New York, NY (May 4, 2016) – The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces new 2016 initiatives as part of its education program, Film in Education, partnering with cultural and educational organizations citywide to provide teacher training in visual storytelling through film.

The Film Society launched Film Society Kids in 2014, a residency program that brings film into neighborhood elementary schools to support students’ visual literacy. Approximately 670 3rd and 4th graders screen classics and contemporary art-house films, participate in discussions, and learn filmmaking techniques to create films of their own. The program also includes a Teacher Training Institute, in which participating educators are mentored in film aesthetics appreciation and filmmaking techniques that can be incorporated into classroom curriculum. Film Society Kids gives students access to an art form that inspires their voices and builds a foundation for literacy skills, and is particularly beneficial for children in English as a second language programs or with non-traditional learning styles. To bring a Film Society Kids program to your school, contact Director of Education, Amy Poux [email protected].

“Continuing the tradition of film education in New York City schools, the Film Society’s acclaimed education initiatives are connecting kids and teaching artists with a distinctive program rooted in exploring cinema as an art form,” said Film Society of Lincoln Center Deputy Director Eugene Hernandez. “Cameras can be found in the pockets of many today and the Film Society’s program emphasizes the importance of aesthetic choices (framing, design, and sound) when constructing a film and telling a story. The films created through our flagship Film Society Kids program exhibit an energy, ingenuity and humor that reflect the personalities and creativity of these young filmmakers. In expanding our Film in Education initiatives, the Film Society aims to both broaden and deepen the reach of art cinema.”

Film in Education continues to expand with new citywide professional development initiatives for teachers and community members. For the first time, Lincoln Center Education has invited another organization to participate in the LCE 2016 Summer Forum, and from July 13-15, the Film Society will provide teacher training to educators with a filmmaking institute. Twenty-five educators will create short films and learn how to integrate cinema studies into their classroom curriculum. The Film Society has also been invited to provide professional development programs to teachers via two prestigious organizations: Turnaround Arts New York City, part of a national initiative to bring arts education resources to high-needs schools developed by the President’s Committee on the Arts, and the NYC Department of Education’s Moving Image Commission.

As part of Lincoln Center Education’s Boro-Linc program, the Film Society also created a series of film appreciation events for families and teens at Staten Island’s Snug Harbor Cultural Center and at the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Brooklyn in March. Boro-Linc brings free performances, workshops, and family-oriented programs by Lincoln Center resident organizations to neighborhoods across New York’s outer boroughs. For details, visit lincolncenter.org/borolinc.

For more information about Film in Education and Film Society Kids year-round programming, visit filmlinc.org/education.

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility, and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the renowned New York Film Festival, a curated selection of the year’s most significant new film work, and presents or collaborates on other annual New York City festivals including Art of the Real, Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, and Scary Movies. In addition to publishing the award-winning Film Comment magazine, the Film Society recognizes an artist’s unique achievement in film with the prestigious Chaplin Award, whose 2016 recipient was Morgan Freeman. The Film Society’s state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year-round programs and the New York City film community.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from American Airlines, The New York Times, HBO, Stella Artois, The Kobal Collection, Variety, Loews Regency Hotel, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on Twitter.

Film Society Kids is made possible through generous support from The William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Additional support provided by The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, RBC Foundation USA, Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Tara Kelleher, The Marble Fund, City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, 6th District Mark Schumann, and Denise Widman.

Film Society Kids is in partnership with Manhattan Community School District 3, Ilene Altshul, Superintendent and Public School 163, Public School 75 and Public School 191.

For media specific inquiries regarding the Film Society of Lincoln Center, please contact:
Rachel Allen
[email protected]
212-875-5423

Lisa Thomas
[email protected]
212-671-4709