DEFINING BEAUTY: September 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

INFORMATIONAL SCREENING IN OCTOBER!

Please Join us for an informational Screening Of Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America at the Syracuse International Film Festival.

Informational Screening of Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America
The Palace Theatre
2384 James St
Syracuse, NY 13206
Saturday, October 16th
12:30pm
Q&A with the filmmakers and Ms. Wheelchair America 2009

Hamburger Mary's Event

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Hamburger Mary's Fundraiser for Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America.

CONGRATS JOHN FINKLEA!

John Finklea won an EMMY for his music editing work on THE PACIFIC. John has joined the Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America team and is currently working with the composer, Dave Flemming on the film.

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ENDORSED/SUPPORTED BY:
* The National Ms. Wheelchair America Organization
* Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (Peter Wilderotter, President & CEO)
* President of Trendera, named one of the 25 most powerful women in Hollywood by Elle magazine- Jane Buckingham
* A Midsummer Night's Rave and Deal, Director- Gil Cates Jr.
* Ms. Wheelchair America 2009 - Michelle Colvard
* ShoeMoney Productions - Julie Dejoie
* Entertainment Consultant & Independent Producer - Jen Grisanti
* Lisa Kline Inc. - Carmen Istrate
* 'Survivor: Micronesia' and CEO/Founder of I Am That Girl - Alexis Jones
* Lisa Kline Inc. -Lisa Kline
* Lamas Beauty International - Peter Lamas
* MSNBC commentator, Erica Duignan-Minnihan
* Author of In His Hands...Reclaiming Life after Tragedy - Leslie Ostrander
* Hurley Living The Dream Foundation - Scottie Somers
* My Boys, Actress - Jordana Spiro
* TiLite, - Todd VanderHoogt
* Athlete, star of Oscar nominated 'MurderBall' - Mark Zupan

AFFILIATED WITH:
* International Documentary Association (IDA)

CURRENT SPONSOR(S):
* Holiday Inn Rushmore Hotel
* MacHollywood
* SCORE: is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the rehabilitation of young people with spinal cord injuries, and to funding innovative paralysis research.

QUOTES INSPIRED BY DEFINING BEAUTY:

"The most beautiful rainbows often follow the most horrific storms. When people reach the moment of discovery that the beauty of life is in its path then they begin to live on higher ground. Often this realization occurs after adversity, of losing something and learning how to push on and challenging themselves to achieve the impossible. The culture places emphasis on beauty as an external force, but real beauty is worn and illuminated from within." - Peter Wilderotter, President & CEO of Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation

"Beauty comes from real passion and true interest. It comes from confidence and kindness. It comes from innocence and experience. It rarely comes to those who try too hard for it." - Jane Buckingham, President of Trendera

"Beauty is watching my dog sleeping peacefully" - Gil Cates Jr., Director

'“Beauty” is vivaciousness, passion, and vitality. Christian Dior once said that “zest is the secret of all beauty; there is no beauty that is attractive without zest”. I can’t think of a single exception.'- Michelle Colvard, Ms. Wheelchair America 2009

"Beauty to me is a quality in someone or something that elicits a sense of happiness or simply makes me smile." - Julie Dejoie, ShoeMoney Productions

"Beauty is a reflection of the spiritual work that is done inside and when done well, it shines through on the outside. It is seeing depth in the eyes because the spirit is fulfilled." - Jen Grisanti, Entertainment Consultant & Independent Producer

“One’s true beauty should not be judged by outward appearance but rather by the radiance of one’s soul.” - Carmen Istrate, Lisa Kline Inc.

“It's the light inside the Jack-o-lantern that illuminates through the cracks and makes a person truly glow, that's the beauty I'm chasing anyway... the kind that makes me shine for the whole neighborhood!!" – Alexis Jones, 'Survivor: Micronesia' and CEO/Founder of I Am That Girl

"Exuding confidence in all you do by knowing your true self and utilizing the gifts you were born with. Always remember to laugh, smile, and connect with others, because when you open your heart you become more beautiful!" - Lisa Kline, Lisa Kline Inc.

"Beauty is in not only in the eye of the beholder, it is also in the eye of the possessor. What truly makes us attractive to others is the projection of our self esteem." -Peter Lamas, Founder of Peter Lamas Products

"Anything that sparks another's desire to be around you and share their precious moments of life in your presence is a manifestation of your beauty." - Erica Duignan Minnihan, MSNBC commentator

“Beauty is illuminated when one realizes that they were born to manifest the glory of God. Magnificence is the reflection of the divine identity of Christ our creator, for He is love and there is nothing more beautiful than love itself.” - Leslie Ostrander, Author of In His Hands...Reclaiming Life after Tragedy

"Wisdom is the secret to beauty, found mostly on rugged paths not easily traveled, also found through hardship that builds character; Beauty is a gift you give to others in need." - Scottie Somers, Hurley Living The Dream Foundation

