| AUG 31 – TUESDAY
2:00 & 8:00PM Opening with Shelli Lipton & Nathan Koenig2:30 & 8:30PM Behind My Eyes
September 11, 2001 began as a beautiful summer day, with a pleasant heat, a diaphanous light, and the bustle of thousands of New Yorkers commuting to their activities, to fulfill their civic duty to vote, and to drop off their children in schools and daycare centers in all four counties. It ended with smoke-blackened skies over the iconic World Trade Center skyscrapers being fatally attacked by a terrorist group; plus the anguish of millions not knowing where or how their loved ones were. Iván M. Acosta witnessed it all from his balcony in Hell’s Kitchen in West Manhattan. He took out his Super 8 camera and recorded the worst attack in the history of the city that welcomed him when he emigrated from Cuba. The film remained in storage for almost two decades and today it links together the first-line first responders, and all the people who supported and helped each other. Q&A
Director Biography – Ivan Acosta
Ivan Acosta Santiago de Cuba (Cuba) is a playwright, composer, film and theater director. In August 1961, he escaped from Cuba with his parents on a boat to Jamaica. In the United States he served 6 years in the army as a paratrooper. He studied film at New York University, and Social Studies and Film Marketing at the New School for Social Research University, and television production at New York TeleVariation TV Academy. He made his debut as a playwright with the Rock and Roll musical, Grito 71, which was also acclaimed by the English language press. In 1976 he wrote and filmed “The Coffin”, a 16mm short, and made his debut as a director of fictional feature films in 1985 with “Amigos”, a film that tells the adventures of a Cuban (marielito) in Miami, who entered the United States as part of the exodus that occurred in 1980 from Cuba to this country. However, it is his play El Súper (premiered on November 5, 1977) that gave him celebrity, which is considered the most important theatrical work and film shot by Cubans in exile. It won more than 30 awards in the international arena. He is the founder of the Cuban Cultural Center of New York.
His documentaries has frequently dealt with Cuban musical rhythms, as do his films. 4:00 & 10:00PM The Accident
An accident happened on her way home and disrupted Shuying’s then-peaceful life. As the burden from her family collided with her inner moral condemnation, she felt tangled, helpless and painful. Standing on the crossroad, which way will she go? 5:00 & 11:00PM The River Man
Day after day, a simple man punctuates his life between fishing, his garden and his fantasies, when an intruder comes to shake it all up. Director – MARC DESSUP
 SEPT 1 – WEDNESDAY 2:30 & 8:30PM Infected
“How late is too late?”
A dystopian glimpse into the fall of contemporary western society by Madrid punk band A.C.T., animated and directed by Madrid/Minneapolis artist, Alfonso Cronopio. Director Biography – Alfonso ‘Cronopio’ Moreno
Alfonso is a multifaceted artist from Madrid, Spain, who moved to the US in the XXI century.
He’s known for fronting the seminal hardcore punk band TdeK (or TDK) in the 1980s & playing in lesser-known rock bands The Mezquinos and Los Garduños in the 90s. Today he collaborates with Chano & Germán, from the SoMad band NOUS, in A.C.T., when he travels to Madrid to visit family. This video is about the last song they recorded. 2:35 & 8:35PM Formless Form
Our world. Our lives. Both inner and outer are in a state of change. Sometimes imperceptible yet always knowable.
Director Biography – Ben Ridgway
Ben is a CalArts graduate and a games industry veteran. His career has spanned through both the industry and academia since 1998. While in the games industry he helped create games for Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft console systems. More recently he assisted in the production of a virtual reality experience, IO Moon for the Oculus Rift – http://www.headtripgames.com/iomoon/
Ben’s animations have been showcased at film festivals worldwide including Sundance, Cannes, The Ann Arbor Film Festival, and Anima Mundi. He has been invited numerous times to present at the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference. His work has been published in “History of Animation” by Maureen Furniss. Ben has won numerous animation festival awards and has received the Vimeo Staff Pick Award for his films “Cosmic Flower Unfolding”, “Tribocycle”, and “Inner Space Artifacts”.
In addition to creating animated abstract cinematic experiences for the movie screen, Ben uses virtual reality, sculpture, and digital art as part of his growing body of work.
Director Statement
“I am an inner space excavator. My goal is to dig deep into the inner spatial worlds and ideas we engage with in our minds and bring them into physical form. Where words fall short, visual language, sound, and all of the senses can be used to communicate worlds of abstraction in a universally understandable manner.” 2:38 & 8:38PM Recycled Verses
Cyclical nature of life, art self-expression. Randy Kelly is an award-winning film and television director, editor and cameraman based in the Ottawa/Gatineau area in Canada. With over 24 years of experience, Randy has worked on dramatic TV series, lifestyle series, documentaries, short and feature-length films, cinepoems and music videos in both English and French. Recycled Verses is a cinepoem (video for a spoken word poem) about the cyclical nature of life and art and self-expression. Director- Randy Kelly
 2:45 & 8:45PM Nine Point Mesa Ranch
West Texas has become a desolate desert. Nine Point Mesa Ranch, a swath of unforgiving territory, drew the interest of Chicago businessman Jon Nau. His vision was to restore the land and build back the wildlife populations. The proficiency of his plan became the litmus test for restoring earth and species including blue quail, bighorn sheep and desert mule deer. These animals now thrive on the high mesa of Terlingua, TX. One man dreamed big dreams and they have come true.
