New Film About School Shootings, 'Lock Down' By Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, Takes Industry Award

    WILMINGTON, NC, May 22, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein's films have received a huge number of industry awards. She recently announced that her latest and most powerful film about school shootings, 'Lock Down', took Honorable Mention in the Los Angeles Independent Shorts Awards for Best Children's Short and Best Trailer/Teaser. The trailer is available at http://www.enchantedself.com. Special versions of the full film are available to educators and media.

What is on the minds of kids today, creating tremendous anxiety and worse reactions, are the lock downs in our schools. Kids are now faced on a daily basis with the possibility of an active shooter in their school. 'Lock Down' dramatically illustrates the fear and anxiety that kids deal with. 'Lock Down' was produced to generate conversation and spur action to make 'Lock Downs' eventually unnecessary.

Lock downs are one of the most pressing mental health problems American society faces. A recent article in the New York Times entitled 'Fight if You Must: Students Take a Front-Line Role in School Shootings' perfectly summed this problem up in a single, perfectly written paragraph - "Drills for what to do during a shooting have become routine in schools across the nation, in some cases for children as young as in kindergarten. Most students have not been taught to directly confront shooting suspects, but rather to focus on what they must do to remain safe. Some young people, however, appear to have closely followed past massacres and concluded that they cannot wait for a teacher or security officer to protect them."

Dr. Holstein's Selfie drama films help us, no matter what our ages, process coming of age issues from bullying to falling in love. Often the audience is left sighing and laughing at the wonderment of making it to adulthood. 'The Selfie Project' takes on serious issues that kids face and brings together kids in a documentary fashion, after making their own selfies about problems in their lives, to talk with each other and experts.

According to an industry study, over 60 million households identify as "podcast fans", listening to an average of 7 shows per week. In addition, Youtube now garners more views than all the major television networks combined. For this reason, Dr. Holstein has made her video and audio podcasts a centerpiece of her outreach program. She engages with both experts and kids as guests on critical subjects. The full schedule of podcasts is available at http://www.enchantedself.com.

"I am making my latest film 'Lock Down' available to parents and educators at the same time it will be entered in film festivals," Dr. Holstein stated. "We have no time to waste in dealing with the safety of our kids, physically and emotionally. I hope 'Lock Down' will help generate the type of compassionate concern and connection that moves us as a society to thoughtful and timely solutions."

Holstein's short films have won numerous awards and accolades.

Lock Down:

International Shorts November 2019, Selected November 2019
Award Winner for Independent Shorts Awards: Trailer/Teaser and Children's Short May 2019

The Truth A Short Film:

Garden State Film Festival Premier - Best Pop Song 2016
Golden Door Int. Film Festival - Official Selection - September 2016
Grove Film Festival - Showing - May 2017
Female Filmmakers Film Festival - Official Selection - 12th of 92 films
Roselle Park Shorts Film Festival - Official Selection - September 2017
52 Weeks Film Festival April, 2019 Semi-Finalist
FilmOneFest Premier - July 2016
Chain Film Festival - Official Selection - August 2016
Jersey City Int. Television and Film Festival - Official Selection - November 2016
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Official Selection- May 2017

Secrets A Coming Of Age Selfie Film:

Alice Guy-Blache Women In Cinema Award - Nomination - October 2017, Golden Door International Film Festival
NewFilmmakers, Manhattan- Official Selection, January 24, 2018
Brightside Tavern Shorts Fest Film Series - Best Experimental Film nomination - March 2018
Brightside Tavern Shorts Fest Film Series - Best New Jersey Short nomination - March 2018
Brightside Tavern Shorts Fest Film Series - Best Concept nomination - March 2018
Hang on To Your Shorts, Official Selection - April 2018, Nominated for Best New Jersey Drama and Best Experimental Film
Awarded: Best Educational Film Award at the Jersey Shore Film Festival, August, 2018
Shown March 1 1018 as one of 6 outstanding women's films at the Behane Center in Jersey City, for Women's History Month by Golden Door International Film Festival.
Brightside Tavern Film Festival, Season 7 - Best Experimental Film - March 2018
Jersey Shore Film Festival - Best Educational Film - August 2018
Indie Awards - Award of Recognition in 3 categories: Women Filmmakers, Leading Actress and Educational / Instruction / Training

Falling In Love A Coming Of Age Selfie Film:

Brightside Tavern Film Festival-March 2017- Best Experimental Film Nomination, Second Place Award as Best New Jersey Film Short
Grove Film Festival, Official Selection-May 2017
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Best Experimental Film nomination - May 2017
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Best Concept Film nomination - May 2017
Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival - Megan Brown Rising Star Award - May 2017
Love Shorts Film Festival - Official Selection - February 2018
Special Mention Award - One-Reeler Short Film Competition

Conflict:

Official selection to premiere at the New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University on June 9th, 2018
Semi-finalist in the JELLY Fest Film Festival, June, 2018
Official Selection Golden Door International Film Festival - September 2018
Honorable Mention Award: One-Reeler Short Film Competition
"Hang on to Your Shorts!" Film Festival March 9, 2019 Selected
Roselle Park Short Film Festival September 9, 2018 Selected
The Brightside Film Festival June 28, 2018 Selected

Angst:

Official Selection for the Brightside Tavern Film Festival in early August, 2018

Selfie:

Official selection at the One Minute Film Fest, Teaneck, New Jersey, September 8, 2018

The Medium, A Coming of Age, Selfie Film:

Selected to be screened at the Young Filmmakers's Screenings in Manhattan in early March, 2019.
Selected to be screened at Brightside Tavern Film Festival, March 3, 2019. Megan Brown nominated for Best Actress.

The Selfie Project Pilot:

Independent Shorts Award - Certificate of Achievement Los Angeles, December 2018
Global Indian Film Festival - Selected for screening - Mumbai India, January 2019
Best Shorts Competition - Awards of Recognition - The Selfie Project Educational/Instructional/Training
Independent Talents International Film Festival- Semi-Finalist
Screened at Brightside Tavern Film Festival, March 3, 2019. Awarded for Best Concept for a Film.
Selected to be screened at the Northeast Mountain Film Festival 2019 in June
Selected to be screened at Hang On To Your Shorts Film Festival in Asbury Park on May 5th 2019 and up for the Best Documentary Award.
Rome Independent Prisma Awards May 7, 2019 Selected
Global Film Festival Awards April 12, 2019 Selected
Dumbo Film Festival March 7, 2019 Selected
The Brightside Tavern Film Festival January 30, 2019 Selected and Awarded Best Concept Film
Global Indian Film Festival January 4, 2019 Selected
Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival March 22, 2019 Selected
Independent Shorts Awards December 16, 2018 Selected
Northeast Mountain Film Festival May 7, 2019 Selected

Conflict and a Bit of Magic, A Coming of Age, Selfie Film:

To be screened at 52 Weeks Film Festival
Semi-finalist 52 weeks Film Festival
Global Film Festival Awards, January 2019; Award Winner
Winner for Best Indie Filmmaker: Barbara Becker Holstein; Winner for Best Young Actor: Megan Brown
Independent Talents International Film Festival, Semi-Finalist
Rome Independent Prisma Awards, May 7, 2019 Selected
Jersey Shore Film Festival, May 26 2019 Selected

'Secrets' was selected for inclusion in "Passages: Women in Transition," Women In Media - Newark's 2018 Women's History Month film festival, held on March 27 – April 5, 2018 at Rutgers University Newark, New Jersey, and at various satellite venues in the area.

'Falling in Love, A Coming of Age, Selfie Film, is detailed in a new ebook: 'A Selfie Film - Falling In Love' by Dr. Holstein. This ebook presents issues and stories behind the creation of Dr. Holstein's "selfie films", which utilize cutting edge New Media technology. Topics and questions for discussion can be used by a parent and a child, or a group of hundreds as universal subjects of growing up and handling tough issues are presented.

Dr. Holstein makes a number of her books and films available to be used as fundraising tools. She requests that any verified charitable organization interested in raising funds contact her via email. She is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at [email protected]. More information about all of the above is available at her website at http://www.enchantedself.com.

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, internationally known Positive Psychologist is the creator of The Enchanted Self ®, a positive psychology method for happiness and a pioneer in Selfies as Film. Dr. Holstein's Enchanted Self website was included as one of the best websites in positive psychology. She is in private practice in Long Branch, New Jersey with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein.

Dr. Barbara can be found on the web, interviewed, writing articles and posting video 'TED' style talks on Happiness, Positive Psychology, Relationships and Parenting.

She has been a contributor to Your Tango, Heart and Soul, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Redbook, Real Simple, The Wall Street Journal, Time on line, the Today Show and Family Circle Magazine.

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