Stories in Action

The Chandler family’s reign at the Los Angeles Times, life in a California prison, an AIDS memorial in San Francisco and the changing world of the Cahuilla Indians are some of the topics of film and radio projects selected by the Council in its latest round of California Documentary Project Funding. A total of $439,762 was awarded. More.

We just learned from filmmaker Kevin Bender that “Thinking Grande!” his California Documentary Project film about one man’s efforts to re-create a Mexican village in rural Santa Barbara County, will have its world premier at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sat., Jan 26 at 12:30 pm. If you live in the area, don’t miss this fascinating film. Find out more about the film.

UNICEF, Google and One Laptop Per Child, the organization producing $100 laptops for kids in the emerging world, have teamed up to gather and make available online personal stories from around the world. The initial focus is on children in developing countries who are using One Laptop per Child computers, but will eventually encompass people of all ages around the world. Check out the project website at ourstories.org.

In separate news, the Center for Digital Storytelling and the Museum of the Person International Network have designated May 16, 2008 as the International Day for Sharing Life Stories. The day will be an opportunity for people around the world to share stories — both in person and via the Internet. The campaign website is still in draft stage, but can be viewed at internationaldayblog.storycenter.org.