Philip Wages is an awarding winning director/DP and still photographer. He frequently films commercials, features and documentaries. Currently, Philip is in preproduction for two different movies and in post on another movie expected to premiere later this year. He shot a documentary, “Hear Us”, which premiered on PBS throughout the country last year. He also filmed the feature “Still,” which is currently available on Hulu and Amazon Prime.
Philip has filmed all over the country and the world for major commercial brands. His heart is in telling stories whether in narrative, documentary or photo essay. His naturalistic lighting style lends itself readily to narrative and documentary work.
Philip currently lives in Atlanta, but he is often on the road shooting both motion and stills. SEPT 2 – THURSDAY
2:30 & 8:30PM George Floyd: Say Their Names
When will the “last” time be the LAST time? Chris Oledude’s single “George Floyd” has now been re-presented in the powerful video, “George Floyd: Say Their Names.” America’s struggle for equality and fairness throughout law enforcement parallels those struggles faced by minority groups in every society where the majority feels empowered to disregard civil and human rights. The powerful protests that erupted worldwide after George Floyd’s murder in May, 2020, are celebrated here. The enduring power of Black women as determined healers of a torn community is celebrated here. The victims had names. We honor their lives by saying their names.
The pressure for change must continue. No justice? No peace!
Director Biography – Christopher R. Owens, Alyssa Dann (Student)
ALYSSA DANN
Alyssa Dann was a quiet and reserved child raised in a very musical household. Her father is a highly-regarded bass and guitar player and her mother is a singer. For Alyssa, music has always been her voice. She started lessons at the age of five and songwriting by seven. By 13, Alyssa was playing bass on her father’s gigs at clubs in New York City. Fast forward to 2018, and Alyssa, while still in high school, was performing in New York City and Boston and releasing her own recordings.
During high school, Alyssa was introduced to the power of storytelling through film. She directed, filmed, and edited two of her own music videos, and fell in love with video editing. In a “Media as Service” program with Woodstock Travels, she visited India and Nepal, working with NGOs to create promotional content. After high school, she taught video editing and recording media arts to 8th Grade kids — in her old classroom!
Alyssa’s decision to direct and edit “George Floyd: Say Their Names” during her transition to college has opened her eyes and changed her life — and she is not looking back.
Alyssa recently started attending Sarah Lawrence College (US-NY), Class of 2024, and sees herself majoring in Psychology, Public Health and Music. CHRISTOPHER R. OWENS / CHRIS OLEDUDE
As a singer-songwriter and performer, Chris Owens has been musically active for nearly 55 of his 62 years. He studied piano, cello, recorder, and African drums, and also sang in numerous choruses. Owens had been in bands and school musicals, but no videos or films.
With a family to support and a career to sustain, Chris Owens put his passion for music aside until his father, Nelson Mandela and family friend Pete Seeger all passed within three months of each other between October, 2013 and January, 2014. As a result, Chris and his two brothers formed OBB – The Owens Brothers Band and started performing original music live. Then, in 2017, Chris’ wife was diagnosed with cancer … and music was again put on hold.
In 2020, a year after Sandra’s death and at the start of the COVID pandemic, Chris Owens decided to create the artist known as CHRIS OLEDUDE to serve as the full outlet for his creative energy and the burning desire to speak out during challenging times. Focused on music, Owens never really thought about “videos”. He really knew nothing about video production or editing.
Chris Owens founded CESO ENTERPRISES, INC. in May, 2020 to manage the work of CHRIS OLEDUDE and the intellectual property past, present and future from Chris and his two sons.
On June 14, 2020, Owens recorded the vocal tracks for the song “George Floyd”. During that session, studio musicians, singers, and the recording engineer’s young daughter gathered outdoors around three microphones to record the chants heard in the song. That young woman was Alyssa Dann, then a high school senior, who also served as the “voice over” towards the end of the video. Alyssa is a singer-songwriter herself and was so inspired by the song, that she asked Owens if she could work on a video for the song. And Owens consented.
The result was an inter-generational, cross-cultural, and geographically diverse urban/rural relationship. Owens had worked in local politics for a few years, including campaign management. He had overseen production of some short videotaped candidate messages for voters, but never a musical production. Dann had worked on high school video projects and her own music videos. But this video was much more complex and nearly seven minutes in length.
Between June and October, Owens’ company, CESO ENTERPRISES, INC., produced the video, “George Floyd: Say Their Names,” with Owens and Dann co-directing and Dann handling the editing. Owens had a small singing role, and singer Wendy Ward had the lead role, along with the community church-based Angels of Transformation Dancers.
The production was “low-budget,” technically challenging, and emotionally draining. But, in the end, everyone involved with “George Floyd: Say Their Names” was moved by the experience. Now, audiences are moved as well.
Director Statement
CHRIS OLEDUDE:
The murder of George Floyd focused attention on police brutality against people of color, and racism in general, in a way that few moments have in American history. As an artist, I had to speak out in my way, right away, because I was just as angry as everyone else.
We need stability and a focus on “people first” in order to rejuvenate our nation! If you know economic justice, you will know peace. If you know health care justice, you will know peace. If you know education justice, you will know peace. If you know fair and equal justice under the law, you will know peace. If you know human and civil rights, you will know peace. And, as one of humankind’s most powerful communication tools, music brings us closer to feeling these issues in our bones and saving our collective soul.
I was also blessed and honored by the strong interest of the talented Alyssa Dann in making the video. GEORGE FLOYD: SAY THEIR NAMES is a unique statement in large part because Ms. Dann brought the energy and perspectives of younger people to the project — as well as her excellent aesthetic sense.
