We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know DER! Now we are asking for you help, so we can continue to support and advance the best ethnographic and documentary works being made.

DER’s program highlights from 2015 include:

Curation & Distribution: Released 15 new films; sponsored 50+ free screenings
Production & Production Support: Fiscally Sponsored 50+ projects, 11 of which were completed
Collection Management & Preservation: Inventoried over 1,000 16mm film prints

You can learn about all our 2015 programs and achievements on our website, or by getting in touch. We’d love to hear from you!

DER is a 501(c)(3) non-profit aiming to foster community, challenge preconceptions, and safeguard our diverse cultural memory through media. Without an endowment or foundation behind us, we rely on support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and from individuals like you to make our critical work happen.

Support DER with a tax-deductible donation today, so we can do even more for the documentary community in 2016. We are so grateful for your support!

Happy New Year from all of us at DER!

Sincerely,

Alice Apley, Executive Director

Welcome to our Spotlight on Collection Management & Preservation, part three in our series to help you get to know DER better this December!

Did you know DER is home to some of the most significant visual records of 20th century cultures? Through our Collection Management & Preservation programs we’re committed to preserving these original film, video, and photographic media assets, and releasing remastered or previously unreleased titles.

Some highlights from 2015:

– We completed a 3-year effort to inventory our collection of 16mm film materials and transferred them into the care of the Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Harvard Film Archive. Other materials were returned to their makers or donated to local film schools and artist collectives. Films now in archival care include:

• Pittsburgh Police Series, dir. John Marshall, 1971-1973
• Yanomamo pre-print materials, dir. Tim Asch & Napoleon Chagnon, 1968-1971
• Odyssey Series, pre-print materials and distribution prints, produced by Michael Ambrosino, 1980-1981
• Vermont Kids original and pre-print materials, dir. John Marshall, 1975
• If It Fits original and pre-print materials, dir. John Marshall, 1978
• Original film footage, audio recordings, and documentation (.e.g. field notes, etc.) of 1976 Folklife Festival, shot by John Marshall and crew

– We worked closely with producer Norman Miller to retransfer 20 films from the landmark Faces of Change collection. We are thrilled to have completed this huge project, and we will be making the films available in the New Year!

– We built up our in house capacity to digitally preserve, up-res, and update our collection of tape masters. With these new initiatives, we’re making our classic films more accessible and easy to find, watch, and share via on demand streaming. Let us know which titles you’d like to see!

“The 2015 Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival invited Alice Apley to introduce the Argentinian ethnographic filmmaker Jorge Preloran’s films to the Taiwanese audience, who enjoyed and appreciated the screenings and discussions very much. Through their collaboration with the Smithsonian, DER plays an invaluable role in making these older works accessible and provides wonderful service to popularize these important works. – Hu Tai-Li, President, Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival

Your tax-deductible donation enables us to continue safeguarding these important cultural works, and make them even more accessible to people around the globe.

Thank you for your support!

Through our Production & Production Support programs, DER serves as fiscal sponsors, consultants, and executive producers on important projects being made in the Boston area and beyond; and we initiate activities to bring awareness to new ethnographic and documentary media achievements. With your help, we can expand our programs and better support documentary filmmaking in 2016!

In 2015 DER:

– initiated a new Executive Producing program! Available to select projects that meet our mission, we play an active role as creative producers and decision makers. DER’s 2015 Executive Production projects in the works include:

– Techung: Bone of the Heart, dir. Marilyn Pennell. A one hour documentary film following the complex artistic and cultural negotiations of legendary Tibetan refugee musician, Tashi Dhondup Sharzur (Techung).

– Headhunt Revisited: With Brush, Canvas And Camera, dir. Michele Westmorland. A feature-length documentary about artist Caroline Mytinger that explores the role of art in documenting cultures and complexities of ethical cultural representation.

