Ripples & Film Reccs

First, coming up in 2024: I know there's been a hiatus, but I'm planning an online seres focusing on Hope, Sweet Hope, so stay tuned. Suggestions for screened content are very welcome, too!

Second, a big ripple for me is that I'm directing a feature film...

The main reason for the pause is that I'm directing a documentary feature film and impact campaign about the journey from homelessness to home.

We have an incredible team, including our producer Steven Ullman, also a past SSR Featured Guest, our Executive Producer, J. Todd Harris, CEO and Founder of Branded Pictures Entertainment, as well as our advisors, including Pat Mitchell and NPR and KCRW's Anna Scott.

This project is about the magic that happens when unhoused people move into 'forever homes" where their hopes and dreams can flourish. It will not only be about the courage it takes, but about the support partners that make it possible.

Watch the promo reel here. You can also meet our team and sign up for updates.

Also, if you or others might be interested in getting involved, let me know.

With year-end giving happening, we would LOVE IT if you'd consider making a tax-deductible donation.... and thank-you SO much to those who already have.

Third, RIPPLES & FILMS RECCS

This week I returned from 6 weeks up back East, so here goes:

• ATLANTA - Thanks to my Atlanta friends, as part of my research for the film, I got a close-up view of two initiatives relating homelessness and affordable housing:

• ATLANTA - I attended the PINK's Fall Women's Empowerment Luncheon, benefitting Covenant House Atlanta and presented by my friend & PINK Founder Cynthia Good. Moderated by Condace Pressley, Director of Community Public Affairs for WSB-TV, here's her A-list panel of top execs that talked about authenticity in the workplace:

- Allison Ausband, EVP & Chief Customer Experience Officer for Delta Airlines

- Kitty Chaney-Reed, Chief Leadership, Culture & Inclusion Officer for IBM

- Tameka Harper, Chief Diversity Officer for The Coca-Cola Company

- Laura Lee, Global Chief of Staff for Invesco

- Kia Palmer, EVP & Chief People Officer for Cox Communications

• NEW YORK - Then it was on to DOC NYC Pro, 8 full days of panels about all things doc, from Pitching, Producing, Directing and Cinemetograpy to Editing, Legal & Ethics, and Creativce Distribution. Thanks to Malikkah Rollins, Director of Industry & Edutcation and her team, there wasn't a single day or single panel that didn't deliver.

• NEW YORK - At 8pm on the last day of DOC NYC PRO, I headed to Times Square to raise awreness and funds via the Sleep Out for Covenant House. As I texted a friend the morning after, "I've never felt the steely cold of a New York sidewalk concrete matress. Sleeping on the street gives a very different view, of barricades, feet, and occasionally, rats."

• SAVANNAH - I also immersed in The 26th SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which once again delivered on all fronts (see more in my blog "comment").

SOME OF MY 2023 FILM RECCS:

• Kokomo City, by D. Smith, who I also had a great talk with at Doc NYC Pro

• The Holdovers

• May December

• Maestro - Directed by Bradley Cooper, who is phenomenal as Leonard Bernstein

• NYAD - With Annette Benning and Jodie Foster, from the directors of Free Solo

• American Symphony - About Jon Batiste, from director Matt Heineman

• Priscilla - from director Sofia Coppola

• Saltburn - Parasite meets Knives Out

• The Taste of Things - The "Festival Director's Choice" and a must-see when it comes out in Feb, with Juliette Binoche

• Oppenheimer - WELL worth seeing twice, yes twice

• American Symphony (Director Matthew Heineman) 

• Beyond Utopia (Director Madeleine Gavin) 

• Kokomo City (Director D. Smith) 

• Silver Dollar Road (Director Raoul Peck) 

• Stamped from the Beginning (Director Roger Ross Williams) 

• Still : A Michael J. Fox Movie (Director Davis Guggenheim) 

• The Eternal Memory (Director Maite Alberdi) 

• The Deepest Breath (Director Laura McGann) 

• The Mission (Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss) 

• 20 Days in Mariupol (Director Mstyslav Chernov) 

Shorts, not to be overlooked:

-The Last Repair Shop - (40 min.) I came across this and met the team at DOCNYCPro.

-Happy Campers  - An even shorter film, also at DOCNYC Pro, is a very special film.

Now that I'm home, I look forward to having feet on the ground until I head to Sundance in mid-January. Let me know if you'll be there!

In the meantime, please be in touch and wishing you a season of community, fun, peace, and love,

Christine