Blog posting written by Shea Lynch, Documentary Studies '14, FLEFF Intern, Glens Falls, New York

IF YOU MISSED THIS EVENT, YOU ARE MISSING THE FLEFF EXPERIENCE!

The inspirational socio-documentarian and artist Monica Haller discussed her evolutionary work, The Veterans Book Project, Tuesday April 12.

Working along with graphic designer Matthew Rezac and software developer Mark Fox, Haller collaborates with many war veterans from the Afghan and Iraq wars. 

"The Veterans Book Project is a library of books authored collaboratively by artist Monica Haller and dozens of people who have been affected by, and have archives of, the current American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In their printed format, the books provide a place or “container” that slows down and materializes the great quantity of ephemeral image files that live on veterans’ hard drives and in their heads.

Each book re-deploys volatile images with the aim of rearticulating and refashioning memories. It stands both independent of and in concert with the larger collection."

-The Veteran Book Project Website

The books can be accessed through PDF format on the website (click here) or available for purchase. This unique artistic exhibition is something everyone needs to be apart of!

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

I just got out of the Monica Haller Check-In Reading in Park 220 and have to say that it was amazing. Monica was sharing The Veterans Book Project, a library of books archiving the experiences of individuals with the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Monica works with people who have directly experienced these wars. The books are the creations of soldiers, veterans, officials and Iraqis - filled with their photos and words reflecting on their experiences.

 The session began with a Q&A from the audience with Monica and then transitioned to a reading. Each book is titled "Objects for Deployment." They are meant to be shared. So we each took a book and spent a while reading them. During a reflection afterward, one participant remarked on the private experience of reading a book in this kind of intimate setting. I definitely agreed. Reading the stories of the soldiers and other participants in these conflicts was an intimate experience that everyone present shared. In that way we really captured what the Veterans Book Project is all about - bringing people's intimate experiences to a wider group.

This is an amazing project and it isn't restricted to FLEFF. Anyone can check it out and participant on their own level. I for one plan to share the Veterans Book Project with people from home and encourage you to do the same! You can buy individual books and learn more about the project by clicking HERE.

Blog was written by Kelsey Greene, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York

I am yet again in the third row of seats, but this time in the Park auditorium.  

Dr. Zimmermann is introducing the former Ithaca College alum who used to sit in the class I'm in now: Nonfiction Film Theory!

Laura Deutch says she didn't know what her path would be in college, which makes me feel a little bit better about not knowing my specific path for the future yet.  I love how she is telling us about how she became involved in media and the steps she took to get where she is today.  

The main focus of her presentation is her newest project Messages in Motion, which she started as a grad student senior thesis two years ago.  

She is a very organized and clear presenter.  Her slideshow is very informative and compliments what she is saying well.  I am drawn to her idea of documentary which includes more new media concepts.  

With her project she has individuals make "video postcards" using Flip cameras.  The project activates social relationships and promotes personal expression.  She redid an old cargo van and drives around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania teaching basic filmmaking techniques and helping community members use media in a meaningful way.

The slide that is currently up contains influential mobile media projects for Laura.  While her idea is unique and creative she makes the point that it is not the first of its kind...

• Kine Trains (1918)
• Antfarm Media Van (1971)
• People’s Documenta (1972)
• Termite TV Living Documentary Tour (1999)

She is kindly explaining her process with us and using examples from her different experiences.  She has a neat chart slide up with the following information giving the simple format of her process: 

1. Get community partners and plan with them
2. Hold workshop sessions- screening and discussion, basic camera and filmmaking techniques, and writing exercises 
3. Visual metaphors, storyboard, recording of images and voiceover
4. Editing
5. Upload and public screening

She is now showing us the homepage of her website that has a crazy map with blue lines marking where her Messages in Motion van has been.  It is very visually appealing!  

One thing I didn't know is she didn't originally plan on working with youth, and generally wanted to work with adults as well, but says she has worked mainly with youth since.  

As what I am doing now, Laura says she has been trying to blog as much as she can.  Her reason for doing so is to make the project and process as transparent as possible.  

She showed some clips of videos individuals have made.

Now, the presentation is coming to an end so I am going to wrap up this blog.  

Laura Deutch is very inspirational to me and I have immensely enjoyed and appreciated this presentation.      

Blog posting written by Shea Lynch, Documentary Studies '14, FLEFF Intern, Glens Falls, New York

IF YOU MISSED THIS EVENT, YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON THE FLEFF EXPERIENCE!

Monday April 11 kicked off FLEFF Week on the campus of Ithaca College. Our first event was Checkpoints: New Media Art Installation Center, moderated by Tim Murray from Cornell University. Artists showcasing their work were Renate Ferrow of Cornell University and Megan Roberts and Raymond Ghirardo of Ithaca College. 

Tim Murray gave a wonderful presentation on the Experimental Television Center (ETC) in the beginning of the program. I want to take a moment and educate everyone on this great artistic haven that will soon be no more come the end of this May.

The Center was founded in 1971 by Ralph Hocking and is located in Owego, New York. It offered many residencies to video artists.

"The Residency Program supports projects which approach media as a contemporary electronic and cinematic art form, providing artists with time and space for aesthetic exploration in the creation of new work. The self-directed work environment offers personalized instruction, use of a unique imaging system and access to the media library. Artists use the system themselves, and have unlimited access to the studio during their stay, with time and space for aesthetic exploration in the creation of new works."

-ETC Website

And since 1989, ETC has offered over one million dollars in grants to organizations and artists in New York State, including FLEFF!

Due to financial constraints, the ETC will no longer be run by Ralph Hocking. Cornell University, with the help of Tim Murray, will try to salvage the library of various video art projects stored in the vaults of ETC.

Everyone should check ETC out! It is a very cool organization that will soon be no more!

Blog posting by Brian McCormick, Film, Photo & Visual Arts '12, FLEFF Intern, Wilbraham, MA

This is a reminder that THIS FRIDAY, 4/15 at 11am in Park 220, there will be a FLEFF lab meet up with new media/film director Helen De Michiel.

Taken from her FLEFF bio: "Michiel is director of the Lunch Love Community webisode open space documentary project. Her 1995 feature film Tarantella, starring Mira Sorvino, won the Audience Award at the 1996 Torino International Woman’s Film Festival. Her documentary, Turn Here Sweet Corn (1990) was seen nationally on the PBS series POV, receiving awards from Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Earthpeace International Film Festival and the American Film & Video Festival."

Don't miss this chance to meet up and engage in conversation with such a revelational artist in person!

Michiel will also be here to talk on Thursday, 4/14 at 1:10pm in Park 220. Here open space documentary "Lunch Love Community" will be playing this Saturday, 4/16 at 12:00 noon at Cinemapolis. Just look at the film's website -- it's incredible!

REMEMBER: All of these on-campus events are FREE (most Cinemapolis events charge admission), so get out there! Keep up with the on-campus schedule so you don't miss any of these gems.

There is a saying amongst past FLEFF attendees: "There has never been a FLEFF event that I did not enjoy!"

Blog was written by Kelsey Greene, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York

The opening concert held tonight in Hockett Hall was was amazing!  

The event lasted over an hour but time flew by as audience members were captivated by the extremely talented performers.  Pianists Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin electrified the keys while vocalist Brad Hougham eloquently sang  a German opera.  

The projections continuously playing behind the performers were also a spectacle!  

The perfect alignment of everything throughout the concert was astonishing!

The event was definitely a once in a lifetime experience!  I'm so glad I was able to attend!  

Blog was written by Matthew R. Reis, Cinema & Photography Major with an Art History Minor, '13, FLEFF intern, Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey

Live from Hockett Recital Hall!

Along with the wondrous music there are some very cool things happening on the walls of the recital room. Behind the musicians 3 projections (One large display flanked by 2 smaller ones) are showing a variety of visual things: art deco inspired motifs, television scan lines and silent film clips.

The performance just ended, but not without a flurry of activity. The pianists, Jairo and Deborah, unleashed all their energy in a few minutes. Brad joined them and the trio made what is best described as a buzzing, bee like assault on the audience's senses.

Come downtown starting this Thursday, April 14th for more FLEFF events at Cinemapolis. Events are also being held on campus through Friday.

Thanks for reading.

Blog was written by Matthew R. Reis, Cinema & Photography Major with an Art History Minor, '13, FLEFF intern, Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey

Live from Hockett Recital Hall!