“I was in search of a fiscal sponsor who would be engaged with my film Headhunt Revisited – and then I discovered DER. I think the best part of becoming one of DER’s projects was the their ability to collaborate and provide support in grant applications, distribution outlets and guidance in bringing the film out to the right audiences. The entire team at DER, especially Alice Apley, has been a key ingredient to the momentum in completing this production. I look forward to our continued relationship.” – Michele Westmorland, director, Headhunt Revisited

– supported the following fiscal sponsorship projects through to completion:

Circus Without Borders, dir. Susan Gray
Exit Zero, dir. Chris Walley & Chris Boebel
Our Mockingbird, dir. Sandy Jaffe
Harry and Snowman, dir. Ron Davis

Congratulations to all our fiscal sponsorees!

– Served as consultants on new works, providing assistance regarding fundraising, production and/or distribution. Our 2015 production consulting includes Daughters of Anatolia, dir. Hale Sofia Schatz.

– participated in panels and workshops at major documentary industry and visual anthropology events:
Camden International Film Festival – “Being There” panel; introduced films in “Being There” program
Hot Docs – One-on-one filmmaker consultations for “Distribution Rendezvous” program
RIDM – One-on-one filmmaker consultations for “Face-à-face de la relève” program
Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival – Presentation on the works of Jorge Preloran
American Anthropology Association/Society for Visual Anthropology – “Past as Prologue” Panel

– launched the John Marshall Award for Contemporary Ethnographic Media! We presented the award to Anna Roussillon’s film I AM THE PEOPLE at the Camden International Film Festival in September, and are pleased to announce DER will be releasing the film in 2016!

“DER has been a longstanding supporter of the Camden International Film Festival and Points North Documentary Forum, playing a critical role in the development of our Points North Pitch Award for early-career filmmakers. This year we had the wonderful pleasure of expanding our partnership, as we introduced the first annual John Marshall Award for Contemporary Ethnographic Media. DER’s legacy of championing ethnographic film, and their vision of where the form is going make them a wonderful partner for this award, and we’re honored to partner to highlight new voices in ethnographic documentary media.” – Ben Fowlie, Founder & Executive Director, Camden International Film Festival

Help us expand our programs and better support ethnographic and documentary filmmakers in 2016! Your tax deductible donation means so much to us and the independent filmmaking community. We are so grateful for your support!

You may know DER as a film distributor, but this December we’d like to show you that we’re so much more! DER is a 501(c)(3) non-profit aiming to foster community, challenge preconceptions, and safeguard our diverse cultural memory through media; 2015 has been our best year yet! This month, we’ll be spotlighting our new programs and achievements in Curation & Distribution, Production & Production Support, and Collection Management & Preservation. We hope learning more about the work we do will inspire you to make a tax-deductible donation so we can do even more in 2016!

Part I: Spotlight on Curation & Distribution
This and every year, we curate a selection of new films to add to our collection. We support films that prioritize underrepresented voices, explore contemporary cultural struggles and artistic traditions, and offer longitudinal views of changing communities, cultures, and identities. We’re committed to informing future filmmakers of the history of this work, and supporting productions for teaching cultural literacy to a new generation of global citizens.

In 2015 DER:

– released 14 new films, covering topics from Native American land rights in San Francisco to mental health in Danish Muslim communities.

– sponsored over 50 free community screenings around the world, from Romania to Alabama.

– helped coordinate screenings – in video, 16mm and 35mm formats – at museums such as the Freiburg Museum of Contemporary Art, art house theatres such as Anthology Film Archives, and festivals such as the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival.

– made important documentary works available in the US and over 70 countries to educators, students, researchers and curators through DVD and streaming options.

– brought Director Karim Haroun to Boston from Montreal for a free screening of his film Mystic Mass. The film has screened at festivals such as RIDM and Visions du Reel, and is an important contribution to the discussion of Islam in media. The screening was followed by a lively discussion between Karim, film and Middle East scholars, and the audience.

I first heard of DER after watching a clip of a Gardner film at the Musée du Quai Branly. I immediately knew my documentary Mystic Mass would be in good hands with them, and I wasn’t wrong. From the first meeting in Montreal to the DVD release in Boston, our relationship has been based on trust and friendship and this is all for the benefit of the film. — Karim Haroun

Hear more from Karim about his film and process on the DER podcast.

Your contribution helps us share even more films, like Karim’s, that spark important conversations and help us understand one another better.

Thank you for your support!