Film Screenings & ROOTS Welcome Reception

ROOTS Welcome Reception & Film Screenings

Sunday, September 10th, 11AM - 2PM

@ Screen Door: An Ybor City Microcinema

(1624 E 7th Ave #228, Tampa, FL 33605, USA)

We're kicking off our Veteran Community Open Mic 10th Anniversary festivities with FREE Film Screenings and a get-to-know ROOTS welcome event! 

Alternate ROOTS is a regional network of artists and cultural organizers based in the U.S. South that supports the creation and presentation of original art rooted in community, place, tradition or spirit. ROOTS members work creatively toward a better world, calling for social and economic justice, and working to dismantle all forms of oppression – everywhere. If YOU are an artist, cultural worker, organizer, crafts person, performer, or creative practitioner in the U.S. South, Alternate ROOTS may be the network for you! Join us for coffee and pastries, and learn more about ROOTS!

Film Screenings will include short films created by Alternate ROOTS artists and associated organizations, including Art2Action. Check back in September for a detailed screening schedule, including Andrea Assaf's award-winning digital film Eleven Reflections on September, and more! 

Join us for coffee and pastries (or popcorn and soda if that's your jam!), discussions about art, activism, community-engaged work, and learn how to become a part of the Alternate ROOTS community! The join us in the evening at Skipper's Smokehouse for the Veteran Community Open Mic -- all artists welcome!

SCREENING SCHEDULE:

11am - 12pm: ROOTS Welcome Reception & Film Shorts, including:

• Reshaping the Mo(u)rning - A short documentary by Rodrigo Dorfman about SpiritHouse: a multigenerational Black women-led cultural organizing tribe with a rich legacy of using art, culture, and media to support the empowerment and transformation of communities most impacted by racism, poverty, gender inequity, criminalization, and incarceration.
• Murmurs of the River - An interdisciplinary, choreographic film project led by choreographers Jeanne Travers and Bliss Kohlmyer, with community-based dramaturgy by Andrea Assaf, voiceover direction by Dora Arreola, animation by McArthur Freeman, and an original music score. Featuring Tampa-based artists, including members of Heard 'Em Say Youth Arts Collective, and national collaborators.

12 - 1:30pm: Eleven Reflections on September & Community Dialogue

Eleven Reflections on September is a poetry, music, and digital media exploration of Arab American experience, Wars on/of Terror, and "the constant, quiet rain of death amidst beauty" that each autumn brings in a post-9/11 world. An award-winning film with 20 Official Selections, including Best Experimental Film (Silk Road Film Festival Cannes 2021), and Best Social Justice Film (NY International Film Awards 2022). Followed by a community conversation about the three films, with creators and ROOTS members.

ROOTS: Seeds - Inspiration & Invitations!

A poetic short film co-directed by Melisa Cardona and Jason Foster, featuring poet Sunni Patterson. Plus more inspiring shorts, with opportunities to mingle and learn how YOU can get involved with Alternate ROOTS! Then, mingle and get ready for Art2Action's Veteran Community Open Mic 10th Anniversary Celebration later that evening at Skipper's Smokehouse!

FREE! But space is very limited. RSVP to reserve your seats & snacks!

This event is sponsored in part by Alternate ROOTS, with additional funding from Southern Cultural Treasures, a program of South Arts (made possible with support from the Ford Foundation, the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Community Foundation Tampa Bay, and the Gobioff Foundation).