GlobalPittsburgh Hosts Indonesian Filmmakers Interested in Developing Regional Film Industry In Their Home Country

GlobalPittsburgh recently created a program for visiting Indonesian filmmakers who were participating in the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program to learn about the filmmaking industry and filmmaking communities in the United States.

While in Pittsburgh, the filmmakers met with the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center, Steeltown Entertainment Project, Pittsburgh Film Office, and presented films at a reception held by Robert Morris University. They also got into the Steelers spirit with their State Department representative (see photo).

The purposes of the filmmakers' visit were to explore film as a form of free speech and a voice in public discourse on society, politics, and culture; visit institutions that support emerging and independent filmmakers and promote diversity and innovation in the filmmaking industry, observe new technologies that make film production and distribution accessible to a wider range of artists; and examine how the film industry supports local economic development.

A GlobalPittsburgh host family provided a hospitality dinner for these delegates during their stay. Anyone interested in meeting and having visitors such as these leaders in their homes for dinner or meeting them at events, is welcome to become a member of GlobalPittsburgh. A printable membership form is available at http://www.pciv.org/gp_registration.pdf.

GlobalPittsburgh thanks the organizations and hosts who met these delegates, and also to the delegates for visiting Pittsburgh.

For photos of these and other visiting delegations, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalpittsburgh.

In addition to the Indonesian delegation, GlobalPittsburgh is coordinating itineraries for other groups this month, including:

• A group of Polish energy officials from that country’s mining and environmental protection ministries meeting with energy-related resources in the Pittsburgh Region to learn about shale gas development in the region.

• A group from Korea spending a month in Pittsburgh studying English at the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council and participating in cultural and social activities while living in the homes of citizen diplomats.

These visiting delegations are among the dozens of international groups coming to Pittsburgh each year through GlobalPittsburgh to connect with individuals, organizations and companies in their respective fields.

The groups come to the United States through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program and other programming organizations to learn from centers of excellence around the country. GlobalPittsburgh is the designated liaison for the design and implementation of programming for IVLP participants in the Pittsburgh Region.

For more than 50 years, GlobalPittsburgh, formerly known as the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, has forged relationships between the Greater Pittsburgh Region and the global community through citizen diplomacy – connecting people and institutions in the region with audiences around the world through a wide range of hosting, training, networking, educational and outreach programs and services.

Anyone interested in connecting with future delegations, or learning more about individual or corporate membership in GlobalPittsburgh, should call Gail Shrott, Vice President for Program Services, at 412-392-4513 or by sending email to gshrott@pciv.org.