This is a blog about film programming and exhibition. The blog was originally created for Cinema 506, but the public is welcome to comment and be inspired!
Chi-Hui Yang is the director of the San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival and a student in the M.A. program in Film Studies at SFSU.
Janis Plotkin shares with us how she got into film and programming festivals. She talks about her experience directing the SF Jewish Film Festival from its beginnings and now the Mill Valley Film Festival. She also talks about how festival programming has changed over the years, how she liked to use the Jewish Film festival to break negative stereotypes about Jews, and how she always looks for films that do this for all ethnic groups, presenting them in a new light. Thanks again Janis : )
Publicity and Marketing notes from 3-12-10 brain storming:
- Ask Professors that we have connections with to offer extra credit for going to or entering films into the film finals
- presenting to classes (production ones are best probably) and have flyers and call for submissions if they want on
- designing and printing posters for around campus (fine arts building, Cesar Chavez: banners in and outside of
- get ad on the flat screen in Cesar Chavez building, I have the paper work
- Putting ads on screen savers in computer labs, ask scott about it, I monitor the digital cinema lab
- a night time projection on campus with music, popular movie clips, our trailer, tattoos? (Paul's idea), live animation with over head (also Paul's idea)
- have scott and cinema collective e mail the call to submissions to their mailing lists
- press release to me put and papers and other media outlets
- maybe have an item that goes with the theme on campus, like gold balloons, fake gold bars, etc. (if we go with golden anniversary theme)
ONLINE Plan Facebook: Brittney will make a FB page, invite us, and add the image Haroon sends as our profile pic and other info to get us going. (done) April 6- Brittney send out message to FB fans reminding them about EARLY DEADLINE Blogger: kirthi make blog for event (skye design) -post call for submissions etc
Call for Submissions_ Image and Application Plan -Haroon makes image for Call for Submission (color version and version to print b/w)(send color 72 to Britney and KN for facebook etc) -KN makes guidelines and call for submission (note early deadline 4/12, late 4/28, cinema office), make as google form -Post to blog and facebook Flyer Call for Submissions Flier Plans (Alberto lead, rest of class distribute) Image design: Haroon Makes Call for Submissions_emails group Posting Call around cinema Dept (full size): (April 5) Alberto - Prints full size Fliers: Print one flier and photocopy rest. 40 full size (8 1/2 x 11) thesefliers will be posted around cinema dept and pre-designated areas where cine students are, email group when done- group figure out who puts up where. Post Flyers Up: Paul, Geoff, Nicole, (Haroon to living residents)
Small Call for Submissions that can be handed out (orginal 4/page, needs to be cut) (April 5) Alberto prints out 1 copy and photocopies 40 small fliers (4 to a page version that needs to be cut into 4 to make 160 small fliers- USE IMAGE HAROON PRE-templated 4 to a page). email group when done. people take a stash and hand out!
NOTE: there is a stack of paper in my mailbox in the cinema dept (KIRTHI NATH). use this. and this can also be the storage place for people to pick up. ideal if a couple people can distribute to rest of class so cinema dept not worried about students in mailboxes etc.
Goal: have fliers printed april 6, posted around dept April 8, handing out April 6-13.
Call for Submissions Class Presentations:
Please announce the call for submission in your class. REVEIW the guidelines on the call for submission so you are familiar with restrictions and application process (i.e. only cinema students, only if done via class or independent study, 20 min max, etc).
Mondays 9-12, 1-4 CINE 310 Workshop in Film Production (Jakaitis, FA 444) 9-12 CINE 355 Screenwriting I (Hoxter, CA 115) 9-12 CINE 762 Advance Cinematography and Lighting (Zarchy, CA 112) 1-4 CINE 203 Intro to Film Studies and Production (Aginsky, FA 101) 4-7 CINE 373 Film & Society (McBride, FA 101) 4-7 CINE 408 Israeli Cinema (Plotkin, HUM 277) 4-7 CINE 755 Feature Screenwriting (Hoxter, CA 115) 4-7 CINE 525 Cinematography and Lighting (Zhang, FA 438) 7-10 CINE 344 Science Fiction Film (Persley, FA 101)
Tuesdays 9-12 CINE 304 Women and Film (Lau, CA 115) 9-12 CINE 355 Screenwriting I (Upham, CA 112) 9-12 CINE 362 Animation II (Naas, FA 349) 9-12 CINE 712 Production Practice III (Jackson, FA 438/349) 10-1, 2-5 CINE 310 Workshop in Film Production (Schulz, FA 444) 1-4 CINE 540 Issues in Film Theory: Sound and Voice (Sjogren, FA 101) 1-4 CINE 555 Writing and Performing in Film and Theatre (Boswell, CA 115) 1-4 CINE 712 Production Practice III (Jackson, FA 438/349) 4-7 CINE 355 Screenwriting I (McBride, CA 112) 4-7 CINE 409 Latino Cinema (Martinez, EP 101) 4-10 CINE 525 Cinematography and Lighting (Sundaram, FA 438)
Wednesdays 9-12, 1-4 CINE 310 Workshop in Film Production (Holmes, FA 444) 9-12 CINE 354 Short Format Screenwriting (Millsapps, CA 112) 9-12 CINE 651 Experimental Animation (Gorzycki, FA 325) 1-4 CINE 722 Narrative and the Independent Tradition (Rickman, CA 115) 1-4/4-7 CINE 510 Film Directing (Goldner, FA 143/438) 4-7 CINE 508 Steven Spielberg (McBride, CA 115)
