Ron Kaplan Article

Here’s a link to a recent article posted on Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf…

http://rksbaseballbookshelf.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/award-winning-film-gives-new-meaning-to-silent-spring/

Hall of Fame’s Baseball Film Festival a hit

Troika of movies take home hardware in event’s fourth year

By Bill Francis / National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Published: 10/05/2009 2:10 PM ET

Baseball Film Festival concluded Sunday in Cooperstown at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. (Bill Francis/Baseball Hall of Fame)

As big league baseball’s regular season came to a conclusion, except in the American League’s Central Division, the Fourth Annual Baseball Film Festival was ending another successful run.

The three-day long event, held at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, ran from Friday through Sunday. In all, 13 films of varied baseball subject matter, ranging in length from 12 to 90 minutes, were shown at the Hall’s Bullpen Theater.

The festivities came to an end Sunday afternoon with three awards handed out at a closing ceremony in the Museum’s Grandstand Theater. Capturing the Best Film Award was The Lost Son of Havana, the Award for Baseball Excellence went to Signs of the Time, and El Play captured the Award for Film Making Excellence.

Reached by telephone after the awards were presented, an overjoyed Kris Meyer, a producer of The Lost Son of Havana who represented the film in Cooperstown along with Executive Producer Bobby Farrelly when it was shown Friday, said, “It has been an incredible honor to make a film about one of baseball’s legends, and to screen it in Cooperstown at the Baseball Film Festival and to win it is just icing on the cake.

“Hopefully, we’ll return with another film soon.” The Lost Son of Havana documented former Major League pitching star Luis Tiant’s emotional return to his home in Cuba after 46 years in exile, and Signs of the Time examined the complicated history of hand signals in baseball. “Just blown away,” said Signs of the Time Director Don Casper when asked for his thoughts afterwards. “To receive an award for baseball excellence from Cooperstown is a real honor, especially when you make a baseball film. Being here for three days, seeing the quality of films that we were up against, it makes it even more special because there were really a lot of great quality films here.”

El Play told the story of an aspiring Dominican ballplayer from the baseball hotbed of San Pedro de Macoris and his struggles as he chases his dream of becoming a professional.

“This is thrilling,” said El Play’s director and producer, Pablo Medina, while clutching his award. “Just having gotten into this film festival is an honor as much as winning. I was not expecting it, and I’m not being modest.”

Judging this year’s Baseball Film Festival entrants were Jeff Katz, a baseball author/writer living in Cooperstown, Oneonta (N.Y.) Daily Star sportswriter P.J. Harmer, and Rob Edelman, a professor of film history at the University of Albany and the author of The Great Baseball Films. “I enjoy all of the films,” Katz said. “There was just a wide variety of subject matter. And even the films that weren’t award winners you could tell there was a real passion behind it.

“But I will say that I’m just endlessly impressed with The Lost Son of Havana. That really was one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, let alone a great baseball film. It was so well done and so emotional.” According to Stephen Light, the Hall’s manager of museum programs, the more than 20 films submitted and 13 shown were records for the four-year-old festival.

“I thought it was a great film festival because of the strength and diversity of the films,” Light said. “We had so many different topics and it just showed, I think, the strength of baseball as a film topic.”

Bill Francis is a library associate for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Fairport-produced baseball movie gathers honors

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle – Rochester,NY,USA
Jim Mandelaro

Much has changed about Signs of the Time since the locally produced documentary premiered at the George Eastman House last year.

Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss is the new narrator.

Major League Baseball footage has been added, including the controversial 1975 World Series play involving Cincinnati batter Ed Armbrister and Boston catcher Carlton Fisk.

And the 60-minute baseball film is on the festival trail, already winning “Best Documentary” at the High Falls Festival in Rochester last May and the SoCal Film Festival in Huntington Beach, Calif., last weekend.

Ray Manard, Executive Producer

“It’s a different film (from the original version),” said executive producer Ray Manard of Crystal Pix, a production company in Fairport.

“But the film is more than just about baseball. It’s about communication.”

Signs explores the contributions of deaf baseball player Dummy Hoy and legendary umpire Bill Klem, a Rochester native, toward the development of hand signals used in baseball.

It’s one of 13 films playing this weekend at the fourth annual Baseball Film Festival at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Signs is up for three awards: Best Film, the Award for Baseball Excellence and the Award for Film Making Excellence. The movie will be shown tonight along with The Lost Son of Havana, which chronicles the return to Cuba of Luis Tiant after 46 years.

