Wanda's Picks

We open with a conversation with Wesley Watkins VI, Ph.D., creator of the The Jazz & Democracy Project® which manifests a hypothesis that Dr. Wes has been investigating since he was an undergraduate: a music-centered curriculum with genuine links to the other subject areas can increase student identification with school, impact academic engagement, and have a subsequent effect on overall academic success among students who have an affinity for music. Visit http://www.jazzanddemocracy.com Caleb Heller (director, editor,cinematographer) & Pilar Hailé-Damato (producer) speak about their film about Y-LOVE or Yitz Jordan, in their film by its same title. Y-Love is the “premier Orthodox Jewish entity in hip hop.”  This documentary paints a poignant portrait of a perennial outsider: a Black, Jewish, gay orphan searching for a home. The film is a part of the SFJFF opening July 24, 11:40 AM at the Castro Theatre in SF. There is a party the next evening. Visit www.sfjff.org Peter Miller, dir. of a.k.a. doc pom