The Good Roundup

Inside the Texas Spirit Theater, at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, the crowd gathered for the second night of the Lights. Camera. Help. Focus on Good Nonprofit Film Festival. Outside on the front lawn folks danced the Texas two-step under the setting sun at the Bullock summer music series. 

David J. Neff, co-founder, opened the evening films with thanks to his many sponsors including Emma - Communicate in Style, and Convio. And then the show began….

The simplicity of the message and animation is compelling…it gets you thinking Water Changes Everything! This 3 minute PSA for Charity Water got the night going, but this was the beginning of an hour long emotional roller coaster.

Next up…A Thousand Suns (27 Minutes) an interconnected cultural view on agriculture and food sustainability from the perspective of the Gamo people of the Rift Valley in Africa. 

After watching this film I thought I must find the filmmakers with the GlobalOnenessProject and send them the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart is a fictional tale of a community and culture transformed, and destroyed, for what is considered “good” as defined by Christian missionaries and political influences. The novel takes place in Nigeria and takes us through the struggle of a leader desperate to hold on to the culture of the Igbo people in the late nineteenth century. A Thousand Suns is the story now…over 100 years later and it is not fiction. Things Fall Apart was a fictional novel during the first Greening movement in Africa. Read the book and watch the film. Are we repeating past mistakes? Is the AGRA serving the communities or do the people of the Rift Valley already have their own answers?

A little light hearted PSA It’s Jolly Holly-dog Celebration (1 Minute) for Best Friends Animal Society.  I needed a laugh by now….ok, maybe it is a little creepy but funny!

A Read on Inside Books was the most powerful 9.5 minutes of video I have seen in a very long time.  When the volunteer at Inside Books said that the most moving letter he ever read was from an inmate who had been incarcerated longer than he had been alive…I too was ready to spend a Thursday night packing up books, or at minimum buying postage for those who were doing all the work.  A controversial subject…should prisoners be allowed the pleasures of education?  Maybe a different question to ask is…who benefits by not offering the offender the opportunity to educate themselves?  

Open Season: On Native Woman. Ok this was the most difficult. Stories on domestic violence and sexual abuse leave me with no words. This is personal. My own mother was a victim of domestic violence -  witnessing such violence as a child leaves scars and recovery is life long.  To see a film about women, and have it called Open Season was almost too much for me. The women in the film, the statistics, and their stories…again I have no words for. If you are courageous find a way to watch this sad but moving portrait. This film is not available for viewing on the Internet.  Click the link on the title for information on the filmmaker and connect with their Facebook page. 

Build. Believe. Become. (5 minute) PSA for Saint Louise House empowering woman with children who are facing homelessness in Central, Texas. This clip was very inspiring…this work is saving a generation.

A Public Services Announcement not approved by AJWS (American Jewish World Services)….saved my night!  All the films and PSAs I watched moved me.  I was moved to tears, anger, frustration and then laughter.  Watch and see what I mean. 

Intermission

Unexpectedly we had to leave…family will do that sometimes. The night’s long film was Urban Roots.  I ordered it this morning and cannot wait to see it.  Detroit is rebuilding and a garden… many, many gardens is not a bad place to start.  I will let you know what I think.

The last night of the Festival is tonight…

Satruday, July 30th 3:00 - 6:00PM (Free parking in lot on Red River - Lot 39)

The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service

Wrap party immediately after the screening!

6:30-10:00

Cuatros.

“Lights. Camera. Help. The Nonprofit Film Festival is the world’s first film festival dedicated entirely to nonprofit and cause-driven films.  This 3-day event gives films-for-a-cause the attention they deserve by putting them up on the big screen in a theater setting”

The hardest part of the Lights. Camera. Help. Focus on Good Film Festival is this is real life, and now what do you do with what you know?  Try to get out there and do something GOOD!