Don Casper, the director of Signs of the Time, will be in Cooperstown to speak about the film.

Nearly 200 actors, writers, directors and producers worked on the film over a five-year period. Signs includes interviews with Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Earl Weaver and Brooks Robinson.

When the festival season ends, the film will have been shown in about 20 venues. In addition to Cooperstown, it also will be shown this weekend in Tacoma, Wash., and Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Coming up, it’s Secret City, Tenn. (mid-October); Celebration, Fla. (late October); and the Red Rock Film Fest in Utah (November).

Crystal Pix executives originally compiled a long wish list of possible narrators, including George Clooney, Harrison Ford and Billy Crystal.

“We wanted an actor with a good voice, and we wanted someone recognizable,” Manard said.

Dreyfuss won a Best Actor Oscar for The Goodbye Girl in 1977 and was nominated in 1995 for Mr. Holland’s Opus. He also was on the list. When he said “yes,” the search ended.

“He has a connection to deaf culture through Mr. Holland’s Opus,” Manard said. “I’m not sure why he decided to work with us, but it may have been that.”

Dreyfuss was in New York City last October promoting the movie W (he plays Dick Cheney), and Crystal Pix execs met him there to record the narration.

Signs of the Time Movie Poster

Including the Armbrister-Fisk play also was a coup. The filmmakers had to take the footage out of the original due to Major League Baseball restrictions. Now it is included.

In the 10th inning of Game 3 of the 1975 World Series, Armbrister collided with Fisk while attempting to sacrifice bunt. Fisk threw wildly to second base in an attempt to throw out Cesar Geronomo, and the Reds went on to win 4-3. Plate umpire Larry Barnett was criticized for not calling interference on Armbrister.

“Back that, there was no signal for interference,” Manard said. “All (Barnett) could do was point ‘fair ball.’ He couldn’t communicate ‘no interference.’”

Now, there is a signal for such a play.

“That controversy demonstrates the need for communication with the umpire and players on the field,” Manard said.

Crystal Pix eventually hopes to sell Signs of the Time to a network and then market it for home distribution. MLB Network, ESPN, A&E, The History Channel and the new Smithsonian Channel and Documentary Channel are possible buyers.

© 2009, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Fourth annual Baseball Film Festival returns Oct. 2-4

Three-day event highlights baseball on big screen

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Published: 09/08/2009 8:51 PM ET

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will recognize the twin traditions of baseball and film when, for the fourth consecutive year, it hosts the Baseball Film Festival in Cooperstown, Oct. 2-4.

Thirteen films, with themes ranging from women in baseball to a baseball league in Israel, will be screened on Friday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 4, as filmmakers compete for three awards given at the conclusion of the festival: the Best Film Award, the Award for Baseball Excellence and the Award for Film Making Excellence.

Tickets for the screening of Film Festival entries are free of charge but are limited and must be reserved. Members can reserve their tickets immediately, and any remaining seats will made available to the general public beginning Monday, Sept. 28, by calling the Membership Department at 607-547-0397 or by visiting the membership desk in the Museum. The awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m. in the Grandstand Theater and is open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

A complete list of the films to be screened and competing for top honors during the weekend:

Session 1
Friday, Oct. 2, 6 p.m.

The Lost Son of Havana (105 min.)
After 46 years in exile, former Major League Baseball star Luis Tiant returns to Cuba, where he encounters unexpected demons and receives unexpected gifts from his family.

Signs of the Time (60 min.)
Where did baseball hand signals come from? In exploring this seemingly simple question, the feature-length documentary Signs of the Time unveils stories of inspiration and controversy that transcend sports. Narrated by Academy Award-winner Richard Dreyfuss, the film unravels the mystery surrounding baseball’s greatest innovation.

Session 2
Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.

Girls of Summer (85 min.)
A positive, respectful look at the WBL Sparks, the first all-girls baseball team to compete in a boys’ national tournament at the Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, N.Y. Interspersed throughout the WBL Sparks’ story are historical segments telling the personal stories of the women who, since the mid-1850s, have played, coached and umpired baseball.

Major Leagues? (25 min.)
This story from Cuban filmmaker Ernesto Perez Zambrano tells the story of women taking the field and playing baseball in Cuba.

Session 3
Saturday, Oct. 3, 12:30 p.m.

