Meet the Independents - May 1st at WAMC's Linda Norris Auditorium

The Politics of Truth in Media:
An Evening with Haskell Wexler, Pamela Yates and others
and screening of "Medium Cool"
Co-sponsored by the Woodstock Film Festival

The result is one of the most vibrant and eye-opening films ever made, a bit of fantasy that seems devastatingly real -- because, in large part, it is. The story -- about a jaded America during the 1960s -- has become more relevant than ever.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Haskell Wexler, producer/director Pamela Yates (Presumed Guilty, Brotherhood of Hate) and others.

Born in Chicago, Wexler attended the University of California at Berkeley for a year before joining the Merchant Marines. He stayed at sea for five years, became a second officer, then returned to Chicago where he spent ten years making documentary and educational films before moving to California in 1955.

Wexler has been elected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to the Board of Governors to represent the Cinematographers Branch. He has also received many honors, including The American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award, Liberty Hill Foundation Upton Sinclair Award, Poland’s Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award, Eastman Kodak Outstanding Photographic Achievement for Blaze and Matewan, as well Honorary Doctorates from Columbia College, American Film Institute and California Institute of the Arts.

Wexler is the first Cinematographer in over thirty-five years to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

Haskell Wexler Filmography

Pamela Yates

Producer and Director Pamela Yates has dedicated her life to social issue storytelling and has a breadth of experience in independent documentaries and commercial television. Her latest production, "Presumed Guilty" was a three year saga of the San Francisco public defenders and their underdog role in the criminal justice system. It was shown theatrically and as a PBS Special. Yates' film, "Brotherhood of Hate," for The New York Times and Showtime Networks, is a study of violent white supremacy in one American family.

Yates’ independent films in war-torn Central America include the Academy Award winner "Witness to War", and Sundance Special Jury Award winner "When the Mountains Tremble". Yates produced the Emmy Award winning "Loss of Innocence" for New York Times Television and was a Producer of Michael Moore's political satirical "TV Nation" for NBC and Fox. "TV Nation" won the Emmy for "Outstanding Informational Series" in 1995.

Her current projects include a feature length documentary "Passage Through Fear" about Peru's successful war on terror and the lessons we may learn from it, as well as a series of Public Service Announcements with the women at Bedford Hills maximum security prison urging people on the outside to vote.

This event made possible by Clips from our first Independent Film Night May 1, 2003 Clips from our second Independent Film Night 6/26/2003 Clips/Highlights from Indie Film Night 4 4/17/2004	3/26/2004 7:00PM
	INDEPENDENT FILM ON THE AIR!
	The Politics of Truth in Media: An Evening with Haskell Wexler, Pamela Yates and others and screening of "Medium Cool" Co-sponsored by the Woodstock Film Festival Where is the line between fantasy and reality? Check out Medium Cool and you'll have trouble finding it. Pioneering cinematographer Haskell Wexler got the bright idea that the 1968 Democratic National Convention would be a hotbed of riots (with Vietnam in its worst years, MLK recently assassinated, and a growing movement fed up with the government) and he was right. Wexler decided to make a (fictional) movie set during all of this -- but rather than wait until it was over and done with, he took a group of actors to ground zero, tossed them in among the cops and the protesters, and had them"act." The result is one of the most vibrant and eye-opening films ever made, a bit of fantasy that seems devastatingly real -- because, in large part, it is. The story -- about a jaded America during the 1960s -- has become more relevant than ever. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Haskell Wexler, producer/director Pamela Yates (Presumed Guilty, Brotherhood of Hate) and others. This event was made possible with public fund from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) a State Agency and the City of Albany. Haskell Wexler, A.S.C. Haskell Wexler is considered to be one of the most important cinematographers working in the film industry today. Wexler has photographed a wide range of films that have earned him five Academy Award nominations and two Oscars for Best Cinematography. His nominations came for his work on his first feature documentary, THE LIVING CITY; a short film T FOR TUMBLEWEED; Milos Forman's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST; John Sayles' MATEWAN and Touchstone Pictures BLAZE. He took home statuettes for his work on Mike Nichols' WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF and Hal Ashby's BOUND FOR GLORY. Other films shot for Ashby include COMING HOME, SECOND-HAND HEART and LOOKIN' TO GET OUT. Born in Chicago, Wexler attended the University of California at Berkeley for a year before joining the Merchant Marines. He stayed at sea for five years, became a second officer, then returned to Chicago where he spent ten years making documentary and educational films before moving to California in 1955. Wexler has been elected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to the Board of Governors to represent the Cinematographers Branch. He has also received many honors, including The American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award, Liberty Hill Foundation Upton Sinclair Award, Poland’s Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award, Eastman Kodak Outstanding Photographic Achievement for Blaze and Matewan, as well Honorary Doctorates from Columbia College, American Film Institute and California Institute of the Arts. Wexler is the first Cinematographer in over thirty-five years to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Haskell Wexler Filmography Pamela Yates Producer and Director Pamela Yates has dedicated her life to social issue storytelling and has a breadth of experience in independent documentaries and commercial television. Her latest production, "Presumed Guilty" was a three year saga of the San Francisco public defenders and their underdog role in the criminal justice system. It was shown theatrically and as a PBS Special. Yates' film, "Brotherhood of Hate," for The New York Times and Showtime Networks, is a study of violent white supremacy in one American family. Yates’ independent films in war-torn Central America include the Academy Award winner "Witness to War", and Sundance Special Jury Award winner "When the Mountains Tremble". Yates produced the Emmy Award winning "Loss of Innocence" for New York Times Television and was a Producer of Michael Moore's political satirical "TV Nation" for NBC and Fox. "TV Nation" won the Emmy for "Outstanding Informational Series" in 1995. Her current projects include a feature length documentary "Passage Through Fear" about Peru's successful war on terror and the lessons we may learn from it, as well as a series of Public Service Announcements with the women at Bedford Hills maximum security prison urging people on the outside to vote.