disability
Little Hébert
Posted July 19th, 2007 by Gretjen
Hébert Peck
It was a natural impulse, especially for a filmmaker like Hébert Peck, to document his wife, Kaz, as she went through her first pregnancy. Nine months and a day later, when their child Hebert Jr. was diagnosed with Down syndrome, the film became a haunting primer for parents and educators. "I went through the grieving and then I promised Hébert that I would never let him be segregated from the world," Ms. Peck said. "He was going to have everything that life offered." The video portrays the couple's fears, love and newly reconfigured outlook on life as a family.
Hébert Peck is an independent television producer. He has created television series, short form documentaries and web based projects for Rutgers University Television Network, a statewide closed circuit cable television and broadband Internet system. These programs air internationally through the ReseachChannel. Peck is the producer of Philadelphia Stories, a 13-hour series of documentaries and short films exploring the people, the places and things that make up the rich fabric of Philadelphia. A project of public television WYBE, Philadelphia Stories, now in its fifth season, features work by the regionís most talented film and video makers. Peck's personal work, including the award winning video essay Little Hébert, has been broadcast on PBS and screened at festivals nationally. For eight years Peck managed the operation of the Scribe Video Center in Philadelphia. He completed one term as the co-president on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) and has served on an advisory capacity in such areas as film, video and multimedia production funding for the Rockefeller Foundation, the Independent Television Services (ITVS), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).
August 12, 1999 - "Street Movies Invite You to Connect To The Community", Chestnut Hill Local
September 26, 1999 - "In Person: The Underdog's Bulldog", by Lisa Suhay, The New York Times
1995 - Black Marial Film + Video Festival
July 16 & August 20, 1996 - Tuesday Night Specials, DUTV Cable 54, Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
February 13, 1998 - Five on the Black Hand Side, Scribe Video Center: A Retrospective, Painted Bride Art Center (Philadelphia, PA)
August 19, 1999 - Street Movies screening at the Water Tower Recreation Center (Philadelphia, PA)
May 23, 2004 - Sprout Film Festival (New York, NY)
May 18, 2006 - Western New York Developmental Disabilities Day Conference (Buffalo, NY)
Iggy & Antjuan : A Work-In-Progress
Posted July 19th, 2007 by Gretjen
A video documentary directed by Andres Nicolini and produced by Karen Smith
Nicolini's Iggy & Antjuan: a Life in Progress is an all too brief, but never exploitative look into the first three years of a developmentally challenged newlywed couple. From their wedding day to the activities of daily living, the filmmaker provides an intimate forum for Iggy and Antjuan to tell their story ... a love story. Since the video was completed in 2000, Iggy has completed vocational training, and Antjuan has found work as a bus boy in a prestigious Center City hotel.
Andres Nicolini's work has been shown in numerous festivals, television networks, and other venues nationally and internationally including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Los Angeles Latino Film Festival and Valparaiso International Documentary Festival. His narrative film "Becoming American" won the best fiction film at New York CityVisions, and one of his first works, #28 [LINK] is part of the Scribe Video Center catalog. Nicolini is currently developing a narrative feature film about young immigrants in New York.
April 2001 - Broadcast on PBS affiliate WYBE-TV 35's Philadelphia Stories (Philadelphia, PA)
August 30, 2001 - Screened at the Valparaiso International Film Festival (Valparaiso, Chile)
February 9, 2002 - Part of Fresh Frames: Selected Shorts screening at Prince Music Theater's Cinema Lounge
(Philadelphia, PA)
Goal Ball : A Sport For Good Listeners
Posted July 18th, 2007 by GretjenA video documentary by David Block
Sometimes there's more than one way to keep your eye on the ball. Goal ball is a professional sport played by the blind and visually impaired. Now played professionally in 35 countries, it was developed after World War II as a way of rehabilitating German soldiers who lost their vision in combat.
David Block is a legally blind journalist and the producer/director of three documentaries on disabled athletes including Portraits of Possibility (1996), and Brian's Run (2002). His works have been broadcast on two Philadelphia public television stations, WHYY TV12 and WYBE TV35 and theyíve received funding from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and the Karden Foundation. He can be reached via his Web site, www.BlindFilmmaker.com
May 14, 1992 - "A Festival of Works By Area Video, Film Artists" by Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer
May 14, 1992 - Film About Team Sport For Blind To Be Shown" by Bill Murphy, The Main Line Times
Brian's Run
Posted July 18th, 2007 by GretjenA sports documentary video produced by David Block
On August 26, 1978, Brian Bratcher, a promising fifteen-year-old football player at West Chester Henderson High, sustained a life-challenging spinal cord injury during a scrimmage and became paralyzed. Stunned by the tragedy, the community came up with the idea of organizing a sponsored race as a way of defraying Bratcher's medical costs and other expenses resulting from his injury. They hoped to get 100 participants for the one-time race, but over 2000 showed up for the event, boosting their initial goal of $500 to just over $20,000.
David Block is a legally blind journalist and the producer/director of two documentaries on blind athletes Goalball: A Sport for Good Listeners (1992) (which was produced with and is distributed by Scribe), and Portraits of Possibility (1996). His works have been broadcast on two Philadelphia public television stations, WHYY TV12 and WYBE TV35, and they’ve received funding from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and the Karden Foundation. He can be reached via his Web site, www.BlindFilmmaker.com
June 6, 2002, "Ardmore Filmmaker David Block Has Stories To Tell," Main Line Times by Kevin Williamson
June 10, 2002, "Film Tells Story of Brian's Run," Daily Local News (Chester County) by Jessica McRorie
June 14, 2002 - Prince Music Theater's Black Box (Philadelphia, PA)
October 8, 2004 - West Chester Film Festival (West Chester, PA)
2005 - International Festival of Cinema and Technology (Orlando, FL)
Philadelphia Independent Film & Video Association Open Screening (Philadelphia, PA)
WYBE-TV 35 (Philadelphia, PA)
Body Works
Posted July 18th, 2007 by GretjenProduced by Nexus Foundation for Today's Art BodyWorks & Scribe Video Center
Andres Nicolini
Nexus/Bodyworks was a two year, mutli-faceted art and education project highlighting the work of artists with varied physical disabilities. This video, made by the Nexus artists themselves, documents their struggles with different mediums and perceptions, and stresses that the integrity of someone's art is more important than the given artist's (dis)ability
For 30 years Nexus has served the public in Philadelphia by increasing access to and understanding of "Today’s Art". Nexus was conceived at a time when very few non-commercial galleries existed in Philadelphia. Established in 1975, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art is an artist-run, not-for-profit exhibition space. Nexus serves as an incubator for local emerging and experimental artists engaged in new art practices, and a venue for traveling and curated art exhibits exploring a wide range of present-day issues. Our exhibitions of challenging, innovative, and compelling contemporary art are intended to stimulate creative thought and dialog among the diverse visitors to Nexus.
Andres Nicolini is a videomaker and computer consultant who moved from Chile to Philadelphia in 1989. His work has been shown in numerous festivals, television networks, and other venues nationally and internationally, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Los Angeles Latino Film Festival and Valparaiso International Film Festival. Additional film and video works include Becoming American, Iggy & Antjuan, and Rendevous, a 2005 feature narrative film about young immigrants in New York. Prior to becoming facilitator for Bodyworks, he came to Scribe to produce the experimental video, #28 [link].
