Film Finals Event Schedule

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.

TICKETS:
Students/Faculty: $5
General: $10
https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?e=0fa8319262f2103d101a341d9675a38e&t=tix

Curating Shorts Assingment The chalange of words and emotions

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

Geoff Norman's Curating Shorts Assignment.

looking Inward

Looking outward

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.

Sponsorship Ideas

Class Brainstorm 3/5/10 (class)

People add in your input in comments section

***
Sponsorship:

Paul has car able to do pick up

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?

Civic Center + Downtown Vendors

Skye- find out film collective at the Coppola

Kirthi
Luna bar follow up
Mini Muffins- will ask


On campus joints?

Food:
Chips/Pita Chips/ Pita Breads
Lavesh?
Fruits
Veggies

Drink:
Harron (phone calls/emails): emailed all on wednesday. will follow with calls.
Wine- Coppolo Vineyards Sonoma (Paul), Korbel Champagne, Barefoot
Beer: Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam

Water
Juice- Martenelli’s
Soda
Coffee/ Tea? (would we need coffee maker), Starbucks, CoffeBean (Evan)


Etc:
Cups/Classes
Napkins
Small Plates
Utensils (as needed)


Creative Sponsorships:
Get people to commit to making cookies, etc


Printing:
Copy central bc state readers there
Chris l has friend- maybe cheaper
Ps print


Door Prize Idea or Raffle: Paul
Monoco
Media Distributor
Action Camera
Kodak - (Paul)
Lost Weekend- Hanna - Paul
PFA tickets?
Sundance AMC tickets

Curating Shorts: Momentary Life (Evan Sweeney)

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.

Curating Shorts: The Threshold of the IDeal (Haroon Adalat)

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.

Curating Shorts: Expressions of the Soul (Nicole Salmeri)

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.