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OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMMAKERS TO SPEAK ABOUT NEW DOCUMENTARY, RAISING RENEE (2011)

NYS Writers Institute, October 12, 2011
7:00 p.m. Film screening and Discussion [Note early start time] | Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, Uptown Campus

October 13, 2011
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Informal Craft talk | Standish Room, Science Library

CALENDAR LISTING:
Oscar-nominated documentary filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan will present their new film, RAISING RENEE (2011), the story of acclaimed African-American painter Beverly McIver and her promise to take care of her mentally disabled sister, on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. [NOTE EARLY START TIME] in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, on the University at Albany’s uptown campus. The following day, Thursday, October 13, 2011, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., in the Standish Room of the Science Library on the uptown campus, the filmmakers will present an informal craft talk on the making of the film. Free and open to the public, the events are sponsored by the UAlbany Documentary Studies Program, Art Department, School of Social Welfare, History Department, and the New York State Writers Institute.

PROFILE
Oscar-nominated documentary filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan will present their new film,RAISING RENEE(2011), the story of acclaimed African-American painter Beverly McIver and her promise to take care of her mentally disabled sister after the death of their mother, Ethel — a promise that comes due just as Beverly’s career is taking off. The film follows the relationship between the sisters, and the challenges they each face, over a period of six years. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Boston’s Independent Film Festival, RAISING RENEE explores deep themes of family, race, class, disability, and art. Boston Globe reviewer Ty Burr said, “The latest documentary from filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan again proves the couple’s uncanny ability to mine a situation for endless nuances of behavior and experience.” Slant magazine noted that artist Beverly McIver is “a pure effervescent delight.”

Ascher and Jordan, who have been making documentary and fiction films for more than 20 years, will discuss the film and answer questions immediately following the screening on Wednesday, October 12, 2011, in the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center.  The following day, Thursday, October 13, 2011, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., in the Standish Room of the Science Library on the uptown campus, the filmmakers will present an informal craft talk on the making of the film.

Known for expressionistic portraits of herself, her mother and her sister Renee, Beverly McIver is widely acknowledged as a significant presence in contemporary American art. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Radcliffe Fellowship from Harvard University, and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award.

Documentaries by Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan include the Oscar-nominated TROUBLESOME CREEK: A MIDWESTERN (1995), the story of a failing Iowa farm, winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance. SO MUCH SO FAST (2007), about a family’s search for a cure to Lou Gehrig’s disease, premiered at Sundance, was released theatrically and aired on PBS’s FRONTLINE. Jordan has worked as a producer and editor for the PBS productions, EYES ON THE PRIZE, AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE and POSTCARDS FROM BUSTER. Ascher’s directing credits include the A&E drama, DEL AND ALEX. He is also the author with Ed Pincus of The Filmmaker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age, first published in 1983, and reissued in several updated editions, most recently in 2008. The Boston Globe called it the  “Gold-standard technical reference book for filmmakers.”

The events are presented by UAlbany’s Documentary Studies Program in partnership with the Art Department, School of Social Welfare, History Department, and the NYS Writers Institute.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.