It is a tribute to her commitment and fortitude that Alyssa was able to complete her good work on her first ‘professional’ video while simultaneously starting her freshman year at Sarah Lawrence College during the COVID pandemic here in New York State. I don’t know if I could have done that.
ALYSSA DANN:
When I was a background vocalist for the Chris Oledude song, “George Floyd,” I was caught up in the passionate frustration and determination embedded in the music. In the aftermath of the recording session, I kept visualizing aspects of the song. I knew I wanted to create this video. When I asked Chris for the opportunity to do this, he gave me a strange look, but he agreed right away and we embarked on a wild journey into unknown territory. After all, we are both strong-willed songwriters. What could be more perfect, right?
As we completed “George Floyd: Say Their Names,” however, it became so clear that we had created something special — more of a short film than a simple music video — more of an “experience” than a “moment.” When someone whispered the phrase “film festivals,” we paused and agreed to explore some more. Wow! Neither Chris nor I had any idea that there was a world of music video and short film festivals where GEORGE FLOYD: SAY THEIR NAMES could be shared. Now, we are truly grateful for the opportunity to be part of these events. 2:55 & 8:55PM Too Late
The protagonist of the animation is a model, actress, star of Andy Warhol’s films and his partner, Edie Sedgwick. The main axis of the film, however, is not her relationship with the American artist, but the relationship with her toxic father. Difficult childhood has cast a shadow on her adult life, soaked with alcohol and filled with drugs. The protagonists look like silhouettes cut out of paper or puppets from a shadow theatre; their character traits are embodied by animals, frequently appearing in the film; due to that the story becomes extremely universal. Not only in case of famous people, sometimes it is too late to reverse the fate. “Too Late” – is a tribute to the „Princess of the Underground” for the 50th anniversary of her death.
Director Biography: Kinga Syrek (born in 1995) is a Ph.D. candidate at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Poland. She was the recipient of the prestigious “Diamond Grant” in 2019, which is awarded by The Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland for her project “Immersion in an animated film”. In the same year she received a “Ministry of Culture and National Heritage’s scholarship for her artistic works. She has created and directed a fully visual first ever animated film about the life of Edie Sedgwick, entitled “Too Late”, which is her debut film.
Director Statement: ”Too Late” is an animated short film based on the life story of Edie Sedgwick – a tribute for the 50th anniversary of her death. The film’s soundtrack was produced by Robert Margouleff – a Grammy Award-winning American record producer and co-producer of „Ciao! Manhattan” (the last Edie Sedgwick’s film).
Edie Sedgwick was one of the greatest of Andy Warhol’s muses, but also, what is the most important, an artist in her own right. Unfortunately, her life’s path was not strewn with roses, even though she did come from a wealthy and historically renowned American family. Her far-too-brief life was beset with chaos, depression, and suffering.
The film not only tells her story with a new and original perspective; it also makes one of Edie’s dreams come true. 3:15 & 9:15PM Anagnorisis
A new doctor has just arrived at a nursing home, where he meets a patient tormented by a past which he cannot remember. This doctor will help him do it, without anticipating the consequences. 
Director Biography: Arturo Dueñas Herrero (Esguevillas de Esgueva, Valladolid, Spain, 1962). Bachelor of Arts, Qualified in Cinematography and Filmmaking Course at the New York Film Academy. Full member of the Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences of Spain. Actor, director, producer, editor and scriptwriter in several short films, he has produced and directed the feature films Amateurs (Aficionados, 2011), selected and awarded in over 30 international festivals, Corsairs (Corsarios, 2015), Mission: Sahara (Misión: Sáhara, 2016), Built lands (Tierras construidas, 2019) and Pessoas: the shortest path (Pessoas: el camino más corto, 2020). 3:30 & 9:30PM Perfect Strangers
Two strangers meet during COVID quarantine Director Biography: Ana Barredo has always been fascinated by Hollywood, touting that she learned to speak English watching American TV shows, growing up in the Philippines. In 1986, she immigrated to the US with her family.
In 2001, she wrote, directed and produced her first indie feature “A Real Job.” This modest $15K-budget movie went on to gain glowing reviews, a Best Director nomination for a 2003 DVD Premiere Award and most importantly, a distribution deal with Image Entertainment and a recent streaming deal with Shout Factory.
Barredo followed it up with a short film titled “The Plight of the Angelenos,” which screened in numerous film festivals such as the LA Shorts, Moondance, Oxnard and Rotterdam Film Festivals.
