Arts Engine: About <style type="text/css"> @import "http://www.artsengine.net/?css=site/.tabbed_css.v.1277155035"; @import "http://www.artsengine.net/?css=site/default_css.v.1265674058"; @import "http://www.artsengine.net/?css=fs/.fs_css.v.1275399298"; </style> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="description" content="Arts Engine, Inc. supports, produces, and distributes independent media of consequence and promotes the use of independent media by advocates, educators and the general public." /> <meta name="keywords" content="independent film, human rights, arts engine, activism, social, justice, documentary, film, shorts, video, immigration, criminal justice, gay, lesbian, welfare, prison, racial, race, social issue, database, environment, health, gender, society, youth, news, articles" /> <script src="/lib/jquery-1.4.2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.artsengine.net/site/default_js/"></script> <script> $(document).ready(function () { $('#screenimg').hover(function () { $(this).css({'background-position': '-64px 0px'}); 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}); </script> </div>  </td> <td class="headerTableSides"> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="separator"></div> <div id="content"> <div id="content_frame"> <div class="float_left"> <h2>About</h2> <div class="default_slot"> <p>The ideas and values that inform Arts Engine today began under the leadership of co-founders Katy Chevigny and Julia Pimsleur in 1997 when they formed a partnership to create social-issue documentaries. These two engaged social activists developed the core values and beliefs that have informed all of the projects since then and that make up Arts Engine’s powerful mission today. Eight feature-length documentaries by Arts Engine’s production arm, Big Mouth, have been created since 1997, winning prestigious awards, gaining national recognition, and, as was the case with the Emmy-nominated film <em>Deadline</em>, reaching audiences in the millions. <em>Arctic Son</em> and <em>Election Day</em>, our most recent Big Mouth films, were broadcast by P.O.V., public television’s premiere showcase for independent, non-fiction film, in August 2007 and July 2008, respectively.</p> <p>In 2000, during the height of the first Internet boom, Chevigny and Pimsleur were among the first to realize that social issue filmmaking was taking a dramatic turn. A new culture was emerging that would entirely change the face of media from televised monologues to internet-driven dialogues. And electronically facilitated dialogue and distribution channels opened opportunities to build online communities where no community existed before.</p> <p>Committed to breaking down traditional hierarchies and status-markers, Arts Engine launched one of the only online commons for filmmakers and activists, called MediaRights.org. Now MediaRights.org is one of the most comprehensive databases of social-issue documentaries in the nation, and possibly the world, with over 7,000 films registered and more than 20,000 members. The success of this site led to the creation of a youth-focused initiative that is now called Launchpad. They also developed and launched the Media That Matters Film Festival, one of the first online film festivals, and realized the incredible potential for online showcasing and distribution. Going into its tenth year, and much more than a festival, Media That Matters reaches hundreds of thousands of people annually and hosts hundreds of internet pages of information with “Take Action Links.” DocuClub, Arts Engine’s most recent addition, is a monthly screening series of works-in-progress documentaries. Films that have been shown at DocuClub include <em>Born Into Brothels</em> (Academy Award for Best Documentary, 2004), <em>Prodigal Sons</em> (Telluride Film Festival 2008), and <em>Disturbing the Universe: Radical Lawyer William Kunstler</em> (Sundance Film Festival 2009).</p> <p>The ballast for this intense activism from the early beginnings in 1997 to today is the belief that exemplary visual storytelling on social issues can make change. Arts Engine is trusted source for media that matters. We drive change by connecting film, technology and community. </p> </div> </div> <div id="footer_content"> <div style="float:left; width: 300px;"> <p id="left_txt">Arts Engine, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the State of New York. Please support us by making a <a href="http://partners.guidestar.org/controller/searchResults.gs?action_donateReport=1&partner=networkforgood&ein=13-4129275">tax-deductible donation.</a></p> </div> <div style="float:left; width: 100px; padding-left: 50px; padding-right: 50px;">  <div class="AuthorizeNetSeal"> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">var ANS_customer_id="6c560391-c91a-44a5-91ac-a64f9da350fd";</script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="//verify.authorize.net/anetseal/seal.js" ></script> <a href="http://www.authorize.net/" id="AuthorizeNetText" target="_blank">Credit Card Processing</a> </div> </div> <div style="float:left; width: 300px;"> <p>104 West 14th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011 <br /> tel: 646-230-6368, fax: 646-230-6388<br> <a href="mailto:info@artsengine.net">info@artsengine.net</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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