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Warhol’s
classic arthouse film Chelsea Girls will also be
screened.
The
festival’s annual “Midnight Madness at the Midtown” will
feature David Lynch’s cult classic Eraserhead, shown in
its full 35mm glory.
This
year, more than 70 films from around the world will be
screened, many of which are world premieres. Most films will
be screened at the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts,
in Stage Two and the Cobalt Room.
For most
recent listings and festival news, visit
www.artsfestfilmfest.com or
www.moviate.org.
FRIDAY MAY 22
8:00
PM – Brews and Bros: A Special Outdoor Screening at Tröegs
Brewery
BYOC
(Bring your own lawnchair) to this special outdoor screening
of Strange Brew. Seating begins around 6:00 p.m. The
movie will start around dusk (approximately 8:15) and runs for
90 minutes. The film will be projected on the side of the
brewery building. The first 100 attendees will each receive
one free jelly donut. There will be popcorn, food and beer
concessions available from 6 p.m. until the end of the movie.
Tröegs
Brewery, 800 Paxton Street, Harrisburg
Strange Brew: The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie
by Rick Moranis and
Dave Thomas
Comedy, 90 minutes (1983)
Something is rotten at the Elsinore Brewery. Bob and Doug
Mackenzie (as seen on SCTV) help the orphan Pam regain the
brewery founded by her recently-deceased father. But to do so,
they must confront the suspicious brewmaster and two teams of
vicious hockey players. Based on Shakespeare's “Hamlet,” Bob
and Doug Mackenzie play the roles Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern. A hilarious (and accurate) representation.
(synopsis by Stewart Clamen)
SATURDAY MAY 23
11:00
AM – Animation Experimentation
Stranger's Poem
by Geer DuBois, Los Angeles, CA
Animation, 5 minutes
Two
people, who exist only as memories, rewrite emotions that
haunt their personal stories. They seem unaware that isolation
has shaped their perceptions of reality...until they meet.
Piety
by Shahrzad
Sharifian, Vancouver, Canada
Animation, 2 minutes
A
personal observation of the relationship between religion and
war. The film uses Sufi dance as a symbol of religion and the
divinity of the universe, images in the background that convey
the struggle of humankind through the ages of war and conflict
to highlight the idea of the filmmaker’s observation, which is
false piety.
Paradoxes and Oxymorons
by Kate
Raney, Syracuse, NY
Animation, 1 minute
An
animated version of John Ashbery's poem “Paradoxes and
Oxymorons,” narrated by DJ Spooky.
Eldorado
by Will
Kim, Los Angeles, CA
Animation, 1 minute
Eldorado
is a short animated film about loss of hope, created with
watercolor paint on paper.
A man's
journey to discover his dreamland fails when he realizes that
the dream is not reachable.
In
Search of the Colors
by Will
Kim, Los Angeles, CA
Animation, 8 minutes
“What do
I imagine as I add the first drops of color to a blank sheet
of paper?” It is time to celebrate the talents and dreams of
‘Alexander’s House’s Family. In this animated documentary
film, Will Kim uses various hand-drawn and painterly animation
techniques to tell a story of his own experiences from this
home for people with developmental disabilities.
Only
Love
by Lev
Polyakov, Brooklyn, NY
Animation, 15 minutes
A
tragicomedy about a Dictator, a Rebel, and Love. It is a
darkly humorous tale of a dictator facing the ghosts of his
past misdeeds, a man's eternal search for love, and the
terrible price one sometimes has to pay for it. Brimming with
nonstop creative energy, this traditionally animated short is
a feast for the eyes and ears with beautifully painted
backgrounds and an outstanding orchestral score.
Alice’s Attic
by Robyn
Yannoukos, Los Angeles, CA
Experimental, 4 minutes
A
stop-motion animation film about a fragile character who has
to face her fears that lie waiting in the silence of the
darkness. In giving power to objects surrounding her and
allowing them to overpower her, the result of her actions has
unforeseen results.