While working as a DVD Special Features Producer, she met Twilight Zone Companion author Marc Zicree. This led to her documentary feature “The Table,” which won the Best Feature Award at the SoCal Film Festival and a distribution deal with Cinedigm. 4:00 & 10:00PM Wisdom for the Future
How can we get into sync with nature when powerful corporations rule and natural law has no mercy? Explores Iroquois principles of individual freedom and community consensus. “Wisdom for the Future” is Episode 1 of a 7-part series. Q&A 
Producer/Directors Shelli Lipton & Nathan Koenig
Director’s Biography: Nathan Koenig combines a broad background in many facets of theatrical and video production: directing, scripting, editing and marketing. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Denison University, where he studied theatre and filmmaking, winning awards for both. He then went to Los Angeles and went from understudy to actor to producer of three successful plays at the Gallery Theatre in West Hollywood. Then he was drafted. In the 1970’s he used Super 8 film and 35mm slides to document West Coast counterculture. He documented the traditional beliefs of indigenous cultures through interviews, photography, film and video. His dedication to the preservation of traditional cultures has given him access to places and individuals not usually within reach of the general public. In 1972, he founded White Buffalo Multi-Media, Inc. That was when “multimedia” combined performance with films, video, slides and, special effects. Between 1973-74, he managed the WOW Hall, a community performing arts center in Eugene Oregon (formerly a meeting place for Woodsmen of the World). Between 1972-1976, he traveled around the west, doing shows in countercultural and Native American communities. Between 1978 and 1985, the repertoire of multi-media shows were featured at the Mind-Body-Spirit Festivals, Whole Life Expo’s and planetariums in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and London. Some titles include: “Ancient Prophecies Future Visions”, “The Mystique of Ancient Mexico”, “I Am Universe”, and “Esoteric Egypt”. At the Expos, Koenig alternated his works with other producers of human potential A/V media. In 1987, Abbie Hoffman asked Nathan to direct the light show for the “Great ’60s Ball,” at the old Fillmore East, where the projection screen was a planetarium dome. Performers included the Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, Buffy Sainte Marie and Country Joe. White Buffalo Multimedia’s goal is to edit documentaries from vintage footage gathered over the years and to transform the entire multimedia repertoire into digital formats. These include best-selling author Dr. Bernie Siegel, human potential pioneer Dr. Jean Houston, Mohawk educator Ray Fadden/Tehanetorens, herbalist Susun Weed, and “Lifestyles of the Solar Famous”. Nathan Koenig and Shelli Lipton are in production on a documentary series “Iroquois Power for the 21st Century” and “Woodstock DownUnder,” a series about Woodstock’s sister city Nimbin, Australia. From 1985-2005, Nathan founded and directed Upstate Media Enterprises, offering video production services including promotional videos and events. Clients included The American Ballet Theatre, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Ecofest in NYC, Woodstock Youth Theatre, and Catskill Ballet. Mr. Koenig and his partner Shelli Lipton produced 4 years of TV promos for The Clearwater Festival with Pete Seeger. When the festival asked why they videoed 20 hours for a 30 second promo, Nathan replied “Because it’s history. You’ve got Pete Seeger and many activist folk singers empowering the generations.” Mr. Koenig is co-founder and President of the Woodstock Museum, chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. Woodstock Museum events include workshops on renewable energy resources such as solar hot water and photovoltaics. Also, workshops with Native Americans and Siberian shaman & author Sarangerel, multi-image shows on the 1960s, Woodstock Art Colony, and Sister City exchanges of art and culture with Woodstock New York and Nimbin, Australia. Nathan Koenig and his wife/partner Shelli Lipton are Woodstock Ambassadors and filmmakersover the last two decades. Says Nathan Koenig, “It’s where we go to discover what could’a would’a should’a happened if the 1960s culture had taken root and evolved.” Director’s Statement: The Iroquois or Haudenasaunee and other native people are like “the canary in the coal mine” They warn us about the current crisis of existence. They advise us to challenge the destruction of our grandchildren. Chief Oren Lyons says, “When we go, you too will go.” This 7-part series reveals the untold story of America’s oldest democracy. Exclusively narrated by Iroquois chiefs, clan mothers, and scholars, the story shows the strong Iroquois influence on the U.S. Constitution. This series shows what was left out by the U.S. founders and must be implemented to reverse the brutal desecration of a failing society. The Haudenosaunee Tree of Peace ceremony is a bridge between people. Since encountering the Iroquois at the end of The Longest Walk in 1978, I have documented their message over the years until it told a story I think we need to know. I could think of no better project than to convey the message of native people who are one with the earth. Co-Producer Statement: Shelli Lipton is a multimedia artist with a discipline in Journalistic Illustration. Her early career in film followed traditional art studies in New York City: High School of Music & Art which the movie “Fame” was based on; a Saturday high school scholarship program at Pratt Institute; a full talent scholarship to School of Visual Arts where she taught “How to Go Into Business on Little or No Money.” Ms. Lipton also founded the Alumni Society. As the first woman art director in a Mad Ad (Madison Ave.) agency, she created one-take thirty second commercials for fashion accounts. Ms. Lipton was the first woman admitted to the Art Director’s Club. Her fashion TV spots were praised as ornamental messages. Shelli Lipton was the youngest owner of a recognized advertising agency revamping the National Audubon Society from a bird society to an environmental organization in 1972. Warner Brothers, Inc. granted Ms. Lipton money to produce a promotional film on “The Children’s Art Collection”, a greeting card and licensing business in the 1970s-1980s. That film, “A Purple Tree is Fine with Me”, went on tour in Japan in the early seventies. Later works were documentaries with White Buffalo Multimedia, Inc. starting in the late eighties when Ms. Lipton also founded Woodstock Museum, Inc. is now an international venue for tourists and researchers into the sixties era of consciousness raising, sustainable living and future environmental development. Often behind a camera, Ms. Lipton takes liberties to experiment as a paintbrush or palette knife. You wouldn’t want to hire her as camera one to film a straight documentation. Ms. Lipton says, “for me to communicate as an artist I see process as giving me freedom to create. The camera is just one of many tools. Our brain is the source to play out the vision.” “Wisdom for the Future” features Iroquois orators and scholars offering solutions to make a better world through a system of government given by “The Peacemaker”. America’s founders used Iroquois government structure while leaving essential elements out. “I am fully aware that change must take place to prevent extinction. The seven part series is a preparation to bring you into a new paradigm, solving the problem of the power of the people vs. the power of corporate agenda. It’s a must see, must learn film series to learn cooperation, not competition and be free people. SEPT 3 – FRIDAY
2:30 & 8:30PM I’m So Tired
Comedy about new parents whon attempt to plan their evening…
 2:36 & 8:36PM The Pageant
One person’s questioning throws a young couple into a state of crisis. Director Biography – Kasey O’Brien
Kasey has worked and trained as an actor both theatrically and on camera. Always fascinated with human stories and a beautiful image, she has begun to tell her own stories through film.
