News
GroundSpark Moves to a New Home Under Citizen Film
To do justice to Debra’s profound collection of GroundSpark films, the GroundSpark Board of Directors made the strategic decision to close GroundSpark and transfer ownership of the films to Kate and her documentary media non-profit Citizen Film. With Kate at the helm, Citizen Film will lead the campaign that brings PROGNOSIS to audiences across the country and beyond. Citizen Film will also continue to support the profound impact of GroundSpark’s past documentaries, such as the acclaimed Respect for All Project films.
Based on Kate and Debra’s 25+ year professional collaboration and Citizen Film’s 20+ year award-winning track record, we know there is no better choice for who should continue GroundSpark’s work engaging diverse audiences with Debra Chasnoff’s film catalog, and safeguarding her legacy as a maverick filmmaker and social justice activist. The GroundSpark Board made this decision deliberately, recognizing that Citizen Film has the talent, staff, capacity and commitment to realize the next chapter of impact with GroundSpark’s films.
PROGNOSIS - notes on living won the Best Documentary Audience Award at the Wicked Queer LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
We are so delighted to receive this recognition for Debra Chasnoff’s final film. It’s especially exciting to win an award from the Boston community. Debra lived in Boston during the early years of her career. And, she filmed and premiered her groundbreaking documentary about lesbian parents, Choosing Children, in Boston.
A Rave Review from The Boston Globe
"Everyone should see PROGNOSIS - notes on living...a wrenching, intimate, and eloquent study of mortality and how we confront it." — Peter Keough, film critic
Read the full article.
Bitch Talk Podcast Interviews Nancy Otto about PROGNOSIS
“I really wanted Chas to interrupt her lifestyle patterns a bit more [toward the end of her life]. And it was a really good lesson for me that everyone has their own journey and I don’t know what her journey should be…We were really bless that she was doing the things that she enjoyed doing…work and relationships were a big part of what brought her great joy.”
PROGNOSIS - notes on living makes a splash with World Premiere
Debra Chasnoff’s final documentary is highlighted in multiple publication including Variety, San Francisco Examiner, and San Francisco Chronicle.
PROGNOSIS - notes on living to Premiere at Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival
The screening of the film will be followed by a Q&A session with members of the filmmaking team and guests. This event will be fully virtual. A limited number of tickets are available for the premiere.
GroundSpark Founder and President, Debra Chasnoff, dies at 60
November 10, 2017 - Debra Chasnoff, Oscar-winning filmmaker and activist, died at home of metastatic breast cancer on Tuesday. Debra made 12 documentaries and led GroundSpark for 35 years. She won her Oscar in 1992 for “Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment,” an expose of the energy giant’s production of nuclear weapons. After being diagnosed with stage-4 breast cancer in 2015, Debra turned the camera on herself to document what would become her final film, PROGNOSIS: notes on living.