STL Story Stitchers publishes ‘Not Another One! A Play for Peace’ to address gun violence

Cinema St. Louis announces eighth Cinema at Citygarden juried competition

The eighth edition of Cinema at Citygarden – a biennial co-presentation of Cinema St. Louis (CSL) and the Gateway Foundation – invites St. Louis-area filmmakers to let their imaginations blossom by creating short works that incorporate nature as a key element.

This juried competition will award cash prizes – $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place – to the top three entries. The winning shorts will then be featured as part of a program that will screen on Citygarden’s video wall starting May 26, 2023. In addition to the three cash-prize winners, other submitted works will be chosen to be part of the video-wall program, which will play on a loop from 5-10 p.m. daily and continue at Citygarden through June 30, 2023.

Deadline for entry is April 7, 2023. A three-person jury will select the three cash-prize winners; jury members will be announced on CSL’s website. The cashprize winners and the selected additional works will be announced on May 26, 2023.

Cinema St. Louis will also screen the three winning films – as well as additional Cinema at Citygarden competition entries chosen by CSL – as part of the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, held in July 2023. Those films will then be eligible for consideration by the St. Louis International Film Festival, held Nov. 2-12, 2023.

Competition rules and a link to the FilmFreeway online submission platform are found on the CSL website: cinemastlouis.org/cinema-at-city-garden.

Among the most beloved public spaces in St. Louis, Citygarden is a two-block oasis of plants and trees, water, and internationally renowned sculpture in the heart of downtown’s Gateway Mall. Opened in 2009, the garden is free and open to the public 365 days a year. It’s been a hit since the day it opened, and the garden continues to attract visitors from all over the St. Louis area, the nation, and the world with its blend of beauty and serenity, and fun. In 2011, it received one of the nation’s most prestigious honors in urban planning, the Urban Land Institute’s Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award.

The garden represents a partnership between the City of St. Louis, which owns the land, and the Gateway Foundation, which spearheaded and paid for the attraction’s development — an estimated $25 million. Each of the 25 sculptures, which are owned by the Gateway Foundation, were selected and purchased separately. The design is by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects of Charlottesville, Va.

The video wall, on which the competition works will play, is set within a limestone wall that arcs across two blocks.

For more information about Citygarden, visit citygardenstl.org.

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STL Story Stitchers publishes ‘Not Another One! A Play for Peace’ to address gun violence

Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective will present a one-hour performance of work related to the book “Not Another One! A Play For Peace” that includes music, a reading, and community conversation recorded and published for StitchCast Studio on Aug, 13 from 1 -2:30 p.m. at Central Library at 1301 Olive St. in St. Louis. This event is free and open to the public and is recommended for ages 10 and up.

Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective is a nationally recognized artists collective known for high quality art and innovative youth violence prevention programs.

“Not Another One!” is a multi-year signature project addressing gun violence through original music, youth-led discussions with adult leaders and police, related documentary videos, music, a book, and two scripts. Content has been collected and edited from 2015 to 2021 by over 100 local artists and youth.

“Not Another One! A Play For Peace” is a collection of stories generated to address gun violence and negative police-youth interactions by Black and BIPOC artists and 16-24 year old youth in St. Louis.

The book contains the full transcript of the youth-led discussion that took place during protests that erupted after the Aug. 9, 2014, killing by police officer Darren Wilson of unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson. Youth leading the discussion created an honest and frank conversation with the police, emergency room physicians, social workers and government officials about their concerns, rights, and police-youth interaction. A guide for youth who want to create their own youth-led discussion is included in the book.

The book also contains both the full-length script and the school assembly script, both of which are based on the Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective’s 2015 youth-led discussion with civic leaders and police on gun violence and police/teen interaction entitled, “Not Another One! A Discussion.” The book provides content for educators or community or arts organizations who wish to stage the play at their own facility. Saint Louis Story Stitchers artists hope that schools, community centers, juvenile detention centers, police training centers, the fields of social work and African-American studies, social studies high school and university faculty and students, and change-makers will utilize the body of work in “Not Another One!” to generate thought and discussion in your own communities. This leads to better understanding of the themes in the project including violence, racial bias, police-youth interaction, and how youth can use the arts and nonviolent collective action to organize and work towards change.

Local youth may join Stitchers Youth Council to get more involved. Members earn stipends to enable and support community service efforts and receive t-shirts and Story Stitchers hoodies.

Application link: https://storystitchers.org/stitchcast-studio-podcaster-page.