MFA 2020 The New School, New York
from kaseyobriennyc.com 2:45 & 8:45PM Grounders
An inside look at The Prospect Park Women’s Softball League which was formed in 1981 with a radical vision to welcome all women to play regardless of prior experience. It remains a place where women meet across differences of race, economic class, sexual orientation, education, religion, and gender identity to play softball. Q&A Director – Melanie Hope
 3:50 & 9:50PM Who’s a Good Man?
Girl meets boy. Or does she? Director – Rhonda G. Robinson
 4:00 & 10:00PM Recalling
A young woman named Emma leaves the city for the countryside during a pandemic. She is escaping from the virus, but she is also attempting to leave behind painful memories of her husband, Johnny, who was recently killed by a police officer. Emma arrives in the rural setting of her childhood only to run into Lorenz, a strange vagabond who claims to have access to powerful magic that can help her. Connecting through loss and music, the odd pair overcome their differences to form a unique bond that will alter her life drastically, though not in any way she could have imagined. Q&A Director Biography: Ariel Glenn and Edoardo Nicholas Bianchi
Ariel Glenn is originally from a small town near Buffalo, NY. A graduate of the Shakespeare School in ON, Canada, SUNY Fredonia and the Stella Adler Studio, she is currently a stage and film actress based in NYC. Her most recent on-camera credits include the feature length film, Ascension, and the Web Series, the Realm. She originated the role of Dr. Angeri in Goodville at the Hudson Guild Theater, New York Theater Festival, Winterfest 2020 and played Alice in A Sex Thing at HERE Center for the arts. She had begun producing and directing her own work, Recalling being her first film directing credit.
Edoardo Nicholas Bianchi s a bilingual actor, writer and director born in NYC and raised in Milan, Italy from the age of five. After coming back to New York, he was admitted at the prestigious Stella Adler Studio Of Acting where he attended first the Summer Conservatory and then the 2 year Evening Conservatory. Edoardo has also written, produced and directed his own play, Goodville, accepted at the New York Theater Festival, Winterfest 2020. He’s currently working on producing his own short and feature films. Director Statement: Inspired by the painful events of 2020, this film is an imagining of a world in which trauma caused by brutality and disease could be healed by the magic of strangers. SEPT 4 – SATURDAY 2:30 & 8:30PM Seeking a Lost Age
Mystical journey to ancient Lemuria with art, montage, sculpture & dance. Q&A’s Director: Atsuko Mu Yuma (遊真あつこ is a self-taught multi-media artist from Japan who has lived in New York for 50 years. Yuma earned her degree in design from Musashino Art College in Japan.
For decades, she has been painting oil continuously, performing and has often been told that she is
“Married to Art”
Through her encounters with the eastern and western world, she created natural, spontaneous images and a unique vision of life. Her work is simultaneously futuristic and primitive.
Yuma has exhibited in group shows and solo exhibitions throughout New York, Las Vegas, China,
North Korea, Ecuador and Japan and completed a residency in Morocco.
Most of her creation are based on the harmonic waves of love, strength, great universal power, mystery
of life and death, ancient myth story and culture. Those elements are her impulse of creation. Statement: I am a Japanese multi-media artist living in New York City for the last 50 years.
My work is an environment warning, a call to us all to recognize the importance of earth and its elements.
Through my creations, I remind people of the peace, unity and beauty of the world.
The universe is a most amazing being with much to teach us and we must maintain this beautiful and powerful earth. These lessons inspire my creation. I will continue to create until the last day of my life. 3:00 & 9:00PM Mississippi Turning
When your state flag contains an emblem that’s been used as a symbol of hate, how do you engage those who consider it part of their heritage? Artist & activist Genesis Be, after her controversial protest against Mississippi’s Confederate Heritage Month, heads down to her home state of Mississippi to have an honest discussion with people on both sides of the debate, including her childhood friend, a proud descendant of Confederate soldiers. Q&A Director Biography – Adam Grannick
Adam Grannick is a New York-based filmmaker whose projects, ranging from documentary to experimental, have won awards in festivals across the country. “Nashwa,” which he directed, won 1st Place, Women’s Rights category at the 2015 My Hero International Film Festival and won 3rd Prize at the 2015 Reason Media Awards. “American Quartet,” which he co-wrote and produced, won 5 awards, including Best Experimental at Coney Island Film Festival.
Director Statement
In a country that’s profoundly polarized, is there a more polarizing symbol than the Confederate battle flag? And yet that same symbol, attached to the flag of Mississippi, shows the way to how Americans can converse with one another again. This documentary short demonstrates the purpose — and promise — of risking outreach to the other side. When your state flag features an emblem of hate, how do you engage with those who treasure it as part of their heritage? In 2016, Genesis Be launched a no-holds-barred protest against Confederate Heritage Month. Provocative images from her protest went viral. Death threats poured into her social feeds. But rather than double down in defensiveness, Genesis headed to her home state of Mississippi for an honest dialogue with a childhood friend, the proud descendant of Confederate soldiers. She got more than she bargained for. By choosing to be vulnerable with each other, the stars of this film reveal a blueprint for how the rest of us can seek common ground even when we stand our ground. Far from compromising their values, these young Mississippians prove that life need not be a zero-sum game and that hearts can change. It turns out that flags do, too. 4:15 & 10:15PM The Album
An independently produced documentary about the record industry, told from the perspective of the art department. With over 40 interviews comprised of 3 generations, top creators of their day talk about the development of the art synonymous with the music you know and love. From Abbey Road, Hotel California, and Dark Side of the Moon to Breakfast in America and Nirvana’s Nevermind, you’ll hear the stories behind the most memorable art in music history. These art directors and photographers shaped pop culture of their day, and reflect on the delicate balance between art and commerce, rebellion and status quo, and the consequences of digital disruption. Directed by music industry veteran Kevin Hosmann, with 20 gold records to his art directing credit, including NWA’s Straight Outta Compton.
