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INTERVIEW: The Power of Small Stories–Suman Ghosh Speaks About His Labor of Love, SHYAMAL UNCLE TURNS OFF THE LIGHTS

By The Global Film Initiative, on March 12th, 2013%

Director Suman Ghosh

Rob Avila talks with director Suman Ghosh about leading a double life…

In the United States he’s a respected economist and academic. In India, he is better known as the award-winning movie director of such critical and box-office successes as Podokkhep (Footsteps), Dwando (The Conflict), and Nobel Chor (Nobel Thief), starring Mithun Chakraborty. But as the Calcutta native discusses below, his early passion for films grew up right alongside his doctoral work in economics at Cornell University through eye-opening studies conducted concurrently in Cornell’s film department.

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INDUSTRY: A Decade of Film

By The Global Film Initiative, on December 22nd, 2012%

A retrospective look at Global Lens via the images and ideas that took our signature series from infancy to adulthood…

As writer Robert Mckee said, “Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”

We agree.

Stories are the basis of humanity. They teach, they entertain, and they shape how we see the world. As humans, we are wired to connect and bond with others.

GFI was created with this purpose: to create global understanding, empathy and connectivity through the powerful medium of film, and to promote and support the vibrant growth of global filmmaking. To date, we have distributed 96 independent films from over 38 countries to North American audiences, and hosted screenings in every U.S. state except North Dakota. (Anyone in North Dakota want to help us with our 2013 New Years Resolution? Contact us!)

Through these films, we hope to inspire people to keep learning about other perspectives and ways of life. In celebration of Global Lens’ 10th year anniversary in January, we take a look at some of our films and the themes they contain from the past decade…

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FEATURE: Film as Social Enterprise?

By Pat Guerra, on July 20th, 2012%

"While the social enterprise is concerned with its cause over its profits, it must nonetheless secure financing."

Pat Guerra, Director of Development, explores the connections between The Global Film Initiative’s nonprofit, social entrepreneurship model with the business of filmmaking, in this first of several blog posts on the topic.

Embarking on filmmaking is an inherently risky social endeavor. A film’s purpose is storytelling, an act that dates back to the dawn of mankind, as does being an entrepreneur or merchant. Few undertakings are more entrepreneurial than launching a new film project. There are many parallels between launching a film project and a launching a new social enterprise.

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