Filmmakers to Travel With Films
to Public Screenings

Baltimore, MD – August 3, 2017 – Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation has announced the film lineup for the 2017-2018 season of the On Screen/In Person program. On Screen/In Person tours independent American filmmakers to communities across the mid-Atlantic region to screen their recent work and increase accessibility and appreciation for film through direct audience engagement. The 2017-2018 films include:

	Big Sonia Director Leah Warshawski   For years, Sonia Warshawski (90) has been an inspirational public speaker at schools and prisons, where her stories of surviving the Holocaust as a teenager have inspired countless people who once felt their own traumas would leave them broken forever. But when Sonia is served an eviction notice for her iconic tailor shop (in a dead mall), she’s confronted with an agonizing decision: either open up a new shop, or retire. For a woman who admits she stays busy “to keep the dark parts away”, facing retirement dredges up long-forgotten fears and memories of her past. Big Sonia explores what it means to be a survivor and how this affects families and generations.
	DEEJ Director Robert Rooy   DEEJ is the story of DJ Savarese (“Deej”), a gifted, young writer and an advocate for nonspeaking autistics. As a child, he was trapped in a silent world, abused in foster care, and written off as “retarded”. Now, as a high school student dreaming of college, he confronts the terrors of his past, stubborn obstacles to inclusion, and the often paralyzing beauty of his own senses. In this first-of-its-kind collaboration between a veteran filmmaker and a nonspeaking autistic, Robert Rooy and DJ share editorial control as they navigate the challenges of representing autism.
	Ghost Town to Havana Director Eugene Corr   Ghost Town to Havana follows filmmaker Eugene Corr as he spends five years on ball fields in inner city Oakland and Havana, documenting the lives of two extraordinary youth baseball coaches: Nicolás Reyes, a 61 year old Afro-Cuban who coaches in an economically desperate Havana neighborhood, and Roscoe Bryant, a 46 year old African-American man coaching in an Oakland neighborhood wracked by three decades of gang violence. After two years of US/Cuba sanctions and red tape, Coach Roscoe and nine players fly to Havana to play Coach Nicolas’ team. As the boys gradually warm to the fun-loving friendship of their hosts, Roscoe receives a fateful phone call from home. Right fielder Chris Fletcher’s stepfather has been murdered on an Oakland street.
	Little Stones Director Sophia Kruz   From a graffiti artist in the favelas of Brazil raising awareness about domestic violence, to a choreographer in India using dance to rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking, Little Stones profiles four women, each of whom are contributing a stone to the mosaic of the women’s movement through their art. Featuring interviews with leading women’s rights experts in government, philanthropy, technology, public health and education sectors, Little Stones is a powerful showcase of how art can create positive change for women and girls around the world.
	Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw Director Richard Goldsmith   From the rough-edged courts of New York City to recruitment by legendary Coach Pat Summitt in 1995 for the University of Tennessee’s Lady Vols, Chamique Holdsclaw impressed crowds with her artistry, athleticism, and drive. As a 3-time NCAA champ and Number One draft pick in the WNBA, Holdsclaw seemed destined for a spectacular professional career until her long-suppressed battle with mental disorders emerged to threaten her life. Narrated by Glenn Close, Mind/Game intimately chronicles Holdsclaw’s athletic accomplishments and personal setbacks, and her decision, despite public stigma, to become an outspoken mental health advocate.
	Oil & Water Co-Directors Francine Strickwerda and Laurel Spellman Smith   Oil & Water is the true story of two boys coming of age as they each confront one of the world’s worst toxic disasters. Hugo and David were born on opposite ends of the oil pipeline. Hugo comes to America to fight for the survival of his Cofan tribe in the Ecuadorian Amazon, while David goes to Ecuador to launch the world’s first company to certify oil as “fair trade.” Their journeys lead them to explore what could be a more just future, not just for the Cofan, but for all people around the world born with oil beneath their feet.

Regional nonprofit venues and arts organizations actively participate in the program by serving as host sites for the touring filmmakers through a partnership with Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. The filmmakers will tour with their films to the venues for public screenings which include question and answer sessions with the audience. Each filmmaker visit will also include a community engagement activity collaboratively developed by the filmmaker and local host site.

The tour will travel to nine venues in seven states during fall 2017 and spring 2018. Host sites include: Atlas Performing Arts Center (Washington, DC), Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (Philadelphia, PA), BlackRock Center for the Arts (Germantown, MD), Bloomsburg University (Bloomsburg, PA), Montgomery County Community College (Blue Bell, PA), The Queen Theater (Wilmington, DE), Reading Area Community College (Reading, PA), The Ware Center at Millersville University (Lancaster, PA), and Wayne Theatre Alliance (Waynesboro, VA). For a complete list of dates, times, locations, and other program activities, please contact the venues directly.

For film synopses, filmmaker biographies, and host site information, please click here.

Questions concerning On Screen/In Person should be directed to Kimberly Steinle-Super at kimberly@midatlanticarts.org.

On Screen/In Person is a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

About Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation develops partnerships and programs that reinforce artists’ capacity to create and present work and advance access to and participation in the arts. The Foundation was created in 1979 and is a private non-profit organization that is closely allied with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. It combines funding from state and federal resources with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to address needs in the arts from a regional, national, and international perspective. To learn more about MAAF, its programs and services, visit our website at www.midatlanticarts.org.

Contact:
Karen Newell
Director, External Affairs
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
karen@midatlanticarts.org
410.539.6656 x104