triggerhappymedia

It’s been a busy couple of weeks! Last Monday, Marna and I were given a tour of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger. Development Director Stewart Desmond showed us the supermarket-style food pantry and a chef training lesson in action. Their clients not only learn valuable professional tools, but also how to make tasty, healthy recipes using the food available through the pantry program.

Tuesday I spent the day at Harlem Children’s Zone. Media consultant and friend Rayme Samuels organized a screening of my film, plus a discussion on editing strategies with her talented group of media students. They are currently putting together a program of pre-recorded pieces tied into a live show. I can’t wait to return and see their work.

The best part was hearing what the high school students thought about the issues raised in Fly on the Wall. What is the food situation like in their own neighborhoods? Are their lives personally effected by hunger, obesity, diabetes? Why do they think problems related to food access exist? What do they think can be done to affect change?

I captured on camera lively discussions at both the WSCAH and HCZ- more to come…

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Trigger: Fly on the Wall

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for the Hungry Filmmakers’ screening of Fly on the Wall. For their support of the film, I would especially like to thank Aaron Lubarsky, Suzanne Hillinger, and the amazing Brooklynites who invited Marna and my camera into their businesses.

After the screening, I chatted with two teachers who work in Brooklyn public schools. One told me that her students call baby carrots “teacher food”; they see their teachers bringing this healthy snack to work with them, but otherwise they are like a foreign object in the neighborhood where they live. The other spoke of a child so malnourished from only eating processed foods that his growth was severely stunted.

The problem of food access and imbalance in our communities, in New York City and beyond, is serious and urgently needs to be addressed.

My hope is that Marna’s project can be used as a tool to draw more attention to the issue and to elicit change…stay tuned.

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Trigger: Hungry Filmmakers

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Back by popular demand, the food documentary film screening and discussion event, Hungry Filmmakers, will return to Anthology Film Archives on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.

The next Hungry Filmmakers will showcase excerpts from five food conscious films:

Fresh- Ana Sofia Joanes
Mad Cow Investigator- Nancy Good
What’s On Your Plate?- Catherine Gund
The End of the Line- Rupert Murray
Fly on the Wall- Jenny Montasir

Doors open at 6:30 PM
Screenings begin at 7:00 PM

A post-screening discussion will be moderated by Kerry Trueman- editor of EatingLiberally.org A reception will follow in the theatre lobby with complimentary snacks, Lagunitas beer and wine from T Edwards. BYOC (bring your own cup) strongly encouraged if you wish to have a drink.

Tickets are $15 at the door and in advance. Visit Brown Paper Tickets to purchase online.

Hungry Filmmakers is a not-for-profit event hosted by Shelley Rogers, Cathy Erway, Jimmy’s No. 43 and Tim Lynch. Proceeds will be donated to the nonprofit organization Just Food, which works to promote access of fresh, seasonal, sustainable grown food for all New York City residents.

Hope to see you there!
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Trigger: Hungry Filmmakers

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?
–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Trigger: Yele Haiti

and I’ve been up to…

…post-production for a documentary that will air on the History Channel. That’s all I can say for now. But the subject is amazing and I am incredibly excited about it!

… directing my own short documentary. I was given the opportunity to film (with a Flip MinoHD, the smallest HD camera available- it’s the size of an iPod) right here in Brooklyn. I will be editing it over the next few weeks, and hope to have something to show soon.

…working at the Food Bank For New York City. Approximately four million New Yorkers experience difficulty affording food, and the Food Bank’s soup kitchens and pantries serve 1.3 million-pretty staggering numbers.

In some triggerhappymedia-type news, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, may be closing with speculation that it will be replaced by a mid-week magazine. As magazines stateside are faltering or failing, it’s interesting that Guardian News and Media would go that route.

In the meantime, I expressed my love for the current Observer Magazine (tucked away in every Sunday edition) to my friend who arrives today from London. She has been collecting them for me week by week in case they are, in fact, the best of the last.

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Trigger: Guardian Media admits The Observer may be closed

It used to be that musicians wanting to spread philanthropic vibes in the name of Africa would gathering together to record timeless classics like 1984’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” That song has stuck around since then (like it or not), as has Bono’s commitment to the cause.

Over 20 years later, “Brooklyn Go Hard” by Jay-Z featuring Santogold is available via the (Red) Wire campaign to eliminate AIDS in Africa. The song is also part soundtrack for Notorious, the upcoming film about B.I.G.

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Trigger: Typographical illustration by Evan Roth

Awhile back, I wrote about a potential flaw in the Truth Isn’t Sexy campaign: men who pay for sex might not be concerned with the large-scale effects of their behavior (slavery, abuse, etc).

From The Guardian’s lead article on the increased incidence of sex trafficking into Britain:

“In a recent study by the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University, researchers asked men arrested for kerbcrawling to pick from a list of factors which might deter them from buying sex. While some agreed that large fines or being publicly shamed would do so, none cited knowing that a woman was forced into prostitution.”

The British government hopes that harsher laws against clients will be the key to stalling the growing sex trade.

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Trigger: “Men who buy sex could face prosecution” by Tania Branigan
Site: Guardian Unlimited

A friend of mine who visited New Orleans in May wrote of Hurricane Katrina: “it’s a reflection of every single one of us and the vulnerability we all share as natives of this country. None of us are safe from abandon.”

We must keep talking about it.

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Trigger:”Summertime - and after Katrina, life still ain’t easy” by Ewen MacAskill
Site: Guardian Unlimited
Quote: “When Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005, the resulting water surge left 80% of New Orleans flooded, and devastated the small communities dotted along the surrounding coastline. More than 1,800 were killed. The federal government, Louisiana state and the city council have rebuilt some of the flood protection. But bureaucratic bungling and lethargy have stalled reconstruction. Of almost $27bn (£13.4bn) in federal aid allocated for housing and infrastructure, only a quarter has been spent.”

“Without demand there would be no market for trafficked women and children.” These words come from The Truth Isn’t Sexy Campaign, a London-based initiative to raise awareness of the connection between prostitution and sexual slavery.

One way they’re spreading the message is by placing the above posters in pub toilets. Granted, a man considering paying for sex might not think of the abuse and exploitation he is helping to support. But the creative is strong and will undoubtedly draw much needed attention to this issue.

To find out how to put together a campaign in your city, click below.

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Trigger: Get involved: The truth isn’t sexy

The latest trend in the world of volunteer and charity work is a shift away from the traditional forms of philanthropy.

Two organizations- Taproot Foundation and Social Design Network- are maximizing the idea of charitable giving by thoughtfully matching people to projects.

The Taproot Foundation’s mission is to strengthen non-profits by organizing business professionals- web designers, copy editors, marketing directors, and project managers- to provide pro bono services to them on a per project basis.

The Social Design Network hosts competitions eliciting designs that address social issues. Current competitions include a global warming awareness campaign, and
designing a temporary emergency shelter.

See how your community needs you at:

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Trigger: Taproot Foundation & Social Design Network