|
DON'T
ASK
by
Tova
Beck-Friedman
3:25
min.
 Language
is a complicated dance between internal and
external interpretations of our identity.In this
experimental documentary, New York City based,
Israeli-born artists, writers and a dancer reflect
on their relationship with the English language
and their mother tongue, Hebrew, in
Don’t Ask.With archival
films featuring the City circa the 1940s, their
dialogue is intersected by a poem by Carmela Tal
Baron, addressing the dichotomy between the way we
are perceived by others versus who we really
are.
***
UNDERPASS
by
Rain
Breaw
15
min.
1992,
San Diego. A family that survived the Cambodian
Khmer Rouge has rebuilt their lives over the past
15 years, operating a donut shop and establishing
themselves in the community.
The
son, Sann, is still tormented by his memories of
the killing fields of Cambodia. He copes with his
anger and confusion by painting elaborate and
violent graffiti murals on a city
underpass.
When
his mother reaches out to a young illegal
immigrant from Central America, Sann's anger and
fears rise to the surface, and he must confront
them head-on without destroying his own
family.
He
learns that true forgiveness and healing must
begin with himself.
***
Selection
from
THE
LAST CONQUISTADOR
with
music by
Richard
Martinez
The
Last Conquistador
is a documentary by John Valadez and Cristina
Ibarra, with music composed by Richard Martinez.
It was broadcast on PBS’s P.O.V., on Tuesday, July
15, 2008.
Renowned
sculptor John Houser has a dream: to build the
world's tallest bronze equestrian statue for the
city of El Paso, Texas. He envisions a stunning
monument to the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate
that will pay tribute to the contributions
Hispanic people made to building the American
West. But as the project nears completion troubles
arise. Native Americans are outraged — they
remember Oñate as the man who brought genocide to
their land and sold their children into slavery.
As El Paso divides along lines of race and class
in The Last Conquistador, the artist must face the
moral implications of his work.
***
WORDS
ON PEACE PIECE
by
Lili
White
1:32
min.
This
movie was made in 2006 when the NY Filmmakers Coop
put out a call to filmmakers to create a response
to the current war in Iraq. (For further info
see: www.film-makerscoop.com/forlifeagainst.html
)
Words
on PEACE piece was
inspired by the following: A line from Joyce
Kilmer’s poem: “in Flanders field where poppies
grow, beneath the crosses row on row”. (Poppies
grow on the military graves sites in Europe.)
The flower chain in the movie was made by
children at Ljubljana’s National Art Gallery in
Slovenia — the only nation where “Culture Day” is
a national holiday.
And
C.G.Jung’s thought; that only by dealing with
one’s “shadow” side can one arrive at peace. Here
is his quote:
Since
it is universally believed that man is merely what
his consciousness knows of itself, he regards
himself as harmless and so adds stupidity to
iniquity. He does not deny that terrible things
have happened and still go on happening, but it is
always “the others” who do them...Even if,
juristically speaking, we were not accessories to
the crime, we are always, thanks to our human
nature, potential criminals...None of us stands
outside of humanity’s collective shadow. Whether
the crime occurred many generations back or
happens today, it remains the symptom of a
disposition that is always and everywhere present—
and one would therefore do well to possess some
‘imagination for evil,’ for only the fool can
permanently disregard the conditions of his own
nature. In fact, negligence is the best means of
making him an instrument of evil.
-
C. G. Jung, The Undiscovered
Self
***
SHELL
by
Yelena
Demikovsky
15
min.
 Sea.
Sand. Sun. Two children meet on a beach. The boy
is black, the girl white. At eight, life is
beautiful and simple. But not for their parents,
who had a past liaison. They reignite their
relationship, but their reunion inadvertently
destroys the children's paradise -- washing it
into the sea.
Shell
is the first of five short films that will make up
the planned feature film Apples and
Seeds. Each story will be about children’s
formative experiences in which adults play an
important role but are often unaware of their
influence.
***
THE
TENTH PLANET
by
Melis
Birder
38
min.
 The
Tenth Planet
paints an unprecedented picture of the current
situation in Iraq from Kawkab's perspective. It is
an extraordinary respite from the US media's
incessant coverage of the cost of war measured in
dollars and body-counts. This documentary aims to
portray a more intimate and human side of Baghdad,
woven with the joys, fears and hopes of a young
woman's everyday Iife. The director grabs an
opportunity to travel to Baghdad via Turkey from
the northern road when a friend of hers is
assigned there. Because the filmmaker is a lone
Turkish woman, the viewer is given rare access to
the lives of women in Baghdad. The viewer is
ushered right into the heart of traditional Iraqi
hospitality, a place where sincerity is
commonplace and candor is often
astounding.
|
|
| Program
One: The
Filmmakers |
 Tova
Beck-Friedmanis
an artist working in the mediums of film, video,
photography and sculpture. Recipient of several
grants and artistic residencies, her work has been
shown internationally in festival, galleries, on
television and on the internet.
