Meet the Filmmaker: Paula Heredia

Meet the Filmmaker: Paula Heredia
Africa Rising”

Date: Thursday, February 10, 2011
Location: NY NATAS, 1375 Broadway (between 37th and 38th Streets), Suite 2103
Reception: 6:00-6:30 PM~ Program: 6:30-8:00 PM

*Free to NY NATAS Members!
$15 for those without current NY NATAS membership

From the Horn of Africa to the Western shores of the sub-Saharan nations, every day 6,000 girls are subjected to a practice called female genital mutilation or FGM. And every day, with little more than fierce determination and deep love for their communities, brave activists are leading the path against all odds to break the silence about this centuries-old tradition. Together these women and men have created a formidable grassroots movement to end FGM. Africa Rising is an extraordinary film presenting an insightful look at the frontlines of a quiet revolution taking the African continent by storm. Masterfully directed by Paula Heredia, Africa Rising paints an intimate portrait of courageous individuals with dignity and strength, whose passion for justice is changing the course of history. The film celebrates girls like Beatrice and Edna Kandie, sisters who fled their home after learning their father was planning to cut them and succeeded in getting a court order of protection against him. The film also features the moving story of Fanta Camara from Mali who, despite years of suffering from injuries as a result of FGM, blossoms into a bright young woman. Other girls, however, have faced ultimate tragedy such as Tato, a teenaged anti-FGM activist who lost her life to FGM.  Covering rural stories from across the continent, Africa Rising will leave the viewer cheering for these unlikely heroes who share their conviction that ending female genital mutilation is within our reach and visible on the horizon.

Paula Heredia is an award-winning Salvadoran filmmaker, internationally acclaimed for her work in documentaries, the avant-garde and narrative shorts. Paula was awarded with an Emmy® Award for the HBO documentary In Memoriam, NYC 9/11/01 and an ACE Eddie Award for the acclaimed documentary Unzipped. Addiction, a documentary series for HBO received the Emmy® Governors Award in 2007. Alive Day Memories – Home from Iraq, executive produced by James Gandolfini, was nominated for a 2008 Emmy® Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special, and most recently the documentary The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not For Sale, edited by Paula, won a 2009 Emmy® Award for Best Cultural Program.  Her directorial work includes the documentaries George Plimpton and the Paris Review, Ralph Gibson-Photographer and The Couple in the Cage. Her short fiction film La Pajara Pinta was shot on location in the mountains of El Salvador, premiered at the Lincoln Center Film Society LatinBeat Film Festival and was shown in festivals around the world. In her home country, El Salvador, Paula initiated the Digital Cinema program which provides professional development and opportunities for an emerging group of Central American filmmakers in the production of digital films for regional and international distribution.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED DUE TO BUILDING SECURITY. ALL NAMES MUST BE ON GUEST LIST.
Please RSVP via email
info@nyemmys.org to reserve a seat.Use film title Africa Rising” in subject line of email.

Produced & Moderated by Sumner Jules Glimcher

Location: NY NATAS
1375 Broadway, Suite 2103
New York , NY 10018

Date: Feb. 10, 2011, 1 p.m. - Feb. 10, 2011, 3 p.m.