This is a piano driven performance. The musicians Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin are playing in tandem and are seated across from each other. Their simultaneous performances are resulting in expressive dual melodies. These melodies are reverberating throughout the hall. What I am witnessing is best described as a cacophonous rush paired with a hyperactive children's lullaby.

My ears are starting to be lulled to sleep. But, the calming sensation is suddenly overturned. Paving the way is a completely different aural experience. The pleasant sleepiness I felt is being pushed away in favor of a loud, scintillating banging. The keys on each of the two Steinway pianos are being struck with the utmost precision.

This isn't bad noise it's welcome noise — aka — music.

Now baritone singer Brad Hougham strides graciously onto the stage. After a few moments he starts to sing. Brad's voice carries across the chamber and is a nice contrast to the pianists next to him. His voice is rich and his experience shines through. I like that he knows not to fight the sounds being emitted right next to him. He weaves his full, luscious vocals with, not against, Jairo and Deborah's play.

Stay tuned for more from "The Checkpoints Concert" in a short while.

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

FLEFF is upon us! We had a terrific kick-off last night with the world premiere of the Finger Lakes Uncorked! webisode series and grand opening gala at the Finger Lakes Wine Center in downtown Ithaca. Since then, I've run into a lot of people on campus asking, "Just what is FLEFF?" Besides AMAZING, here's a quick catch-up on some of what FLEFF is all about:

FLEFF stands for the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, but it goes beyond what you'd expect. The documentaries and narrative films shown at the festival all revolve around the idea of how people relate to their environments and how our environments relate to us.

There are films with topics ranging from environmental exploitation (like End:Civ showing at Cinemapolis Friday, April 15 at 9:00pm with director Frank Lopez) to the recent economic breakdown (Fixing the Future showing at Cinemapolis Saturday, April 16 at 4:00pm with director and journalist David Brancaccio). There are also silent films with live musical accompaniment, new media presentations on campus and live music events at Delilah's April 14-16th.

A lot of the artists, musicians and filmmakers associated with FLEFF events will be present at their events to answer questions and interact with the audience - especially students.

The last live FLEFF festival in 2009 attracted over 10,000 people and this year is going to be even BIGGER. Most of the on-campus events are free but if you want to attend a Cinemapolis screening (and I'm sure you do) you can buy a Festival Five Pass for $45 ($35 with college ID) or an individual screening ticket for $9.50 ($8 with college ID).

So what are you waiting for? Check out the schedule of events this week on-campus and downtown at Cinemapolis and see what all the excitement is about!
 

Blog was written by Kelsey Greene, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York

I am not usually the kind of student who pulls out their computer during class to go online, but I have been instructed to do so for this blog.  

I am sitting in the third row of seats in room 115 of the Center for Health Sciences building.  Renate Ferro is currently speaking to the audience of mostly students who regularly attend Dr. Zimmerman's class Nonfiction Film Theory at this time.

After an introduction from Dr. Zimmerman, Tim Murray began the discussion with a brief history of video art and new media.  I found out a great deal started right here in Ithaca, NY!  

The Experimental Television Center, which has been an important place for discovery for many respected artists is located in Owego, NY.  It sadly will be closing this year in May, but is most definitely celebrated and will not be forgotten.  

Renete showed us some neat projects she has done or is working on including:

• Private Secrets Public Lies
• Screen Memory
• The Cabinet 
• FortDa 
• Suspicious Packages (in the process)- The project is about personal belongings or personal beings who have been under suspicion.  

Now, Megan Roberts and Raymond Ghirado are speaking and showing pieces they have worked on.  They began by showing us a project they did with twelve stacked TVs that they synced with music.  

The projects they are showing us were made at the Experimental Television Center.  It is interesting to hear their personal stories about how they made them while they show us the art.  

Some of the projects they showed us were: 

• Cone Field    
• Cascade
• Godzilla   
• Rain-Fall 
• Image Stream 

It has been really neat to see the artists discuss their projects and share their thoughts with each other and the students in the room.  

I'm looking forward to more FLEFF events and will try to keep you posted!

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism ‘13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, Massachusetts

On Sunday I attended the first FLEFF event, the Checkpoint Reading at Buffalo Street Books, where three international writers read from their work and answered questions from the audience. The writers were essayist Catherine Taylor, who is an assistant professor of writing at Ithaca College, poet Irakli Kakabadze, and novelist Ernesto Quiñonez. The readings were all both powerful and socially conscious, while in a way reflected each writer’s life and background.

Afterwards, I had the chance to briefly speak one-on-one with Kakabadze, who kindly answered my questions about his reading.

Kakabadze is an exiled writer from the Republic of Georgia, where he was part of both the movement for liberation from Soviet rule and the Rose Revolution.

Before he began reading, he said his inspiration for this particular poem came from raising his son. Though he is only four years old, Kakabadze said that he is already thinking about how his son would write his résumé.

It was this question that led him to craft a poem about the “eensy weensy spider,” each line seeming to describe an attempt by the spider to find its way in the 21^st century. Lines include, “The eensy weensy spider knew exactly when he should scream,” and “The eensy weensy spider used laptops and desktops.”

As Kakabadze spoke — first reciting the poem in Georgian, then in English — the motions and gestures of his hands and fingers almost resembled the legs of a climbing spider.

Though it was a lot to take in, his words pulled me and I found it impossible to look away. I asked him afterward what the lines of his poem meant, and why he chose to use the spider as his character.

He told me that the story of the spider in the nursery rhyme reminds him of the story of Sisyphus in Greek mythology, where the main character is rolling a boulder up a hill, but can never reach the top. The spider is similarly trying to reach the top of the waterspout, only to have the rain wash him down.

The poem he recited, in a way, describes the climb up the social/career ladder in the 21^st century, but in the form of a lullaby that can be taught to children.

He said his son loves hearing the part about the “eensy weensy” spider, but he’s not sure if he currently understands the other stuff yet.

To learn more about Irakli Kakabadze, his work, and his activism, check out these great articles and interviews:

Irakli Kakabadze (Ithaca City of Aslyum)

Exiled writer, students explore nonviolence and the arts to resolve political conflict (Cornell Chronicle Online, April 13, 2010)

Interview: Irakli Kakabadze (MP3) (Writers at Cornell, September 5, 2008)

An Interview with Irakli Kakabadze (Icorn Featured Writers, September 2007)

^{Blog posting written by Brian McCormick, Film, Photo & Visual Arts '12, FLEFF Intern, Wilbraham, MA}

What an exciting (and warm!) day to kick off FLEFF 2011!

Today was the premiere of the Uncorked! webisodes at Cinemapolis and the Opening Gala for FLEFF at the Fingers Lakes Wine Center.

I showed up at Cinemapolis around 6:40PM and the theater was PACKED (the premiere scheduled for 7:00PM). There were students, faculty, actors and actresses, members of the community -- a fantastic turn out.

Once there was a "seat" in every seat of the theater, the webseries kicked off with a bang -- the audience was rolling with laughter within a minute. Having personally worked as crew on these webisodes, I was very ecstatic with the warm reception it received. The webseries is certainly a great visual example of the beauty and allure of the Finger Lakes.

After the first five episodes were screened, the cast and crew stood up to do a Q and A with audience, followed by a screening of the remaining four episodes.

I got a real taste of the unique FLEFF experience when supervising director of Uncorked! and Park Productions Carol Jennings announced to the crowd: "This is the only time someone will tell you to do this, but please, take out your cell phones!" By this she meant to get online and go to the webseries' website, and to send that link out to people -- a certain kind of viral, social media approach that we will keep on seeing variants of during this festival.

Following the Uncorked! screening was the FLEFF Opening Gala at the new Wine Center. This was a great hour or two for people to mingle, eat food and drink fine wine. Meanwhile, a large HD monitor set up in the corner of the room projected the number of hits the Finger Lakes Uncorked! website was receiving. I watched as a few children sitting by the screen yelled out the numbers "998 ... 999...1,000!"

Can't wait for tomorrow's events!

Blog posting written by Yukino Kondo, Integrated Marketing Communications & Drama, ’14, FLEFF Intern, Tokyo, Japan. 

I have not been keeping up with the blogging in a while but I am back! And this time, this is a definite!

I wanted to let you all know that there is a meet up with Helen De Michiel at 1:10 pm in Park 220 on April 14. She will not actually be there because she will be in Madagascar. However, the meet up will be a live skype with her to Madagascar!

