14th Annual DocuWeeks

Los Angeles and New York City are hosting week-long documentary screenings in August as part of the 14th Annual International Documentary Association DocuWeeks. Screening as one of— if not the only — participant-produced films in the festival is Mozambique, a short movie by African teenager Alcides Soares for the Venice Arts-IPE project, The House is Small but the Welcome is Big. The documentary short will screen August 13-19 at the Arclight Hollywood in Los Angeles.

For more information about DocuWeeks, click here.

New Minor at USC: Photography and Social Change

The Institute for Photographic Empowerment is pleased to announce that the University of Southern California’s newest minor, Photography and Social Change, will launch Fall 2010. A cross-departmental minor, it will engage students in an exploration of the potential of photography as an instrument for social change.

“With the advent of digital media and the explosion of global media-based storytelling and participant projects, it’s time for the field to be taken seriously within academia,” said Lynn Warshafsky, Venice Arts founder and executive director.

“We are thrilled that the minor has been approved,” she said. “Our partnership with USC, through IPE, and now through the development of a minor, speaks to the importance and potential power of participant-photography, filmmaking, and multimedia.” Read more