Highlights from the APA Conference

August 8, 2014

New Day Filmmaker Cindy Burstein and Gigi, from the APA social media, smile and lean into the frame in front of a board that reads “APA Film Festival.” Gigi holds a promotional New Day flyer. — Gigi, from the APA social media team, just attended two New Day Films screenings of *Concrete, Steel & Paint*, a film about crime, restoration and healing (by Cindy Burstein, pictured here) and *Seeking Asian Female* (an eccentric modern love story about an aging white man with “yellow fever” and the young Chinese bride he finds online).

Day 1 of the American Psychological Association Convention in Washington, DC. We're ready to go at Exhibit Booth 144! Stop by and meet the filmmakers!

Day One: Great day today at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention! It began with screenings of Seeking Asian Female and Concrete, Steel & Paint, followed by engaging conversations at our exhibit booth with APA members, encounters with trick or treaters, and the drawing of our first raffle! Looking forward to tomorrow....

Two black buttons side by side. The button on the left reads “seeking asian female_” in large white letters with the words “A documentary” in all black capital letters on a small orange rectangle. A computer arrow hovers over the orange box. The button on the right reads “asian women rock my world” in large white letters. Beneath this text is a url in smaller white letters that reads “www.SeekingAsianFemale.com”. — *Seeking Asian Female* buttons pique interest from our booth visitors!

Meera Rastogi, APA member, and New Day filmmaker Cindy Burstein stand in front of the New Day Films booth at the APA conference and smile at the camera. They’re wearing professional clothing and conference badges are around their necks. The New Day Films booth includes a New Day banner, paraphernalia from various New Day films, and a bowl of candy. — Meera Rastogi, APA member and Film Festival committee programmer, stops by to say hello!

New Day filmmaker Mike Fountain wears his conference badge and stands at the New Day Films booth at the American Psychological Association conference with an amused expression on his face. He holds a wicker basket in his right hand and looks at a small slip of paper in his left hand.There is a sign on the table in front of him advertising a raffle. He is surrounded by promotional posters from various New Day films. — New Day member Mike Fountain selects the first of our four raffle winners to win a free DVD!

A large presentation room with attendees interspersed throughout the rows of chairs. They watch a film being screened at the front. On the screen, an image of a wooden frame with a woman’s picture in it. — A glimpse into the APA Film Festival screening room.

Day Two: And the fun continues! Booth visitors are enthusiastic, I'm Just Anneke screens with LGBT shorts and packs the house, and an educator tells us a story that had us in awe... he met his husband at a screening of Daddy and Papa! Wow. It's a New Day, everyday, here at the APA.

New Day Filmmaker Leena Jayaswal stands outside the bustling exhibition hall, near a large banner that reads “Annual Convention Washington D.C. 2014.” She smiles and strikes a pose. — New Day member Leena Jayaswal is ready for APA!

New Day Filmmaker Cindy Burstein and APA festival programmer Robert Simmermon smile for the camera by the New Day Films exhibition table. Conference attendees mingle around the booths behind him. — APA Film Festival Programmer Robert Simmermon stops by the New Day Films Exhibit Booth to welcome us and say hello!

A nearly full presentation room at the conference. At the front, I’m Just Anneke is projected on a screen. — *I'm Just Anneke* screens with LGBT Shorts at APA Film Festival to a packed house!

A woman in a leopard print shirt with a conference badge around her neck smiles and holds out a flyer promoting the film “I’m Just Anneke.” Behind her stands a poster reading “APA Film Festival” by the open door to a screening room. — Roxy, from Modesto Junior College, made it a priority to see *I'm Just Anneke* at the APA Film Festival! "This short film is a valuable tool as I begin my profession as a child and family advocate and in my work as a student government leader on my college campus."

New Day filmmaker Leena Jayaswal and a man in a plaid shirt stand side by side at the New Day Films booth smiling broadly. The man holds a poster for Daddy & Papa, a film where he met his husband at a screening 12 years ago. — Daniel has us in awe after telling us his story... that he met his husband 12 years ago at a screening of the New Day films title *Daddy & Papa*!

