National Geographic Society

Yesterday at the American Indian Summer Institute, the students spent the day at Fox Studios. Presenters Marsha Cole and Kevin Considine shared valuable insight about working in Hollywood, and later that day, the students attended the WGAW (Writer's Guild of America, West) Reading Series, presented by the WGAW American Indian Writers Committee and the Fox American Indian Summer Institute.

Marsha Cole, one of the presenters, is a sought-after motivational speaker and trainer for youth career preparation, who began her own career in the entertainment industry at the age of seventeen. "We need to prepare our youth for careers and provide them with the necessary tools to compete in the marketplace," she says.

Kevin Considine, another presenter, founded Hollywood CPR, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 © (3) organization, in 1997. He was inspired by the arts, which helped him break through the walls erected by academia and led him to a successful career in the entertainment industry.

The American Indian Writer's Committee, who hosted the reading series, represents the professional and creative interests of American Indian writers. It works to mentor, encourage, empower and increase the visibility and employment of writers of American Indian heritage. The series featured staged readings of short scenes from unproduced screenplays or teleplays by WGA members.

Here's what the students had to say:

"I learned that you have to be very enthusiastic, really believe in your project, and that you can't be shy. At times I was being the typical Native, holding myself back, but I learned today that I need to push myself."
-Carey Tully

"The most exciting part of coming here to Fox today was getting to know the writers...They shared [their knowledge of] how things happen in Hollywood and this gave me a better perspective for how to approach what I eventually want to do."
-Kelly McCabe

"Today has changed my whole perspective...it's been a great opportunity to hear the insight of these professionals in their fields...so far [the program] has surpassed any expectations that I had...they keep us really busy."
-Dietrich Wilke

The week will end with an amazing showcase of new International films hosted by the National Geographic All Roads Film Project. Buy your tickets today!

Check back daily for more updates on this exciting program!

Article by Claire Ensslin

Back by popular demand, Suzi Yoonessi's Dear Lemon Lima is having an impromptu third screening in Los Angeles at Landmark 8 this Saturday at 4:15 PM after to two sold-out screenings on the 20th and 23rd.

Dear Lemon Lima, an All-Roads Seed Grant recipient, tells the story of 13-year-old Vanessa Lemor, a Yu'pik girl with a vivid imagination. After getting dumped by her true love, she rallies with her fellow misfits, including a bi-racial girl named Nothing and a pathological liar who claims that Puff Daddy is her father, to compete in the Snowstorm Survivor Competition, her prep school's bastardized version of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics.

The film was originally inspired by director Suzi Yoonessi's childhood diary, which is a "rainbow-studded, tragic and funny compilation of letters to [her] imaginary friend Lemon Lima." As Yoonessi flipped through the pages, she was struck by genuine amount of passion, sincerity and heartbreak that was communicated in each passage. With Dear Lemon Lima, the director intends to prove that "every human connection deserves the love and compassion that a 13-year-old girl embraces the world with."

Yoonessi's award-winning short version of "Dear Lemon Lima" (2007) played internationally in over 60 festivals including the Tribeca Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival. Suzi Yoonessi has also directed Vern (2004) and No Shoulder (2005), and her producing credits include 3 Weeks After Paradise (2002), Vern (2004), Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), and Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody? (2005).

"Suzi Yoonessi's delicious debut makes the life of her Alaskan teenage heroine as colorful and sweet as a snow cone." - Jonathan Wysocki of the Los Angeles Film Festival

"...one of the most affecting and poised performances by a 13-year-old we've seen in quite some time." - Bilge Ebiri of New York Magazine

"...as refreshing as an Astro-Pop on a summer's day." - The Los Angeles Times

Buy Tickets Here

Article by Claire Ensslin