Thursdays 9-12, 1-4 CINE 310 Workshop in Film Production (Millsapps, FA 444) 9-12, 1-4 CINE 468 Advanced Animation Workshop (Gorzycki, FA 325) 9-12 CINE 340 Critical Studies (Lau, FA 101) 9-12 CINE 455 Screenwriting II (Kovacs, CA 112) 9-12 CINE 526 Optical Printing (Holmes, CA 438) 2-5 CINE 524 Digital Sound For Film (Jackson, CA 115) 3:30-6:20 CINE 327 Anthropology and Film (Biella, BUS 108) 4-7 CINE 306 Chinese Documentary Film (Zhang, FA 444)
Fridays 9-12 CINE 310 Workshop in Film Production (Kapil, FA 444) 9-12 CINE 365 History of Animation (Cohen, FA 101) 9-12 CINE 527 Documentary of Social Justice and Health (Poulain, FA 349)
Evan CINE 442 Producing & Financing, Ujlaki (T 4-7) CINE 410 Italian Cinema, Kovacs (W 9-12) CINE 410 Chinese Cinema, Lau (W 1-4) CINE 372 Film Theory, Hammett (F 9-12)
Haroon CINE 745 Documentary Issues, Nichols (W 9-12) Film & the Holocaust, Goldner (TH 5-8)
Paul CINE 342 Intro to Documentary (Nichols T 9-12) CINE 770 Creative Process (Sjogren TH 9-4) CINE 726 Grad Thesis (Hammet F 1-4)
Alberto CINE 303 GWAR Copla (Hammet M 10-12) CINE 302 Film History II Copla (Kovacs 2:10-4:55)
PROGRAM SCHEDULE: * Animation Finals: 5:30pm * Reception: 6:30pm * Special guest speaker Jonas Rivera and Walter Murch + awards ceremony: 7:30pm + archive screening *Juried Film Finals: 8:30pm
Note: Film Programs and Awards Ceremony will be held in McKenna Theate. Reception will be held in Creative Arts Room 153.
In this short selection of films,you will fins d the hidden voices of children and grown ups calming our inner most feelings. The presentation grows from a wide set of mediums from poetry to animation to rap with a real message to memories of a loving mother. All though we see many different kinds of emotions expressed we can still feel a strong connection to this varied movement in visual responses.
Our first short is The Midnight hour by Edgrado Cervano-Soto (8 min)
A realization of the midnight hour draws you into Edgados world, three is life that clings to the clock after the stork of midnight.
Next is The slip of the Tongue by Karen Lum (4 min 15 sec)
what we see isn’t always what we want to see and what hear isn’t always what we thought we would hear. The rap in this film has its roots in discovering the past and its effects on the present. While two young travelers find their true identity and meaning.
Our third showing A Boys mouth by P J Raval (5 min 26 sec)
A story of abuse and its chilling effect on society in which the inner most feelings a boy a suppressed in silence. The Apollos by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (5 min 58 sec)
The fight to bring justice to memory of Dr Martin Luther King Junior and the power of students in a local high school in Oakland California
next up is The Chestnut Tree b Hyun-min Lee (4 min 8 sec)
A loving tail of the power of love and parenting told through the eyes of the receiver
I Promise Africa by Jerry Henry (2 min 45 sec)
The chilling story o of HIV Aids infected children in a small village in Africa and the promise of a film maker to return to show them the finished film.
Our last piece brings together all of the pieces messages as a montage with music and art
Embrace it by Kirthi Nath (6 min 40 sec)
a musical journey of nonviolent resistance to mans in humanity to man
This shorts program is about how human beings are always faced with the challenge of having to connect their independent experiences of their internal lives with those they experience in the external world, and how the intersection and opposition between the external and internal world can spark passion, hope, energy, and vitality in one’s life, or can lead to fear, anxiety, regression, pain, alienation, and confusion.
Embrace It - Kirthi Nath (6 min and 40 sec)
Through a shifting collage of images, words, art, and photographs, this film takes experiences of the world and suspends them in the timelessness of memory and unfettered hope.
A Boy's Mouth - PJ Raval (5 min 28 sec)
Beginning in silence and creating a rhythm out of words and texture, this film tells an unfortunately familiar story of the desperation that lonliness creates.The teller of the story and the boy within are not so different from one another, but while one lives outside and goes to school, the other is trapped in silence within, in need of help from without.
Slip of the Tongue - Karen Lurn (4 min 5 sec)
A rapid fire spoken word performance narrates an exchange between a self-concious but interested young man and a self-aware young woman in this story, and a question about “ethnic makeup” becomes a literal, metaphorical, philosophical, and sociological chance to witness all of the things that make up a person’s foundation, under their appearance.
The Apollos - Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (5 min 58 sec)
Starting from the curiosity of a class skipping high school senior, the eagerly vocal participants from the class of 81’ that helped push for the passing of Martin Luther King Jr. day into law, The Apollos, tell the history of the events that they experienced in fighting for the recognition of this rightful day.Their participation and their feelings all come to light as their struggle reveals how people can find determination in opposition, and take their feelings within and create an effect in the world.
The Midnight Hours - by Edgardo Cervano-Soto (8 min)
In an interlaced and black and white reverie of thought, hopes, fears, dreams, and introspection, this film looks into the fear that one isn’t good enough, fears about the degeneration of human nature, and the hope that redemption can come with time, patience, and surviving, one day at a time.
