Compassionate Dallas/Ft. Worth Hosts a Screening.

On Monday, November 18, Compassionate Dallas/Ft. Worth (part of Charter for Compassion) is hosting a screening of the film in conjunction with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church in Richardson at 7:00.  It is being co-hosted by Richardson Interfaith Alliance and Faith Forward Dallas and the Thanks-Giving Foundation.  I will be attending and conducting a Q & A following the screening.

This screening is an example what we are doing with our National Outreach Campaign.  If you know of any organizations or conferences that may be interested in screening the film, please contact me.

Our National Outreach Campaign Has Begun!

Our National Outreach Campaign has begun, and we have hired a marketing firm that specializes in this type of campaign for advocacy documentaries. Here is a brief explanation from our brochure:

We’d like for you to join us on the front line as we introduce the nation to Community First, A Home for the Homeless through our National Outreach Campaign. The first step to achieving our goal is to reach the activists, policymakers, foundations, and companies that are actively involved in battling our homelessness crisis. We believe our story and message can inspire and educate leaders that are in a position to help people find the housing, dignity, and community we all deserve. We will accomplish this by:

‣ Red carpet film festival screenings to build awareness
‣ Partnerships with influencers in the areas of academia, faith, and media
‣ Screenings & discussions at top universities and libraries
‣ Grassroots faith outreach to churches, mosques, and community centers
‣ National television broadcast on PBS or CNN
‣ Digital release on iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix

On October 29, I will be presenting the film at the Texas Nonprofit Summit. I’m super excited about this, and we’re hoping this is the first of many more conferences where we can introduce the Community First! Village model. The conference will be held at the beautiful Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio, and the film will screen at 3:15. Please contact me if you know of any conferences or organizations who may be interested in learning about this innovative approach to ending homelessness.

Next Wednesday, July 24, our documentary Community First, A Home for the Homeless will be screening at the New Hope Film Festival in the beautiful arts community of New Hope, PA.  If you have any friends or family near there, I hope you’ll forward this to them.

Also, the Southern Circuit Tour has officially announced their upcoming tour of films for the 2019-2020 season.  I recently mentioned that we were one of 24 films selected for this prestigious event, but they have now posted the official roster and partners.  As stated in their newsletter: ” The Screening Partners convened in Atlanta for an annual gathering to curate films for the upcoming season. ‘We always say it’s like a fantasy football draft,’ laughed Hollingsworth. ‘The Screening Partners know their communities very well and have spent countless hours reviewing all of the potential films under consideration.’”  As stated on their web site: "Southern Circuit brings the best of new independent film to communities across the South”.  The tour for Community First, A Home for the Homeless will include Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia and will take place in February of 2020.  We feel extremely honored to have been chosen!

Last, but not least, the Global Peace Film Festival just sent me their schedule, and our film will be screening on Saturday, September 21.  As I mentioned before, Art From the Streets also screened at this festival, and I love their overall  theme and the people who run it!

Stay tuned, more to come!

Spectacular Night for a Screening!

Last Saturday night we had beautiful weather and a huge crowd for the screening of our documentary at Community First! Village!  According to Ed Travis, the director of the Community Cinema: “We had the biggest crowd of 2019 so far and took in the most substantial donations of any event this year as well. “  That’s pretty special considering they have screenings every Friday night (at a minimum) that are open to the public and are free.  I want to thank Ed Travis, Community Cinema, and Community First! Village for hosting such a wonderful event!

June 29, 2019 at the Community Cinema amphitheater.

Screening at Community Cinema!

On the evening of Saturday, June 29, there is a free screening of our documentary Community First, A Home for the Homeless at Community First! Village. It will be screened in the beautiful amphitheater built by the Alamo Drafthouse which is called the Community Cinema. I would love to see you there!

Here is some info that the Community Cinema has posted about the event:

Come explore Community First! Village, pick your spot, and enjoy your favorite movie snacks from the Community Grille. Burgers, french fries, snacks, and drinks will be available for purchase (cards only, cash no longer accepted). We encourage you to support our Community Grille rather than bringing outside food and drinks.

The event is free, however a $5 donation would be highly appreciated. Donations can be made electronically when RSVPing to this event or via donation bucket at the venue.

Dogs on leashes are welcome at Community Cinema movie nights!

For more info about the event, go to:

www.facebook.com/events/2148649682091921/

Please share this with your friends!

More Good News!

I am extremely excited and honored to announce that Community First, A Home for the Homeless is one of 24 films selected to be in the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers for the upcoming year. Simply put: "Southern Circuit brings the best of new independent film to communities across the South”.  As part of the tour, our documentary will be screening at six different cities across the southern U.S. Their "year" starts in September, so we will be on their roster then.  For more info go to: https://www.southarts.org/touring-arts/southern-circuit/.

Festival Updates!

We had three fantastic screenings at our world premiere at SXSW and followed that up with two great screenings at The Thin Line Film Fest in Denton.  I was lucky to have several close family members and old friends attend those festivals.  It was great!

Here's what's coming up.  We have been selected to screen at the Greenwich International Film Festival in  May, the Vero Beach Wine + Film Festival in June, and the New Hope Film Festival in July.  And, we are honored to have  been chosen as one of the 37 features in the American Film Showcase for this upcoming year. Among the other films selected were Oscar winner "Free Solo" and Oscar nominated "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and "RBG". The American Film Showcase (AFS) brings award-winning American films to audiences around the world, offering a view of American society and culture as seen by independent filmmakers. Funded by a grant from the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and produced by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA), the Showcase highlights the value of film in fostering understanding and cooperation, dialogue and debate. Working with 40-50 selected US embassies and consulates per year, AFS sends American filmmakers and film experts on 7-10 day international cultural diplomacy trips made up of screenings, masterclasses, workshops and press engagements.

SXSW Screening Schedule

Here’s the schedule for the world premiere of Community First, A Home for the Homeless:

Saturday, March 9 at 10:45 AM  at Rollins Theatre at The Long Center
Monday, March 11 at 9:00 PM  at AFS Cinema
Saturday, March 16 at 12:30 PM  at Topfer/ZACH Theatre

I certainly hope to see you there! And, we were thrilled to be included on this list from the Austin American-Statesman: “40 Films we’ve got to see at SXSW 2019”!

SXSW 2019 World Premiere

I am thrilled to announce that my documentary, Community First, A Home for the Homeless, will have its World Premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival here in Austin.

They have not announced the screening schedule yet, but the film festival is between March 8 and March 16. I would be honored to have you attend. Once the screening schedule has been released, we will pass that information on.

Thanks to all of you for your interest and support. I really hope to see you at the Premiere!

One Year Ago

Today is the one year anniversary of the successful Kickstarter funding for our documentary, Community First, A Home for the Homeless. I want to thank all of you who made a contribution!

I'm happy to say that after working on the film for a year and a half, we finished editing in July 2018 and are now entering it into film festivals. I am extremely excited about sharing this film with everybody. I will keep you informed about festivals, screenings, and Blu-rays as those details become available.

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Thanks again for your support and generosity!