Checkoo
by Erik
Rosenlund, Stockholm, Sweden
Experimental, 12 minutes
An
underperforming office worker does everything he can to fit
in. A tragic comedy about life in modern society that is all
about pace and rhythm.
12:00
NOON – Quirky Tales
Love
Sick Love
by PJ
Gaynard, Glendale, CA
Narrative, 22 minutes
A young
couple on their first date on Halloween learns they are both
wearing masks beyond their costumes.
Magritte Moment
by Ian
Fisher, New York, NY
Experimental, 17 minutes
Lost and
disillusioned punk painter Trevor wants to be like Rene
Magritte. Unable to create, he sells out to a religious group,
taking a commission. After bumping into a strange tall man
wearing a bowler cap while in the park, he is given a magic
wallet. He then meets Karen, but blows his chance with her
because of his fear. He creates the painting and finds that he
is changing. No longer a punk, his tattoos disappear, his hair
is no longer dyed and he finds that he has lost himself. He
reaches out to the tall man with the bowler cap, but finds
more questions than answers.
It’s
Not You
by
Michael LaVoie, Tarrytown, NY
Narrative, 8 minutes
Rob
meets up with his girlfriend at a cafe to break up with her in
person and before she arrives he imagines all of her possible
reactions.
1:00
PM – Growing Older
Into
the Unknown
by John
Dion, Los Angeles, CA
Narrative, 14 minutes
Life for
retired couple Al and Fern is as peaceful as the lake in their
cottage's backyard until the fateful day they discover a black
hole growing in their shower drain! Enter Gus, the mysterious,
all-knowing plumber, who shows Al and Fern that a magical
sinkhole in their bathroom may be the least of their problems.
4:10,
Seeking Grace
by
Ramesh Anthony, Philadelphia, PA
Narrative, 20 minutes
An aging
man, a bunch of flowers, the station, and the endured wait.
Martin hasn't seen Grace in 30 years. As he waits anxiously,
he meets a curious stranger and the story about Martin and
Grace unfolds through their conversation.
2:00
PM – Experiments in Film
Soaring Roaring Diving
by
Miriam Harris, Auckland, New Zealand
Experimental, 6 minutes
An
animated film that intertwines drawing, Super8 footage,
collage, and 2D and 3D animation, with a textured soundtrack
that employs both music and found sounds. The film is about
personal journeying, coping with grief and loss, and
ultimately resurfacing, together with themes of childhood
memories, summer in the South Pacific, the metaphors of
swimming and diving, and the proverbial glass half-full or
half-empty question.
The
Sky Underground
by Kat
Lo, Los Angeles, CA
Experimental, 6 minutes
The film
paints a world through the eyes of four people. It is a rich
visual tapestry depicting one long, hot summer. It is a
tribute to the glory - and longing - of youth. A tribute to
the ecstasy that a party can bring (and the simultaneous
darkness).
Corridors of Echos
by
Tatsushi Tahara, New York, NY
Experimental, 8 minutes
An
experimental ghost film shot in Japan. Work that exercises the
core essence of black and white cinematography - lights and
shadows. Inspired from visions of walking in and out of old
Buddhist temple corridors, as if lost in the labyrinth of a
bad dream.
3:00
PM – Skewed Perspectives
Attackazoids!
by Brian
Lonano, Staten Island, NY
Narrative, 7 minutes
One
woman struggles to survive in a ghostly world besieged by
giant killer robots. A science fiction nightmare combining
live action, stop motion animation and bizarre sound to create
a unique and haunting vision of an alien invasion.
Imminent
by
Randall Good, Los Angeles, CA
Narrative, 9 minutes
Two
friends shop. One stares at the other. They go places.
4:00
PM – Andy Warhol film star Taylor Mead in person! Plus, a rare
screening of vintage Warhol film “Tarzan and Jane
Regained…Sort of”
Taylor
Mead (born December 31, 1924 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan) is a
writer and performer who starred as Tarzan in Andy Warhol's
Tarzan and Jane Regained…Sort of, and in Ron Rice's beat
classic The Flower Thief. In the mid 1970s, Gary Weis
made some short films of Mead talking to his cat in the
kitchen of his Ludlow Street apartment on the Lower East Side
called Taylor Mead's Cat. One film of Mead
extemporizing on the virtues of constant television watching
aired during the second season of Saturday Night Live.