I Promise Africa - Jerry Henry (2 min 45 sec)
In the shadow of 9/11, this film presents a painfully real tragedy of one filmmaker’s promise to return to an African village of orphans to show them a finished documentary about them.In an honest admission of sadness and helplessness, the filmmaker is unable to return for one very important and external reason, and it is up to the viewer to never forget the promise he made.
The Chestnut Tree - Hyun-Min Lee (4 min 8 sec)
Joyful, playful, tear-jerking, and whimsical, this film lets the heroine and the viewer become a child again as she dreams of a time and place where life is full of playful animals, a large and resourceful chesnut tree, and a very loving mother who still lives on in her memories.
Curator’s Statement:In this program I wanted to convey the profound problem of being able to experience both one’s internal expectations and feelings while still trying to engage in an impersonal, exterior world.I tried to pair or group the ordering of these films based on their subjects, style, content, and how they engage with this theme of looking inward and looking outward.The first pair have a similar form of production where both are created out of a collage and abstract visuals, though the first is much more positive and the second is much more distressing and introspective.The second pair act together in a way by looking into identity and how very loud voices are able to oppress and effect even the very thoughts and expectations of individuals, and make them feel alienated because they aren’t a part of the “majority”.This idea that there is something without that is affecting oneself within, and the struggle to overcome the voices of oppression by finding something within to counteract that is an important way to engage with the theme.The film following that is by far the most representative of the theme as it is literally about a person who is looking at his own internal self and is trying to understand his external relationship to the world at the same time. The idea of sin, redeption, human nature and corruption play very strongly as the world seems to represent opportunities for the hero to prove himself, to himself, and it also scares him at the same time.Thus, there is a strong split between the world within and the world without, and how the two add and create conflict for the main character.“I Promise” seems to present a situation where the filmmaker was looking at their own personal relationship to a very real and external epidemic that prevented him from living up to an expectation of himself.In this case, the solution is, for him, to bring his experience to others and thus share his internal disappointment in the light of human tragedy, with those outside of him, and thus bring attention to HIV in Africa in a very relatable, human, and palbable way.The last film seemed to be the best thing to end with as it is so light-hearted and cheerful, even with the tragic nature of the main character’s mother being revealed as deceased, as it brings back the possibilities, energy, imagination, and wonder of childhood.Not to mention, the pairing of the last two based around childhood and the world are linked as well, and the theme of dreams being an internal version of the outside world also plays heavily into the theme of Looking inward, Looking outward.
Draft Letter, Talking Points Script: Paul Kirthi: email Alana/Steve about getting donations note: re ad tax id
Re: Donations: what need from school- letter from school, tax id number or however get donations
Local Stuff may be interested to help
Evan Walk through West Portal- Evan (include Noah’s and “platter”):
Noah's - need tax id on letter, process: will let now week before, pick up day before
Peete's Coffee: - need tax id on letter, will pass on so needs to go through process
Mozzarella Di Buffala (rst)- asst manager will pass on
Roti- need to follow up (rst)-
Bursa Med Food (rst)- talked to owener seemed interested
Fresca (Peruvian)- talked to server, he suggested to go to 24th where owners are there more
Ocean Strip
Geoff Trader Joe’s (near school) - gave letter, need for sponsorship, will need tax id. scheduling- good timing for ask. maybe $80. Sweets: Bakery in Daly City - still need to go
Alberto Rainbow Grocery- tricky bc worker owned, leave voice mail and get bacl- will leave voice mail etc. Whole Foods (Noe Valley)- follow up monday 3/15 (Jennifer)- she handles all donation
Nicole Farmer’s Market on campus- (Kettle Corn donation, Pita Chips/Dips):still need to go
Britney- schedule not allowing- can someone else do?
Most life experiences can be defined by a single, profound moment. The diversity of these 7 short films express moments in time that have created a push in the director, a pause to find a more meaning in life and represent voices of the past, voices that can no longer be shared without a lended voice.
Slip of the Tongue by Karen Lum (4 min 15 sec) Written and performed by Adriel Luis, this rap meditation on a bus stop encounter confronts us with the identity of an individual and asks us to think before we speak.
I Promise Africa by Jerry Henry (2 min 45 sec) While making a documentary about the orphaned children of Africa, director Jerry Henry captures a moment of life that has no visible end. But reality proves otherwise as he preserves a promise that can't be fulfilled
Embrace It by Kirthi Nath (6 min 40 sec) An experimental elegy of vibrant colors and sound exploring the landscape of love, politics and spirituality. Nath transcends time, keeping us focused on the heart.
The Apollos by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (5 min 58 sec) The story of an unlikely group who fought to protect the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. The declaration of a Martin Luther King Day is shown through the memories of the 1981 senior class of Oakland Tech High School.
A Boy's Mouth by PJ Raval (5 min 26 sec) A narritive collage of words represents the tragic life history of a boy lost in time. The emotional power is held in an abstract, deep silence and moving (literally and figuratively) placement of his words.
The Chestnut Tree by Hyun-min Lee (4 min 8 sec) Accompanied by a Chopin Waltz, a grown woman revisits her memories of childhood spent with her mother. Moments of pure joy and of frustration, but in retrospect all moments that shaped her.
The Midnight Hour by Edgardo Cervano-Soto (8 min) At this hour of quiet transition, a young man contemplating his day combats feelings of doubt and despair to realize his values, hopes and dreams.
