{"id":49326,"date":"2017-10-19T22:10:04","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T02:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=49326"},"modified":"2017-10-19T22:10:04","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T02:10:04","slug":"acclaimed-local-female-filmmakers-focus-artists-among-us-roundtable-nov-2-steelstacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=49326","title":{"rendered":"Acclaimed Local Female Filmmakers Focus of \u2018Artists Among Us\u2019 Roundtable Nov. 2 at SteelStacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BETHLEHEM, PA\u2014From Emmy winning producers to filmmakers who have played roles in major productions like \u201cJohn Wick 2,\u201d \u201cHouse of Cards\u201d and \u201cEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,\u201d the Female Filmmaker Roundtable at the ArtsQuest Center\u2019s Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, 101 Founders Way<\/a>, on Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.<\/span>, shines the spotlight on local women who are having a powerful impact on the nation\u2019s film industry.<\/p>\n

The event, presented as part of ArtsQuest\u2019s \u201cArtists Among Us Series,\u201d is free to attend and features Emmy Award winning documentary producer Roberta Morris-Purdee; TV and film producer Ali Norod Pensyl; filmmaker and production company owner Koula Sossiadis Kazista; Lafayette College professor and director Nandini Sikand; and Art House Convergence Managing Director Barbara Twist. Panelists will discuss not only their personal experiences in the film industry, but also cinema\u2019s glass ceiling and the significance of women in front of and behind the camera. Anyone interested in attending should reserve tickets in advance by calling the ArtsQuest Center Box Office at 610-332-3378<\/a> or visiting the Box Office in person.<\/p>\n

The Female Filmmaker Roundtable is moderated by Penn State \"\"<\/a>Lehigh Valley Film Professor Katina Sossiadis Bozikis and includes a public Q&A session. As a director and writer, Sossiadis Bozikis is known for the short film \u201cLynn\u2019s Wake\u201d and the documentary \u201cVirgins of New York.\u201d Following her first feature film made with sister Koula Sossiadis Kazista, she is working on the script for \u201cSearching for Augusta,\u201d which takes place in the Lehigh Valley. Aspiring actors are encouraged to join Sossiadis Bozikis for her upcoming workshop \u201cActing for Film\u201d Nov. 4, noon-3 p.m.<\/span>, in the Fowler Blast Furnace Room of the ArtsQuest Center. Fee for the workshop is $44 for ArtsQuest Members and $49 for the public. Anyone interested in registering can do so at www.steelstacks.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Female Filmmaker Roundtable:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Roberta Morris-Purdee<\/strong>, of Williams Twp., began her career as assistant to Academy Award winning actress and Director Lee Grant. After 10 years and 14 films with Grant, Morris-Purdee opened Karmic Release, which released ground breaking documentaries like the Emmy Award winning \u201cBaghdad ER.\u201d Her 18 works have been honored with Emmy, Peabody, duPont-Columbia and Cine Golden Eagle awards, as well as a place on the 1999 Academy Award Short List.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ali Norod Pensyl<\/strong>, a Bethlehem native, has worked in the film and television industry for more than 16 years, building her career from the ground up. Over the years, Pensyl has worked with some of the industry\u2019s most recognized personalities, such as Meryl Streep, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini, Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Uma Thurman and Beyonce, as well as award winning directors and producers like Terrance Winter, Michel Gondry and Barry Sonnenfeld. Her film work includes features like \u201cEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,\u201d \u201cMaria Full of Grace,\u201d \u201cCadillac Records,\u201d \u201cThe Squid and the Whale\u201d and top-rated television shows like \u201cThe Sopranos,\u201d \u201cThe Good Wife,\u201d\u201cSex and The City\u201d and \u201cBlue Bloods\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Koula Sossiadis Kazista<\/strong> received her Bachelor of Art in Journalism at Lehigh University and began her film career working as a script supervisor on films including \u201cCopland,\u201d \u201cThe Devil’s Advocate,\u201d \u201cFar From Heaven,\u201d \u201cAnger Management\u201d and \u201cSchool of Rock.\u201d Now she and her husband own and operate their own equipment rental company, Monster Remotes, which caters to large budget films, from the chase sequences in \u201cJohn Wick 2,\u201d to various shots in \u201cHouse of Cards,\u201d \u201cOrange Is The New Black\u201d and \u201cGotham.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Barbara Twist <\/strong>is a filmmaker based in Detroit, Mich. As a producer, her credits include an independent feature, \u201cConsideration,\u201d and as a director, her credits include \u201cShark Tank,\u201d a short film which screened at the 2011 Traverse City Film Festival. In addition to her work as a filmmaker, she is the Managing Director of the Art House Convergence, an international organization for the art house and independent theater community. Twist is on the board of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and Cinema Detroit, and is also a member of Final Girls, a women\u2019s filmmaking collective.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Nandini Sikand <\/strong>is an anthropologist, filmmaker and Odissi dancer. Her documentary and experimental films have screened and won awards at more than 100 domestic and international film festivals and aired on PBS. She has been awarded grants from The Jerome Foundation, the Center for Asian American Media and she is two-time awardee of New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grant. Sikand\u2019s career as a filmmaker has spanned 20 years and explored subjects such as nationalism, breast cancer, identity politics, music in the diaspora and immigration. In television, she has worked as a producer and director on projects for Channel Four: UK, Ovation, HBO, Oxygen and The History Channel. Sikand is an Associate Professor of an interdisciplinary film and media studies program at Lafayette College. She is currently working on a feature length documentary about women and mass incarceration in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n

The \u201cArtists Among Us\u201d program, made possible by the Bucks County-based nonprofit Art of Preservation, is dedicated to honoring artists of various mediums living and working in Bucks County and the Lehigh Valley, to encourage, excite and support the aspirations of art-makers young and old. Past \u201cArtists Among Us\u201d include painter Todd Stone, fashion designer Pamela Ptak of \u201cProject Runway,\u201d broadcast journalist Melba Tolliver, GQ and Esquire fashion editor G. Bruce Boyer, author Bathsheba Monk, record producer and musician John McClure and Marvel & DC Comics illustrator Scott Hanna. For more information on the series, visit www.artsquest.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Information and images provided to TVL by:
\nMark Demko, ArtsQuest
\nhttp:\/\/www.artsquest.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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