Authoring Action Documentary to Screen at Film Festivals Worldwide

Submitted by Nathan Ross Freeman on Sun, 03/28/2010 - 5:02pm

Winston-Salem, N.C. (March 9, 2010) -- Authoring Action, a feature documentary produced and edited by Nathan Ross Freeman, co-founder of the non-profit organization that now bears the same name (formerly known as The Winston-Salem Youth Arts Institute), has been selected to screen at a series of international and domestic film festivals. This honor will shine a spotlight on the work and mission of Authoring Action, a unique Winston-Salem-based educational enrichment and outreach organization for youth.

The film, which has already garnered a nomination for “Best Documentary Under 100 Minutes” by the organizers of the Swansea Bay Film Festival to be held in South Wales this May, chronicles the seven-year tale of Authoring Action, following youth participants as they discover their voices, define their dreams and learn to become the change they want to be in the world. 

Authoring Action celebrated its inaugural screening of the documentary at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., and won its inaugural Official Film Festival Selection at the Peachtree Village International Film Festival in Atlanta, GA. The documentary is now selected to screen the following festivals, with a number of additional stateside acceptances pending:

International Screenings:

  • Swansea Bay Film Festival: Port Talbot, Swansea Bay, South Wales, United Kingdom – May 7-16
  • International Film Festival Thailand: Patong-Phuket, Thailand – July 13-17
  • International Youth Film Festival UK: Port Talbot, South Wales – August 3 -7
  • African Enterprise International Christian Film Festival: Port Talbot, South Wales – August 3 -7
  • The Heart of England International Film Festival, Tenbury Wells, Worcester, England – August 10-13
  • International Film Festival Ireland: Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland –September 4-11
  • Film Festival South Africa: Dargle Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa – November 2-8

Domestic Screenings

  • International Documentary Film Festival USA: Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA – October 12-16
  • Alabama International Film Festival: Alabama, USA –October 24-30
  • NewFilmmakers Festival: New York, New York

“Our new name – Authoring Action, abbreviated A2 – reflects the possibilities for exponential positive change as young people are empowered to claim authorship of their lives and serve as a force for building a better bridges for a better community,” said Freeman. “In the year ahead, we aim to share our experiences and successes in fostering positive youth development through the Authoring Action model with ever wider circles of young people and leaders in education, youth development, the arts and other areas, and the screening of the documentary at venues here and abroad is a significant step toward that end.”

Freeman and Authoring Action’s leadership expect the screenings will result in new opportunities to share their model, as well as to collaborate with others who are eager to instill an empowered sense of self, accomplishment and possibility among all youth and who are intrigued by the idea of integrating a modern-day "rite of passage" into the fabric of their learning communities.

While the film’s primary target audiences are those working with youth and youth themselves, the film offers much food for thought for the general viewer as well.

“Our youth have much to say and contribute to the topics of justice, self-love, violence, intimacy, family, peers, school, the environment and more. It is largely their own words and voices that comprise the film, making it an eye-opening listen and learn for anyone with the heart to hear what they have to say,” said Freeman.

“We are grateful to all those who supported this two-year undertaking to compile hundreds of hours of footage shot since the program’s inception,” said Lynn Rhoades, Executive Director for Authoring Action.

“The film, along with the soon-to-be published first anthology devoted to the literary works of middle and high school age authors developed through the Authoring Action program, is a celebration of the contributions of the professional artists, writers and mentors who have supported the program over the years, and it is a celebration of our youth who have moved beyond preconceived notions of ability to harness the power of creative writing and the spoken word to call to action our global community toward positive change.”

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