Helen De Michiel is a director, writer, and a producer. She is a founder for Thirty Leaves, which is a production organization “to frame independent media work [she] generates and collaborate with others to create.” She is currently also a co-director at National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. Her efforts are put into film, television and video installations. Her feature film, Tarantella was shown at the Seattle Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival in 1995. She holds a MFA in film and visual arts from University of California, San Diego.

This event is quite exciting for probably most aspiring filmmakers and me because firstly, the event gives us a chance to meet up with a successful filmmaker and hear stories from her. It is always helpful to talk to those who are in the business and gain knowledge about the real world. Secondly, I am interested in how a skype conversation would work in an environment with a lot of audience. I am so used to skyping my friends one to one that I cannot imagine how it would be like with multiple people. It is an indication of how useful technology can be and how far it has come.

So, please, come to the event! It will be an interesting experience for all us, especially students who are studying film.

Blog was written by Kelsey Greene, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York 

On Friday, April 15, a panel will be held at 4 p.m. in Williams 225 called How to Get Your Break.  This event is one everyone, I repeat everyone should try and make.  Leading media artists, Rodrigo Brandao, Rodrigo Bellott, Tina Marbry, and Karin Chien will be present to discuss insightful information and tips on what one should do to well, "get their break" in the media industry.  Ithaca College professor Steve Gordon will be moderating the panel.  The event is free and will be time well spent!  Mark your calendars and don't miss it!       

Blog was written by Kelsey Greene, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York

The Lunch Love Community webisodes will be screened on Saturday April 16 at Cinemapolis.  To match the subject of lunch, the event will be held at noon and food will be sold for those hungry just thinking about the topic!  Film director Helen De Michiel is coming all the way from California to take part in discussions about her website and the issues it addresses.  To deepen the discussion, chef and cookbook author Julie Jordan will be present along with Ithaca College public health professor Stewart Auyash.  If you like food and love to take part in intellectual engagement this event is for you!  

Blog was written by Kelsey Greene, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York

Tomorrow there will be an incredible event that every one should try and attend.  The event is called New Media Art Installation and will be held at 3 p.m. in room 115 in the Center for Natural Sciences.  The event will be free, which makes it even better!  It will be moderated by Timothy Murray and feature artists Renate Ferro, Megan Roberts, and Raymond Ghirardo.  This special event is also part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Experimental Television Center.  Make sure you don't miss out on this spectacular opportunity!    

^{Blog posting written by Brian McCormick, Film, Photo & Visual Arts '12, FLEFF Intern, Wilbraham, MA}

Tijuana based new media group DreamAddictive will be at FLEFF this Tuesday, April 12th in Business 104 at 7:00pm (on campus, FREE) for "Activist Retooling Fourfold," along with Elvira Dyangani Ose, Monica Haller and Sarah Wylie.

DreamAddictive is a collaborative partnership that began in 2003 between Leslie Garcia and Carmen González.

As quoted from their FLEFF bio: "[DreamAddictive's] work explores technical skills coming from the field of applied sciences, like physical computing, visual programming, hardware production, articulated through art and design, to create responsive environments and situations that play with the limits between the oneiric and the virtual."

DreamAddictive "works under the Open source philosophy as a way of sustaining and distributing the knowledge produced from research in working with multiple means." (taken from the DreamAddictive website)

One of their recent projects is OpenSolarCircuits, which is a project which works as a collective construction framework, systematizing the knowledge obtained during the research process so as to be later reproduced in different contexts. The project focuses on experimenting with sustainable electronic circuits, thus generating knowledge networks and tools for urban interaction.

Their work has been shown in diverse contexts: virtual happenings through the Internet; festivals; solo and group exhibitions, as well as live acts and audiovisual improvisations. DreamAddictive is the recipient of the grant PECDA “Creadores con trayectoria”,and the grant Fonca “Jóvenes creadores."

Don't miss them, along with other FLEFF guests, this Tuesday, April 12th in Business 104 at 7:00PM! (on campus, FREE)

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism ‘13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, Massachusetts

Film editor Tom Swartwout will be featured in two FLEFF events this week. At 5:25 pm Wednesday, April 13, in Friends 205 (Ithaca College campus), Swartwout will be addressing Professor Tom Shevory’s class about Environmental Documentaries and Persuasive Storytelling. Then at noon on Saturday, April 16, at Cinemapolis, Swartwout will be leading a Feature Film Editing Workshop.

Swartwout has been an editor for director Sidney Lumet, who, sadly, passed away on Saturday at the age of 86.

Recently, Swartwout took the time to speak with me a little about what he will be doing at FLEFF, and also about his work as an editor.

GM: Can you tell me a little about the two FLEFF events you’re involved in?

TS: I have a couple of documentaries that I’ve edited: some that deal directly with climate change, some with green technology, some with restoration of the delta. I’ll be bringing clips to [Dr. Shevory’s] class, and talking about some of the strategies the producers, writers and myself developed in order to try to persuade people that what we had to offer was valuable and worth listening to.

I think it's clear that it's very difficult for people to hear opinions that they don't agree with, and, how [to] persuade someone that your position is valid is tricky in this world. Everyone is remarkably polarized in their position around climate issues and conservation issues.

So when we make these documentaries we're not just speaking to people that agree with us; we're trying to talk to people that maybe don't agree with us, to persuade them that our position is worth listening to. I'll be asking students what strategies they use when they argue, and talking a little bit about strategies that we use and what we think sometimes work.

I’ll be down at Cinemapolis talking about editorial decision-making.

Many decisions that are made while making a film, I consider editorial decisions. They're not all just decisions that an editor makes after everything is shot, but the steps and the process of making a film involve editorial decisions along the way... Then we'll talk about how once those decisions are made, how they end up in the lap of the editor, and how the editor's end is kind of the final filter in the decision-making process.

GM: How can the editing process differ when being done for differing filmmakers?

TS: I’m an editor for Sidney Lumet, and he’s a very traditional filmmaker. So in a sense, how we cover a scene might be classic Hollywood style where we start wide and slowly work your way into close-ups…

If you go to someone like David Fincher, whose not as worried about those things — or Michael Mann or someone like that — where as long as the audience has gone along for the ride they're not as worried about the classic structure of photographing. So the editorial decisions are slightly different in their approach. The end result is hopefully the same, but the process is different.

GM: How did you end up in editing as your career?

TS: Mostly by accident. When I got out of school, I was making my own short and wasn't quite sure how to make a living being a filmmaker.

I had to spend more time editing than I did in production. That's the nature of how that process worked. So when I needed to get a paying job, [I started] a job as an apprentice in a commercial house in New York City. I then slowly worked my way up from apprentice editor to assistant editor, and then got work on a feature film.

I kind of took a step back in title, but it was a step forward in my career. I became an assistant again on features and then from there made my way up.

GM: What are some of the purposes you keep in mind when editing film?

TS: The main purpose of editing is to get the audience to focus at any given moment on something purposeful, something with meaning — I use that loosely, because obviously sometimes you just have to be on a person talking.

But the decisions that we make are all geared toward focusing an audience's attention…

Sometimes it’s very purposeful: You need to see the perspectives well; you need to see the car driving down the road. But sometimes it’s about emotion and humor and using an audience’s personal experiences to inform what they’re seeing, sort of counting on the fact that we all have common experiences that we can rely on when the story is being told.

-----

Save the date!:
5:25-6:40 pm on Wednesday, April 13 in Friends 205, Tom Swartwout will be giving a talk on Environmental Documentaries and Persuasive Storytelling
12 pm on Saturday, April 16, at Cinemapolis, Tom Swartwout will be leading a feature film editing workshop.

Blog posting written by Peter Keahey, Film, Photography and Visual Arts, '12, FLEFF Intern, Yellow Springs, Ohio

3 at the checkpoint is a FREE reading at Buffalo Street Books with poet Irakli Kakabadze, novelist Ernesto Quinonez, and essayist Catharine Taylor.

Irakli Kakabadze is a poet, performer, and activist born in the former soviet union. In the 1980s he was a key leader of the student opposition to the soviet union. From 1997-2002, he worked as a program associate at the national peace foundation and SC office coordinator for the institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy in Washington D.C. In 2006, one of his close collaborators died under mysterious circumstances, and Irakli was arrested three times for voicing criticism of the government.