We Believe (100 min.)
From the director of The U.S. vs. John Lennon comes a new documentary film celebrating the unusual love affair between a great city, Chicago, and one of its baseball teams, the Cubs. Like any relationship, it has its highs and lows, joys and sorrows, moments of exhilaration and heartbreak. About hope, faith, optimism and loyalty, this film is about America, family and tradition. But first and foremost, We Believe is an entertaining movie, packed with emotion, humor, wonderful human moments and unique insight.

The Farm Team (15 min.)
A first-hand look at the challenges of the grounds crew of a Minor League Baseball team in Mobile, Ala., the rainiest city in the United States. It’s a portrait of three hard-working guys who not only love the sport of baseball, but also the field the game is played on.

Session 4
Saturday, Oct. 3, 3:30 p.m.

A Braves New World (55 min.)
A Braves New World chronicles how the “Miracle in Milwaukee” began the shift westward of America’s pastime. Includes seldom-seen archival footage and photos, along with over 25 on-camera interviews, including former Braves players, management and sportswriters.

Session 5
Saturday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.

She’s Baseball Mad! (12 min.)
Did women save Major League Baseball in Seattle? A look at the female connection with baseball and the role women played in building the most family-friendly ballpark in the nation.

Road to the Big Leagues (60 min.)
How does a tiny island roughly the size of Connecticut produce baseball superstars like Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero, Hanley Ramirez, Sammy Sosa and David Ortiz? Have you ever wondered what their journey was like to the pros? What about for the thousands that try but never make it big? Road to the Big Leagues tells the story of one of baseball’s most-heralded breeding grounds, the Dominican Republic, and provides a close examination of its special brand of baseball.

A Shortstop in China (50 min.)
Shortly after being enshrined in Cooperstown, Cal Ripken Jr. was named public diplomacy envoy by the U.S. State Department. True to form, America’s Iron Man embraced the challenge of his new career as diplomat. His first mission: travel to China and share the game of baseball — the Ripken Way.

Session 6
Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.

El Play (30 min.)
El Play tells the story of Jairo Candelario, a young aspiring baseball player from San Pedro de Macoris, a small city in the Dominican Republic famous for birthing some of the world’s most talented baseball players. The film paints a detailed portrait of Jairo and his tireless commitment to the game as he balances his hopes of signing a professional contract with the reality of its improbability. Interviewed are professional scouts, coaches, family members, a baseball historian and San Pedro-born Robinson Cano, the second baseman of the New York Yankees.

Holy Land Hardball (83 min.)
When Boston bagelmaker Larry Baras wanted to create a professional baseball league in Israel, his idea was met with incredulity, dismissal and even hostility. He attempted it anyway. Among the ballplayers swept up in his unlikely quest: a 41-year-old father of three with a Peter Pan complex; a 27-year-old Brooklyn artist/DJ still finding himself after the disappointment of not being drafted out of college; a 34-year-old father-to-be whose own father, now deceased, fought for Israel’s independence in 1948; and a 22-year-old African-American who was told by a preacher at a young age he would one day “play in front of God’s people.” Also along for the ride are former Jewish Major Leaguers Art Shamsky, Ken Holtzman and Ron Blomberg as team managers in the Israel Baseball League.

Session 7
Sunday, Oct. 4, 1 p.m.

Ghost Players (54 min.)
Field of Dreams Ghost Players is a documentary that chronicles the adventures and misadventures of a boisterous and unlikely team of middle-aged Iowa baseball players. In 1989, Hollywood went to Iowa to shoot Field of Dreams. Little did anyone know this blockbuster would spawn a comedic baseball show starring local ballplayers that had an 18-year run and traveled the world.

Signed and sealed

‘Signs of the Time’ salutes William Klemm and Dummy Hoy as baseball originators.

BY DAVE RICHARDS dave.richards@timesnews.com

Erie-Times News 9-3-2009

The base runner slides into home, the catcher tags him, and the umpire emphatically gestures with his thumb. You know he’s out. If you attended a ballgame around the turn of the 20th century, though, you’d be clueless. In baseball’s early days, umpires shouted their calls. They didn’t use their arms or thumbs, and ballparks had no announcers to tell you anything. So how did baseball signals originate? The story is trickier than spotting a balk. Rochester director Don Casper’s documentary “Signs of the Time” — partly filmed at Ainsworth Field — zeroes in on the two most likely candidates. Pioneering umpire William Klemm, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, is credited on his Cooperstown plaque with introducing arm signals. Deaf player William “Dummy” Hoy, who mostly played for the Cincinnati Reds, developed a system of hand signals with his third-base coach so he’d know if pitches were balls or strikes. He retired in 1902 — three years before Klemm started umpiring.

