A request letter to several organizations to participate in the Youth Activism Showcase portion of the December 5, 2013 event. We invited our guests to chat with the participating teens about their own community service projects during the after-party.

1. November 15, 2013
RE: Request for Involvement in Youth Activism Showcase
HAVANA CURVEBALL - Sneak Preview Completion Fundraiser & Youth Activism Showcase
A Film by Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider
Hello from PatchWorks Films - the award winning, San Francisco-based documentary film company of
veteran filmmakers Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider.
PatchWorks Films is collaborating with Academy-Award nominated executive producer, Marc Smolowitz,
and hosting a Sneak Preview Completion Fundraiser in San Francisco on Thursday, December 5th, 2013.
The event will celebrate Youth Activism in the Bay Area and help raise finishing funds for HAVANA
CURVEBALL, a beautiful coming-of-age film about their son Mica, the power of teen activism, and Cuba’s
unique place in the world. Learn more at http://HavanaCurveball.info -- read the film description
below.
Based on your organizations incredible track record as an innovator in the fields of youth service and
empowerment, we would like to invite your organization to participate in our Youth Activism Showcase,
which will kick-start HAVANA CURVEBALL's long term initiatives to support youth activism across the
country. By participating, you will help us realize the vision of this important project, while exposing your
organization to our guests — a diverse cross section of Bay Area philanthropists and supporters of the
film and its mission of empowering young people to do good in the world.
Will you join our celebration of youth activism by participating?
You can participate as presenters by simply allocating one staff person or dedicated volunteer to attend
the event with a youth leader and provide materials describing your work. At the event, your
organization and young person’s project will be listed in the event program, as well as in the prescreening slide show. Post the screening of the film, we request that the youth leader and the
organizational representative position themselves at one of our five selected presenting tables to speak
with guests about their work.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Very best,
Lisa Finkelstein
Fundraising Event Producer - HAVANA CURVEBALL
PatchWorks Films
663 7th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: (415) 730-2150
lisafinkelstein@gmail.com

2. ABOUT THE FILM -- Mica is a classic young teen. Enthusiastic. Idealistic. Dreaming baseball. At 13, he
is studying for his Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age rite. An earnest kid, he took to heart his Rabbi’s
requirement to help “heal the world.” Imagining himself a savior of sorts, he launches a grand plan to
send baseballs to Cuba, a country with a mysterious pull. He knows only that Cubans are poor and love
baseball -- and that Cuba saved his grandpa’s life. On a hunch, his award-winning filmmaker parents pick
up their camera. They know the U.S. embargo with Cuba will throw him a curveball. Learn more at
http://www.HavanaCurveball.info.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS -- Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider of PatchWorks Films are veteran husband
and wife team who have been making award winning documentaries that explore contemporary social
issues through intimate character stories since 1994. Their films have screened on public television, at
film festivals, museums, community centers, public libraries, universities, and schools around the world.
Notably, Ken's work as an editor has been recognized with an Emmy, a Peabody, a Columbia-Dupont, an
Indie Spirit Award, and top awards at Sundance, along with an Oscar nomination. Learn more at
http://www.PatchWorksFilms.net.
ABOUT THE EVENT -- Sneak Preview Completion Fundraiser & Youth Activism Showcase at the New
People Cinema, 1746 Post Street - San Francisco, CA 94115 (located in Japantown between
Webster/Laguna), Thursday, December 5th, 2013 6:00pm Pre-reception & Silent Auction + 7:00pm
Screening + 8:30pm After-party & Youth Activism Showcase. Tickets can be purchased at
http://the8thinningstretch-eac2.eventbrite.com.