For me this collection of shorts is so varied in emotion so I tried to spread the more painful moments. Each transition follows a connection: starting with the joys of a little girl to a boy's pain or connecting the impressions of history's heroes shared in both The Apollos and Embrace It. I decided to end with The Midnight Hour because for me it tied the theme together with an overall positive message.
If it is possible to distinguish the realms of one’s life into two camps (despite how feeble the proposition), it would seem the conflict between the “real” and “ideal” – or analogously, the mind and the body – has the most room for validity. The “ideal” can be thought of as that sector in our lives dominated by concepts, formless emotions, intuition, moods, and ideology; it is shapeless, insofar as we have yet to give it form in expression, performance, or utterance. Hence, the possibilities and challenges for creative output seem immense for the artist. In the cinematic medium, he or she confronts the image – the “real” – whose capacity may (or may not) translate dreams and aspirations coherently. With the mass of one’s thoughts, emotions, and histories available for us when creating art, how can a person express these through selecting particular material, objects, images, and sounds? Can images sufficiently communicate for us? In this program, the issues arising from such representations and projections, between the “real” and “ideal,” may prompt some key concerns: what poetic devices are most succinct, what is the moral and political relationship between the artist-subject and that which he or she photographs or tells about, and does the conflict between “real” and “ideal” even matter in the cinema, or is it some walking dream? While watching, consider the use of voice (or its absence), text (or its absence), and music (or its absence) - can these filmmakers be up to more than they appear to be showing us, or vice versa?
The Midnight Hour - Edgardo Cerano-Soto (8 min) An account of a young man's creative deadlock at the eponymous midnight hour, as he recounts and tries to make sense of his daily visions, thoughts, and anxieties.
The Apollos - Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (5 min 58 sec) Filmmakers Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones chronicle the progress of Oakland students to get recognition for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, through the support of few and to the detriment of many.
I Promise Africa - Jerry Henry (2 min 45 sec) Images from one place, words from another. The thread between the two are slim, and Jerry Henry's work hinges on the delicacy of his promise to return the video of orphaned children to them.
Slip of the Tongue - Karen Lurn (4 min 5 sec) What commences as an opportunity for picture-card romance between a young man and woman, emerges as a clash between gender, culture, history, and society.
Embrace It - Kirthi Nath (6 min and 40 sec) Photographs, colors, sounds, recitations, speeches, and the handwritten word are all weaved together and portray a myriad of political and cultural ideas; through a constant flow of disparate elements, one is compelled to generously "embrace" them and their associations throughout.
A Boy's Mouth - PJ Raval (5 min 28 sec) The mystery and ambiguity of the people and events around us is channeled through an equally obfuscated vision as PJ Raval presents the story of a boy who chooses silence to his family's dismay.
The Chestnut Tree - Hyun-Min Lee (4 min 8 sec) Like Alice falling into Wonderland, The Chestnut Tree humorously observes the often tender, sometimes frantic relation between a daughter and her mother.
CURATOR'S STATEMENT: The variety of videos available for this program presented an immediate challenge, since they had more apart from one another, than a single unifying quality. Nevertheless, their unanimous refusal to channel convention in favor of experimentation elicited other ideas: perhaps they are useful to consider as simply expressions and to observe the coordinates between what they appear to say and how they actually craft these things (unfortunately bringing in the messy issue of form v. content). Firstly, the bookends were treated as the primary poles. The Midnight Hour sincerely articulates the contradictions between perceptions and reality, via a narrator whose doubts and anxieties are palpable, whereas The Chestnut Tree moves along like a piece of music, not encumbered by its submission to fantasy and with equally poignant and personal sentiment. The former illustrates the problems of creativity, while the latter relishes in the complexity of disparate forms. Between The Apollos and A Boy's Mouth, the progress I intended was to move from the clearly defined and politically-minded videos towards the abstracted and ambiguous forms. In these films, the text and voice have the final word, if you will, and challenge or accentuate the images they accompany - posing more dimensions to the issue of intent and expression, form and content.
These unconventional short films express stories of life, memories, beliefs, and history. They expose true emotions mixed with stores of the past. Through the use of art and words, these films hit deep where you can feel it in your soul. The words and captured moments of time stay lingering with you long after the films are over.
Embrace It by Kirthi Nath (6 min and 40 sec)
Purely through images and great words of heroes the film expresses emotions of life and history.
The Chestnut Tree by Hyun-Min Lee (4 min 8 sec)
A girl expresses childhood innocence and happy times with her mother through memories of a chestnut tree.
A Boy's Mouth by PJ Raval (5 min 28 sec)
A story of a young boy through words in a soft frame.
Sip of the Tongue By Karen Lurn (4 min 5 sec)
A guy gets a history of "ethical make-up" from a girl at a bus stop told through a lyrical story.
I Promise Africa by Jerry Henry (2 min 45 sec)
A story of African children and misfortune.
The Appollos by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (5 min 58 sec)
A documentary recognizing students of Oakland Tech who took a political stance and fought for what they believe in.
The Midnight Hour by Edgardo Cerano-Soto (8 min)
A man's reflection of his day, the things he saw and the emotions behind what is really there.
Curator Statement: I feel that these films are art films made to leave deep in thought. I wanted to open with "Embrace It" because I feel that the feeling you get from it sums up what all these other short films are about and prepares the viewers for the other films about tragic stories. By ending with "The Midnight Hour" I felt that it sums up all the thought about the previous film and leaves the viewers thinking about everything they just saw.
