Don't Miss the Variety Pack Show this Saturday!

And just so we are super, super clear:

Reel Grrls is also hosting a FREE public Spring Showcase Screening at the JBL Theater at the EMP/SFM at 5:00 on the same day. So here is your plan for Saturday:

12:00 noon - Wake up. (What? It's Saturday!)
4:30 - Get yourself to the JBL Theater. Hang out with Reel Grrls.
5:00 - Watch amazing Reel Grrls films on the big screen, for FREE! Stay for the Q&A and learn about what it's like to be a Reel Grrl.
6:30 - Take a break, stretch, walk around.
7:00 - Walk over to The Vera Project and enjoy the show!

Questions?
maile@reelgrrls.org
lane@reelgrrls.org

Media Justice Website by & for youth!

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Date: April 8, 2009
Contact: Lila Kitaeff
Email: lila (at) reelgrrls.org
Phone: (206) 393-2085

YOUTH FILMMAKER LAUNCHES MEDIA JUSTICE WEBSITE

“We are the next generation of media makers. We are already a generation of media consumers. We need to step up and take control of our media if we want it to accurately reflect our world. The first step towards taking this stance is learning how our current media system operates.”
-Sami Muilenburg, GenerationOfConsolidation.org

SEATTLE, WA — Reel Grrls is proud to announce the launch of GenerationOfConsolidation.org, a website created by youth and for youth, aimed at disseminating information about, and beginning discussions around issues of media justice.

Reel Grrls filmmaker and first time web designer Sami Muilenburg, with support from graphic designer and mentor Jessica Speigel, created the website, which centers on the award-winning 2008 Reel Grrls film A Generation of Consolidation.

www.GenerationOfConsolidation.org launches worldwide this week, and features:
• Flash-embedded full-length film and radio versions
• Youth-created content about Media Representation, Media Consolidation, the FCC, Net Neutrality and Broadband Stimulus
• A relatable writing style, emphasizing how media affects youth each day, and what next steps young people can take to make a difference about these issues
• Links to Youth Media and Media Justice Organizations
• An interactive Discussion Board


ABOUT THE FILM: A Generation of Consolidation, created by teen filmmakers Sami Muilenburg and Brooke Noel, explores the impact of media consolidation on news content and its effects on youth, both as viewers and media makers. The film highlights the 2008 Seattle FCC hearing on Media Ownership, and features Jonathan Lawson and Susan Gleason of Reclaim the Media, Author Anne Elizabeth Moore, UW Professor Lance Bennett, and the perspectives of numerous young people. Generation has screened at multiple film festivals, including:
• ListenUp! VIP Awards: Winner, Best Documentary
• San Francisco International Film Festival: Youth For Change Award Nominee
• Seoul Youth International Film Festival: Screening by special request
• The Social Justice Film Festival

ABOUT REEL GRRLS: Seattle-based Reel Grrls is the first all girl, year round media program in the country, empowering teen girls from diverse communities to realize their power, talent and influence through media production. www.reelgrrls.org

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A Blog Within a Blog

Scarecrow Video just name-checked our Oscar Party (coming up this Sunday, Feb 22, 4:00 PM at Central Cinema - get your tickets now!) on their BLOG! Definitely check it out - madamecrow has some great suggestions for your Oscar viewing pleasure.

We'll be handing out ballots at the Oscar Party this Sunday, but if you want to get a head start on filling it out or doing your research, check out the full list of Oscar nominees HERE.

And start picking out your outfit for the big night!

Reel Grrls Presenting at WAM!2009!

Exciting news! RG Media Maker Extraordinaire Sami Muilenburg, and RG Program Manager Maile Martinez are going to be panelists at this year's Women, Action, and Media Conference in Boston. From March 27 - 29, 2009, Sami and Maile will gather with women media makers and activists from around the world to discuss the theme "Inside/Outside." Here's a bit about the theme:

We all belong inside some communities or networks and are new to or feel excluded or alienated from others. The tension that exists between insiders and outsiders to any given movement, identity, industry or ideology can be destructive, but it can also be harnessed toward mutually beneficial change. At WAM!2009, we’ll explore both sides of this inescapable dynamic in our relationships, organizations, societies and movements.

Sami is especially well poised to explore this theme, since her hugely successful short documentary, "A Generation of Consolidation" explores issues of media ownership and access - and tells the story of young people trying to gain access to the inner workings of "insider" media decision makers like the FCC. Sami co-produced "A Generation of Consolidation" along with Brooke Noel as part of the 2008 Reel Grrls Thesis program.

Three days of talking about increasing the access, impact, and voice of youth and women in the media world - what could be better?!

Early registration for WAM!2009 ends on February 13, so if you would like to join us, register now! Hope to see you there!

Reel Grrls is on Flickr!

Hi all,

If you have a profile on flickr, please come and be our friend there. We're adding new and exciting photos all the time, so it's a great way to keep up with Reel Grrls:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/reelgrrls

Also, we would simply love it if you would join our Flickr group, where you can add Reel Grrls (or Reel Grrls-inspired) photos to our pool (please please PLEASE!!), join a discussion about RG, or just stop by to look around and say hi:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/reelgrrls/

With love,
RG