Unlike the mediated images of current warfare, director Cynthia Madansky examines the effects of the destruction of Occupation through the details of cinematic landscapes and its inherent inhabitants. Through sound and image “Still Life” lays devastation at our doorstep. In its relentless questioning reaffirmed with a unique and unremitting soundtrack by composer Zeena Parkins, “Still Life” forces us to focus on the details of present-day Palestine. Selected screenings: Berlin Film Festival, 2005; Split Festival of New Film, Croatia, 2005; Winner, Youth Award, Festival de Cine de Huesca, Spain, 2005; Human Rights Film Festival, New York, 2005; Museum of Modern Art, Documentary Fortnight Series
Filter Films
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The world has fallen victim to viruses and diseases. There is no human touch, no eye contact, no socializing. It is not until Sophie catches the eye of a man who holds her gaze that her world opens up before her. How powerful can one look be?
Stolen Moment, A
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An action comedy about lipstick, mascara, and bank robbery! Jared has an infallible plan to rob the 2nd Fidelity Bank. Unfortunately, Jared’s boyfriend and co-conspirator Bobby is anything but infallible – and soon the two are embroiled in much more than they bargained for. Take two drag queens, two old ladies, a detective, a tight-butt bartender, and a convenience store owner, and you have a recipe for disaster. Awards: Best Short Film, Ft. Worth Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, 2004
Drag Queen Heist
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“Japanese narration, snail-like aliens, teenage gossip and a dreamlike, grainy style of sand animation mingle in this strange and beautiful short.” – Chris Gehman, Images Festival, 2002 In Japanese with English sub-titles. Selected screenings & awards: Best Short Film, Cinemanila International Film Festival; Antimatter Festival of Short Film & Video; Vancouver Underground Film Festival; Festival de Cinema de 3 Ameriques, Quebec City, QC, 2005
Sand
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In poet Ronald Johnston’s great epic “Ark,” in the first book “Foundations,” the poem “Beam 29” has this passage: “The seed is disseminated at the gated mosaic a hundred feet/below, above/long windrows of motion/connecting dilated arches undergoing transamplification:/ ‘seen in the water so clear as christiall’/(prairie tremblante)” which breaks into musical notation that, “presto,” becomes a design of spatial tilts: This is where the film began; and I carried a xerox of the still unpublished ARC 50 through 66 all that trip with Marilyn and Anton around Vancouver Island. As I wrote him, “The pun ‘out on a limn’ kept ringing through my mind as I caught the hairs of side-light off ephemera of objects tangent to Marilyn’s childhood: She grew up in Victoria; and there I was in her childhood backyard …”: and then there was The Sea – not as counter-balance but as hidden generator of it all, of The World to be discovered by the/any child … as poet Charles Olson has it: “Vast earth rejoices,/ deep-swirling Okeanos steers all things through all things,/ everything issues from the one, the soul is led from drunkenness/to dryness, the sleeper lights up from the dead,/ the man awake lights up from the sleeping” (Maximus, from “Dogtown – I”).
Child’s Garden and the Serious Sea, The
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One continuous moving shot. “…Even though much of his reputation may rest on his multiple imagery compositions, [Bruce Baillie] has the power to create compelling and evocative work of disarmingly simple form, like the superb “All My Life” – Lenny Lipton, Berkely Barb
All My Life
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Shot on two hand-cranked Bolex cameras, this film captures segments from “Wind,” part of a performance cycle about the four elements choreographed by Bill James. Inspired by the Greek myth of Icarus, who fell from grace after flying too close to the sun, this work contrasts post-industrial waste with stunning images of artifice. Music by Tom Third. Performed by Yvonne Ng, Shannon Cooney and Robert Glumbek, with Fung Shui Tong and Dionysos Himel-Savopoulos.
Icarus
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Kathak dancer Joanna Das performs this tale of the journey to the mythical Garden of Stone, a sacred landscape that is at once barren and deeply contemplative. The film is an exploration of colour, form and movement within a constantly changing environment. “Garden of Stone” is a story of transformation and spiritual epiphany performed in one of the most beautiful and dynamic forms of classical Indian dance. Music by Eric Cadesky with Ed Hanley and Kurt Swinghammer.
Garden of Stone
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“Red Brick” takes place in a psychic netherworld in which things take place paradoxically. Dancers, singers and other performers appear – pixilated, freeze-framed and swish-panned – while an artist constructs visual pieces in real time. A montage of constantly shifting images that refer to the score creates a pastiche of memories and archetypes. Choreographed by Bill James. Music by Michael J. Baker, performed by Arraymusic. Featuring Marie-Josée Chartier, Marc Richard and Barbara Hannigan.
Red Brick
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In the restrictive confines of a circular room, five beautiful women communicate through sound – cackles, hisses, whispers, giggles and hushes. Intercut with quick, intimate shots of eyes, lips and hands, the film focuses on the women of Urge (Linda Catlin Smith, Fides Krucker, Marie-Josée Chartier, Katherine Duncanson and Anita La Selva) as they use a broad range of movements, gestures and vocal techniques to suggest a slightly sinister lullaby.
Silo