For most of our live being completely content can seem almost inhuman. After all, isn't it true that you don't know how much you really miss something until it is gone? The following short films celebrate life and demonstrate the exuberance can be found in the melancholy. Joy is longing resolved. Struggle is soon accomplishment. This is the life of concern, a life stage by stage, from the helplessness of childhood to self-reflexivity of early adulthood.
1. The Chestnut Tree by Hyun-min Lee (04:08)
-The Chestnut Tree is a traditional 2d hand drawn short film directed by Hyun-min Lee. Set to music by Chopin, this charming story centers around a little girl and her mother as they revisit memories under the Chestnut Tree.
2. I Promise Africa by Jerry Henry (02:45)
-Tragedy is something the entire world experiences; sometimes simultaneously. During the tragedies of 9/11, I was in a rural village in Kenya shooting a documentary about orphans. This is what I witnessed.
3. A Boy’s Mouth by PJ Ravel (05:26)
- White letters on a shifting background spell out the tragedy of a silent seven-year-old.
4. The Apollos by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (05:58)
-The Apollos, directed by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones, tells a powerful story of the struggle of a high school senior class to pass a bill making the Rev. Martin Luther King’s birthday a nationally recognized holiday.
5. Embrace It by Kirthi Nath (06:40)
-Embrace It explores the landscape of love, politics and spirituality.
6. The Midnight Hour by Edgardo Cervano-Soto (08:00)
- A young man is overcome with doubt during the midnight hour. In order to combat the doubt and despair, he begins reminiscing about his day and comes to face and realize his values, hopes and dreams.
7. Slip of the Tongue by Karen Lum (04:05)
- Careful what you ask a stranger at the bus stop- you might just get an answer! A look at perceptions of beauty, ethnicity, and body image.
The theme of focus being concern, the films we organized in a chronological developmental order encouraging the spectator to "grow up" with the content and character of the films as the screening progresses. The Chestnut Tree is the most underdeveloped and experiential portrayal of concern among the films and is best served up first because it sets up the films that follow in soothing manner that aims to encourage reflection in terms of emotional reaction as well as emotional development. The films tackle immediate concern for others (I Promise Africa) to the sense of helplessness that can be felt at a young age (A Boy's Mouth). Deeper cultural and community concern is front and center in The Apollos and Embrace it presents an ethereally wise perspective on concern and touches back to the social justice theme (specifically involving MLK and Gandi). The final films, The Midnight Hour and Slip of the Tongue present the concern of individuals very concerned with the "self" and serve as an effectice capstone in the development of our concern.
Any one moment in a life can speak enough words to fill volumes and volumes of pages in a book. Each of these films focus on a single moment, whether it is an encounter at a bus stop, a song from orphans in Africa or a remembered moment shared between a child and her mother, they all speak to the heart and soul. These films are inspirational, thought provoking and leave you with a sense of hope for the future and encouragement to recall all of your own moments from the past, those soon to come, and those you are living right now. They send the message to live, love and speak out with each passing moment.
The Films:
Slip of the Tongue directed by Karen Lum (TRT: 4:15) While trying to hit on a girl at a bus stop, a young man gets a response he was not expecting.
A Boy's Mouth directed by PJ Raval (TRT: 5:26) A text narrative of white letters on a shifting background spell out the tragedy of a silent seven-year-old
The Midnight Hour directed by Edguardo Cervano-Soto (TRT: 8:00) A young man is overcome with doubt during the midnight hour. In order to combat the doubt and despair, he begins reminiscing about his day and comes to face and realize his values, hopes and dreams.
Embrace It directed by Kirthi Nath (TRT: 6:40) This film explores the landscape of love, politics and spirituality.
The Apollos directed by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (TRT: 5:58)
The 1981 Oakland Tech High School senior class fought to make MLK day a nationally recognized holiday. The story of the Apollos is a story of those who reach beyond the stars.
I Promise Africa directed by Jerry Henry (TRT: 2:45) While making a documentary about orphans, a filmmaker preserves the voices of a generation that will soon be silenced.
The Chestnut Tree directed by Hyun-Min Lee (TRT: 4:08) A film about a girl revisiting her memories of her childhood spent with her mother. Hand drawn animation set to piano music by Chopin.
Curator's Statement:
I chose to start out the program with Slip of the Tongue to get the audience's attention with its fast paced narrative followed by A Boy's Mouth to get a contrast it with the silence and text. The Midnight Hour continues the feeling that the previous short left off though ends with a feeling of hope, Embrace It comes next to give a complete spiritual aesthetic of important and empowering words from some inspirational figures. The Apollos ties in with the words from Dr. Martin Luther King from the previous film in this documentary, it is then juxtaposed with the children in I Promise Africa to remind the audience that more is yet to be accomplished. The Chestnut Tree wraps up the program to get the audience to experience a lingering feeling of hope and nostalgia as they leave.
Poems are meant to cause emotion and feeling in those who read them. Readers come to new feelings and realizations as they travel from the beginning to the end of a poem. Many mediums have a similar way of effecting people when they must be read, watched, or listened to. Poetry just happens to be a linguistic medium. Film and video also take viewers from a beginning to an end just like a poem. Many films in this program even incorporate words of poetry or present poem like text into their images and sounds. The constructed rhythm of film is closely related to the rhythmic tools of poetry. I never realized how similar film is to poetry, until I curated this program. Words, both heard and read, are the real stimulator in nearly all of these pieces. They show the power that words have to change one’s feelings and even make dreams come true in the world around them.