***
 Rain
Breaw is
an independent film director/producer currently
working with Laura Ziskin Productions on the
Stand Up 2 Cancer initiative. In addition
to this project, Rain is working on PSAs and music
videos, and preparing her first feature as a
writer/director. A 2007 graduate of the USC MFA
Production Program, Rain has produced a feature
film, Mr. Sadman
(currently in post-production) and numerous short
films.
***
 As
a film and documentary composer Richard
Martinez scored
BLAST, directed by Paul Devlin, and
The Last Conquistador
directed by John J. Valadez and Cristina Ibarra,
which recently aired on P.O.V.,
Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving
Train (2005 short list for an Oscar,) The
Daytrippers, Bossa Nova,
Sangre/Blood, Harvest of
Redemption, Nolan’s Run, and
Take the Bridge (Tribeca Film Festival
2007). He is presently composing the score for
Not Here Not There directed by Betsy
Haley Hershey. In theater he composed music for
Viva la Vida! featuring Mercedes Ruehl.
Martinez continues to produce for acclaimed
composer Elliot Goldenthal and director Julie
Taymor. Films: Across the Universe,
Frida, and Titus. Theatre:
The Green Bird, Juan Darien.
Martinez has performed and recorded with Bono,
Carly Simon, Gregory Hines, Harry Belafonte,
Blood, Sweat and Tears, George Russell and has
assisted John Williams.
***
 Lili
White has
been exhibiting her works in solo and group shows
in the United States and abroad since before
moving to New York. In Philadelphia she received
at B.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and
graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts with a four-year painting certificate. Her
interest in the moving image and multimedia, lead
her to perform, write, produce, direct several
live multi-media pieces, each of which included
the performance participation of over a dozen
actors, poets and dancers. Upon the introduction
of computer digital editing programs, she made
several videos, that featured her gestural
performances as well as others that were based
upon poetry and documentary subjects. These are
often seen as a continuation of her earlier Super
8 film work and lead to screenings at numerous
cultural centers, including the American Museum of
the Moving Image in Queens, the Museum of American
Art in Philadelphia and The Newhouse Center in
Staten Island, New York.
***
 Yelena
Demikovsky
is founder of Red Palette Pictures. Born in
Russia, she has lived in the United States for
more than 15 years. She is a documentary and
narrative filmmaker with a broad theatre
background in the United States and Russia. She
has directed three full-length documentaries
—Unity, the award-winning The Story
of Fenist and happy to be so… Her narrative
short, Shell, received Honorable Mention,
The Accolade Film Awards and Rochester Film
Festival and was an official selection in some
festivals such as San Diego Black Film Festival,
Barcelona Short Film Festival, etc. She is in
post-production of the documentary, I am
Vera... and another narrative short,
Mamma+Daddy=Love.
***
Melis
Birder moved
to New York from her native Turkey in 1994. She
became interested in documentary filmmaking at the
New School where she graduated with a MA degree in
Media Studies. She started her career as an
educator and ran video programs at various NYC
public schools. She has also been commissioned to
direct and produce documentaries for libraries and
other community groups dealing extensively with
social issues. The award winning documentary she
shot in Iraq in 2004, The Tenth
Planet: A Single Life in Baghdad was
screened in many festivals around the world.
Birder now lives between Istanbul and New York and
undertakes different documentary projects in those
countries.
|
|
The
NVIFF (Non Violence
International Film Festival) is a
celebration of artistic expression where the
subject matter and or themes are encouraged to
celebrate and explore the human spirit as well as
ideas and concepts of Non Violence in all
forms.
The
first annual NVIFF was started through inspiration
received from the KW Humanist Movement’s Non
Violence Festival in the Park. The Humanist
Movement is a grass roots organization who’s goals
include "Building the world in which you want to
live." It was at the heart of that mandate that
Steve Cross, NVIFF
Director decided to start something
special.
The
Festivals mandate is to screen films that educate,
challenge, inspire and entertain us through
documentaries, animated and live action films
without promoting Violence or Discrimination of
any kind.
This
years panel of judges consists of Waterloo Region
and New York State residents with over 50 combined
years of experience in film and in the
arts.
The
inaugural NVIFF received films from all over the
world, including countries like Ireland, Israel,
Spain, Mexico, Paris, South Korea, Japan, USA, UK,
Germany, Finland, Denmark, Ukraine and many others
with a total number of submissions exceeding 80
films including one 2007 Oscar® nominated
film.