A close up of a white surface. The words “it’s a New Day” are written in sharpie in red, orange and yellow. Other shapes, designs, and writings cover other parts of the surface, including a big heart filled with different color patches and words around the outside such as “love” and “memories” On the edge of the heart rests a yellow sharpie with the cap pointing towards the words “it's a New Day”. — New Day was here!

Day Three: Danny (pictured yesterday-he met his husband at a screening of Daddy & Papa) returns today to introduce us to the family... a treat, indeed! A booth visitor thanked us for our LGBT content, especially related to transgender youth. Filmmaker, Corin Wilson, and friend of Concrete, Steel & Paint stops by to lend a hand. Creativity is in the air! Hearts and minds are open at APA.

A family of two fathers and two children smile in front of the New Day Films booth. One child gives a thumbs up. One father holds up a poster for “Daddy & Papa" where he met his husband 12 years ago. — Danny and Steven stopped by with the whole family to say hello! They met at a screening of the New Day Film *Daddy & Papa*... twelve years ago, and celebrate that date as their anniversary! Congratulations. New Day Films is sharing the love.

Filmmaker Corin Wilson stops by to lend a hand for New Day Films!

A person in black pants and orange sneakers wears clear plastic gloves and lays down an amoeba shaped piece of wood covered in sharpie writing and designs on a large purple carpet. On the edges of the image other similarly shaped pieces of wood covered in sharpie writings and designs are laid out on the purple carpet. Several white curtains hover slightly above the curtain in the background. — APA is building community through art making.

A white man in a purple t-shirt with a conference badge around his neck props up a knee-high piece of wood shaped like a flower and covered in colorful sharpie writing and designs. Rows of similarly shaped pieces of wood lay on the purple carpet in the background in rows. Rows of white curtains are hung up around the edges of the carpet to make a makeshift wall. — Professor Mark Cooper leads the art-making project.

A close up image of a shiny painted wooden surface. On it, the words “The creative spirit is at the core of the psyche” are written in black sharpie. Above these words is a black circle with the word “Younite” written in red white and blue. — "The creative spirit is at the core of the psych." Hmmmm... this sounds a lot like New Day Films!

Day Four: The final day kicks off with a morning screening of Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines... POW! And one of our raffle winners, a high school principal, picks Straightlaced- How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up as his prize! It's been a rewarding stretch in DC. 4 days, 4 screenings, and hundreds of new encounters. We look forward to continuing the connection. Thank you, APA!

A woman holds two promotional flyers for the New Day film Wonder Women. Behind her is the APA Film Festival poster. — Simone from Goddard College meets New Day Films at the screening of Wonder Women! "This film took me back to my childhood, and got me thinking across the decades!"

A large screen with the words “Annual Convention Washington D.C.” at the top and reading “2nd Annual APA Film Festival August 7-10, 2014” in the center of the screen. — New Day Films enjoyed having 4 titles from our collection screen this year!

A man in a shirt and tie with his conference badge around his neck smiles broadly and holds up a New Day Films catalog and a DVD of the New Day film Straightlaced. — High school principal, and New Day Films raffle winner, John O'Dell, is interested in opening up the dialogue with guidance counselors, parents and students with *Straightlaced- How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up*!

Mary Ann Dornbusch, APA convention manager smiles and stands in front of the New Day Films booth. To her right is a poster for the Screening at the APA Convention and behind her are different New Day promotional posters and banners. — Mary Anne Dornbusch, APA Convention Manager and Film Festival Program Committee Liaison, stops by to say hello!

The New Day Films table with various promotional flyers scattered across the table including seeking asian female_, I’m just Anneke, and Wonder Women. There’s an empty raffle bowl at the top of the table. — All of our candy is gone. It must really be time to go!!

A woman smiles and stands in front of a large arch with the toronto cityscape printed on it. The top of the arch reads, “See you next year in Toronto August 6-9, 2015.” A man in the foreground takes a picture of her on an iPad. — That's a wrap! Thank you, APA.