Public Invited to Preview Screenings of Independent Lens Documentaries

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) and the University of Oregon School of Journalism invite the public to free preview screenings of selected documentaries from the PBS series INDEPENDENT LENS, which airs on OPB and nationally on PBS.

The Community Cinema screenings will be on Wednesday nights, the first showing on January 6. The film rolls at 6pm. A question-and-answer discussion with guest speakers will follow each documentary.

The screenings will be at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications George S. Turnbull Center, located in the White Stag Building at 70 North Couch Street.

SCREENING SCHEDULE:

January 6 - Young@Heart
With a concert only weeks away, the senior citizen's choir, Young@Heart, must learn a slate of new songs ranging from James Brown to Coldplay.

February 10 - The Eyes of Me
At the Texas School for the Blind, students juggle all the usual pressures of high school along with the added struggles of growing up blind.

March 17 - Dirt! The Movie
Find out how industrial farming, mining and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods and climate change.

April 14 - Garbage Dreams
In the world’s largest garbage village located on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, the Zaballeen recycle 80 percent of the trash they collect. Now a multi-national corporation threatens their livelihood.

May 5 - The Horse Boy
When their son is diagnosed with autism, a Texas couple seeks the best treatments. Nothing works, until they travel to Mongolia and discover their son’s connection to horses.

May 19 - A Village Called Versailles
After Hurricane Katrina, city leaders plan a toxic landfill for the Versailles neighborhood. The community fights back, turning a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change and a chance to build a better future.

The PBS NewsHour "Patchwork Nation" Special Features Lincoln City on December 11 at 7pm

Lincoln City is one of five cities featured this week on a PBS NewsHour special series, "Patchwork Nation," exploring the economy's impact on communities throughout the nation. The series, reported by NewsHour Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez, began on Monday, Dec. 7 and concludes Friday, Dec. 11 with the Lincoln City segment.

“Patchwork Nation” explores what is happening in the United States by examining different kinds of communities over time. The effort divides America's 3,141 counties into 12 community types based on certain demographic characteristics, such as income level, racial composition, employment and religion.

Each night, the program looks at a different city to see how it is coping with its own economic challenges. The NewsHour will focus on five of the 12 “Patchwork Nation” community types, specifically, “Industrial Metropolis” (Philadelphia, PA); “Campus and Careers” (Ann Arbor, MI); “Tractor Country” (Sioux City, IA); “Boom Town” (Eagle, CO): and “Service Worker Centers” (Lincoln City, OR).

Friday, December 11: Lincoln City, OR (“Service Worker Center”)
Citizens in places like Lincoln City were among the first to experience the pain of the great recession. Unfortunately, they may be among the last to feel the effects of a recovery. A remarkably scenic, yet remote, beach town on the Oregon coast, Lincoln City’s economic fortunes are tied to those living several miles away. When tourists from Portland and Seattle stop spending, the effects are immediately felt in Lincoln City. As a result, second homes are in foreclosure, restaurants and stores are empty and unemployment is rising. (29 million Americans live in 628 counties identified as “Service Worker Center” communities)

Viewers can also log onto the “Patchwork Nation” Web site to see what’s happening across the rest of the country and learn more about each of the 12 community types. Online, visitors can explore a county by county interactive map of key economic indicators like unemployment, foreclosures and gas prices, as well as demographic and political data. And to give an on-the-ground picture of what’s it like to live in these places, people can also read posts from community bloggers and watch reports from PBS NewsHour partners at local public broadcasting stations. Visitors can also contribute their own views by submitting their photos to the Patchwork Nation Flickr group, uploading a video to YouTube or writing an article.

This PBS NewsHour segment also airs on OPB HD at 4pm on December 11 and December 12 at 12am.