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Bread & Roses at the Rafael Film Center
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For Release: May 11, 2004
Joan Baez at "Festival!" Film Screening to Benefit Bread & Roses
Corte Madera, CA - Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 7:30 p.m
Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael |
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Bread & Roses will present a very special benefit film screening of "Festival!" Newport Folk Festivals 1963-1966 on Tuesday May 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA. A Question and Answer Session will follow the film with Joan Baez and filmmaker Murray Lerner, moderated by Marin Independent Journal columnist Paul Liberatore.
The screening will benefit Bread & Roses, now in its 30th year of bringing free, live entertainment to isolated audiences in Bay Area institutions. A selection of photos from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival by Andrew deLory, a long-time Bread & Roses volunteer photographer, will also be on display.
Tickets are $20 and advance purchase is highly recommended. To purchase tickets on-line, visit our event page. Tickets may also be purchased at The Rafael Film Center box office at 1118 Fourth Street in San Rafael (Mon. - Fri. 6-9 p.m. and Sat./Sun. 2-9 p.m.)
"Festival!" is an Oscar-nominated documentary film which captures spontaneous interviews and vibrant folk music during the 1963-66 Newport Folk Festivals. Performers include Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, Odetta, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, a cameo appearance by Mimi & Richard Fariña, and many others. The film captures the richness of the American folk scene at that time and is an important historical, musical and social document. | |
| "Festival!" Promotion Poster
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A number of the legendary performers who are featured in the film have supported Bread & Roses through the years and continue to do so in the present day. The importance of playing and communicating through live music is a theme that resonates throughout the film. It is also an enduring value for Bread & Roses artists and audiences who both experience a human connection in an intimate setting through live performance.
Of the rare screening of this documentary and why it is relevant to the mission of Bread & Roses today, Cassandra Flipper, executive director said, "Mimi Fariña started Bread & Roses in 1974 with an acoustic music show that she performed for residents of a half-way house. Though Bread & Roses now presents many types of music to isolated audiences, we see on a daily basis the same powerful connection between performer and audience that is so evident in this film."
Legendary filmmaker Murray Lerner has produced a variety of documentaries and films, including the Oscar winning "From Mao to Mozart, Isaac Stern in China", as well as "Message to Love: the Isle of Wight Festival", and many others. Says Lerner about "Festival!", "Here is a place where the borderline between performer and audience breaks down, and where the music truly gives meaning to life."
Folk music pioneer Pete Seeger, a long-time supporter of Bread & Roses mission, said recently that "Mimi Fariña, the founder of Bread & Roses, and I shared a belief in the power of music. It can change lives, combat hopelessness, and it can lift hearts."
Bread & Roses produces performances in convalescent homes, AIDS facilities, drug and alcohol rehabs, special needs schools, centers for the developmentally disabled, detention facilities and homeless shelters. During the past year, 530 shows were produced for 23,000 audience members, in 105 facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a staff of nine and a dedicated cadre of over 1,200 volunteers, Bread & Roses charges no fees for its services, relying on individual donations and foundation/corporate grants to accomplish its mission. |
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