Month of February, 2008

Last Tuesday night we had an electrifying screening at UCLA. We were expecting around 100 students, but over 250 students showed up: literally, we had to open another lecture room in the building and do two screenings simultaneously! Even so, tons of student watched the entire movie standing up, and you could hear the cheers (and the tears) during the screening. It's hard to describe the feeling in the room... but it was really inspiring, and a good reminder of how much the film can touch young students and move them to action.

Afterwards we had great Q&A's. Because we had two lecture halls, we created two teams: Robert and I were Team A, and Joann, Maria and Julia (one of the workers' attorneys) were Team B. So we did simultaneous presentations, switching after a while so both rooms could get the best of both teams ?

A HUGE thank you to the UCLA Labor Center, which organized the screening (and to Liz Espinosa, who tirelessly coordinated everything) and to all the departments and student groups co-sponsoring the event: UCLA Institute for Research on Labor & Employment (IRLE), UCLA Law School Critical Race Studies Program, UCLA Law School David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, Latin American Institute, Chicano Studies Research Center, Asian American Studies Department, MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan), Conciencia Libre & Student Worker Front, Student Activist Project, and Center for the Study of Urban Poverty.

This was one more beautiful example of true grassroots organizing, where an educational institution partnered with us and helped the film reach out to its constituency: the students! As a result, UCLA is already organizing ANOTHER event for the students at the dorms. Students: stay tuned for more info! Join our list!

We are very happy to announce that the educational version of Made in L.A. has just been released by California Newsreel, the oldest nonprofit, social issue documentary film center in the country!

As many of you know first-hand, ever since Made in L.A. was broadcast in September we have been receiving requests from educators who want to screen the film for their classes and include it in their libraries. From the beginning, we have been dedicated to making Made in L.A. a valuable educational tool, and we're very excited that it can now be shown in schools, libraries, colleges and universities!

Our educational distributor, California Newsreel, distributes cutting edge, social justice films that inspire, educate and engage audiences. For more details and to purchase the educational version of the film, please visit Newsreel's page for Made in L.A.!

(Home video, community groups and organizers can continue to purchase the film at http://www.madeinla.com/buy)

Thanks so much for your patience – the wait is finally over!!! :)