Ernesto Quinonez was raised in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City. Before his first publication he was heralded by The Village Voice as a “writer on the verge.” His debut novel, Bodega Dreams (Vintage Contemporary Originals), was chosen as a Los Angeles Times and a New York Times Notable books of the year. Quiñonez’ second novel, Chango’s Fire (HarperCollins), was  well received and his work has appeared in Newsweek, Esquire, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, El Pais, The Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, and other publications. He is currently an assistant professor at Cornell University’s MFA program in creative writing.

Catherine Taylor is the author of Giving Birth: A Journey Into the World of Mothers and Midwives.Taylor worked as a producer, writer, and researcher on a number of film projects in New York City including “The Exiles” . She was a Co-founder and Producer of The Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Taylor is a Founding Editor of Essay Press, an independent. Her hybrid genre book about South Africa, Apart, will be published in 2012. She is interested in a wide range of nonfiction forms–from documentary work and literary journalism to critical theory and lyric essays.

Seating is limited for this event, and you don't want to miss the opportunity to interact with all of these exciting individuals! So arrive early! The event is TOMORROW (Sunday April 10th) at 3 p.m.

Blog posting written by Peter Keahey, Film, Photography and Visual Arts, '12, FLEFF Intern, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Peter: Does all this technology ever become overwhelming?

Philip: Daily. I have my own mechanisms for dealing with that. One of the principle mechanisms is I watch a lot of 1930s movies, early B-movies. It’s not that I think they’re good, but they take me out of the mindset, this frontier media saturation, that I work in all the time. To watch Flash Gordon conquer the universe for an hour between midnight and one a.m. helps me. I also actually study the sets of these old movies, and I pay a lot of attention to the environments and the details of their sets and lighting and camera compositions. So it’s also research, and informing how I approach 3D modeling and set design and so on. It helps to ground me in some ideas and techniques and concepts that are long term and cross media boundaries. Watching old movies refreshes my cinema vocabulary. I don’t do a lot of activities that can’t relate to making my work. So I found a way of making 30s movies useful, and I get a break from what I do thirteen hours a day.

Peter: Do you try to maintain a balance between traditional artwork and digital artwork?

Philip: Not in terms of the forms that I work in. My work is entirely digital. If I’m working with something analogue it’s in order to move it into a digital form. My sources for content and perspective are analogue. Just as I watch 1930s movies, I also seriously study photography, music, and theatre from other times. I draw from those not only content, but ideas about how things are put together. That kind of study goes back thousands of years. How are ideas shaped? How are messages shaped? How are ideas and messages coded in works from other places and times and cultures? In that way, I’m very much paying attention to analogue forms, in order to understand how and why they were made, extract that information, and move it into my contemporary work. To move these ideas from the renaissance or a temple into current work is for me a very exciting thing to do. It gives me a kind of perspective I think is very useful. It gives my work a particular character and signature.

Peter: What are your current projects?

Philip: They are entirely digital projects and deal with synthetic worlds. I’ve done this for the past four or five years now. I’ve been working in digital worlds such as Second Life and other grids. That’s been enormously exciting and challenging to me. A whole new world literally opens up. At the same time it returns me to a much older interest, animation and model making. Those have been interests of mine for a very long time. I was doing 16 mm animation in the late 60s early 70s. I was building models since I was old enough to pick up glue and use a paintbrush. Creating synthetic worlds allows me to deal with those kinds of interests. It’s entirely plastic and malleable, to the level of coding involved.
Because of the frontier nature of synthetic worlds and other virtual reality forms such as augmented reality and 3D, there’s room to invent. There’s room to innovate and experiment, and to actually shape what these things look like going into the future. The world we live in today was very much invented and shaped by the media artists that I was working with in the early seventies. There’re people that I knew, that moved from New York State to the west coast in the mid-70s to go to work in the unheard of video-game enterprise. And look at the world today. The artists and technologists of that day were involved in the creation and incubation of what we know today. Just in the concept of college programs and media art, that is a direct result of what we were doing in places like Ithaca Video Projects and other media arts centers at the dawn of the current world.

Peter: Are you still based in Ithaca?

Philip: I left Ithaca in 1987. I am currently in Athens Ohio.

Peter: What kind of work are you bringing to FLEFF this year?

Philip: I’m participating in a couple discussions about the history of media art, particularly in the Finger Lakes area. I’m also giving a talk on my current work in synthetic worlds, and how I transitioned from a literal body of work in an installation, to an installation in Second Life, coming out of the same body of work and presenting it in an entirely different way.

Blog posting written by Peter Keahey, Film, Photography and Visual Arts, '12, FLEFF Intern, Yellow Springs, Ohio

I recently had the chance to conduct a very interesting interview with new media artist Philip Mallory Jones. Mr. Jones has worked with video, film, photography, and other venues going back to the 1960s. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Arizona Governors Award for the Arts for his digital Paintings.

Currently, Mr. Jones works completely in digital and synthetic worlds, creating things such as 3D models and synthetic worlds. His work has been shown all over the world. He was also the founder of Ithaca Video Projects, a very important media center back in the 70's and 80's.

His FLEFF lectures are 4-6p.m. Thursday April 14 in Studio A in the Roy Park School of Communications, and Friday April 15 from 1-2p.m.

Peter: How long have you been involved with FLEFF?

Philip: This is my first time participating in the festival.

Peter: What made you decide to participate this year?

Philip: Patty Zimmerman contacted me and asked if I was interested in being a part of it. Because of the component of the festival involving archives and experimental television centers, and my long history in media in the Finger Lakes area, She felt it was a good idea, and appropriate, to contact me.

Peter: When you first began using “new media,” what sort of projects were you doing?

Philip: I began using video in 1969. That was the beginning of small format video. I’ve done a lot of different things for the past forty-something years. In 69-70, when Ithaca Video Projects first formed, we had a contemporary interests and concerns at that time. For me, working in video, which was new, with no courses or colleges to teach this, was the frontier. It was the possibility of inventing a new art form and a new media language. That in particular interested me. Just as many years before, filmmakers approached cinema in the same way, and photography, and so on.
Given that video, in it’s earliest days, was very different from television and very different from cinema, it was the opportunity for me and others involved at that time to really step into new territory and bring our own sensibilities and interests to this new form, and to experiment.

Peter: What sort of work was Ithaca Video Projects involved in?

Philip: Ithaca Video Projects closed in 1985. It ran for fourteen years. It was one of the first media arts centers anywhere. The involvement over those fourteen years was quite widespread not only in the Ithaca area, but also nationally and internationally. For instance, in 1985, I took that years Ithaca video festival to cities in Belgium.
During the active years of Ithaca Video Projects, we were involved with everything that went on in the Ithaca area, around New York State and beyond. We did all kinds of work with area arts associations and individual artists. It was quite extensive. It was accessible to others. We had a visiting artists program and also loaned equipment to groups and individuals in the area. It was a very community oriented arts association.

Peter: As a new media artist, how important is it to stay up to date with technology?

Philip: It’s important and it’s not important. I learned a long time ago, working with media tools, there’s always the chase for the current technology, and that hasn’t changed in forty-two years. That is a constant struggle and anxiety. With the advent of additional technologies, there’s also keeping up with the software. That’s an even bigger problem and a constant learning curve. I’m always looking at three to five different programs that I need to take the time to learn how to use.
As my ambitions and visions for work move with the technology, that’s my need to stay current. On the other hand, an artist working in any form can do great work by mastering that form and those tools. Great work can be made on a piano today just as it could several hundred years ago. It’s what the artist brings to the tool and the form that really shapes the work. So on one hand I struggle with this constant learning curve challenge, but I keep in mind, you can make great work with a stick in the sand if you’re good with a stick. It’s not the tool that makes the work; it’s the mind of the artist.

April 9 2011
 

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism ‘13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, Massachusetts

I recently got in touch with cinematographer and director Arthur Smith, who will be screening his documentary What Do Polar Bears Dream While They're Dying at 2:10 pm on Sunday, April 17 at Cinemapolis.

Smith, who lives in Alaska and warned me of the difficulties that could come with making a phone connection to the Arctic, took the time to answer my questions about his work in the following e-mail interview.

GM: When and how did you end up in Alaska? 

AS: I came to Alaska in 1992 on photo assignment.  I returned again in 1993 and traveled to the Arctic for a "bird shoot".  I immediately connected in a way that would prove to become an irresistible draw. In 2004 I came back to the Arctic and have since called it home. 