The Chestnut Tree by Hyun-min Lee (4 min 8 sec)
The only film in the program with little to no importance on written or spoken words, but remember a picture is worth a thousand of them. The film takes us into a melodic dream world of a young girl who reminisces about her childhood and her love for her mother.
Embrace It by Kirthi Nath (6 min 40 sec)
Amazing quotes from big dreamers who spoke words of love and peace to this world, accompanied with amazingly beautiful images. It shows how the words of big dreamers are remembered.
Slip of the Tongue by Karen Lum (4 min 15 sec)
A fast paced lyrical poem that takes the viewer into the head of a girl crazy dreamer. He meets his match with a girl whose lyrical genus surpasses his own.
The Midnight Hour by Edgardo Cervano-Soto (8 min)
This poetic and self reflexive piece reveals how the filmmaker struggles with a world with little answers and no dream big enough to make sense of it all.
A Boy's Mouth by PJ Raval (5 min 26 sec)
More of a nightmare of frustration and insecurity and less of a dream. This film is a content play on words as they are switched around and transformed.
I Promise Africa by Jerry Henry (2 min 45 sec)
I heart felt experience shared through words of the filmmaker as he learns first hand about the tragic HIV epidemic of Africa. Accompanied with images and voices of beautifully talented HIV positive singers in Africa.
The Apollos by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (5 min 58 sec)
An amazing story of how a dream of young people became a reality and federal law. Showing how one person’s dream sparked many more.
Over all I wanted the experience to start off by illustrating the power of dreams and imagination. I wanted Slip of the Tongue to be like a climax because of its fast pace and beautiful let down ending. With the let down of that story I wanted to go into the more serious and darker toned films. The Midnight Hour was perfect to open up this can of worms. With the way the narrator is so overwhelmed with the struggles of the world it really sets a new tone that is shared with the following films. I continued on with the sadder pieces but I chose to end with The Apollos to show that against failed attempts of the past, dreams do come true with persistence.
2/26/2010 in class we will break up into sub committees to and starts preparing for the film finals event. What the event will be is still up in the air, hopefully we will have more direction ...but in any case...people should break up into the following groups and start researching the needs for each group, what they are responsible for and create an action plan and timeline.
Action Plans and Timelines Due March 5. (plan to present to the class and we will finesse out roles and tasks from there)
Committees (we may add more, or combine some if needed):
Sponsorship: research who the class asked last year (i may have a student we can email), look at other film festivals and events and see who usually donates, find out places that donate in general and make a list of what we need for the film finals event and reception. All food/drink/accessories etc need to be donations, we have no money for this.
Publicity: Break down what we are doing publicity for and where. Part 1: For Call for Submissions, that is contained to the school- Find out what folks did in the past, and make a list of ways to publicize the call for submissions (posters- where?), email lists, cinema collective, going into classrooms etc. Part 2: Publicity for the event which is outside of school. Make a plan for publicizing to the school and outside...getting write ups in local papers (I can give some leads for SF 360, Guardian etc), making postcards or fliers and placing them in strategic places (media arts organizations, coffee shops, movies theatres etc). Make a plan of what and where and how much this will cost. We can use money for publicity. Part 3: The internet and Facebook- make a plan for creating a FB page, getting people to our FB page and also what other film related listerves and arts organizations we can post to.
Programming: Find out what is involved with the programming side aside form watching and curating the program. Ask people involved last year. Other elements to consider and make a plan for: Making sure all submission material is complete (title, description, dvd and quicktime file, high res image), ballets for film previews and system to score films (I can provide samples, find out what they did last year), a plan for collecting submissions, organizing them, having things ordered for film previews and the schedule for film previews publicly listed on paper and on FB (will draw people to the previews) and a plan to make a program the day in between film previews and film finals- have the basics of the program already in place so all you have to do is place the actual film info in. and having this online as well (work with FB publicity)
Print Traffic/Technical Screening Consideration: Once the submissions are collected, they will need to be labeled, organized (work with programming) and all the film DVDS need to be pre-tested to make sure they play, and all the quicktimes need to be opened to make sure the files are ok. Once the films are selected, a DVD of the program (and 2 back ups) needs to be made and tested. For film prints, it needs to be decided how it will be coordinated with the films on dvd. A list of the film order needs to be clearly layed out and communicated to the projectionist.
Venue/Volunteers: A list of needs for the film reception and film finals event needs to be made. What special considerations and arrangements need to be made based on the venue. How to get people from reception to event. And list of volunteers needs, jobs and coordinated effort.
Trailer: Making trailer: come up with idea/theme, timeline/action line, film, edit, plan to distribute (work with PR). Note should be done as soon as possible to distribute.
2/26/2010 we will break into committees and start making action plans and timelines for film finals related tasks.
Curating a shorts assignment is Due March 5
Interview Assignment Modified
I opened the interview options up, so you can interview a programmer, or someone who does another job related to film events/festivals- like sponsorship, publicity/marketing, print traffic, technical venue operations,volunteer coordinator, web master, development, distribution - so we can learn more about the various roles people play to make a film festival happen. If you will be doing sponsorship etc for our film event, it may be useful to interview someone and get ideas this way.
Field Trip 3/19/2010 to San Francisco Arts Commission Panel : You can get a taste of the grants and funding side of things. More details in class. Link to SFAC in curric.