Mead
lives in New York City, and continues to regularly perform and
read poetry at The Bowery Poetry Club. His latest book of
poems is called A Simple Country Girl. He was the
subject of a documentary called Excavating Taylor Mead,
which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2005. He has
been "a beloved icon of the downtown New York art scene since
the 60s."
Tarzan and Jane Regained…Sort of
by Andy
Warhol, New York, NY (1964)
Starring
Taylor Mead, Dennis Hopper, Claes Oldenberg
A
playful avant-garde parody of Tarzan and Jane with locations
in Hollywood, Malibu, Venice, Pasadena, and Topanga Canyon,
and at the Santa Monica pier and the Beverly Hills Hotel. The
film was recently screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New
York City.
Taylor
Mead will also recite his poetry at the Meet and Greet
Reception
8:00
PM – Festival Meet and Greet Reception, Appalachian Brewing
Company, 50 N. Cameron Street, Harrisburg
Everyone’s welcome to attend the festival’s “meet and greet”
event on Saturday at 8:00 pm, where filmmakers and film lovers
can get together.
And
stick around for…
Taylor Mead’s “Dirty Poetry” Recital!
12:00
MIDNIGHT: It’s Midnight Madness at the Midtown with
Eraserhead!
Midtown
Cinema, 250 Reily Street, Harrisburg
Eraserhead
by David
Lynch, (1977), 108 minutes
Is it a
nightmare or an actual view of a post-apocalyptic world? Set
in an industrial town in which giant machines are constantly
working, spewing smoke, and making noise that is inescapable,
Henry Spencer lives in a building that, like all the others,
appears to be abandoned. The lights flicker on and off, he has
bowls of water in his dresser drawers, and for his only
diversion he watches and listens to the Lady in the Radiator
sing about finding happiness in heaven. Henry has a
girlfriend, Mary X, who has frequent spastic fits. Mary gives
birth to Henry's child, a frightening looking mutant, which
leads to the injection of all sorts of sexual imagery into the
depressive and chaotic mix. (synopsis by Rick Gregory)
SUNDAY, MAY 24
11:00
AM – Stylistic Approaches
Random Access Memory
by Gavin
Rehder,
Experimental, 11 minutes
An
exploration of the aesthetic of the VHS medium. The film
explores Vertov's 'Kino Eye'. The camera man’s eyes are the
lens, and his mind is magnetic tape, he sees only what he has
previously seen and recorded.
The
Last Moment
by Deco
Dawson, Winnipeg, Canada
Experimental, 29 minutes
A
multi-fractured, multi-genred narrative that uses five styles
of film history; Film Noir, Dogme 95, late Era Hitchcock,
Tarantino and 60’s New Wave, to explore the final moments of a
man’s life and the ill fated relationship woes leading up to
his death.
12:00
Noon
The
Mole
by Katie
Mahalic, Chicago, IL
Narrative, 10 minutes
After
getting struck by lightning, a man who is plagued by an
explosive bleeding mole is saved by an agoraphobic woman who
is afraid of people, blood, and germs. Could this
once-in-a-million situation lead to romance for the awkward
and anti-social duo?
2:00
PM
The
Heart is What Remains
by
Alexandra Roxo, Brooklyn, NY
Experimental, 12 minutes
A young
woman sleeps under a tree, dreaming of the thorns and roses
that caused her to bleed. A young man finds her under the tree
and with her blood awakens her. Together they awake and enter
the world of love. They experience the sweetness of love, and
the stillness of love and after time they experience the death
of love.
4:00
PM – Revisiting a Classic
Gold
by Bob
Levis, New York, NY
Experimental, 91 minutes
In 1968
gold is once again discovered in the foothills of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains. A train full of fellow travelers set out for
gold country but a corrupt cop and a politician with a
wandering eye conspire to take control. A tag-a-long trickster
the 'Hawk' with the help of the town drunk thwart their plans.