GM: Can you tell me a little about why you chose to make a film about polar bears? 

AS: It was not that I chose to make a film about polar bears; I came back to the Arctic to make a film about us — to find and identify that which compelled me to return north, to answer questions that I now believe I have just begun to understand. 

There is a connection to life that I believe is critical to the understanding and exercise of our place in the world. 

I feel strongly that if the connection is severed, or denied in total, a chaos, or disunity follows, leading to a free fall of civilization.  I question whether or not this may be the repetitive trigger that so many civilizations before us have suffered.  I question whether or not we are now there, staring into that abyss.

While polar bears are the most amazing animals I've ever witnessed, it's their innocence and purity that strikes a contrast to the corruption and greed that we humans choose to exercise.

Polar bears have become the perfect mirror in which, if we dare look, the state of humanity is reflected.  On so many levels and in so many ways, the Arctic now stands as a turning point in our history.

What I mean is:  we cannot deny the facts that have surfaced; we cannot deny the responsibility of our actions.  We should act to correct our course, but are likely to choose to do nothing, believing that more of what has brought us here, to this point in time, will somehow result in a different answer.

I am making films about polar bears so that we may see ourselves, to understand the true costs at stake, to measure how close we are to so perfect a life that we may soon doom to extinction.

The danger here is not that history will judge the course we elect, but that we'll be our own judges in real time.  The fate visited upon the polar bear is the same fate we are visiting upon ourselves.   

GM: How does the power of the red one camera contribute to your work's purpose?

AS: As an independent filmmaker, the RED is a tool of immeasurable worth.  It presents the ability to translate vision to art in a way that only a full 35mm cine system could previously accomplish.

To a studio setting, to big budget films, it may present a new way to continue what already is, but to someone like me, unsupported in a place such as the Arctic, the RED presents a revolutionary approach, redefining what is possible.

GM: A flyer for your film states: "life poisoned/home denied/death by greed/what if we all are the polar bear." 

Those first three lines almost sound like they could relate to a crisis involving human rights. Is this something you had in mind when coming up with the concept for this film?

AS: This is what I had in mind before I returned to the Arctic in 2004.   How we value and treat life is reflected in all life.   We cannot honestly compartmentalize life, creating single-dimensional aspects separate and apart from all others and then judge that individually, we stand safely.  All life is connected.

The toxification of the Arctic is a human rights issue.  The Inuit are the hardest hit people on earth.  Beyond the Arctic, however, studies are revealing that humans worldwide are carrying a lot of toxins.  I refer to this in my movie as well.

The polar bears share their fate, they reflect what we are doing to others and now, to ourselves, as new studies are revealing.

GM: The trailer for your film states that “Polar bears and pregnant women share many things in common.” How did you come up with the comparison between polar bears and pregnant women?

AS: Many of the same toxins that are appearing in pregnant women have been known to exist in polar bears and Inuit people for many years.  It was thought to be an Arctic problem.  Now we are learning it is a burden visited upon us all.

In a measure of the most sacred aspect of life, renewal, I'm wondering if we retain enough respect for life to not accept that our mothers, wives, daughters and children are to become the bearers of a toxic legacy.

As we have a tendency to study and review and study again, awaiting an answer before we act, I have to believe that some instances represent such an abhorrent and intuitive affront to life, that there can be only one answer:  no.  No levels of toxins are acceptable.  I think it's fairly easy to understand that this is not a situation where we should wait until it's broken before we respond.

These toxins persist for decades.  Studies on PBDE's began in the 90's.  A decade passed before action was taken. The price we will pay has yet to be fully realized.  When the day comes that really bad news breaks, we will bear consequences that we are unprepared to accept.

Read the study on the impact of the Exxon Valdez spill upon Orcas:
http://www.whalesalaska.org/docs/m356p269.pdf

GM: How did you stay safe in filming this? How did you make it so your presence did not disrupt or affect the bears?

AS: Polar bears are perhaps the most misunderstood and misrepresented predators in natural history.  They are in fact social animals that are comprised of members of extended family groups; I like the term "clan".

Their behavior and tolerance toward each other translates to a generalized behavioral acceptance.  Provided one is not the menu, and not a threat, what is left to be concerned with?

As in any and all things, understanding is paramount.  I've learned polar bears.  You must be respectful and sensitive of their space.  One's behavior over time wins a trust and equivalent respect in return.

Many times, polar bears have accepted my presence and become completely oblivious to me.  I never push them.  They come close enough out of their own natural curiosity.

Certainly I make use of long focal lengths and am always mindful of physical exposure.  One point here is important: these bears are in great condition, very healthy and not starving.

Starving or famished predators are dangerous, but as I addressed in so many of the presentations of my first film, Ice Bears of the Beaufort, so would be a population of starving humans.  For me, it's a relatively easy task to safely and properly assess the demeanor of the bears by watching their behavior and judging their "civility."

If there's a touchy or problem bear, so far, I've succeeded in identifying and avoiding them.

GM: What do you hope a student audience will take from this film?

AS: I remember the 60's, the power and change represented within the unified cause for a just and civil state.  That power still exists, but must be realized and acted upon to affect a new direction for our future.  More of the same is no longer going to work. 

-----

Save the date! - 2:10 pm on Sunday, April 17 at Cinemapolis, Arthur Smith will be screening and discussing What Do Polar Bears Dream When They're Dying.

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

We all know that the film business is a cutthroat, rapid-fire industry. As a film student, I'm always dwelling on the question of, "How am I actually going to break into the film industry?" Lucky for me and everyone else asking this question (and I know you all are), one of the on-campus events for FLEFF is a panel on that very subject!

How to Get Your Break is going to be a FREE panel moderated by Ithaca College's own Steve Gordon and featuring filmmakers Rodrigo Brandao (director of publicity at Kino Lorber Films), Rodrigo Bellott (IC alum and casting director of "Even the Rain"), Tina Mabry (writer/director of "Mississippi Damned") and Karin Chien (president of dGenerate Films). This promises to be a great discussion of the film industry and how to make your foot in the proverbial door. All four of these filmmakers will also be screening their own films and having seperate sessions all week so take the time to see their movies before and after the panel!

The best part is that all these people are participating because they want to meet students, so make sure to come prepared with your best questions! The panel will be Friday, April 15 from 4:00-5:15pm in Williams 225. Come early to get a good seat because it's promising to be a packed house! See you there!

Blog posting written by Abby Sophir, Television/Radio '14, FLEFF Intern, St. Louis, Missouri.

Ask yourself: “If your homeland was invaded by aliens who cut down the forests, poisoned the water and air, and contaminated the food supply, would you resist?”

This is the questioned posed by END:CIV, one of the many must-see documentaries airing during FLEFF week. 

Even better, if you’re like me and avoid Friday classes, take advantage of the afternoon and head on over to Park 220 at 2 PM on April 15 for conversation with Franklin Lopez, the director of the film. END: CIV is a fast-paced critique of our culture’s addiction to systematic violence and environmental exploitation. It is based in part on Endgame, a best-selling book by Derrick Jensen. 

You can then catch the movie at 9 PM that night at Cinemapolis. 

For anyone interested in documentary production, environmentalism or politics, this FLEFF lab is a great, intimate opportunity!

Blog posting written by Lindsay Harrop, Cinema & Photography '13, FLEFF Intern, McMinnville, Oregon

FLEFF is about more than just film screenings; we also have a lot of guests coming! If you're looking to stay on campus (or if you want to come up for a visit) make sure to see Monica Haller! As a new media artist, Monica develops long-term collaborations with individuals and small groups through photography, video and writing.

"Her artistic practice is rooted in social justice concerns and attempts to mobilize information by amplifying the materials and technologies that her collaborators have turned to along the way. Drawing from the experiences of the individuals and communities with whom she works, Monica reactivates their personal histories, and in so doing, hopes to provoke critical dialogue around them and their larger social contexts. Monica has a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies, an MFA in Visual Studies and has received fellowships from foundations including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation and the Jerome Foundation." (FLEFF 2011 Guest Bio)

Monica will be having a reading and meet-up session with students Tuesday, April 12 from 1:10-2:25pm in Park 220. Make sure to come by and learn about her work! And if you like that session (or if you have class then), she'll also be a part of the FLEFF Panel: Activist Retooling Fourfold Tuesday, April 12 at 7:00pm in Business 104.

I am super excited for this event and hope to see everyone else there too!

