Emerging Filmmakers Showcase: ‘Cinema Nomad’
November 4 @ 7:00 pm
The Lindsay’s first November Emerging Filmmakers Showcase will immerse audiences in faraway lands with the help of native moviemakers.
Cinema Nomad follows award-winning filmmaker Stephanie Gardner as she enlists local auteurs to explore various countries through the lens of their cinematic pasts, presents and futures. Season 2 premiered in September and has so far featured excursions to countries such as Zimbabwe, Albania, Belgium and Argentina. The series, distributed by American Public Television, is currently available on PBS and other public television stations nationwide.
Gardner is bringing two Cinema Nomad episodes to The Lindsay—specifically, her visits to Montenegro and the Philippines—on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. The Allentown, Pa., native will be on hand for an in-person Q&A following the screening. Tickets are free, and we recommend RSVPing via the sign-up form below due to space limitations.
Gardner’s tour guide in the Montenegro episode is filmmaker Senad Šahmanović, who helps her understand how the European country’s transition to democracy helped shape his cinematic vision, leading a New Wave. Her Philippines expedition includes hiking ancient terraces, traversing rapids and highlighting the work of filmmaker Martika Ramirez Escobar, who is known for telling personal stories with quirky twists.
“We curated this special screening specifically for The Lindsay,” Gardner says. ” I’m so excited to be there in person to share the stories of Senad, Martika and other global filmmakers, and especially to be amongst friends and family in Western Pennsylvania!”
Cinema Nomad originally began as 33 and Me, a film project that Gardner conceived as her 33rd birthday approached. Gardner set out with Duprelon Tizdale, her co-producer and cinematographer, to find filmmakers in their 30s representing 33-plus countries from every inhabited continent.
33 and Me eventually transformed into the fully-fledged international travel docuseries now known as Cinema Nomad.
“Traveling and filming with Cinema Nomad has shown me the world is big enough that there are endless things to see, do, experience and learn, yet small enough that we humans share so many similarities no matter where we’re from,” says Gardner. “Through cinema and storytelling, we’re able to connect across cultures to see and know places we wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to.”
In addition to Cinema Nomad, Gardner has also written, directed and produced more than 30 short films. She deeply values the communal movie theater experience—especially when everyone is learning about the wonders and struggles of faraway lands in one shared space.
“For me, there’s nothing more democratic (other than voting!) than sitting together in a cinema and experiencing stories of individuals openly sharing their lives, homes, cultures and ideas with you,” Gardner says. “The landscapes of both Montenegro and the Philippines are stunning to boot, and it’s not every day you see these two countries come together on the big screen!”