The
2008 season welcomes the new Student level of film
submission and exhibition. In conjunction with
local secondary and post secondary facilities,
students, teachers and the NVIFF will select and
screen films submitted by students from all over
the world.
For
more information, please visit: www.nviff.com.
|
|
DON'T
ASK
by
Tova
Beck-Friedman
3:25
min.
Language
is a complicated dance between internal and
external interpretations of our
identity.
In
this experimental documentary, New York City
based, Israeli-born artists, writers and a dancer
reflect on their relationship with the English
language and their mother tongue, Hebrew, in
Don’t Ask.With archival
films featuring the City circa the 1940s, their
dialogue is intersected by a poem by Carmela Tal
Baron, addressing the dichotomy between the way we
are perceived by others versus who we really
are.
***
UNDERPASS
by
Rain
Breaw
15
min.
1992,
San Diego. A family that survived the Cambodian
Khmer Rouge has rebuilt their lives over the past
15 years, operating a donut shop and establishing
themselves in the community.
The
son, Sann, is still tormented by his memories of
the killing fields of Cambodia. He copes with his
anger and confusion by painting elaborate and
violent graffiti murals on a city
underpass.
When
his mother reaches out to a young illegal
immigrant from Central America, Sann's anger and
fears rise to the surface, and he must confront
them head-on without destroying his own
family.
He
learns that true forgiveness and healing must
begin with himself.
***
WORDS
ON PEACE PIECE
by
Lili
White
1:32
min.
This
movie was made in 2006 when the NY Filmmakers Coop
put out a call to filmmakers to create a response
to the current war in Iraq. (For further info
see: www.film-makerscoop.com/forlifeagainst.html
)
Words
on PEACE piece
was inspired by the following: A line from Joyce
Kilmer’s poem: “in Flanders field where poppies
grow, beneath the crosses row on row”. (Poppies
grow on the military graves sites in Europe.)
The flower chain in the movie was made by
children at Ljubljana’s National Art Gallery in
Slovenia — the only nation where “Culture Day” is
a national holiday.
And
C.G.Jung’s thought; that only by dealing with
one’s “shadow” side can one arrive at peace. Here
is his quote
Since
it is universally believed that man is merely what
his consciousness knows of itself, he regards
himself as harmless and so adds stupidity to
iniquity. He does not deny that terrible things
have happened and still go on happening, but it is
always “the others” who do them...Even if,
juristically speaking, we were not accessories to
the crime, we are always, thanks to our human
nature, potential criminals...None of us stands
outside of humanity’s collective shadow. Whether
the crime occurred many generations back or
happens today, it remains the symptom of a
disposition that is always and everywhere present—
and one would therefore do well to possess some
‘imagination for evil,’ for only the fool can
permanently disregard the conditions of his own
nature. In fact, negligence is the best means of
making him an instrument of evil.
-
C. G. Jung, The Undiscovered
Self
***
THE
LAST CONQUISTADOR
selection
with music by
Richard
Martinez
The
Last Conquistador
is a documentary by John Valadez and Cristina
Ibarra, with music composed by Richard Martinez.
It was broadcast on PBS’s P.O.V., on Tuesday, July
15, 2008.
Renowned
sculptor John Houser has a dream: to build the
world's tallest bronze equestrian statue for the
city of El Paso, Texas. He envisions a stunning
monument to the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate
that will pay tribute to the contributions
Hispanic people made to building the American
West. But as the project nears completion troubles
arise. Native Americans are outraged — they
remember Oñate as the man who brought genocide to
their land and sold their children into slavery.
As El Paso divides along lines of race and class
in The Last Conquistador, the artist must face the
moral implications of his work.
***
LA
CASITA
by
Perla
de Leon
10
min.
An
ordinary day in the life of a seven year old girl
turns extraordinary following news of the death of
her grandfather’s best friend.
***
THE
LOVERS
by
Myra
Sito Velazquez
30
min.
 Taking
on the still highly controversial and, at times,
dangerous subject of Japan's wartime aggressions,
The Lovers is the tale
of a Chinese American woman and Japanese man whose
passion for each other forces them to confront the
legacies of their families in Nanking at the time
of the Japanese invasion in 1937. The
Lovers had its world premiere at
AMPAS recognized 13th Annual Palm Springs Intl
Festival of Short Films & Film
Market.
|
Tova
Beck-Friedmanis
an artist working in the mediums of film, video,
photography and sculpture. Recipient of several
grants and artistic residencies, her work has been
shown internationally in festival, galleries, on
television and on the internet.
***
Rain
Breaw is
an independent film director/producer currently
working with Laura Ziskin Productions on the
Stand Up 2 Cancer initiative. In addition
to this project, Rain is working on PSAs and music
videos, and preparing her first feature as a
writer/director. A 2007 graduate of the USC MFA
Production Program, Rain has produced a feature
film, Mr. Sadman
(currently in post-production) and numerous short
films.
