Robert W. Plath, Executive Director of the World Wide Forgiveness Alliance, is a well-known San Francisco Bay Area defense attorney.

The Northern California Reception to introduce the META Board to our new affiliates was held at the beautiful, lagoon side home of Norman McVea and META Advisory Board member,Sharon Hart .

45 enthusiastic former ATMA members and colleague guests attended. The outgoing Board of ATMA, including co-founders, Peter Tjeerdsma, Sharon Hart as well as co-founder, Daphne Laurel, thanked attendees, many of whom had been charter members of ATMA since 1996, including filmmaker, TV and radio producer, Jan St. John, screenwriter and Emmy awarded PBS producer, Brian Narelle,visionary artist, Daniel Holeman, and film and video producer, Ken Jenkins for their loyal support of ATMA over the 14 years that it stood for transformative media throughout the world. Sharon Hart shared her great satisfaction in reaching the long term goal of helping to bring together the Northern and Southern California transformative media communities, which will insure more support and resources for independents as well as mainstream  producers.

Cynthia Stringer, former ATMA Board Member, and the current META Executive Director, introduced META Board Chair, Elizabeth Estrada, who shared her delight at co-creating a Northern California branch of the Los Angeles based association in the San Francisco Bay Area--her former home, where she once created elegant, black-tie, social events.

L.R.: Andrew Orgel, Elizabeth Estrada and Cynthia Stringer
with affiliate members and guests sharing their work

 
She went on to express her heart-felt commitment to the mission of creating positive media that transforms lives to an even greater degree of impact and visability than ever before due to the strategic positioning of META within the mainstream Los Angeles media community.

Cynthia shared that META's outreach includes a mailing list of 1500 with more added each month, and approximately 200 members and affiliates since the March organizational launch in Los Angeles.

She then introduced Vice Chairman, Andrew Orgel, who added his total commitment to creating the grounded action necessary to create the resources, opportunities, and connections it takes to produce the media content and kind of organization that makes a global impact and a real difference in the media world. Andy, a founding executive of the MTV networks and the Arts and Entertainment Network--is well qualified to help craft META into a recognized trade organization. 
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Facing Death

A Film Review of the work of META Affiliate, MICHELE PETICOLAS
by META member, DON SCHWARTZ

Many Suns ago – around 2001 – I had the pleasure of meeting a beautiful young woman by the name of Michelle Peticolas. She informed me that she was  working on a project about death.  Immediately I thought of the seventies, and of a few authors: Stephen Levine, Ram Dass, and an inspiration for Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz”, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. I thought, as I still do, ‘death’… about as taboo a topic you cannot hear, addressed in mainstream media or pop culture – except for the above-mentioned “All That Jazz."  Wonder what she’s going to do?

Dr. Peticolas did it. She produced and directed "Facing Death," a 26 minute docu-mentary featuring people speaking frankly as they, to put it simply, are facing their imminent death. I’m in total admiration and respect for Peticolas’ intentions and accomplishments. With camera work by filmmaker, Bob Mohr, Peticolas firmly but gently knocks on the door of our defensiveness to the topics of death and dying. I especially appreciate Michelle’s decision to put herself in the mix as she describes, with utter vulnerability, her responses to her parents’ passing.

"Facing Death" is the first in a series called" Secrets of Life and Death."  The second work, "Caring for Dying,"  has been released, and there are at least two more in the works. Visit her web site at:  www.secretsoflifeanddeath.com

Don Schwartz, Ph.D., an actor/writer from Larkspur, California, received his doctorate in Integral Counseling and Psychotherapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies.   Wendy Weir, his business partner, and he have written two spiritually-based adventure fantasy scripts. 

The 13th Annual International Forgiveness Day was celebrated at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. The 14th is in the planning stages.

Last year's Forgiveness Day Celebration was honoring Congressman John Lewis with the Hero of Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peace Award for his lifelong work towards peace, justice and racial equality and Marianne Williamson with the Champion of Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peace Award.

A Masters of Forgiveness Workshop, called "The Heart and Soul of Forgiveness was given by Marianne Williamson on Saturday, August 1st.

POSITIVE NEWS is a publication anchoring us to the higher truths as well as reminding us to be positive in a time of economic meltdown, contraction and fear.

POSITIVE NEWS' mission, in their words, is "to  bring hope, exemplify solutions, inspire to action, and connect with those who create positive change.  We envision a world where people treat each other with respect and kindness, where we consider the earth to be our home to care for and enjoy. . .and we know that this world is in the process of emerging.  POSITIVE NEWS is a reflection of this widespread emerging movement and tells its stories."
 

CINEMA BY THE BAY:
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Now accepting work

The Film Society's Fall Season is fast approaching, including the return of Cinema by the Bay (November 5-8, 2010), the three-day festival that celebrates the passion, innovation and diversity of Bay Area filmmaking and features the best new work produced in or about America's film and media frontier.

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Works in all genres (narrative, documentary, experimental and animation) and lengths are accepted; The Festival requires a San Francisco/Bay Area premiere for feature length films only. There is no entry fee to submit your work; enter online.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS -   We want your completed shorts and films that "Catalyze Positive Change."  Here is a chance to screen your media at our festivals and monthly events.  Email us at: info@METAassociation.org for more information and submission guidelines and requirements.  No Deadline. 

By Catherine Ann Jones

In 1994, Quentin Tarantino wrote a fictional story about Mickey & Mallory Knox, a honeymoon couple who, as a perverse aphrodisiac, randomly shot and killed over 50 people. Oliver Stone directed the film and the week it opened, a real young couple in the Midwest went on a rampage killing 4-5 strangers. When apprehended by the police and asked their names, they replied that their names were Mickey & Mallory Knox - the fictional character’s names from Stone’s film. The film was Natural Born Killers, and this film made a difference. 

I wrote for a popular television series called Touched by an Angel. Among the fan mail one day, we heard from one viewer. This man had decided to kill himself. It was a Sunday night and he happened to have the television on CBS where he watched an episode of Touched by an Angel.Moved by the story, he wept then decided to give life another chance. He wrote to us and thanked us for making a difference in his life.