Director Biography – Kevin Hosmann
I started my career analogue, designing album covers. Twenty-two gold and platinum records later, I found the internet in its infancy. I created the first official Nirvana site for Geffen Records and designed the first Lexus site (the first major automotive site) for Team One the same year. I was at Geocities, the first social network as Art Director for advertising when they were bought out by Yahoo! for 5,700,000,000, we thought at the time there was nothing but up!
Throughout the dot bomb I always searched for the next wave. As an Innovation Creative Director my group continued to create prototypes of the future for AOL, Motorola, Microsoft, and Nickelodeon (among others).
In 2007 I joined Warner Bros. during their digital renaissance where my art department designed (UX and visual) for each of their digital touch points, from front-end to backend.
I continued in advertising as a User Experience Director plotting the consumer’s path to conversion, all the while seeing that digital disruption and the wave it created would continue to play a part in my work and the world around me. Change is constant. Director Statement: There was an ice breaker at a company I was working at which asked us all to put a Powerpoint presentation together (20 slides on a 5 second timer) to tell us something about ourselves that the group doesn’t know. I was an Art Director in the record industry early in my career. None of the knew that.
I did my presentation on 20 of the gold records I had done, quick stories. What was so cool is that by the end of the presentation everyone was one their feet clapping laughing. They had no idea that this balding middle aged man that the worked with everyday had such a crazy past. And that I had created covers that they collected and listened to as teenagers.
That got me thinking: What if I got together all the art directors and photographers I knew and put the best stories into a documentary? Five years and 50 interviews later, THE ALBUM is a collection of the best “I never knew that” stories about the music industry you’ll ever hear. SEPT 5 – SUNDAY 2:30 & 8:30PM She Had a Dream: Eula Johnson’s Fight to Desegregate
“She Had a Dream” is based on the personal account by Eula Johnson – in her own words – of what it was like organizing the 1961 Fort Lauderdale Beach Wade-Ins 60 years ago this summer. Created as a digital resource to accompany History Fort Lauderdale’s educational presentation “Civil Rights in Fort Lauderdale,” this film juxtaposes historical events with a powerful message that democracy requires active practice of civil duty. Director Biography – Janay Joseph
Janay Joseph is a filmmaker based in South Florida. Her professional interests include historical studies, documentary filmmaking, film studies, and communications. She is a life-long Broward County resident, and hopes to create more films in the future. She is currently studying for her undergraduate degree at Nova Southeastern University. Director Statement: While updating a K-12 curriculum on Black History as part of a semester-long academic internship with HISTORY Fort Lauderdale, I first learned about Eula Johnson and her work as a Civil Rights activist in Broward County. I decided that for my main internship project I would produce a short documentary project focusing on her work with the Wade-ins.
Act I of the film focuses on both Eula’s background, and the history of Sistrunk. This section also provides context of the legacy of racial discrimination in South Florida. Act II introduces the Wade-ins and the racial backlash of the protests. The risks that Eula Johnson took to stand up for her community and the fearlessness that she brought with it becomes the main focus. The climax of the film details the lawsuit that the city filed against Johnson and the verdict. Act III focuses on both the aftermath of the verdict, and the legacy of Eula Johnson and the Wade-ins from the perspective of today’s social, political and economic realities.
There were several other events that informed the direction of our work as well. After visiting the Old Dillard Museum, Tara and I grabbed lunch at Smitty’s Wings (which were excellent, by the way). Everyone in the neighborhood kept running into each other while they came out to support this new Black owned business. I saw people chatting with their friends, the landscapers, and others in the community. On the walls of the restaurant, I saw a collage of images that detailed the Civil Rights history in South Florida. Suddenly, I realized that they were the same images we had just seen at the museum only an hour before. I found the famous picture of Eula Johnson at the courthouse on the wall, surrounded by a mural of other Civil Rights figures, with Marvin Gaye playing in the background. It was at this moment when I realized the importance of sharing her story and the weight that her legacy continues to have in the Sistrunk community and around the world. 2:45 & 8:45PM The PRATT in the HAT
Beneath the brims of hundreds of colorful hats is a woman who shares her wisdom, humor, and personal experiences about being black in America, then and now. Frances Pratt’s hats make a bold statement as does her southern charm and pithy expressions which she garnered through a lifetime of service to her community fighting for racial equality, voting rights and education. Q&A Director Biography – Susan Hillary
Susan Hillary aka Susan Hillary Shapiro has been making independent feature films and documentaries since the 1980s. Some of her films have premiered at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals. The documentary “Studio 54” on which she was the archival cinematographer is streaming on Netflix.