“Beauty is perfect harmony if it is playing that perfect game, courting the woman of your dreams, hearing the perfect song, being happy at what you do, facing and concurring your fears and taking time to enjoy the small things that are important in life.” – Mark Zupan, Murderball

BACKGROUND ON MS. WHEELCHAIR AMERICA:
Organized in 1972 by Dr. Philip K. Wood, Ms. Wheelchair America recognizes the accomplishments of women who must rely on wheelchairs for mobility. Its primary mission is to provide an opportunity for these women to educate and advocate for the more than 52 million Americans living with disabilities. This unique beauty pageant is a competition based on advocacy, achievement, communication and presentation to select the most accomplished and articulate spokeswoman for persons with disabilities. (Website: http://www.mswheelchairamerica.org)

PRODUCTION TEAM:
* Alexis Ostrander, Director- Former assistant to Director Tommy Schlamme- West Wing, Life on Mars and Studio 60. Alexis' sister-in-law Leslie Ostrander, former Ms. Wheelchair Georgia, a C7 incomplete quadriplegic from the age of 4, is the inspiration for this work.
Alexis has been commissioned by Elle Magazine's UK TV for their Behind the Scenes Shoot with Pamela Anderson. Watch video click HERE.

* Manuela Ikenze, Executive Producer - As a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Science (home of the Emmy®), Manuela brings over seven years of experience in entertainment marketing, talent relations and live production. Working with entities such as CAA, NBC Universal and SAG Awards (in association with TNT/ TBS), Manuela brings a varied background and knowledge of television production and corporate fundraising through advertising and celebrity tie-ins with Fortune 500 companies.

* Molly Kasch, Producer- Molly produced the AFI Directing Workshop for Women Short Film “The Death of Toys” starring Disney channel's, Kim Rhodes. Her award-winning short “The Burger” debuted at the Vail Film festival and is currently in the festival circuit. Molly also starred in 'Boricua', which screened at the Tribeca film festival and she has worked on various new media projects from Vivendi/Universal’s video game 'The Darkness' to Current TV's ‘Fantasy Football Fever’ which is distributed worldwide. Molly's passion for independent film and dedication to examining pertinent issues through media makes her a part of a generation of trail blazers making a difference.

* Meagan Keane, Producer- As producer with award winning Interloper Films for four years Meagan served as Field Producer and Associate Producer on 2009 Sundance Grand Jury Award Winner for Documentary "We Live In Public" and 2007 Los Angeles International Film Festival Official Selection for Documentary "Join Us". Through out her career Meagan has worked with documentary greats including Ondi Timoner, Steve James, and Jessica Yu. In 2007 and 2008 she field produced and shot feature length documentary "Highschool 911" with DGA award winning director Timothy Warren. Most recently Meagan has served as a contract Associate Producer for the documentary division of Lucasfilm Ltd. and is currently a producer for Youth Media International, a non-profit production organization out of Oakland, CA. Meagan holds her Master of Fine Arts in Film Production from USC's School of Cinematic Arts.

* David J. Frederick, SOC, Director of Photography- As President Emeritus of the Society of Camera Operators, Dave has a remarkable body of work within the industry that spans over 30 years from working on American classics like Driving Miss Daisy to the critically acclaimed Dreamworks’ film, The Soloist. Dave has also collaborated with many film revolutionaries such as Steven Soderbergh, Joe Wright, and Bob and Harvey Weinstein. In addition, Dave’s impressive work in episodic television includes CBS's "Northern Exposure", ABC’s, “Lost”, NBC’s "Heroes", HBO's “Six Feet Under”, USA’s “Monk” and TNT’s “My Boys” to name a few. Currently, Dave is the Director of Photography 2nd Unit and main Camera Operator for the two seasons of the FX Network show “Sons of Anarchy” starring Katey Sagal. Dave is recognized as an important industry leader, a respected mentor and is a visionary in his field. He brings a depth and the richness of his experience in documentaries, feature films and the television arts to "Defining Beauty".

*Rita K. Sanders, Editor- Rita has been a professional film and video editor since 2003. Rita began her career by editing television news on tape-to-tape machines and has since cut on five feature films and many shorts, industrial videos and music videos. Her most recent feature doc, "The Horse Boy" (previously titled "Over the Hills and Far Away") premiered at the 2009 Sundance film festival and won the audience award at SXSW. The “Horse Boy” is being released by Zeitgeist Films and in theaters Fall of 2009. Rita has also edited video extensively for many non-profit groups including Grrl Action, The Austin Browncoats, and the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities.

DEFINING BEAUTY

Thursday, September 23, 2010

INFORMATIONAL SCREENING IN OCTOBER!

Hamburger Mary's Event

CONGRATS JOHN FINKLEA!

"DEFINING BEAUTY: Ms. Wheelchair America" Trailer

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