#triggering wounds

[mayslesdocumentarycenter-blog]

As you've noticed these past few weeks, the Teens Producers Academy have created a great filmography about the issues and people affecting their lives, from homophobia to superheroes. And we're happy to highlight it as we enthusiastically wait for the collective's latest documentary, Triggering Wounds. The movie premieres Friday, April 26, at 7PM at Harlem Hospital Center Auditorium, 506 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard) at 135th Street.

Guiomar Camano and Claudia Almazo co-create a loving look at Francisco Gonzalez and his family, who sell summer refreshments, like icees and water, on the streets. The Icee Man is also a Big Muddy Film Festival acceptee.

[mayslesdocumentarycenter-blog]

Singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte on Jan. 29 urged leaders in the Black community to get more involved in the national debate on guns. Belafonte told The Associated Press that the current discussion arising out of the Connecticut school massacre in December often ignores decades of urban gun violence. He said it's important that African-American leaders participate in the debate over gun control. "What really concerns me is the ingredients of the discourse," he said. "The African-American community ... where is that community? Where is that voice? I think the Black community, the Black leadership need to stir it up."

--"Belafonte: Blacks Should Participate In Gun Debate," Afro 1/31/13

The Teen Producers Academy's latest doc, Triggering Wounds, does exactly that. The film is a collaborative effort among Maysles Institute and the Academy, Harlem Hospital Center, the New York County District Attorney's Office, Operation Harlem SNUG, and Harlem Mothers SAVE. The collaborative, known as the Circle of Safety Initiative, want to show the film to gun-shot victims before they are discharged from the hospital.  

    Triggering Wounds premieres Friday, April 26, at 7PM at Harlem Hospital Center Auditorium, 506 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard) at 135th Street. The doors open at 6:30PM. 

Maysles Cinema will host a week-long run of the doc from Saturday, April 27, through Thursday, May 2, with panels on various aspects of gun violence. Times and panelists TBA. Check here and at the main blog for the latest details.

[mayslesdocumentarycenter-blog]

In looking forward to the debut of the Teen Producers Academy's latest doc, Triggering Wounds, which premieres Friday, April 26, at 7PM at Harlem Hospital Center Auditorium, 506 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard) at 135th Street, we're looking back at past works from the collaborative!

Juaquin Bennett and Monique Lawrence directed and produced Heroes, Fighters, and Teachers, a loving tribute to the comic books and video games they love by chatting with peers and teachers about the lessons they learned from their favorite superheroes.

[mayslesdocumentarycenter-blog]

We love giving the younger generation cameras so they can show the lenses through which they view the world. So, we can't wait to debut the latest work from the Teen Producers Academy, called Triggering Wounds. The new doc reflects on the damage gun violence does not only to victims, but to families, friends, and communities. The movie premieres Friday, April 26, at 7PM at Harlem Hospital Center Auditorium, 506 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard) at 135th Street.

Some of the teens have also looked at how their communities use digital technology and social media. Check out Eduardo Luna's  and Paris Medrano's From Dark to Digital. And feel free to check out other works from the Teens Producers Academy!

[mayslesdocumentarycenter-blog]

"Tonight, we saw an explosion of anger from the youth in my community. We have talked about this anger for years, but still the resources have not come to address it. We have talked about the corrosive relationship between our community and the NYPD, but still the Mayor and the Commissioner have failed to address the root causes of this tension. Tonight, we saw that tension turn in a destructive manner. I cannot and will not condone the damage caused to property or to person. "I also cannot condone the continued refusal to hear the voices of this community. This action, which some are calling an uprising, was not about the details of one shooting; it spoke to the overwhelming frustration that people are living through day after day. I am calling on Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly to join me tomorrow in walking through this community, to see the situation first-hand and address my constituents who demand real reform. I am calling on them to address the lack of positive outlets for our young people, including the community center which we are fighting to get built. I am calling on them to commit to fully funding efforts like the Anti-Gun Violence Initiative that will bring resources to besieged communities. All of these things are needed in tandem. All of these things are overdue. "We cannot turn our anger against our neighbors. We must channel it constructively and send a clear message to City Hall and One Police Plaza that change must come. Without it, I fear this will be a long and bloody summer ahead. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 'a riot is the language of the unheard.'"

City Councilmember Jumaane D. Williams' official statement on the March 11 riot that started off as a vigil for NYPD shooting victim Kimani Gray, who the police shot on March 9. Read more about the shooting and its aftermath here.

The Teen Producers Academy empathize with the young people, some of whom were Kimani Gray's friends and classmates, in their frustrations over the violence affecting their communities. Seeing how gun violence tears down some Harlem communities led the teens in the Maysles Cinema program to create the documentary Triggering Wounds. 

The movie premieres on Friday, April 26, at 7PM Friday April 26, 7pm at Harlem Hospital Center Auditorium, 506 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard) at 135th Street. The doors open at 6:30PM.

Maysles Cinema will also host a week-long run at The Maysles Cinema from Saturday April 27 through Thursday, May 2, with panel discussions on different aspects on the issue. 

[mayslesdocumentarycenter-blog]

Our previous state-level analysis (here and here) found several key factors to be associated with gun deaths overall. With images of mentally deranged killers so prominent in the media, it is frequently assumed that gun violence is a product of mental illness or drug abuse. But we found no association between mental illness, stress, or illegal drug use and gun deaths at the state level. While one would think gun violence would be higher in states with higher levels of economic anxiety related to unemployment or inequality, we found no association to either at the state level. My colleagues and I did, however, find gun deaths to be higher in states with higher levels of poverty and lower incomes, as well as in red states and those with more blue-collar working class economies. Conversely, we found gun deaths to be less likely in states with more college graduates and stronger knowledge-based economies.

In preparation for the premiere of the latest documentary from the Teen Producers Academy, Triggering Wounds, we're looking at different aspects of gun violence, such as this fascinating study on the geography of gun violence.