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism ‘13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, Massachusetts

I recently had the opportunity to speak on the phone with Helen De Michiel, who, with fellow filmmaker Sophie Constantinou, produced and directed the Lunch Love Community. According to the film’s website, they call it their “open space documentary project.”
The documentary, released online in the form of six webisodes, explores the community-based efforts in Berkeley, California to reform the school lunch program.

De Michiel will be screening and discussing the Lunch Love Community at noon on Saturday, April 16 at Cinemapolis. Accompanying her will be chef and cookbook author Julie Jordan and public health professor Stewart Auyash.

I’ve divided the interview into two parts.

Part 1:

GM: Why did you decide to take on this project about lunch reform, and what were you hoping to find out?

HD: I really wanted to explore this story because it contained all really amazing elements that were really rich and kind of unknown.

If you just vaguely knew about whatever happened with school lunch in Berkeley, you would just know about a couple of heroes who people think of, [such as] Alice Waters, who started the restaurant Chez Panisse. It is really famous and kind of got the "delicious revolution" going in the 1980s. She was involved, but when I first started, I started finding out how many community members really worked hard over the years to get a food policy enacted and then make these changes.

I wanted to find out how individual citizens work together to change policies and institutions that were very entrenched.

Then I wanted to also find out how change develops out of conflict and opportunities. When there's conflict, there are also possible opportunities that open up.

I also wanted to find out how obstacles can create new ways of doing things creatively. For example: When there's a challenge, like how do we really change these horrible school lunches? Well, how do we do it creatively — given all the different obstacles that we’re coming up against? It is something I started to find out they did really interestingly in Berkeley.

Finally [I wanted to find out] how this town really is a model that can inspire other people to do it themselves.

It was a story with many many different layers to it. I really was intrigued by those different layers of the story, because when you talk about food, you talk about something that is really fundamental to people. It intercepts with politics, with pleasure, with nutrition, and heath.

Food is really a fundamental part of our lives and it intercepts with all kinds of social issues.

GM: Can you tell more about how food can be a part of social issues?

HD: The politics of food is very big right now. Even just in the news recently, the FDA is looking into what possible health hazards may come from food coloring.

Another thing that's come up recently in the last few days is how our health might be impacted by food that is held in containers that have BPA plastic. That's one level, one very fundamental level of things.

Another thing, of course, is where does your food come from? Are there food deserts in towns that people live in? Here on the west coast, even in places like the Bay Area that have an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables all year round, in communities like Berkeley and Oakland there are still neighborhoods that are food deserts — which means the only place you could walk to, to buy anything to eat, is possibly a corner liquor store. There aren't supermarkets in the area so people are forced to eat just really horrible junk food or go and eat at a fast food restaurant. So that’s a really big issue around here politically.

Where does your food come from is another one. [From] how far away is it shipped in? How much fuel does it take?

There's a movement here to really eat locally, which I know that you have in Ithaca as well. Another thing of course is organics: Can you afford it? What does it mean?

So the politics of food can extend to all areas of our lives. When it intercepts with health and the health of children it becomes really important. Now in this recession, 25 percent of children in this country go hungry. For many of them, the food that they are served at school, especially if they're able to qualify for free breakfast and lunch, may be the only meals that they get in their day.

Another thing is, for example, in a lot of households children don't eat meals with their parents. Their parents may not even know how to cook so they are kind of forced to eat processed food or go out to, again, fast food restaurants.

GM: What is an example of a change that has been instilled as part of the lunch reform?

HD: What happens in Berkeley, in the cooking and gardening curriculum that's in the public schools, is children work in gardens as part of their academics, and they are also able to take cooking classes.

They not only learn to cook, but they learn geography [and] social studies. They learn about history, all through the cooking lessons that they have in the classroom.

Then, that same food that they cooked in the classroom reappears in different ways in the school program. So they are introduced to new kinds of eating possibilities in the classroom with their peers, and then they try it at school lunch as well — because you can't completely change people's eating habits right away. It takes a long time.

So, for example: Let’s say you're at a high school that all of a sudden had fresh organic food. Chances are, most high school students, if they hadn't been exposed to it, aren't really going to go for it. But if they had cooking and gardening classes and a nutritious school lunch program from when they were in kindergarten, it would be completely normal and they would probably be a lot more exploratory in what they try.

GM: Was there any significance to the film taking the form of internet webisodes?

HD: The full-length film is still going to be made, probably as a one-hour documentary story.

What happened was, in this recession period, it's been very difficult to raise money to make that full-length film. My partner Sophie Constantinou and I had accumulated a lot of material from 2009 and 2010.

This story, and the interest in school lunch, was really getting pretty significant in the country, especially after Michelle Obama decided that combating obesity was going to be one of her issues.

So we thought to ourselves: The internet and broadband capabilities are getting to be much more robust than they used to be, so why don't we make some small little stories — little webisodes — that can be shared?

We'll really use these connection technologies to see about new ways of distributing documentary and making documentaries.

It's really like the form followed the function. The function was, we wanted to get some short stories out there before the long film was made, build a community of people who could use these short pieces because you can take them freely and embed them on websites. You can download them; you can do whatever you want with them. So we're giving them away for free.

I used this as a research project in a way to explore how film is going to open up new possibilities on the internet, both in terms of the way that it's made and the way that it reaches people, and what people do with it afterwards. It's a very developing process right now; it’s evolving.

We're really learning right now about the limitations and the possibilities of creating short films online, and how they fit into the big picture. We have to look at the internet as a new medium where we make things differently. We have to frame the media that we make and put it out there in a different way.

To read part two, scroll down or click the link below:

Q & A with Helen De Michiel, new media producer of Lunch Love Community – Part 2

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism ‘13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, Massachusetts

This is part 2 of the Q & A with Helen De Michiel, new media producer of Lunch Love Community. If you haven’t read part 1 yet, click the link below.

Q & A with Helen De Michiel, new media producer of Lunch Love Community – Part 1

Part 2:

GM: Some of your past work has also focused on local topics, such as your 1990 documentary Turn Here Sweet Corn, which was made in Minneapolis at a time you were living there. In Berkeley, where you are living now, you made the Lunch Love Community. How do you decide on which issues to cover in your documentaries?

HD: Yeah. I’m not really coming from a journalism background. I come from an art background, so I don't always just think of “covering” a story, because that's more journalism, which I could have been but didn't. So it's a very mysterious process.

I think what happens, is a person really feels connected to a particular story in some way. They really feel for it. It excites them.

This story, like I said before, was so rich and full of nuances. Plus it had so much to do with children and activism and food — and I kept finding out new things that really intrigued me.

I knew it was something I could stick with for a few years, which is really what it takes to make a film: A long time. It takes at least two years for most people, if not longer. Maybe three to five years for other people.

So you always think to yourself, do I want to live with this for five years, and if so, is there enough there that I can really drill deeply into this story?

For me, a wonderful thing about this particular project is, because it's local to where we live right now, I’m able to really get into the story slowly, and learn about people and talk to a lot of different people, and kind of understand things over time.

What I thought it was about two years ago is not what I think the story is about today.

That's very different than filmmakers or newsmakers who kind of parachute in, do a story, cover it as a segment, and then leave. The Berkeley school lunch program has been covered extensively on the major news network. They’re always doing stories about it, but really it's very superficial.

It takes a long time, just as if you were to write a long magazine article or a book about a particular story. It takes you time to get into it and understand what all the different nuances are and figure out what your storyline is, and your narrative and your theme.

That’s really why I think it’s really great to be able to live somewhere and spend a lot of time with the subject.

GM: When you are creating films about local issues, do you make a conscious effort to try to present the subject in a way that globalizes it?

HD: I think that comes with these kinds of films when you do engagement activities afterwards. In this case, what you'll see in the events in Ithaca are ways that these short little stores inspire conversation among the people in the audience.

That's really their intention — is to inspire conversations.

They say, ‘Well they may have done that in Berkley, but let's talk about a way that we can actually start things going in Ithaca.’ It gets people to open up and talk about their own world and all the different kinds of issues that they may be facing.

It's not really that the film itself is going to show you everything that's going on in the United States in terms of food reform because that's impossible to do.

Really what it's doing is just trying to get people emotionally engaged and interested in something that hadn't occurred to them, and then talk about it and see where it leads them in their real lives.

GM: You made the independent feature film Tarantella in 1995. Can you tell me about the differences between making feature films and making documentaries?

