Professional development seminar for K-12 teachers. In this interactive workshop, teachers will develop practical tools to discuss representations of individuals of Middle Eastern descent in U.S. and international film, TV and new media. Participants will also gain a hands-on understanding of common industry practices behind the screen, how they affect entertainment professionals of Middle Eastern descent and what we see on our screens.

Lead instructor:
Ruth Priscilla Kirstein’s work focuses on the intersection between science, entertainment and athletics. She holds an MD and a PhD in Medical Ethics and History from the University of Freiburg. Her doctoral dissertation investigates and contextualizes the early days of the controversial German neuropsychiatrist Alfred Erich Hoche (1865-1943). As an actor-fencer-dancer, director, visual artist, and host, she has moved, informed and connected audiences at prestigious and impromptu venues in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Her performance work has been supported, among others, by The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), The Peter J. Sharp Foundation, The Peter Norton Family Foundation, United Technologies, and Baskin Robbins. She conceived and directed the opera-ballet “A More Perfect Union” about the American Constitutional Convention and its impact on today’s situation. A More Perfect Union premiered at New York City Opera’s VOX and Friends and at the Diaghilev Festival in Perm, Russia. She is the founder and director of the New York City-based Middle East Film Initiative (MEFI), an EEO and media diversity project for U.S. media and entertainment professionals. For Boston Ballet, she designed and launched the Taking Steps outreach program, now a major staple of Boston Ballet’s educational programs, reaching nearly 200 inner city middle school girls each year. At the German House at the United Nations, she moderated the medical symposium "Rethinking Trauma as a Global Challenge." Media appearances include Screen International, France 24, French Morning, Tohu Magazine, Free Speech TV, KPFK Pacifica Radio, Daily Sabah, TV7, Aligre FM, The New York Times, and 24heures.

Partner in the workshop:
The Middle East Film Initiative (MEFI), based in Brooklyn, is a nonprofit EEO and media diversity project for U.S. media and entertainment professionals who are of Middle Eastern descent or who are working on topics of importance to U.S. Middle Eastern communities. Launched in 2013, MEFI is the first such organization. MEFI conducts professional development workshops, project and curriculum development, consulting, outreach, and advocacy. MEFI is currently creating a web series about Manhattan's Syrian Quarter ("Little Syria").

Please note the workshop is free of charge, however by signing up on this form, you are committing to do the work before the class. We will email you the assignment on September 20th to prepare for the workshop.

Registration closes Friday Sept. 20th at 12pm..