SEPTEMBER 24, 2018 – FORT MYERS, FLA. – Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) welcomes the Black Maria Film Festival back to the college for its 37th anniversary tour at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the FSW Thomas Edison Campus, Rush Library Auditorium, Building J, Room 103. Tickets are $10 for the general public, free for FSW students with their Buc Card, and $5 for FSW staff and faculty. Tickets must be purchased at the door in cash.
Founded in New Jersey in 1981 to honor Thomas Edison’s pioneering spirit in cinema, this festival celebrates the creative vision of contemporary independent directors by showcasing an eclectic variety of bold short films. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes the Black Maria as an Academy Award qualifying festival. Its annual collection of cutting-edge films travels across the nation to universities, museums and other venues. Festival organizers work directly with the host institution to select a variety of short narrative, experimental, animation and documentary films that are tailored to their particular audience.
“This year’s festival selections were curated by students who are currently taking film classes at the college or who are affiliated with our Honors Scholars Program,” said Dr. Wendy Chase, program coordinator, FSW Honors Scholar Program. “They selected these particular films in hopes that they will provide a platform to engage in civil conversations about pressing issues of social justice. The students will facilitate a discussion following the screening.”
Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit FSW’s Sustainability Club, which is currently focused on designing a food forest on campus and addressing issues of food insecurity.
This year’s films are:
“The Driver is Red” – Animation
15 min. by Randall Christopher, San Diego, Calif.
Set in Argentina in 1960, this true crime documentary follows the story of secret agent Zvi Aharoni as he searched for a mysterious man named Ricardo Klement. What he discovered in the remote outskirts of Buenos Aires would send shockwaves around the world.
“Mama” – Narrative
10 min. by Mert Canatan, Valencia, Spain
Life can change in a blink of an eye, a thin line separates heaven from hell. You may never know when you have to leave your safe zone until you get the hit and everything that used to be there, is gone in the next minute. This is the story of a Syrian refugee girl, who crossed that thin line and saw her entire life altered forever.
“Little Fiel” – Documentary
17 min. by Irina Patkanian, NY, N.Y.
When the Civil War in Mozambique began in 1975, Fiel dos Santos was three years old. He had a large family of five siblings and numerous cousins. Toward the end of the war, Fiel found himself living alone in a dilapidated house with no electricity or water at the age of 14. To overcome depression and madness he started drawing on the walls of the house. Today Fiel is a renowned sculptor and visual artist. He is one of four artists from Mozambique who created Tree of Life a sculpture commissioned and then installed in the British Museum in 2005. Fiel dos Santos is the only member of his family who hasn’t shot a gun. His life’s work is to destroy guns and turn them into art.
“Ginevra” – Animation
4 min. by Tess Martin, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Based on Percy Shelley’s poem “The Dirge,” “Ginevra” depicts the aftermath of the murder of a young woman. As her distraught mother looks on, she learns that life after death involves a transition she never could have imagined.
“Analog Orange” – Experimental
3 min. by John Hawk, Agua Dulce, Calif.
Lyrical video abstraction created utilizing antique video synthesizers, referencing art forms from Buddhist, Islamic, Native American and 20th century modernist traditions. The process of working with these real-time video synthesizers is intuitive and very similar to improvising on a musical instrument. This all makes for a workflow that constantly produces the unexpected and in so doing becomes a real joy.
“Dandelion” – Animation
3 min. by Lisa Talentino, Torino, Italy
The double time Bourrée dance is full of romantic meaning. Dancers come close, reaching towards each other, then they turn away, find and avoid each other, without ever touching. The dandelion flower is a spring oracle. The legend says that lovers give their wishes to the flower and then blow them away to make them come true. “Dandelion” is an antique dance and courting ritual – a dandelion flower to blow desires.
“Lady Eva” – Documentary
11 min. by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Honolulu, Hawaii
In the Kingdom of Tonga, the last remaining monarchy in the Pacific, traditional culture clashes with modern religious zealotry. On the eve of the biggest day in her life, a young transgender beauty contestant is given an ultimatum by her Mormon family. They tell her, “If you choose to participate in that pageant, you can pack your bags and get out of this house.” Fiercely determined, Lady Eva takes off on a journey to become her true self – with a little inspiration from Tina Turner along the way.
“Lion in a Box” – Documentary
4 min. by Melanie Brown, Los Angeles, Calif.
This first-person documentary recounts one woman’s military training, and the battles she endured to achieve her goals. Created in a short film class for veterans, Brown uses voice-over, photomontage and animation to tell her story. “Lion in a Box” shines a light on the traditional definitions of sacrifice and combat.
“Red Lopez” – Narrative
15 min. by Stephen Frandsen and Hadleigh Arnst, Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Red Lopez” is a narrative short about a Mexican-American outlaw who sparked one of the greatest manhunts the West has ever seen. Based on the real-life story of Rafael ‘Red’ Lopez, the film takes us back to 1913, and another immigrant, Julius Sorenson, who emigrated from Denmark. Sorenson, one of the deputies involved in the manhunt, is given the chance to prove himself in his adopted country as he pursues his nemesis.
“Insecta” – Experimental
5 min. by Ramey Newell, Vancouver, BC, Canada
“Insecta” questions humans’ relationship with the natural world through the dual lenses of scientific inquiry and the aesthetics of documentary filmmaking. Utilizing archival video and narration in conjunction with original laboratory photography and rhythmic insect sound compositions, the film constructs an increasingly unsettling portrait of human callousness toward non-human animals in our compulsive quests for knowledge and domination of the natural world.
“Sans Chlorophyll” – Animation
3 min. by Phil Davis, Baltimore, Md.
A short experimental film created using hundreds of scanned and photographed leaves animated and choreographed in time to an original banjo score by the filmmaker.
For more information, contact Dr. Chase at [email protected] or (239) 489-9470, or visit www.blackmariafilmfestival.org.
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