8:00
PM – Special Andy Warhol Screening
Chelsea Girls
by Andy
Warhol
Chelsea
Girls is Andy Warhol’s first major commercial success, and
features many of Warhol's superstars. The film follows the
lives of several of the young women who live at the Chelsea
Hotel, and comprises various scenes shot at the Chelsea Hotel,
the Factory and at various apartments including the Velvet
Underground's apartment on West 3rd Street in the Village.
Warhol
first brought up the idea for the film in the back room of
Max's Kansas City, Warhol's favorite nightspot, during the
summer of 1966 and shot the footage for The Chelsea Girls from
June to September 1966. It was generally improvised except for
two scripts sent in by Ron Tavel who mailed the scripts to
Warhol from Los Angeles.
When the
film was initially released, Newsweek praised it as the "Iliad
of the underground."
MONDAY, MAY 25
11:00
AM – Exploratory Documentaries
Severing the Soul
by
Barbara Klutinis, San Francisco, CA
Documentary, 18 minutes
Found
footage interweaves an account of Rosemary Kennedy’s lobotomy
procedure in 1941 with an overview of the psychosurgery
movement of the 1930’s - 1960’s in the US.
Invisible Girlfriend
by David
Redmon, New York, NY
Documentary, 76 minutes
A man
named Charles rides his big, red bicycle through rural
Louisiana to find his invisible girlfriend, Joan of Arc. Along
the way, he meets a variety of people to guide him to his
final arrival in New Orleans.
1:00
PM – Crime, Punishment, and a Local Tragedy
Rough
Cut
by Todd
Klick, Camp Hill, PA
Documentary, 81 minutes
On
January 10th, 2003, a woman was found murdered in her
Pennsylvania home. Eight months earlier an independent film
was shot on the nearby Appalachian Trail. How did these two
events tie together? Rough Cut explores the twisted tale of
two young filmmakers who had a dream of making a horror
movie...and the bizarre events that followed.
3:00
PM – Central PA Stories
Route
30
by John
Putch, Studio City, CA (via Central PA)
Narrative, 88 minutes
Three
interconnecting stories from South Central Pennsylvania:
‘Deer
Hunters Wives’ tells of the frustrations of Civil War tour
guide Mandy, who obsesses on Jennie Wade, the only civilian
killed at the battle of Gettysburg. While her friend June
struggles with an internet porn scheme to make extra money.
‘What I
Believe’ focuses on a man who seeks the help of a Christian
Scientist to heal his back pain and explain the Big Foot that
chased him.
‘Original Bill’ is the story of a writer who buys a rural
farmhouse hoping to find unique inspiration to write his
novel. He is sidetracked by his Amish neighbor, who smokes,
drinks & swears.
Schedule of
Events
Cobalt Room
at Whitaker Center
SATURDAY MAY 23 – COBALT ROOM
11:30
AM – Children are the Future
The
Sitting Machine
by Paul Hunt and Julie Kauffman, Lancaster, PA
Documentary, 90 minutes
This
character-driven verité documentary about children, learning
and creativity, follows eight fifth graders in Rheems,
Pennsylvania, as they set out to design and build chairs that
can hold their own weight using only cardboard and glue. In
Mrs. Smith's enrichment class they put away textbooks and
learn to question the ordinary, take risks and solve problems
themselves. With no interviews or commentary over a
seven-month arc, it's a chance to observe the emerging
personalities and natural drama of eight 10-year-olds. It's a
heartfelt fifth-grade experience of creativity, frustration,
hilarity and triumph.
2:00
PM – Big Coal, Big Business
Hard
Coal: Last of the Bootleg Miners
by Marc
Brodzik, Kimberton, PA
Documentary, 83 minutes
Pennsylvania’s independent anthracite coal miners don’t fear
dying from a dynamite blast gone wrong hundreds of feet
underground. They fear the federal agencies in charge of
keeping them safe. This film explosively yet poignantly
answers why.
