Spring 2008 Season

Do you own video camera or plan to purchase one soon? Want to become a filmmaker, but aren't sure where to start? Already a video shooter, but not as good […]

The exclusive Capital Region release of Brian De Palma’s fictional documentary, Redacted (2007). De Palma (Carrie, Dressed to Kill, The Untouchables, Mission Impossible) won the Silver Lion for Best Director […]

Kahil El’Zabar formed the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in 1973 to combine concepts of African American music making with traditional African music and make something new. After 35 years, this legendary […]

Director Aaron Woolf’s entertaining feature-length documentary about the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation raises troubling questions about how we eat and how we farm. Complimentary organic popcorn and […]

Digital media tools are more accessible to amateur journalists and community organizers than ever before. In this workshop, participants will examine a variety of examples of citizen journalism, and learn […]

What are the consequences when rape is used as a weapon of war? Osvalde Lewar-Hallade's moving documentary A Love During the War (2005) explores the question from the perspective of […]

This group’s collective background spans a wide range of musical experiences, including performances with world music ensembles, 20th century chamber groups and leading artists in the jazz and rhythm & […]

Cultural travelers Priscilla Fairbank, Jonathan Hill, and Barbara Spring share visuals and experiences from their December 2007 tour of Iran with Fellowship of Reconciliation. You are invited to join the […]

We live in the most media-saturated time in history, with messages aimed at youths beginning at a very early age. As educators, we have a responsibility to help our students […]

The Sanctuary gives refuge to artist Wafaa Bilal after he is banned from the RPI Campus. On Monday, March 10, Iraq-born video artist Wafaa Bilal will be on hand for a reception […]

Wafaa Bilal was on hand for a reception at 6 PM followed at 7 PM by a presentation about his installation Virtual Jihadi which was to have been displayed at […]

Anti-corporate pranksters give the inside scoop on their latest impersonations, from representing Halliburton at a Gulf Coast reconstruction conference to being Exxon at Canada’s largest petroleum industry gathering. The Yes […]

Filmmaker Pamela Yates presents a screening of her award-winning film, State of Fear, bringing a new level of documentary storytelling to an epic tale of one nation’s journey through a […]

Have great footage, but need to put it all together? This basic editing class is for you. Participants work individually and in groups over two lab sessions to learn the […]

Lynn Hershman Leeson’s Strange Culture (2007) is a brilliantly conceived documentary that breaks conventional rules to tell a story of post-9/11 paranoia and the risks artists face when their work […]

In the afternoon workshop Leonard Helmrich will be explaining his “single-shot cinema” theory, a way of filming using one fluid shot with multiple angles.

Leonard Retel Helmrich is an internationally recognized Indonesian filmmaker. His featured documentary The Eye of the Day (2001) made him famous in the documentary film world. The follow-up, Shape of […]

Filmmaker Raquel Cepeda presents Bling A Planet Rock (2007), a feature documentary by Raquel Cepeda, takes a hard-hitting look at how “blinging” in the flashy world of commercial hip-hop played […]

Part of the African Film Festival, a screening of Clouds Over Conakry (2007) by Cheick Fantamady Camara. At the age of 25, the artist-caricaturist BB finds himself faced with an […]

A continuation of the editing workshop. Have great footage, but need to put it all together? This basic editing class is for you. Participants work individually and in groups over […]

As part of the African Film Festival, we present a live performance by Grammy-nominated kora master Mamadou Diabate from the West African country of Mali with his ensemble as part […]

As part of the African Film Festival, we present a screening of Balfua Bakupu-Kanyinda’s film Juju Factory (2007). Kongo Congo lives in Brussels, in the Matange district on which he […]

Jean-Pierre Bekolo’s Les Saignantes (2005) is a superbly photographed, stylishly edited, and tastefully scored film about two young femmes fatales who set out to rid a futuristic country of its […]

The Fay Victor Ensemble uses vocal jazz tradition as a basis for improvising in the sense of Ornette Coleman/late Coltrane and beyond, held in check by a healthy earthy soulfulness […]

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn about an array of free resources available for getting media out to the world. Discussion and demonstrations include techniques for compression, syndication, promotion, […]

The former three-term Vermont Governor asks: What will it take for women to assume their rightful places in the corridors of political power? What difference do women make? What is […]

The Sanctuary for Independent Media presents, at Christ Church (5th & State in downtown Troy) Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times. The book is not only a […]

We’re celebrating the re-opening of The Sanctuary for Independent Media by thanking everyone who helped out during troubling times–let’s enjoy the onset of summertime bliss together with music, movies, BBQ […]

Part two of Andrew Lynn’s workshop. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn about an array of free resources available for getting media out to the world. Discussion and demonstrations […]

Utilizing Indian rhythms as the foundation for a new creative musical experience, this group finds that ground where fiery solos, sonic explorations and exciting group interactions occur with the creation […]

Everyone has a story to tell! The goal of the workshop is to design and produce a 3-5 minute digital story. Students craft and record first-person narratives, collect still images […]

Termite TV is a video collective with members based in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Buffalo. Founded in 1992 with a mission to create experimental and activist work to challenge the status […]

As seen through the eyes of grandmother and community organizer Gladys Bolivar, the documentary Venezuela Rising follows her and her compatriots five days before it is to be decided by […]

Everyone has a story to tell! The goal of the workshop is to design and produce a 3-5 minute digital story. Students craft and record first-person narratives, collect still images […]

Internationally-celebrated filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will speak at a screening of her new film The Lost Generation at The Sanctuary for Independent Media on Friday, June 6, 2008 at 7 PM. […]

So the cost of a gallon of gas has reached $4.00. Yet our nation is consuming imported oil and natural gas at a steadily increasing rate. Meanwhile, we may now […]