HD: If you're making feature films in the United States right now you really have to make a decision to be in the film industry. You would probably make a decision to live in Los Angeles, maybe work in television or film, and really specialize in a specific area of feature filming making. You might be a director of photography. You might be a producer. You might be a writer. You might be an editor.

But you have to live in the urban environment where everybody else is working in this industry.

If you make documentary films… it's really wide open and different, in a lot of ways, from fiction filmmaking. It's not so tied to an industry, per say, which has a lot of particular pathways from the creation all the way through the distribution.

Because it's very complex, you have a few more opportunities to live in different places, to find stories that haven't really been told before. I also think you use these other new communication technologies to create work that can be really groundbreaking and different.

I think you can do that with fiction film making as well. It can happen independently, but it's much stronger when it happens within the frame of professionals who work in feature filmmaking rather than just trying to do it on your own.

But with documentary there are communities all over the country of filmmakers who have been doing really amazing work and not needing to live in Los Angeles or New York.

So I think it's a little wider open. At least, it has been for me creatively.

GM: What advice would you offer to college students, especially those who are studying film?

HD: I would say to college students now you're really lucky because the future, for now, online is yours to create.

So I would say there’s a few things.

Don't take the internet for granted. It's free and open now for experimentation and doing these kind of really interesting transmedia projects where you can …do all kinds of mixed media projects, because that's really what people are getting used to.

That’s what they want, and you can affect people all over the world through very strategic use of social media. That's for you to create.

At the same time, we all have to remember that the internet may not always be free. One really important thing is, in order to keep its freedom for you to create and experiment and make projects that really connect people, we have to work on making sure that the internet remains free, and that we always have network neutrality, and the corporations don't try to snatch it away and hold it themselves so that we have to go through gates and pay. If that’s the case, then projects like Lunch Love Community won't be able to exist.

Just think. Think about it because, for example, if we did not have free internet and we only had to go through iTunes, you’d be paying for every single one of these webisodes — even if I didn't want you to pay for them, because that’s the way it's going to be set up.

It's just something to keep in mind for your generation. You want to know a lot about policy. You want to understand where the corporations are headed. You want to make your views known in order to be able to create freely, and construct the next infrastructure that the digital 21st century is going to have.

-----

Save the date!: 12 pm on Saturday, April 16 at Cinemapolis, De Michiel will be screening and discussing the Lunch Love Community, along with chef and cookbook author Julie Jordan and public health professor Stewart Auyash.

Blog posting written by Shea Lynch, Documentary Studies and Production '14, FLEFF Intern, Glens Falls, New York

A great FLEFF Week event for anyone! Special presentation with video, installation and new media artist Philip Mallory Jones will be joining the on-campus events Thursday, April 14 in Studio A in Park Hall (4-6PM)

"Philip Mallory Jones has worked with video, film, photography, and writing for artistic, commercial, and scholarly endeavors since 1969, and has incorporated digital media since 1990. His work has been broadcast and exhibited in North America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Africa, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. He was co-founder and Director of Ithaca Video Projects (1971-85), one of the pioneering media arts centers, and Director/Curator of the Annual Ithaca Video Festival (1974-83), the first juried touring collection of video art."

"Mr. Jones’ current work includes several projects in Second Life synthetic world:  In The Sweet Bye & Bye, Bronzeville Etudes & Riffs, and Points of View: Rediscovering Vanished African American and Multiethnic Communities of Southeastern Ohio. Mr. Jones’ art portfolio includes LISSEN HERE! (2004) a book of poetry and photo-collage, plus film animations, video, interactive digital disc-based works, multi-media installations and performances. Mr. Jones has also published fiction, and created sculptures in acrylic plastics."

-from FLEFF 2011 Checkpoint Guests page

DO NOT MISS THIS! This On-campus event is on Thursday, April 14 in Studio A in Park Hall (4-6PM)

Question for the FLEFF community: What events are you looking forward to attending?

^{Blog posting written by Brian McCormick, Film, Photo and Visuals Arts '12, FLEFF Intern, Wilbraham, MA}

I had a great conversation with musician Chris White the other day about his upcoming performance at FLEFF, playing the cello for a live musical score of the silent film Storm Over Asia.

This is happening Sunday, April 17th, 7pm at Cinemapolis -- a one time event!

Accompanying White in the performance will be fellow musicians Robby Aceto and Peter Dodge.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

White isn't new to FLEFF -- he has been performing for the silent films for the past few years. With years of experience playing classical and non-classical cello, White is very open to and excited about musical improvisation. Here's what he had to say about what he's done and his upcoming FLEFF performance.

Q: Can you talk about your history as a cellist and where you're at now?

A: "I studied cello in western New Hampshire, and also in France and Spain, and then I did a masters in cello performance at Ithaca College. While I was growing up learning cello, I was also playing the guitar self-taught on the side, just improving on the guitar. At a certain point I decided to start trying to improv on the cello and to jazz and stuff like that. When I lived in Spain I'd play flamenco with singer-songwriters and all kinds of fun stuff.

I also founded and am director of a cello festival for cellists who are interested in non-classical uses of the cello. That's an annual event , and the 17th annual is going to happen at Ithaca College on June 10th - 12th. That puts me in touch with people around the world who are doing innovative things with the cello, all different kinds of styles, rock, pop, and world music, and all kinds of cool stuff."

Q: How did you get involved with FLEFF and performing for silent films?

A: "About six years ago, Patty Zimmerman asked me if I'd consider playing along with the The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and I said "Sure, I'll give it a try." I played with my electric cello and some electronic effects, and I had a really fun time and got good feedback from others.

It's been like that pretty much every year where I've been doing at least one silent film. It was a few years ago I started to do it with other musicians as well. I'm doing this one with Peter Dodge and *Robby Aceto, and that sort of opened up a whole other new area of collaboration and improvisation."

[ * Read the interview by Kelsey with Robby Aceto here! ]

Q: What are you looking forward to?

A: "It's been a very fulfilling experience playing in FLEFF, playing in a theater -- we've been playing in Cinemapolis -- and I'm looking forward to playing in the new Cinemapolis, the past two times we were in the old Cinemapolis. The people that did the sound, and the lighting were really good and helped create a really nice ambience there.

Just playing for a live audience where we're kind of watching the film with everybody else. We've gotten feedback like, "The music was great, I just got lost in the film, and sometimes I forgot that there was live music playing." That was kind of cool because that would be our goal, for people to really feel like the music worked that well with the movie that they just took it all in.

I think for this year we're really looking forward to the new space, and I just really like working with the FLEFF team and I feel really well treated by everybody. We're excited."

Q: How do you prepare for this kind of performance?

A: "We definitely get together and rehearse. The first time we got together, for this year, we just watched the film and as we watched it we'd stop and talk about this scene or that scene or the feeling that we'd like to have there.

One of our approaches is to take turns being the person that would sort of lead a certain scene or feeling so that the others could come in as they wish and join that. The different people generating the music that would make it so that it's more variant rather than just jumping in all at once. We'll try to have just one person playing or two and three and try to change it up that way, too."

Q: What does the cello bring to creating the appropriate film ambience of the silent film?

A: "The cello has a lot of warmth and texture and into the human voice like range, I think that speaks to a lot of people that way, the sound of the cello. Because its a bow instrument, and the bow gives a lot of life to the sound and vibrancy that also works. It makes it so that I can stand out and hold a note as long as I want, and I can also change that as I go.

With the bow you can do effects that sound like distortion, and there's just a wide palette of sounds to choose from just from the use of the bow. There's spiccato if I'm plucking at it, it can feel like a base and driving sound, a percussive rhythm that way. I can use some electronic things like the looper which allows me to layer different notes on top of each other or a series of a notes. Robby, the guitarist, also uses  looping so we can kind of create a bigger ambience of sound that way and build upon that to sound like we're a much bigger group sometimes."

Q: How is performing for a silent film different from other things you have done?

A: "It's more free for me because it's wide open and the parts of the film inspire us in different ways. It's very different from jazz or classical or most of the other types of improvisation I've done because it's so open and unscripted. The script is kind of like the movie, we're kind of creating the score as we go.

We do watch the movie and then play together with the movie to anticipate the changes in the different moods and feelings we want to convey. It will be sort of like playing and improvising to poetry maybe or art where you can do what you want, but you're still trying to fit into the mood of what you're watching. It's pretty cool, it's very different."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Don't miss this once in a lifetime performance!