Shown
with:
Selling the Howl
by Nick
Harvey, Illinois
Experimental, 8 minutes
This
film examines masculinity, sexuality, and spectacle through
documentation of amateur professional wrestling and autograph
signings by famous American Gladiators. Viewers engage in a
narrative experience pushed into the realms of comedy, dark
fantasy, and horror. The camera becomes an active participant
in the action working hand in hand with sound design.
4:00
PM – An Unknown Hero
No. 4
Street of Our Lady
by
Barbara Bird and Richie Sherman, State College, PA
Documentary, 90 minutes
If your
neighbors were being hunted down and came to your door begging
for help, would you risk your life to save theirs? This film
tells the remarkable, yet little-known, story of Francisca
Halamajowa, a Polish-Catholic woman who hid 16 of her Jewish
neighbors during the Holocaust, while cleverly passing herself
off as a Nazi sympathizer.
SUNDAY, MAY 24 – COBALT ROOM
11:00
AM – Documenting the Struggle to “Make It” in Hollywood
My
Big Break
by Tony
Zierra, Central PA
Documentary, 106 minutes
This
controversial documentary follows five roommates trying to
make it in Hollywood who face the unexpected consequences of
fame. While popular shows like Entourage offer a fun,
fictionalized view into the workings of the film industry,
My Big Break shows the good times along with the darker
side of becoming a celebrity. The documentary is a rare, raw
look at life in Hollywood that reveals what can happen if your
dreams unexpectedly come true.
Shown
with:
Homeless in Hollywood
by
Hollis McLachlan, Cannonsburg, PA
Documentary, 6 minutes
Marcus
is a homeless Australian man living in the United States. He
has no income, no savings, and a lot of acting experience. He
could go home. He could give up. But Marcus believes he is in
Los Angeles for a reason and is sickened at the thought of
leaving behind what could lead to his success.
The film
follows Marcus on a day in the life of a homeless actor.
Foreign to America, homeless, and alone, Marcus shows the
audience what faith and determination can bring to someone who
has next to nothing but an intangible dream. Marcus's journey
is Our journey; the American dream of traveling west, leaving
'it' all behind for something that just might happen if we
only stick it out to see for ourselves.
1:00
PM – Strange Adventures and Celebrities
Fan
Mail
by Sean
Christensen, Phoenix, AZ
Documentary, 5 minutes
This
film is the true story of someone's first and only fan letter
written to their favorite celebrity. A poignant look at the
creative process and the self-critical nature of the
entertainment industry, writer/director Sean Christensen puts
the pen in the audience's hand, and gives them an inside look
at what it means to be someone on the outside, looking in
through the gates of Hollywood.
Horsefingers 3: Starf*cker
by
Kirsten Kearse, Brooklyn, NY
Narrative, 13 minutes
Emma is
dressed and ready for her cult meeting but she’s got the wrong
address. Uncomfortable in her wig and horse hooves, Emma waits
at a local bar. As fortune would have it, she bumps into
someone she knows, Lem, an actor from a movie she worked on
years ago. He doesn’t recognize her but he does like her
outfit. What follows is a bizarre date between a script
supervisor in a costume and a minor movie star - also wearing
a costume. Funny, unsettling and just plain creepy, the film
provides a life lesson to be remembered.
Knocked Down
by Ted
Collins, Los Angeles, CA
Narrative, 22 minutes
A
wide-eyed wannabe whose youth is but a speck in his rearview
mirror, finally sets out from the hinterland for the brass
ring marked “Hollywood,” and to make his father proud – or at
least stop his giggling. Can Tommy Williger’s optimism
withstand the reality of a town with enough lack-of-success
stories to fill its latest entertainment news magazine show,
Unemployment Tonight? Or will he crack and one day transform
into a ticking time bomb with a fake Mohawk? Written by
award-winning Cheers/Seinfeld veteran, Andy Cowan.
