LIFT

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

USA. 2023. 87 min. David Petersen. Paramount Pictures. English. PG-13.

March 5, 2024 (Only) FREE Special Student Screening and Q&A with director David Petersen, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Ballet Steven Melendez, and producer Mary Recine.

Over a decade in the making, LIFT shines a spotlight on the transformative power of dance and the invisible story of homelessness in America through the extraordinary journey of young home-insecure ballet dancers and their mentor who inspires them. Guided by Steven Melendez, who began his dance career in a shelter, these children make this aristocratic art form their own when they step from the shelter to the stage.

After LIFT‘s world premiere at the Tribeca Festival where it won an Audience Award for Best Documentary, the film went to The Hamptons Film Festival, the San Francisco Dance Film Festival winning Best Documentary, was selected among Best of Fest at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and screened at the Cartagena, Miami, and Seattle International Film Festivals. LIFT is also the recipient of the Shine Global Children’s Resilience in Film Award.

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Time: 10:30 AM—1:00 PM
Location: JBFC Theater, 364 Manville Rd., Pleasantville, NY 10570
Grade Level: High School 

Note: Schools are responsible for booking their own transportation. Buses must arrive at the JBFC Theater by 10:15 AM. The JBFC will cover the cost of up to TWO buses for under-resourced schools. Bus availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. This event will be photographed. A photo release form must be returned for each student in attendance.

Special Guest: David Petersen, Director 

David Petersen’s films have been exhibited at numerous museums and festivals and are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His documentary Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9 was nominated for an Academy Award and his PBS documentary If You Lived Here You Would Be Home Now was an Independent Spirit Award nominee. His feature documentary Let the Church Say Amen premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and on the PBS series “Independent Lens.” Other films include Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter on PBS and 2 Months to Be Quiet, which premiered at MoMA. David also directed the acclaimed eight-part documentary series Strictly Ballet and the feature-length film The Witmans, a documentary about juvenile justice. His artist fellowships include MacDowell, Yaddo, VCCA, Blue Mountain Center, and the Ragdale Foundation.

Special Guest: Steven Melendez, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Ballet

Steven Melendez, named as the Artistic Director of New York Theatre Ballet in April of 2022, was born in New York City in 1986 and started his ballet training with the LIFT Program at Ballet School New York at the age of 7. He has danced as a Soloist dancer with Ballet Concierto in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a Principal dancer with The Vanemuine Theater Ballet Company in Tartu, Estonia, and for over 15 years with New York Theatre Ballet. He is a national and international guest artist and teacher and has worked across Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. Steven co-choreographed his first large-scale work, Song Before Spring, for New York Theatre Ballet which was named a Dance Europe critic’s choice “Best Premiere” of 2016. Steven is currently a member of the alumni advisory committee on diversity and inclusion for School of American Ballet and serves as the Hiland Artistic Director for National Dance Institute New Mexico.

Special Guest: Mary Recine, Producer

Mary Recine is an award-winning producer of documentary films, television series, and cultural programs. Her work has been recognized with three Peabody Awards, multiple Emmy Award nominations, and has premiered at Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, the New York Film Festival and MoMA. She is best known for producing the Netflix Original documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, directed by Joan’s nephew Griffin Dunne, and for her work as archival producer of the Academy Award nominated What Happened, Miss Simone? directed by Liz Garbus. As a producer for live events, she has created video projections for the Broadway stage, cultural institutions, and for performers ranging from Elton John to Chris Rock.