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Each month we will showcase a City agency employee or an industry specialist who helps to facilitate production in New York City.
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October 1, 2004 - Manhattan-based producer Caroline Baron uses her lights and cameras to affect action in locations as far away as Macedonia. Ms. Baron is founder of FilmAid International, an organization which brings reel relief to refugees around the world.
A native of Brooklyn, Ms. Baron began her career in New York City in 1983, as production manager on The Toxic Avenger. Since then, she has produced films including Center Stage, Flawless, Addicted to Love and Witness to the Mob in New York City. Ms. Baron’s production company, Baron Pictures, is based in Tribeca.
“New York is the best City in the world,” Ms. Baron said. “We have an amazing pool of incredibly talented crews and casts.”
Some of Ms. Baron’s favorite locations for shooting include the State Theatre at Lincoln Center and the alleys off of Bond Street. “New York City’s armories are also great for filming,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to build your own studios in the armories, because you can just create your own space. It’s also great fun to discover new neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx.”
In 1999, Ms. Baron started FilmAid International, an organization dedicated to using the medium of film to bring life-saving information on human rights, health, conflict resolution, cross-cultural understanding and social issues to refugees. FilmAid International coordinates screenings, trains refugee staff to produce short films for their communities and offers video production workshops for refugee youth.
Initially launched from Ms. Baron’s Tribeca apartment, FilmAid International received support from New Yorkers including Robert DeNiro, Jane Rosenthal, Harvey Weinstein and HBO, which donated office space. The majority of FilmAid International’s fundraising is done in New York, and last month’s New York Aids Film Festival benefited the organization.
FilmAid International has now moved uptown to Columbia University’s Center for Global Health and Economic Development. In partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other relief agencies, screenings often reach audiences of up to 33,000 in a single night in refugee camps in Kenya and Tanzania.
Visit FilmAid International's website
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