“Signs of the Time,” narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, includes re-enactments with actors playing Hoy and Klemm. “Both of these individuals lived lives before movie cameras were [prevalent] and, in some cases, there are not a lot of photos of them,” Casper said. “So to tell the story of what kind of people they were, we re-enacted key moments or slices of life from their careers to demonstrate their personalties. “That’s really what the film’s about — illustrating what kind of people they were.” For scenes with Klemm, Casper needed a ballpark that could replicate the early 1920s. Ainsworth Field fit the bill. “We chose Erie because it had a great look to it, and No. 2, the people we met there in charge of the field were really excited about it,” Casper said. Glenwood League players donned vintage uniforms to play period ballplayers in the scene. About 100 or so area residents wore period clothing for Ainsworth crowd shots. One long day of shooting in Erie resulted a three-minute scene.

For Hoy’s scenes, Casper shot at the Genesee Country Village and Museum in Rochester, which replicates a 19th-century village, including a ballpark. Hoy’s scenes take place in 1887, when he played for Oshkosh, Wis. Casper said “Signs” leaves it up to audiences to draw their own conclusions about who deserves credit for inventing signs. But it’s clear where his heart lies. He became interested in making the film while working as a TV director and producer at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a federally funded deaf college in Rochester. “I found a group of deaf individuals who were trying to campaign to get their hero Dummy Hoy inducted into the hall of fame based on his career and what he contributed by inventing hand signals. I had never heard of Dummy, so I started reading more about him and the efforts to get him recognized and thought it was an interesting story.” Hoy racked up more than 2,000 career hits and still ranks among baseball’s all-time Top 20 base stealers. He died at age 99 in 1961. He hasn’t made it to Cooperstown yet, but is enshrined in the Cincinnati’s Hall of Fame. Casper said he was too modest to campaign for his own induction. “Hoy was the type of guy who was real humble. He wasn’t the type who was going to go out there and stand on a mountain top and claim credit for everything. He felt, ‘Well, my accomplishments will be recognized.’ That’s not necessarily the way the history books are written.”

“Signs of the Time” also includes interviews with such baseball notables as Earl Weaver, Brooks Robinson, Fred Lynn, and Bob Feller. Oscar-winner Dreyfuss adds marquee value and more by narrating. “He played the father of a deaf character in ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus,’ a great role of his. He had experience dealing with a lot of issues in movies, like striking down the barriers of communication and learning sign language — all themes the movie deals with,” Casper said. “So we thought it was a good fit, and apparently he agreed.” Casper and others involved with “Signs of the Time” will attend the Erie premiere. It’s open to everyone — including the deaf. “That’s why we’ve subtitled the movie, so everyone can enjoy the film,” he said.

“Signs of the Time” will be shown Saturday at 7 p.m. during the Spirit Quest Film Fest at the Erie Playhouse, 13 W. 10th St. Admission is $5 at the door. Tickets also available online at www.spiritquestfilmfest.com

Baseball documentary selected for Erie premiere

Erie, PA – (6/16/2009)

The feature-length documentary, Signs of the Time has been selected for its Erie premiere on Saturday September 5th as part of the Spirit Quest Film Festival.  The screening will be held at the Erie Playhouse on 13 W. 10th Street at 7:00pm.  The filmmakers will be in attendance immediately following the screening to answer questions.  Portions of the film were shot at Erie’s Ainsworth Field during the summer of 2007 and feature many Erie residents as actors and extras.

On Location at Ainsworth Field in Erie, PA

Where did baseball hand signals come from? In exploring this seemingly simple question, the feature-length documentary, Signs of the Time, unveils stories of inspiration and controversy that transcend sports. Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, and featuring numerous baseball personalities, the film unravels the mystery surrounding baseball’s greatest innovation discovering our need to interact with those around us even in the face of adversity.  For more information and to view a trailer online visit: www.signsofthetimemovie.com

The Spirit Quest Film Festival was founded in order to bring thought provoking, entertaining and uplifting works of cinema to audiences.  The festival’s mission is to inspire, enlighten and challenge audiences by showcasing films that explore the best (and sometimes the worst) of the human experience. For scheduling and ticketing information visit: www.spiritquestfilmfest.com

RIT Among Venues for Rochester High Falls International Film Festival

Two documentary screenings at RIT’s Carlson Center for Imaging Science auditorium on May 15

Signs of the Time is a documentary about the origins of hand signals in the game of baseball. Shot on location in eight states, this film features interviews with many baseball greats and re-enactments of scenes from old-time baseball games. Caroline Maynard serves as co-executive producer, graphic designer and animator of the film. Don Casper, a 1990 graduate of RIT’s School of Film and Animation is the director.