Your task is to view these 7 videos and curate them in a shorts program. DUE Friday March 5, 2010
Come up with a program title
Write a one paragraph description of the program
Write 1-2 sentences about each film (you are welcome to google the films and adopt the pre existing copy if it works, otherwise, come up with your own language). The format should be: Film Title Directed by Filmmaker Name (TRT: min:seconds)
Post your shorts curation on this blog (title Blog: Curating Shorts: title of your program (your name) and don't forget to label it "Assignment: Curating Shorts" in the label tab.
Include a 2-4 sentence curator statement in the end articulating your intentions.
Note: You do not need to embed the videos...it can be more like a list, in the order listed above.
For an example of shorts program write ups, check out the shorts program section of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (they have snazzy titles and good descriptions- you can find the shorts programs by selecting shorts program under the View Events for tab and when you are at that page, you need to click on the films to read their descriptions).
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Videos to curate (Note these are not in order, you decide the order they best flow in). Consider how you are building the program- thematically, topically, by genre, by form, aesthetics, niche or a little of everything.
The Chestnut Tree by Hyun-min Lee (4 min 8 sec)
A Boy's Mouth by PJ Raval (5 min 26 sec)
Slip of the Tongue by Karen Lum (4 min 15 sec)
The Apollos by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (5 min 58 sec)
I attended a film screening at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for this assignment. It wasn’t a shorts program like you preferred but the feature was screening with a preceding short film. The feature film was a documentary titled God Went Surfing with the Devil and the short film was titled Goofyfoot. The content of the films both covered surfing but the feature was a documentary and the short was a fiction piece. Many films in the festival were about surfing and were often screen together in similar manners. The most interesting thing that added to the content of the experience is that both filmmakers had a Q&A session after the films. There input made it far more interesting and we got to learn things that are not put into films, through their inside stories and their live emotions as they told them. The of the collar Q and A was my favorite part of the experience. It was shown at Victoria Hall, so it wasn’t really a movie theater but it did have leveled stadium seating so the view wasn’t obstructed at all, that is unless your really short and the person in front of you is very tall. The projector was very sharp but the festival’s intro/ trailer video looked sharper then the other films, but they still looked good. The first floor holds 170 people and the balcony hold another 120, and the festival spokes person said it was pretty much a full house that night. The audience had good reactions during the film, they were more interested in the feature film more then the short during the Q&A. Some thing trick about such a large and open festival is the ticket and admission system. With the system used there many people are turned down and don’t get into the film because several of the pictures fill up completely, they don’t sell individual tickets for each show in accordance to seat, everyone buys pass to any show and its a first come first serve. They gave out “Q” an hour before show time and each as a number that designates when you go in. On top of that there are special VIP passes that bypasses this entirely so they can fill up the theater and the “Q’s” can exceed the number of seats available. It would make some sense to sell specific tickets to each film that sell out in accordance to the available seating. Below is a link to the festival’s web site and the film’s, also here is a picture of the festival program.
FOR EACH TOPIC, AS PEOPLE 1)IF THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED 2)WHAT WOULD THEY WANT TO HEAR....
Running List of Possible Panels/Talks on Friday during day students would be interest in
*Career Panel: Hear from alumni what they did at state and what doing now...to give current students an idea of paths for future... (and def want Pat jackson) (Haroon said school does for recent grads find out more)
*Career Panel of Indepenent Filmmakers- How do you do it?
*Panel of Film Festival People About Getting Your Film In: Give students ideas of how to get films in festivals or Distro 101 and new methods of distribution (indie go go all that jazz, new media, new world of self distribution)...
*From Filmmakers, Organizations/Consultants about new media market plans etc....separate from above or same? and or resources...(get someone from WithoutABox, CSU Media Interns/Evan), somebody on how to use internet to market films etc)
*Distribution 101 (what would want from this)
*Local Resources/Media Arts Organizations (BAVC, Film Society, CSU Interns, etc, ?SF MOMA, PFA) and Grants (Arts Comission etc)
*Cinematography come and show films and break it down (Like Ellen Kuros) or Sound and break it down (Pat Jackson; her cuts and process of making)
*OPEN ENDED_ANYTHING NOT ON OUR LIST?
*** *Faculty Interviews: What would you want to hear from them? and How? (Audio Interview, 2 minute video interview, written interview on blog, post on facebook). as Panel for Event...Hat of questions, different faculity pick question...if you had any kind of budget what kind of film would you make...(maybe use in trailer- memories, funny things)
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Screening/Program Idea: *Screening Faculty Member Films (students would want to see) and have them talk about it...
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On our Facebook; what kinds of things of things would you want to hear...
Travelling in Egypt: An attempt to communicate (It isn’t simply a place; it is, itself, an experience.)
Curator’s Statement:
Three years ago, I, haphazardly, took a spring break trip with my very long time friend, Jack Foley, from Florence, Italy to Egypt. Not just Cairo, or Alexandria, but Egypt, and even now, 3 years later, I can’t simply adjust to separating the experience into smaller, more communicable parts. While I am able to make sense of Florence, where we were studying abroad for 3 months, and differentiate it from Rome, Carravagio, Capri, Napoli, or CinqueTerre, I can’t look back on Egypt as anything else except a single, ineffable experience.
I went from this,
to this,
and as stereotypical and cheesy as the last picture seems to be, there is no easy way to explain the incredible, profoundly serious difference that it has had in my life.
