New York premier of "The Blood in this Town"

The Blood in This Town,’ the documentary about Rutland, Vermont’s grassroots efforts to revitalize itself, will make its New York premiere on Friday, October 21, hosted by Pratt Institute's Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development, one of the nation’s leading city planning programs. The evening will feature a screening and revitalization forum bringing together Rutland grassroots leaders, Pratt faculty and New York urban planners for a ‘jam-session’ exchange of community-building ideas and revitalization solutions aimed at exploring new ways forward for America’s ailing towns and cities. This dynamic meeting of ‘small town’ and ‘big city’ know-how takes an innovative approach to building a stronger, more vibrant and sustainable future for all communities across the U.S.
The New York premiere of ‘The Blood in this Town’ follows on the heels of the October 13 screening on Capitol Hill in Washington, and will take place on Pratt’s Manhattan campus at 144 West 14th Street from 7:00-9:30pm on the 21st.
Panelists for the discussion to follow the film will include: moderator Randal Smathers, Editor of The Rutland Herald; Larisa Ortiz, Urban Planner and Professor at Pratt, specializing in Main Street Revitalization; Michael Smith, President, Rutland’s Pine Hill Partnership and Architect of Pine Hill Park; Jim Sabataso, Director, Sustainable Rutland and Founder, Restoring Rutland; Art Jones, Director, ‘The Blood in This Town’; and William Calabrese, New York Urban Planner, Pratt Graduate and Vermont native who graduated from Rutland’s Mount St. Joseph Academy.
In less than a year since an early version of the film was screened for the citizens of Rutland, ‘The Blood in this Town’ has sparked a national movement advancing re-invention and community-building in America’s hard-hit towns and cities, as covered in The New York Times, The Huffington Post and Forbes. Organizers of the New York and Capitol Hill events see Rutland’s example of grassroots revival as emblematic of how communities can work together to turn their fortunes around, and chose to screen the film at the height of fierce national debate over economic turnaround in the U.S.
Rutland, by building on its local strengths and assets to chart a new way forward, is creating a blueprint for revival that could help save a recession-battered America.
‘Given today’s intense national search for new ways to build a stronger economy and reinvigorate local communities, Rutland’s story of transformation is right on time and right on target. Now is the time to share Rutland’s grassroots spirit and revitalization know-how with more and more towns across the United States and bring the plight of America’s struggling rural and rust-belt towns to the full attention of power in DC,’ said Art Jones, the film’s director.
For six weeks beginning September 17, 2011, ‘The Blood in this Town’ has been on the road taking Vermont strength & revitalization to the nation. With stops across Vermont, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Washington, DC and New York City, the fall series brings together community leaders, urban planners, business people and government officials to engage citizens in action to move local revitalization projects forward.
‘Ultimately, this is a story about challenges facing town after town in America,’ Jones said. ‘Rutland’s revitalization efforts are instructive and inspiring, and the best news is that they are transferable.’
As background, ‘The Blood in This Town’ is an 80-minute documentary that uses Rutland’s remarkable Gift-of-Life Marathon blood drive to explore how an ailing rust-belt town can rebuild from the grassroots up. Rutland’s act of giving blood in record-breaking numbers becomes a powerful symbol of renewal and social change that radiates throughout the community - in initiatives to engage new ideas and create sustainable businesses, world-class natural recreation, farm-to-table networks, entrepreneurial start-ups, and the revival of a historic downtown.
Source: Art Jones, Director & Producer