Oona’s Story
by Sara
Bencivenga, Los Angeles, CA
Experimental, 12 minutes
Oona is
a character exploring her new film. The film seems to have a
mind of its own. It plays tricks on her: sudden edits bring
her unexpectedly into different scenes and a ridiculous
leading man is on the hunt for her. Oona is convinced that a
woman (Magda) is controlling the strings from behind a
ubiquitous advertising campaign. At her wits' end, Oona dives
off the end of a pier in hopes of escaping it all, but only
ends up in an underwater set. There, she finally meets Magda
in the flesh and learns she is the director of her own movie.
2:00
PM – Pushing the Envelope
Haunted House
by Kevin
Krutz, Philadelphia, PA
Narrative, 11 minutes
As
little Kay journeys through a strange and scary new place, we
soon realize that this is no ordinary haunted house.
Coddled Birds
by
Sebastijan Jemec, Jocelyn Spaar, and others, Charlottesville,
VA
Experimental, 9 minutes
A mondo-style
film based on Hansel and Gretel, this trashy film tells of two
'kids' escaping their oppressive, selfish parents and bleak
home only to stumble into the odd cluttered home of two
witches, disrupting their delicate relationship, snapping
sexual tension and culminating in a glutenous culinary
catastrophe.
Pass
Wayside
by
Sebastijan Jemec, Jocelyn Spaar, and others, Charlottesville,
VA
Experimental, 6 minutes
Based on
the fable of two sisters. The good sister speaks...and jewels
fall from her tongue. The evil one vomits frogs with every
spilled word. The roles of animals as a mirror of man and
metaphor.
3:00
PM – More Experiments in Film
A
Realistic Fear
by
Carling McManus, San Francisco, CA
Experimental, 3 minutes
Using
only handmade techniques, found footage and newspaper
clippings 'free-fall' through the frame to explore the impact
of media imagery and the psychology of fear.
Different Parts
by
Lindsay Greer, Carbondale, IL
Experimental, 2 minutes
An
exquisite corpse-like exercise that combines bodies and
suggestive gestures in an effort to explore the disjunction
experienced between sex and intimacy. It combines edited found
footage with original text.
Little Johnny Discovers
by
Benjamin Wilson, Carbondale, IL
Experimental, 4 minutes
An
exploration of boyhood sexual identity using found footage,
including sexual education films and scientific films about
the body. The image and sound of the original footage has been
manipulated in order to create profound, and at times, comedic
meanings.
Adrift
by Cathy
Lee Crane, Etna, NY
Experimental, 12 minutes
A poetic
fable, the film follows an American woman who comes to Rome to
die. On her way to the bridge of St. Angelo, she encounters a
young girl who taunts her with visions of a lost innocence.
The
Nightgardener
by
Jennifer Hardacker
Experimental, 10 minutes
The life
of a garden after dark: Balinese dancers sway on the petals of
clematis flowers, Russian singers perform in a calla lily.
Disparate images that capture an idea about the humanity of
the world play on floral screens.
Life
Reload
by
Viktor Gasic, Dortmund, Germany
Experimental, 12 minutes
The film
is an experimental project, which investigates the forms of
cinematic language and its metaphors in the context of today’s
acceleration. In that context the media play an important
role. They create a virtual reality which calls 'real” life
into question.
Murmur
by Peter
Byrne, Rochester, NY
Experimental, 7 minutes
A
contemplation on memory and landscape. In this experimental
piece the artists blend live action footage with abstract hand
drawn and computer generated composite animation sequences.
This collaborative work combines music and ephemeral visual
sequences in order to evoke a layered, shifting, and evolving
sense of place.
4:00
PM
Skylight
by David
Baas, Toronto, Canada
Animation, 5 minutes
A mock
animated documentary about the ecological plight of penguins
in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic results for
the rest of the world.
Repaired?
by
Seung-Hoo Ihm, San Francisco, CA
Animation, 3 minutes
Two
stupid aliens try to fix their UFO after crashing from the
Moon to the Earth but they don't know how to fix it. While one
tends to follow by the manual to fix it, the other wants to do
by instinct. Finally they fixed the UFO but they encounter an
unexpected situation.