 

BY KELLY DOWNS, May 7, 2009 —

Rochester Institute of Technology is among this year’s venues for the annual Rochester High Falls International Film Festival May 13-18. The festival’s mission is to feature exceptional work of women in all areas of film, video and new media.

 RIT presents two documentaries at 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Friday, May 15, in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science auditorium on the RIT campus. Tickets can be purchased at the High Falls Film Festival box office at Spot Coffee, 200 East Ave., Rochester.

RIP: A Remix Manifesto, a documentary directed and written by Brett Gaylor and produced by Katherine Baulu and Mila Aung-Thwin, explores issues of copyright in the 21st century. The film centers around Girl Talk, a mash-up musician who is topping the charts with his sample-based songs. The film lets people weigh in on the issue of corporate greed versus free-form creativity. The film premieres at 7:15 p.m.

At 9:15 p.m., baseball fans and history buffs can see Signs of the Time, a researched baseball documentary that explores the origins of hand signals. Imagine watching one of baseball’s earliest games in the presence of thousands of fans, without the signals for strike, safe, out or foul. The only signal was the umpire’s voice trying to compete against the roar of the fans. Signs of the Time was shot on location in eight states, featuring interviews with many baseball greats and re-enactments of scenes from old-time baseball games. Caroline Maynard is co-executive producer, graphic designer and animator of Signs of the Time. Don Casper, a 1990 graduate of RIT’s School of Film and Animation, directed the film.

For more information about the complete festival schedule, call (585) 279-8312 or visit www.rochestersmoviefest.com.

Bunt, steal, hit away

Messenger Post (3/25/2009)

By Denise M. Champagne, staff writer

Rochester, N.Y. —

A new movie provides clues on the history of those signs baseball coaches and managers flash to players in games.

“Signs of the Time,” a Fairport-produced film about a 19th century deaf baseball player, will be among the selections offered this weekend at the Deaf Rochester Film Festival.

The film tells the story of the development of the sport’s hand signals, something many attribute to William “Dummy” Hoy, who played professional baseball from 1888 to 1902 in a time, obviously, when sensitivity to disabilities didn’t have much of a place.

Hoy had been deaf since he was a small boy. In fact, it was his lack of hearing that led to the use of alternative methods to communicate with his coaches, teammates and umpires.

Hand signals are now a mainstay in the game, with coaches communicating their instructions to players for anything from stealing to bunting.

Hoy and Bill Klem — a Rochester native who umpired the sport for 37 years — are at the center of the film produced by Crystal Pix, a Fairport film and video company owned by Ray and Caroline Manard, who were executive producers. The film is narrated by Academy-Award winning actor Richard Dreyfuss.

“We always thought he would be a good fit since he played the father of a deaf character in a popular film of the 1990s called ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus,’” said Don Casper of Irondequoit, who produced and directed the 60-minute film with the Manards last year. “We had contacted his agent, submitted the project and asked if he’d be interested. It turns out he’s a big history buff. He liked the project and we got together and did it.”

Casper said it will be good to showcase “Signs of the Time” at the Deaf Rochester Film Festival, not only because it centers around a hearing-impaired character, but also because Bob Panara, a long-time Hoy biographer, plans to attend.

Panara, who grew up in Henrietta and now lives in Chili, is the first deaf faculty member of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology. The venue where “Signs of the Time” will be shown — the Robert F. Panara Theatre — is named after him. Panara, 88, is also in the film and may lead a discussion about it after its showing.

“He’s kind of led an effort over the last 15 or 20 years to get some of Dummy Hoy’s accomplishments recognized to get (him) inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Casper said. “He’s one of the experts about his career.”

“Signs of the Time” is expected to be shown about 3:15 p.m. Sunday. It will include captions and appears to be a good fit for the festival theme, “Preserving the History of Deaf Culture.” The film also features period re-creations shot at the Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford, as well as interviews with baseball legends.

“Everyone will truly enjoy and learn from this film,” Casper said. “Not just baseball fans, but anyone who likes a story about history, mystery and human achievement.”

