| About Cinema and Literacy Day |
The San Joaquin Film Society, in association with the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library, celebrates the National Endowment for the Arts' THE BIG READ with Cinema and Literacy Day, a unique SJFS World Cinema Series and SJFS Film Education initiative, celebrating the power of storytelling through film and reading.
Featuring: the Spotlight Film presentation of director Ken Annakin's classic cinematic adaptation of Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" starring starring Charlton Heston; a special screening of Wes Anderson's internationally-celebrated adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" featuring the voice talents of George Clooney and Meryl Streep; "Short Stories on Film", an unforgettable short films collection featuring vivid, contemplative, and riveting original stories; and the global phenomenon "1000 Journals", with the presence of international director, Andrea Kreuzhage, our guest artist.
Programmed by Sophoan Sorn
Cinema and Literacy Day is funded in part by:
• National Endowment for the Arts
•
Library and Literacy Foundation of San Joaquin County
•
Friends of the Stockton Public Library
(click for more info. on films )
First off, since 50% of the films presented by the Film Society are foreign-language films, the ability to read English subtitles has been essential for the audience.
 
The Film Society has presented several films based on novels, including: On May 14, 2009, the flagship 2nd San Joaquin International Film Festival (SJIFF2) opened with the Northern California premiere of the sensational "Marcello Marcello" by Italian-Swiss director Denis Rabaglia, based on the novel "Marcello's Date" by British author Mark David Hatwood; and on May 18th, SJIFF2 closed with the Valley Premiere of the unforgettable "Like Dandelion's Dust" directed by Jon Gunn, starring Mira Sorvino, based on the best-selling novel by America's leading inspirational novelist Karen Kingsbury.
On February 19, 2010, the 3rd San Joaquin International Film Festival opened with the Northern California Premiere of the 2010 Academy Award-nominated "The Secret of Kells" directed by Irish animator Tomm Moore, inspired by the famous 9th century illuminated manuscript, The Book of Kells.
The San Joaquin Film Society, Inc. (SJFS) is the benchmark cinema arts organization in California's 400-mile Central Valley. The Film Society is home to the annual San Joaquin International Film Festival and year-round World Cinema Series. The Film Society celebrates cinema arts, multi-cultural appreciation, and global outreach through year-round productions of festivals and educational programs.
The Film Society is dedicated to celebrating the artistry, diversity, and power of filmmaking, bringing the world's best, rarest, and newest works in cinema arts and media discoveries to the Valley. The Film Society presents over 50 shows and events annually, featuring over 150 films from 35+ nations. The Film Society welcomes visiting directors, actors, luminaries and cinema arts educators from around the nation and the world; along with social events and galas, special screenings, and workshops for filmmakers and filmgoers. The Film Society's illuminating programs reach diverse and multi-cultural audiences of over 20,000 people annually in three cities.
For more information, visit official website: sjiff.org
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Creator and Programmer
• Sophoan Sorn
San Joaquin Film Society Board of Directors
• David Schmidt, Chair
• Shane Williamson, Vice Chair
• Arlene Galindo, Secretary-Treasurer
• Joel Reyna, Jr.
• Sophoan Sorn, Founder and ex-officio
Cinema and Literacy Day - Special Thanks
• Suzy Daveluy
• Mary Jo Gohlke
Historian and Official Photography - Special Thanks
• Tim Ulmer, Ulmer Photography
• Floyd Shoffner
Core Volunteer Committee
• Carlos Davalos, Executive Associate
• Navjot Kaur, Lead
• Kathy Ordanza, Lead
• Grace Alcantar, Video Historian
• Rebecca Guzman
• Melanie Hash
• Cheryl Tom
The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.The Big Read answers a big need. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young. The concerned citizen in search of good news about American literary culture would study the pages of this report in vain.
The Big Read aims to address this crisis squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature and an extensive Web site providing comprehensive information on authors and their works.Each community event lasts approximately one month and includes a kick-off event to launch the program locally, ideally attended by the mayor and other local luminaries; major events devoted specifically to the book (panel discussions, author reading, and the like); events using the book as a point of departure (film screenings, theatrical readings, and so forth); and book discussions in diverse locations and aimed at a wide range of audiences.
The NEA inaugurated The Big Read as a pilot project in 2006 with ten communities featuring four books. The Big Read continues to expand to include more communities and additional books. By June 2010, more than 800 grants have been awarded to communities in the U.S. to host Big Reads since the program's 2007 national launch.
Official website: www.neabigread.org
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