The
Magistical
by
Loraine Cernak, Winston Salem, NC
Animation, 84 minutes
Once
upon a time a guardian was chosen to watch over all living
things. She was called the Magistical. Hoping to preserve all
precious life, the Magistical created a spell. This spell
granted the last of every type of creature, immortality.
However, to one very evil Draken, the spell would carry a very
different meaning than intended. By killing all other Drakens,
she would become the last. Without fear of death, such a beast
could rule the world. Now only one baby cub stands between her
and her evil ambitions. And between them stands a small, but
determined, obstacle, named Foible.
MONDAY, MAY 25 – COBALT ROOM
11:00
AM – Strange Stories, Strange Twists
Rooftop
by PJ
Gaynard, Glendale, CA
Narrative, 11 minutes
A young
couple gets locked on a rooftop with a mysterious yet
dangerous man.
The
Lesson
by Paul
Natale, Woodside, NY
Narrative, 16 minutes
In this
contemporary film noir, an imprisoned teacher learns that the
student she supposedly raped is responsible for her arrest and
upon release seeks revenge.
The
Double
by Rani
DeMuth, Los Angeles, CA
Narrative, 24 minutes
Meet
Steven Roberts (Eric Roberts), a self-assured psychologist
concerned less with his family and more with the promotion of
his new book, the ironically-titled 'Deepening Our Connection
to Others.' Indulging his new fiancée’s whimsical interest in
the psychic art of astral projection, Dr. Roberts participates
in a series of mental exercises designed to cultivate the
ability to separate consciousness from the physical body. It's
an idea Roberts doesn't take seriously until his airplane
develops engine trouble…
12:00
NOON – Far Eastern Perspective
Li
Tong
by Nian,
Liu, Beijing, China
Narrative, 74 minutes
An
eight-year-old girl, Li Tong, loses her bus pass one day after
school. Penniless, she decides to walk home. On her way, she
encounters a warm-hearted old lady who tries to help her, a
security guard in front of a bar, a trendy young woman, a man
wearing a panda costume, and even a little thief attempting to
steal a pet dog from an old man. After getting a ride to the
wrong address, Li Tong's journey becomes more complicated as
she soon finds herself hopelessly lost. Only the son of a
migrant worker who begs in the city offers her a helping hand.
The two of them become unlikely companions, each learning a
bit about the world of the other as the little beggar helps Li
Tong on her quest home.
2:00
PM – In the Line of Fire
Open
Air
by Shira-Lee
Shalit, Manhasset, NY
Narrative, 12 minutes
Under
the watchful eye of a hidden sniper, two women attempt some
form of normality in their everyday lives, knowing one misstep
would mean immediate death.
Beyond the Call
by
Adrian Belic,
Documentary, 82 minutes
In a
Mother Teresa meets Indiana Jones adventure three
middle-aged men, former soldiers and modern day knights travel
the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid directly
into the hands of civilians in some of the most dangerous yet
beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war.
4:00
PM – Festival Final Thoughts
Pink
Bag
by Susan
Hippen, New York, NY
Narrative, 2 minutes
When a
naive woman emerges from a pink bag into a retro kitchen where
appliances attack, she's forced to choose between old habits
and freedom.
I
Love (Hate) You: Mitchum
by Kate
Raney, Syracuse, NY
Experimental, 5 minutes
Using
manipulated footage from several film noirs focusing on Robert
Mitchum, the film investigates the spaces between self and
others.
Pure
White
by
Helena Doyle, Ireland
Experimental, 5 minutes
An
interpretative piece, exploring notions of age, memories and
the power of dreams.
Agnes
Moorehead is God!
by Tanya
Meronk, New York, NY
Narrative, 19 minutes
Picture
it…Christmas Eve 1967, snow gently falling...a café. Gay
Lesbian icon Barbara Stanwyck is seated calmly perusing a
magazine. Agnes Robertson Moorehead enters, in full 'Endora'
mode, and the Sapphic fur starts flying...oh yes! There will
be blood....and cocktails.
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