' DVDs for $6.00 each. For
more information go to http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/09/technology/disney_dvd.reut/index.htm
.
Federal jobs may go
overseas
This may seem like the 'Saturday Night Live' sketch of
'Reagen's Pod People' (circa 1979), but the idea has been broached with the Bush
Administration. With many manufacturing jobs, then technology jobs then
informational jobs going over seas to lower paid English speakers, now is a
plan to shift middle level bureaucratic jobs off shore to save
money. You may soon have to check on your Medicare
or Social Security by calling India or even (gasp) Vietnam. For more information
got to
Sidewalk Film
Festival
The big news for this weekend will the Sidewalk Film
Festival Sept. 19-21. Taking place in and around the Alabama Theater/Carver
Theater district of downtown Birmingham. From the Friday night opening to
the close on Sunday there will be all categories of films to be seen and a few
live events to go along with it.
Special this year will be a children's film screening at
the McWane Center on Saturday and Sunday.
There is also a high school competition that should be
interesting Expected too is the 2002 Short Script Compaction winner
"Vigorish" by Chris Mohney. Announced at the end of last year's
festival and read at the closing festivities at Workplay,
"Vigorish" was judged by Arik
Sokol, Jamie Lawrence and Tom Wofford to the short script to be film in
35mm by Vazda Studio and shown at this year's festival.
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