This might have been because, unlike in Italy, Jack and I had no real idea, plan, or expectation of what our experience in Egypt would be like. Instead of coordinators and well thought out travel plans, we only had our amazing friend Katherine Grant to burden, who had been studying at the American University in Cairo, along with a very thoughtful and life-saving suggestion from her to purchase a copy of the Lonely Planet’s guide to Egypt. There is nothing better that you can buy for 17 euro than this book when going on a trip like ours. Keeping this in mind, Katherine was the only person that could have guided us through this maze of history, building and twisting into itself, while keeping us from being taken advantage of (or rather do her best) and stay sane. However, she did feel like she was keeping us insulated from the rest of what could be found in Egypt, so she took us with her to Alexandria, on a field trip to some of the oldest pyramids in Saqqara, on a camel ride to those in Giza, and of course, the historic sites of Cairo.
Here is just a taste of Egypt, in the market of Khan el-Khalili in the Islamic District of Cairo. To preface the video, however, I will ask for your forgiveness in the uncontrollable shakiness of the camera. I was trying hard to be anymore conspicuous than I was already by taking pictures, and I held my camera as if I couldn’t decide on what to capture or even stop for a second to take a picture. This whole time, I was recording this video as I was walking, and thus it mostly follows my body and head movements, as we make our way through one of the busier parts outside of one of the oldest mosques in Cairo. While incredibly hard to follow, the video does convey a real visceral sense of what it is like to be there in the middle of this teeming, 24 hour marketplace without any clue or idea of where one actually is and being unable to separate one moment from the next. Subversive, documentary, annoying, respectful, violating, raw and unfiltered, expressive, or useful and pragmatic? I’m sure you will have your own opinion.
Feel free to ponder over these points of curiosity that I have posted on the video’s main page: How many times or places can you find self appointed President for life, Muhammad Hosni Mubarak?
Where in the heck did that street vendor come from in the second half of the video, who talks to Jack?
What is Katherine talking about as we make our way through the crowd?
What is modern, and what is ancient?
What clothing is traditional and what is distinctly western?
What mosque is that on the left?
What Instrument is that that plays after the picture of Mubarak?
Jack and I explored on our own, with much encouragement from Katherine and even more reluctance on my part, and we made our way to the “City of the Dead “ in Cairo and the historic center of Islamic Cairo. I took far too many pictures, (about 10,000 pictures over our “spring break”) with much embarrassment from Jack. It is breathtaking to look back on the fact that we stood in some of the oldest mosques in Africa, saw the oldest (or second oldest) university in the world, and we saw some of Cairo’s poorest surviving in the mausoleum apartments, burning trash to make a living…
We saw cats everywhere, heard them making more cats while we were tried to sleep (or eating each other; it sounds about the same), and saw them lying dead in the streets being eaten by stray dogs or other animals. We heard the call to prayer throughout the city every day, and I soon became used to the haunting and still comforting voices and songs that floated along the air currents of the city, causing many to stop what they were doing and pray on public mats in the streets or sidewalk corners, and caused others to say a small prayer while they went back to work, saving worship for later or shunning it all together. I got terribly sick, halfway through the week, whereupon my sinus infection in Italy replaced itself with a wheezing and racking, feverish cough. Making it worse, I was unable to escape the gray, dusty, cloudy, polluted air that you could taste, crunching in your mouth, between your teeth, indoors and everywhere throughout the city. We tried to go see the weekly sufi dancing in the park on the outskirts of the city, only to find out that it was in another park, which then led us to find that it was back where we came from, and eventually we were lead to find out it was on a completely separate day; Katherine berated herself for underestimating Egypt and was reminded, apparently, that one needs a Plan A, a Plan B, a Plan C, and so on until you run out of letters in your own language and you have to use another’s. We couldn’t touch ANYTHING without fear of catching some disease, such as tuberculosis, and we had to shower (which was really a “hot” water faucet tap over a raised square of tile and floor…standard student living and it kind of reminded me of Italy) without swallowing any water since the tap water alone could give us dysentery, or at least the runs. Cars pile on cars and the crosswalks and lane markers are only there for the tourists; crossing the street is an art form, as was shown to us by a little old lady who pulled up her burka, ran across oncoming traffic, stared down a bus, and weaved her way through slow and fast moving vehicles. Jack got hit by a car, instead, halfway through our trip. Not hard, but enough to get the message across that every moment we spent walking in the roads was borrowed time. The country itself is a nation state, built on top of Islamic resurgence, on top of British Imperialism, atop French colonialism, atop Ottoman rule, on top of Muslim conquest, in Christian independence, over Roman domination, Greek insinuations, and finally, the original, ancient Egyptian civilization, giving it a story that can be shared with the world, and making it unique unto itself. I am still afraid that I could possibly have TB, and I am incredibly jealous of my friend who got to study there, in spite of the bombings at Khan el-Khalili that took place not two years before our time there…
And I loved every second of it. Blisters, pains, sickness, threats and all, it was worth the time well spent.
Spending just one week here felt like I had crammed a year’s experience into a single, breathing moment, and I only have a few memories, too few photographs of myself, and not enough time to be able to relive and communicate this incredible experience, travelling in a world at the beginnings of humanity’s dash to the present.
Before reading the poem below, please press play on the “audio” clip shown here, and listen to it while reading
Ithaka
As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, angry Poseidon-don't be afraid of them: you'll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon-you won't encounter them unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope the voyage is a long one. May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind- as many sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
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Thank you for coming along with me on these little adventures (as verbose they may be...), and I hope you will find the will to have as many and more traveling experiences of your own. Happy travelling!