Other festival highlights include workshops with filmmakers, panel discussions and a Junior Deaf Rochester Film Festival, new this year, featuring short films by deaf high school students. Multiple locations will be used throughout, featuring dozens of short films by deaf artists or with deaf-related themes. Most of the films will have captioning or subtitles, so an understanding of sign language is not essential for those planning to attend.

RIT/NTID Links at Deaf Rochester Film Festival

NTID News – March 24, 2009 

The third Deaf Rochester Film Festival begins this week (March 26-29, 2009) with dozens of movie screenings in several venues around Rochester, including the Robert F. Panara Theatre at NTID on Saturday evening and Sunday.

The films deemed the best new movies by deaf and hard-of-hearing filmmakers or with deaf themes come from around the globe. But several have strong ties to RIT and NTID.

Sunday’s featured film is Signs of the Time, produced and directed by Don Casper, who previously worked at NTID. He now works with Crystal Pix, a Fairport production company. The one-hour documentary examines whether the use of hand signals used by baseball umpires was developed by legendary deaf baseball player William “Dummy” Hoy. The documentary features period recreations shot at Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford, as well as interviews of several baseball legends.

It is fitting that the first public screening of Signs of the Time will be shown in the Robert F. Panara Theatre. Panara, 88, the first deaf faculty member at NTID, remains an avid baseball fan and historian. He is featured in the film and hopes to be involved in a discussion immediately after the 3:15 p.m. viewing.

Other familiar faces in the film are Michael Barreca, ‘00, who plays Dummy Hoy in the recreation (and lives in Hoy’s home town of Cincinnati), and Matthew S. Moore,’83 a Hoy researcher and publisher of Deaf Life magazine.

Other festival films with RIT/NTID connections include:

• The Heart of the Hydrogen Jukebox, a two-hour documentary by Miriam Lerner, an interpreter at RIT/NTID, will be shown at 9 a.m. Sunday in Panara Theatre. The film is comprised primarily of archival and recent video footage of various performances and interviews of deaf poets who were experimenting with poetic devices in ASL from 1984 to 1992. Don Feigel, in NTID’s Educational Design Resource Department, was videographer and editor for the film.
• See What I’m Saying, the Deaf Entertainers Documentary, is a new film by Hilari Scarl featuring four deaf entertainers, including comic C.J. Jones and Robert DeMayo, both former NTID students. It will be shown at 3 p.m. Saturday at the George Eastman House.
• Flipped and Don’t, short films by RIT/NTID graduate student Kamau Buchanan, will be shown Saturday evening in Panara Theatre. Flipped is about a man who wakes up deaf one morning, and Don’t is a drama featuring several RIT/NTID students and staff members.
• The Red Riding Deafhood, film by Barbara Di Giovanni, ‘90, will be shown during a children’s program at 11:50 a.m. Sunday at NTID.
• Worry: A Jewish Deaf-Blind Survivor Shares Her Story is a 30-minute documentary by NTID faculty member Patti Durr. It will be shown Sunday at 1:20 p.m. in Panara Theatre.
• Onalee’s Journey, a half-hour documentary by RIT/NTID graduate Ruthie Jordan, follows Onalee Cooper, who as a deaf girl, grew up unaware of much of her Native American heritage. It will show at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Panara Theatre.

Aspiring deaf filmmakers are encouraged to attend a writer’s workshop from 10 a.m. to noon Friday at Writers and Books, 740 University Ave. Aaron Kelstone, a faculty member in NTID’s Cultural and Creative Studies Department, will lead a workshop, “Film and Deaf Writers: Crossing the Textual Divide Workshop,” to enable deaf writers and filmmakers to find common ground for interaction that will result in successful films. Admission is $10 at the door.

And artwork created by deaf artists – many faculty or graduates of RIT/NTID – is on display at two galleries.  “Variety” is a collection of artwork by deaf artists on display at the Milton H. and Ray B. Ohringer Gallery on the second floor of the Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center. The second collection is at Before Your Quiet Eyes bookstore, 439 Monroe Ave., beginning Friday through April 11. It is open Wednesday from 4-6 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 4-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Admission to the Saturday evening movies in Panara Theatre is free, but tickets are urged. Sunday’s admission is $15. All tickets should be reserved on-line at: www.DeafRochesterFilmFestival.org. Any remaining tickets not sold on-line may be purchased at the door.

Channel 8 – Deaf Film Fesitval

Here’s link to some television coverage from the Deaf Rochester Film Festival

http://rochesterhomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=79631