Circle Up Training

Yesterday we conducted an all-day training to bring clips from THE CIRCLE into Boston Public Schools to foster conversations about forgiveness, accountability, and justice.  The training is a part of a project called CIRCLE UP funded by Mass Humanities that pairs survivors of homicide victims with interns from Suffolk University's Center for Restorative Justice to facilitate circle series in three urban schools.

The project is guided by filmmaker Julie Mallozzi; scholars Carolyn Boyes-Watson and Thomas Wartenberg; and restorative justice leader Janet Connors.

In the training we talked about how to establish a circle community at the school so that students  feel comfortable exploring complex issues of violence in their lives or community.  We also reviewed specially edited clips from THE CIRCLE designed to open discussions of forgiveness, accountability, and justice: fundamental human values important for all of us as we move forward in our lives.

We are excited for the circles to begin in a few weeks!  Thank you to all of the participants for your wonderful contribution to the training.

We did it!

I am happy to report that our crowdfunding campaign was a huge success.  We exceeded our goal and raised $53,815.  This funding will enable us to bring our editor back to incorporate the recent round of feedback we have gotten from our advisors Kay Pranis and Carolyn Boyes-Watson and from Janet Connors' circle of friends and family.

Thank you so much to the many backers who came out to support this project.  We will keep you posted on how it goes.

Crowdfunding Launch!

We launched our Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign one week ago and it's zooming along!  We have just topped $8,000 - over 15% of our goal!  We are so excited to feel the support from so many backers.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 by June 5 to pay for last days of shooting, our editor's time, archival material, and music rights.  Please share the news widely!

This Sunday, May 15, 6-8pm we'll be having a crowdfunding party at Spontaneous Celebrations in Jamaica Plain.

Test Run at Harvard

Our index card wall.

Yesterday my editor Shondra and I made a field trip to show our rough cut of THE CIRCLE to Ross McElwee's Fundamentals of Filmmaking (as in 16mm - they shoot and edit a group documentary on celluloid!) class at Harvard.  We are both big fans of Ross's work, and I also taught with him and edited his film IN PARAGUAY.

This was the first time we have shown the film on a big screen to an audience.  It was wonderful to see that Janet's story is really moving viewers.  The students were really interested to see more in the film by some of the other subjects - like Clarissa Turner, founder of the Legacy Lives On survivor support circle, Strong Oak Lefebvre, an indigenous restorative justice leader, and Ismael Fortunato, a young man who struggles with anger after a close friend was murdered and another friend stabbed.

Ismael is a participant in a violence prevention circle that has been running every other week out of Margarita Muñiz Academy.  I have filmed several of their circle gatherings - facilitated by Janet, Clarissa, and another mother-survivor named Charmise - and it has been such a powerful journey.  These mothers can move mountains in people's hearts!

Ross's students are making a documentary about the Bernie Sanders campaign in Massachusetts.  They said they often get privileged access at campaign events when the other reporters see their Aaton!  Shondra and I showed them the photo of our index card wall to talk about how we are finding the structure for our film.  A lot of rearranging of those cards yet to come...