Link to Studio 54 film: https://www.netflix.com/title/81004511 Director Statement: I was inspired to create this piece when I spotted Frances across a crowded political event. Pratt was adorned in one of her striking hats and she was a beacon of color in a sea of grey. I asked her if she would allow me to photograph her in her hats. She agreed and I found what lay beneath her large-brimmed bonnets was a woman whose personal insight and firsthand knowledge into racial equality is one that is relevant, now more than ever. 3:30 & 9:30PM The Cost of Denial
From 1981 to 2021, the world has confronted a terrible scourge that has impacted countless individuals with fear, pain and death. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent
on our war against AIDS. The medical industry has focused on antiretroviral drugs to combat the
HIV virus. All efforts to develop a vaccine have failed.
This is the story of the earliest successful treatment for AIDS. If the mainstream scientific community had paid attention, tens of thousands of lives may have been saved. Ignored and forgotten during the AIDS crisis this is the heroic struggle by a small group of physicians, nurses and healthcare professionals who succeeded in treating 1,200 patients with advanced AIDS. Eighteen of these patients reversed all of their AIDS-related conditions, regained full health and converted to HIV negative. In other words, the HIV virus was no longer present in their bodies.
These are the voices revealing the pain, profit and politics of AIDS.
Director – Huw Christi
 SEPT 6 – MONDAY
12:30 & 8:30PM Bestial’s Passage
A Computer generated animation project incorporates motion capture technology and performance data. Conceptually the visual esthetic combines an experimental character design language, geographical terrain data and an overall monochromatic color theme. 12:35 & 8:35PM Peacetime: A Royal Frog
A meditation exercise for kids age 3 to 99 and then some. Director Biography: A New Jersey native, Steve Moore has enjoyed a 37 year career in the animation industry. You’ve seen his work in films such as “Despicable Me”, “Coraline”, and “A Goofy Movie” to name a few. He directed the Oscar nominated short “Redux Riding Hood” as well as the Emmy nominate special “Olive, the Other Reindeer”. He is currently a director on the Disney Junior series “Puppy Dog Pals”. Director Statement: I initially created “PeaceTime” as part of a TV series pitch. I was looking to do a show that was calming, but still fun, amid the relentless barrage of high energy programs for kids. After striking out with the studios, I decided to complete it as a short – the first of many such shorts, I hope. 12:40 & 8:40PM Calf Rope
During the summer of ’66, a former rodeo champion and cattle auctioneer from Oklahoma bonds tightly with his young grandson from suburban Pennsylvania while teaching him a few tricks from his previous trades. Shot entirely in rural Pennsylvania, Calf Rope captures the intense love that grandparents often share with their grandchildren and the legacy that lives on long after they have gone. Q&A Director Biography – Bradley Hawkins
Actor/Director, Bradley Hawkins, made his directorial debut for the big screen in 2015 with his award-winning comedy short, ROLLER COASTER. After starting a career as an actor in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1990s, Hawkins and his family moved to Lancaster, PA where he taught film studies, and humanities courses at the high school level, and directed several stage productions. Now retired from teaching, Hawkins has picked up where he left off 25 years ago, and his recent acting credits include the lead role in LOBSTER CAGE, and supporting roles on television in, COLD CASE, UNUSUAL SUSPECTS, MURDER BOOK, and DEADLINE: CRIME. As a film director, screenwriter, and producer, Hawkins won 10 awards for his comedy short, ROLLER COASTER, and 21 awards for his comedy-fantasy short, FILLING IN. Director Statement: Loosely based on my childhood memories of the tight bond I had with my Grandad Mac, CALF ROPE focuses on the legacy that he unknowingly left behind that influenced me as to what it means to be the playful, connected, and active grandpa that I strive to be with my own two young grandchildren today. CALF ROPE means more to me on a personal level than any other creative endeavor I’ve ever embarked on. It truly feels like my entire life has led to this moment in time for the purpose of telling this story of the importance of leaving a long-lasting legacy for the generations beyond through the wonder and magic of cinema. 1:40 & 9:40PM 8000 Paperclips
When Israeli artist and TED Fellow, Raffael Lomas turned 50, he knew he wanted his new work to have meaning. So when he learned about a group of South Sudanese children who had been raised in Israel and were then deported to South Sudan, he jumped at the chance to go make art with them and “see what would happen.”
What happened was that over the course of several days during the summer vacation of 2014, Raffael and the students built a house made out of 8000 paper clips – 8000 points of connection – symbolizing the meaning of home. But he also learned the children’s complex stories and heard tales of their arduous journeys – escaping the horrors of war, fleeing militias, crossing borders under fire. The connections he forged with them would mark the beginning of a longer quest to make the “project count.”
Feeling that the children’s deportation was still an open wound, Raffael brought the house sculpture back to Israel to afford the children a way to look back and connect to those they had left behind. With an exhibition of the sculpture in Tel Aviv and a Skype call, the children are able to traverse space and time and connect to the people who had once been part of their home.
That event led to more connections – and Raffael begins to think about how to forge a connection between the Abayudaya, the Jewish community of Uganda, and the South Sudanese refugees who are Christians but once lived in Israel and speak Hebrew. If the refugee students can teach the Jewish children Hebrew, then perhaps they can earn a living? And what else can an art object do for the children? Raffael travels back to Kampala to take the South Sudanese students to meet the Abayudaya and sends the house off on a journey to meet the art world. As the sculpture travels, maybe it can accrue more meaning , create awareness about the plight of refugees, and make their humanity tangible. Maybe it will even sell and imagine what that money could do for the kids!
In a complex and layered story, 8000 Paper Clips explores the value of art, Raffael’s own history with depression and struggle, and what humans need – no matter their national status. It follows a group of extraordinary young people as they overcome adversity and build hope for their future – with the support of a team of people whose hearts they have touched.