***
Lili
White has
been exhibiting her works in solo and group shows
in the United States and abroad since before
moving to New York. In Philadelphia she received
at B.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and
graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts with a four-year painting certificate. Her
interest in the moving image and multimedia, lead
her to perform, write, produce, direct several
live multi-media pieces, each of which included
the performance participation of over a dozen
actors, poets and dancers. Upon the introduction
of computer digital editing programs, she made
several videos, that featured her gestural
performances as well as others that were based
upon poetry and documentary subjects. These are
often seen as a continuation of her earlier Super
8 film work and lead to screenings at numerous
cultural centers, including the American Museum of
the Moving Image in Queens, the Museum of American
Art in Philadelphia and The Newhouse Center in
Staten Island, New York.
***
As
a film and documentary composer Richard
Martinez scored
BLAST, directed by Paul Devlin, and
The Last Conquistador
directed by John J. Valadez and Cristina Ibarra,
which recently aired on P.O.V.,
Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving
Train (2005 short list for an Oscar,) The
Daytrippers, Bossa Nova,
Sangre/Blood, Harvest of
Redemption, Nolan’s Run, and
Take the Bridge (Tribeca Film Festival
2007). He is presently composing the score for
Not Here Not There directed by Betsy
Haley Hershey. In theater he composed music for
Viva la Vida! featuring Mercedes Ruehl.
Martinez continues to produce for acclaimed
composer Elliot Goldenthal and director Julie
Taymor. Films: Across the Universe,
Frida, and Titus. Theatre:
The Green Bird, Juan Darien.
Martinez has performed and recorded with Bono,
Carly Simon, Gregory Hines, Harry Belafonte,
Blood, Sweat and Tears, George Russell and has
assisted John Williams.
***
 Perla
de Leon
obtained a B.A. in Art & Education from
Fordham University before becoming a stills
photographer. By the time she studied film
directing at Columbia University, she had
freelanced in television and independent
filmmaking. Perla has several teaching licenses
and has taught video production, to both students
and teachers. She spent 10 years writing,
producing, directing and editing instructional
videos for the Board of Education in NYC.
Currently she freelances as a screenwriter, web
designer and stills photographer.
***
 Myra
Sito Velazquez
is of Chinese, German and Mexican heritage, and
was born and raised in Tokyo. A graduate of Sarah
Lawrence College, Myra's debut film Mother's
Blood is the recipient of the Lawrence Kasdan
Best Narrative Film Award, Grand Prize and Best
Actress Award, Chicks With Flicks NYC and has
screened at numerous festivals around the country
and abroad. Her feature screenplay Diana
is the BlueCat Screenplay Competition Award
winning Finalist 2006. Myra's latest film
The Lovers had its world
premiere at The 13th Annual Palm Springs Intl
Festival of Short Films and most recently at the
13th Sedona Intl Film Festival. Along with
developing Diana with a Manhattan- based
production company, Myra's first action comedy
short, Kung Fu Granny, will debut in New
York in September 2008.
|
 Alison
McMahan,
Ph.D., is a documentary filmmaker and president of
HOMUNCULUS
PRODUCTIONS LLC, a company that
produces training films, industrials and
documentaries. Recent films include the training
film LIVING WITH LANDMINES (2005),
and an industrial and a PSA for Pensamento
Digital, an NGO in Brazil that provides computers
and internet access to poor communities. Her
latest documentary isBARE
HANDS AND WOODEN LIMBS (2007),
She is currently in production on a feature length
documentary, THE
EIGHT FACES OF JANE: THE LIFE AND WORK OF JANE
CHAMBERS.
From
2001-2003 she held a Mellon Fellowship in Visual
Culture at Vassar College where she built a
virtual reality environment with a biofeedback
interface for CAVEs (computer automated virtual
environments). From 1997 to 2001 she was an
associate professor, teaching film history and
theory and new media at the University of
Amsterdam. She is the author of the award-winning
book ALICE GUY BLACHÉ, LOST CINEMATIC
VISIONARY (Continuum 2002) and THE FILMS
OF TIM BURTON: ANIMATING LIVE ACTION IN
HOLLYWOOD (Continuum 2005).
CWNY SCREENS
COMMITTEE
Programming
Director:
Maria
Pusateri
Curators/Programming:
Maria
Pusateri
Vicki
Vasilopoulos
Myra
Sito Velasquez
Guest
Curators:
Jessica
Burstein, Louise Fleming,
Alison
McMahan, Kelly Shindler
Intern:
Julie
Praetzel
Newsletter:
Ylana
Contact:
screenings@nywift.org
|
