Home > Screenings and Events » Book Event

Book an Event

If you are interested in hosting a screening of Straightlaced, please contact Brittney Shepherd.

To schedule a professional development workshop in you area, or to have our staff or educational trainers present at your event, email Amy Scharf, National Program Director.

To book Executive Director Debra Chasnoff, the director of our films, for a keynote presentation, email Brittney Shepherd . See Debra Chasnoff’s bio.

Here Are Some of the Ways Our Films Are Being Used

Workshops
We offer various types of workshops for educators, youth service providers and parents about how to use our films. Read more about our workshops.

Professional Conferences
School administrators, educators, youth service providers, mental health professionals and others watch our films and learn how they can be used with students and staff in anti-bias education programs.

Community Gatherings
Public screenings of our films are often sponsored by county departments of health and education in conjunction with public libraries, community and neighborhood organizations.

Schools
To screen any of our films for students or staff, institutions may purchase a DVD or VHS copy. If you are interested in having a trainer from The Respect For All Project present a film or facilitate a discussion, email Amy Scharf, National Program Director

Film Festivals
Our films have won awards at top film festivals around the world. To book any of our films for a festival, please contact Brittney Shepherd.

Executive Director Debra Chasnoff has presented extensively at conferences, film festivals and universities around the world on topics relating to the role of her films in diversity education and youth development.

About Debra Chasnoff

Academy Award®-wining director/producer Debra Chasnoff is a leader in the educational movement that is working to create safe schools by teaching children about difference and diversity. She is executive director of GroundSpark and co-creator of The Respect For All Project, which provides media and training resources designed to help prevent prejudice among young people.

Chasnoff is highly regarded as a public speaker and her presentations are known for being accessible, full of humor, practical, and inspiring. She has been a featured speaker at many national conferences and forums including the National Association for Independent Schools, the National Council of Teachers of English, Harvard University School of Education, Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), US Congressional Staff, California Legislature Staff, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

“Debra Chasnoff’s presentation and screening of That’s a Family! was a phenomenal presentation for our members. The film is an excellent resource for lower and middle school children, teachers, and their parents, particularly as we continue the fight for equity and justice in our schools.”
– Gene Batiste, Team Leader, Professional Development, National Association of Independent Schools

For her work in the national safe schools movement, Debra has received numerous awards, including the 1997 Community Service Award from Community United Against Violence and the 2001 Pathfinder Award from GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. She was the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship for her work on The Respect For All Project.

A mother of two, Debra Chasnoff knows firsthand what children learn and experience in school, and her films and videos reflect her desire to see each and every child supported within the school environment.

Her film Let’s Get Real about the realities of name-calling and bullying is the winner of the Columbine Award for Best Short Documentary, given to films that address non-violent conflict resolution. It has been used by thousands of schools, community groups, administrators, mental health professionals and youth service providers in anti-bullying and anti-bias education programs around the world.

Her film on family diversity That’s A Family! screened at the White House in December 2000, and is supported by organizations including the Child Welfare League of America, the National Education Association, the California Teachers Association and the National Association for Multicultural Education, That’s A Family! has been recognized nationwide as unique media tool that can play a critical role in helping children understand and appreciate the diversity of their schools and communities.

The film has garnered top awards from the National Council on Family Relations, CINE (the Master Series Award) and numerous prizes for Best Documentary at multiple international film festivals. Support for Chasnoff’s The Respect For All Project has come from funders like the Ford Foundation and the California Endowment, which granted GroundSpark funds to provide diversity education training for teachers, counselors, and administrators throughout California .

Debra Chasnoff’s previous film, It’s Elementary — Talking About Gay Issues in School — called “a model of intelligent directing” by International Documentary — was a catalyst for many of the conversations that have taken place nationally and internationally on why and how teachers can and should begin addressing gay and lesbian issues in the classroom.

Her other directing credits include:
the Oscar-winning Deadly Deception — General Electric, Nuclear Weapons, and Our Environment; One Wedding and a Revolution; Homes & Hands — Community Land Trusts in Action; Wired For What? (part of the PBS series “Digital Divide”) and Choosing Children.