When resources are limited and the need is great – what is the real value of art? No matter how much Raffael tortures himself with that question, ultimately it is the children who are best able to answer it. Q&A Director Biography – Nitsan Tal
Nitsan Tal was born and raised in Israel, in a Kibbutz.
Her grandfather, an avid amateur photographer, gave her her first SLR camera together with Dark room equipment, and sparked her first interest in photography.
Nitsan studied veterinary medicine in Israel and moved to the U.S. in 1998. The proximity to New York City allowed her to take classes in photography while practicing as a veterinarian. She studied at the New York Institute of Photography and the International Center of Photography.
In 2008 Nitsan established her photography studio in Closter, New Jersey.
Nitsan’s personal work is documentary in style with emphasis on the human condition. She has special interest in the work of nonprofit aid organizations and donates her time and services to NGO’s around the world.
In 2013 Nitsan filmed her first documentary film “It Takes Balls”, the story of an actor who likes to portray women. The film was shown in several festivals in the U.S.
She since completed two more documentary films: “Writers Matter”, about a non profit organization working with inner city school children in Philadelphia, and “8000 Paperclips” about an artist working with refugee children in Uganda.
(Nitsan’s work has been shown in the following venues:
The Center for Cuban Arts NYC
Umbrella Arts NYC
25 CPW Gallery NYC
Scott Hill Gallery Closter New Jersey
Next Gallery NYC
World Affairs Council Global Visions exhibition
Cinemadiverse – Palm Springs Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Big Apple Film Festival
The Three Minutes Theatre, Manchester, UK
New Hope Film Festival
Impact Docs
The New Americans Museum -San Diego
Firstglance Film Festival – Philadelphia
Chicago International Social Change Film Festival) Director Statement: In November of 2015, I got a text from a friend. Someone is looking for a camera person to document a project in Uganda. Would I be interested?
Two days later I spoke to Raffael, an Israeli artist, on the phone. He told me about his project with a group of deported South Sudanese refugees and sent me a link to a TV program about them. Five minutes into watching the program, I got up to look for a box of tissues.
By the time I learned that there was very little budget for the project and that I wouldn’t be paid, I was already hooked on the story and set on going. 3:20 & 11:20PM The Boy and the Mountain
Hernán is a child who likes to daydream, but in his studies he is not doing well at all. His father constantly urges him to improve, advising him that he must reach very high to succeed in life. Hernán dispenses with his dream, gradually forgetting it to devote himself to his studies. After becoming a successful entrepreneur, Hernán achieves the dream that his father instilled in him, reach high, until one day he realizes that he has not really achieved what he always longed for. Then he makes the crucial decision to fulfill his dream, but fate plays tricks on him. Hernán will have to face a new challenge that will change the meaning of his life.
Director Biography – Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal
Since 1996 Santiago is VXF Artist, or Visual Effects Artist6 trained in 3-D modeling, animation & compositing. He is Animation Director for several Audiovisual productions, long & short films, and also TV advertising. “The Boy & the Mountain” is his first film. 3:33 & 11:35PM Duet
Duet is the story of one fateful day in the lives of 8-year-old girls May and Shadmit, who dislike each other but learn that their lives have become oddly intertwined forever.
Duet is a multidisciplinary project, uniquely integrating film and music. The story raises questions about loneliness, regret, subject memory and fate that ties two children together for a lifetime.
Director Biography – Mika Orr
Mika Orr started her career as a film director at the age of 15. She served as a lead cinematographer for the Israel Air Force’s film unit and was the documentary DP, or Director of Photography, for award winning feature films (“Chronicle of a Kidnap”, “Stains”). Mika was the director of a short documentary BTS of Academy Award winner Natalie Portman’s directorial debut as well as for Academy award winner Alexander Dinelaris’s film.
In May 2017, she earned a master’s degree with honors from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her short film “Professional Cuddler”, was selected for over 35 film festivals and won 7 awards.
In 2008 she established her own production company, Mikooka Productions, and directed hundreds of marketing videos, commercials and documentaries for clients like Google, Coca Cola, Spin Master, Yad Vashem, The European Union, The Israel Museum and Tel Aviv Municipality.
Mika’s latest documentary project #AMiNORMAL is planned to go in production in 2020. It is supported by the French/German channel Arte as well as the Israeli Public Channel. In addition, these days Mika is working on her first feature-length documentary, already fully funded, which will take place in multiple refugee camps around the world. Director Statement: ‘Duet’ is a semi-autobiographical and very personal project for me.
As a child of divorced parents, I experienced quite a few encounters with new romantic partners of my parents. When I was eight, the girl I hated most in my class moved into our home as a result of her mom and my dad becoming a couple.
That was the inspiration behind the story of ‘Duet’. The gap between reality and fantasy is an area that I enjoy exploring and what gave rise to ‘Duet’ being a love story.
In reality, the fierce hatred between me and the other girl turned into rivalry and mounted difficulties that eventually led to the separation of our parents.
Feelings of guilt and remorse deeply shaded the encounter with her, and it took me many years to realize that these precise feelings sometimes are the ones powerful enough to generate very strong connections between people.
On the other hand, I remember how, as a child, I hoped and fantasized that one day that girl would turn out to be my soulmate later in life. A common fate that bonds two people in an early stage of their lives has always made me very envious and is a notion I explored throughout the film’s making. Other topics stemmed from it, such as parental neglect, bonds formed by loneliness, nostalgia, and subjective memory. | |
