Katie Dellamaggiore, expecting a child of her own, joins BYOD to talk about filming her local junior high school in Brooklyn which happens to be the dominant school in the nation in Chess competitions.
From school funding, to the potentially first black female chess master, Katie shares the inspirational story of overcoming adversity behind Brooklyn Castle.
Watch new episodes of BYOD live each week on Tuesdays at noon on TheLip.TV, or tune in for the archived replay starting here on the following Thursday.
ABOUT BYOD:
BYOD is hosted by Ondi Timoner, director of “DIG!,” “JOIN US” and “WE LIVE IN PUBLIC,” and has the rare distinction of winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance twice. Each week the show explores a different documentary filmmaker or aspect of filmmaking, with special guests and a live Q&A– diving deep into creative process and the business realities of producing and distributing films. Ondi shares her insider views, opinions, and personal stories, welcoming audience participation. BYOD aims to entertain, inform, and elevate documentaries in general by bringing attention to films and film makers that deserve exposure.
GUEST BIO:
Katie Dellamaggiore is a documentary producer and director whose work has appeared on MTV, A&E, HBO/Cinemax and VH1. Over the course of her career, she has held various production and outreach roles on award-winning documentaries including 39 Pounds of Love, To Die in Jerusalem, 51 Birch Street and American Teen. Katie co-produced After the Storm, a nonprofit theater and film project that used art to revitalize the lives of young people in post-Katrina New Orleans, and directed, produced and shot UR Life Online for A&E Classroom, which explored sexual solicitation and cyber bullying and received an Emmy nomination for Single Camera Editing. In 2010, she and her husband, Nelson, co-founded television and film production company Rescued Media. Brooklyn Castle, Katie’s feature directorial debut, has received support from IFP Independent Film Week 2010, Chicken & Egg Films and the Fledgling Fund.
ADD’L LINKS:
http://www.brooklyncastle.com/
https://twitter.com/katiedella
EPISDOE BREAKDOWN:
00:01 Coming up on BYOD
00:28 Introducing Katie Dellamaggiore
02:20 The unlikely inspiration for the story.
06:55 Defying the stereotypes of Chess and the Inner City.
08:03 Brooklyn Castle, Clip: Trailer.
10:29 The first steps in the school.
13:45 Brooklyn Castle, Clip: Star Teacher.
15:30 Chess as an elective.
18:48 Brooklyn Castle, Clip: Rochelle, the girl who would be master.
20:34 Potentially becoming the first African American Female Master.
21:39 The winding world of Chess in NYC and the local ethnic communities.
24:45 Budget cuts and the school resistance.
25:57 Brooklyn Castle, Clip: Raising money and writing letters to Congress.
27:11 Shooting and the story gets deeper.
29:26 How to take action.
31:00 Keeping up with the students and launching the film.
34:20 Brooklyn Castle, Clip: Keeping pressure on children.