With Chris White, Robby Aceto, and Peter Dodge playing LIVE, come see Storm Over Asia, 7PM on Sunday, April 17th at Cinemapolis!

Blog was written by Kelsey Greene, Documentary Studies and Production, '13, FLEFF intern, Buffalo, New York

I had the opportunity to interview the incredibly talented Brad Hougham.  He is a well known and respected baritone vocalist who also teaches at Ithaca College's School of Music.  

In combination with Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, he will be performing Rite of Spring with Gustav Mahler's Ruckert Lieder at 7:00 p.m. in Hockett Hall on Monday, April 11. 

KG: Why do you have a passion for music?  Is there a particular type of music you are fonder of? 

BH: I have always loved music. I remember being moved by music at a very young age, either to dance or sing or laugh or cry.  

I think like many people, music has been a source of comfort to me throughout my life and I love being able to teach in this field, because it allows me to share this love with others, hopefully helping them to develop their passion for it as well. 

I like all kinds of music – I don’t mind saying that I’ve been entertained and moved by a huge variety of artists. You should see who is in my iPod.

KG: What have been some highlights in your life pertaining to your vocal careers?

BH: I’ve been very lucky to have many wonderful opportunities. I sang for eight seasons in the chorus at the Metropolitan Opera. 

During those years, I was able to watch the greats up close. I think that is very interesting from a teacher’s perspective. How does Placido Domingo breathe? How does Renee Fleming move on the stage? How does a big voice sound up close as opposed to from far away – like from the back row of the opera house? 

I have sung world premieres and worked with composers on their own pieces. I have sung many opera roles with various opera companies. 

I love recitals of art song more than anything, and my job at Ithaca College has fostered that love and afforded me many opportunities to perform a wide variety of repertoire with some incredible musicians.

KG: You will be performing with Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin. Have you had any previous experience working with these individuals? 

BH: I have worked with both before. 

The last time I worked with Dr. Geronymo was three years ago when we did excerpts from West Side Story for the FLEFF Opening Ceremony. 

The last time I worked with Dr. Martin was two years ago, when we did a piece together with the concert band in the Ithaca College School of Music. 

KG: Can you please briefly describe the importance of the music you will be performing Monday night, both in its historical context and to you?

BH: The songs I’m singing are gems in the German Lied repertoire. When Gustav Mahler composed these, he was stretching the definition of ‘Lied’. Previously, they had been much more ‘miniature’ in genre. His songs are much longer (usually), constructed with more complicated musical language, require a greater range of pitch, mood, dynamics, vocal color and rhythmic variation than many of the songs composed with German texts before his time. 

The accompaniment for these songs can be either piano or orchestral and you can hear a great demand for color and texture variation in the accompaniment part.  

I am lucky to have two such wonderful pianists who will be capturing these colors beautifully in their playing. 

The reason I love to sing these songs is that for me, these poems are very powerful and the musical gesture that Mahler uses to express them form an absolutely perfect union.  

KG: Can you please give us a glimpse behind the scenes as to what you went through and are going through to prepare for the upcoming event?

BH: Well, I have known these songs for a couple of years now, so I have not had to learn any new music, per se, but I have had to re-think them. I believe that many singers feel this, and that is that each time you come back to a piece of music you have sung at a different time, you learn something more about it. 

In addition to that, I have had to think of these songs in relationship with Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and how they can interplay with that larger work. The pianists were great about finding places in the Stravinsky into which the songs could be inserted. 

KG: What are you looking forward to about this year’s event?    

BH: Just having a chance to share this beautiful music with a new audience and having a chance to work with these wonderful artists. 

I love the idea of faculty from schools coming together to pool their talents. When they do, something amazing always comes of it; this will be no exception.

Blog posting written by Shea Lynch, Documentary Studies '14, FLEFF Intern, Glens Falls, New York

FLEFF Week documentary Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home, directed by Jenny Stein, is a great incite into the awakening from a culture of farming families and the amazing connections with animals. 

I interviewed producer James LaVeck.

Blog post written by Matthew R. Reis, Cinema & Photography major and Art History minor '13, FLEFF Intern, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ

MR: Why Ithaca? What is it about this town that keeps you living and working here?

PMJ: I was in Ithaca for 18 years, and saw a lot of changes. Over the years , I was deeply involved in the community with activities, groups and individuals. The very particular nature of Ithaca, particularly during the years that I lived there, was certainly very attractive to me and conducive to my development and my work.

I associated with very engaged and dynamic groups of people for a long time. So they really opened a lot of opportunities for me and enabled me to certainly grow and experience things myself. They also helped to shape my thinking. Ithaca was a very conducive place to live. It wasn’t a large city and it wasn’t a very small rural village. So given its cosmopolitan population it was really a very exciting and dynamic place to be for those eighteen years.

MR: So you’re no longer living here?

PMJ: That’s correct. I left in ’87. I was born and raised in Chicago. At the present I live in Athens, Ohio where Ohio University is located.

MR: How long have you been involved with FLEFF and in what capacity? Or is this your first time attending?

PMJ: This is my first experience with FLEFF. I’m very much looking forward to it. 

MR: So how did you come into contact with the festival? Did you contact Dr. Tanya Saunders and Dr. Patricia Zimmermann (co-director of FLEFF) or did they start a dialogue with you?

PMJ: Patty Zimmermann contacted me. Of course I’ve known her since the mid ‘70s so to hear from her is not particularly unusual. She got in touch and asked if I was interested in participating.

MR: Have you worked on projects in the past with Dr. Zimmermann?

PMJ: I can’t say that we worked on a particular project together although we have certainly been mutually involved in a number of projects over the years. I was teaching at Ithaca College for several years and, of course, we were colleagues at that time.

MR: I see that you have a large web presence. Your website is well designed and you're part of virtual reality world “Second Life.” So how has the web affected your personal life, your art and the business side of your projects?

PMJ: Well, like most people certainly in this country, the Internet has drastically impacted my life and work. 1995 was the first time I went online. Since then there has been a steady deepening of my involvement with the Internet and it has been profoundly important in terms of what I think about and the nature of the work that I do. 

In 2006 I began working in “Second Life” (SL) and other synthetic world environments and that’s been quite transformative (in terms of my work and the kinds of research that I do.) And at this point I would say that the majority of my paid professional activity is related to synthetic world development in “SL” and other grids. So the web’s been a major shift in what I’m trying to do, what I want to do, and what I think about.

 To continue reading please look below for part 2.

Blog post written by Matthew R. Reis, Cinema & Photography major and Art History minor '13, FLEFF Intern, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ

MR: So what project do you still wish to tackle and make before you, I hate to say it, retire or pass away?

PMJ: Well I would say the things that I’m working on now are, of course, what I think about the most. It’s called “Brozeville, Etudes and Riffs” and it’s an immersive narrative in the synthetic world “SL.” That project is really a first step in the direction I’m presently looking, which is to use synthetic environments to invent a new form of narrative composition. I’m thinking about how three-dimensional immersive online environments present opportunities for rethinking and reinventing how stories are told. And also how information or content is organized and accessed.

In terms of a particular thing beyond what I just described that I want to do before I die I can’t say I have something [in mind.] You know for me the point is to keep working and to keep that work interesting. That’s a constant challenge.

MR: Just a fun little question. Since you’ve worked in all different media types do you have a preference for digital or film? Do you prefer both? And is the “digital age” destroying film?

PMJ: I don’t think its either or. Film has its own its own nature, character, strengths and purposes. There is a language to cinema and there is a language, which is similar, but not the same, to video. Also, photography has a language and sculpture has a language and so on. So each, to me, is a tool and all these tools are part of my studio environment. I just look at any form or medium to see whether its particular strengths or qualities [suit] some idea or ambition. I don’t discard media that I have previously concentrated on. You know that’s just something I learned and know how to do and know how to use and then, you know, it just becomes part of my toolkit.

MR: Sweet so to go off your point it’s important to note that the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College may start to dump film in favor of High Definition technology in Cinema Production 2 (the second of two exclusively film oriented classes.) Whether this idea is bad or not is debatable. However in our new age technology movement do you think young artists take their tools, like HD, for granted? Also have you seen a shift in how people use and think of technology since you began working with video in ’69?

PMJ: Well I think — yes definitely and that’s because of the drive of commercial aspects to make digital and wireless technologies [non-analog in nature] pervasive. That’s fine, but for me there’s always the drive beyond the frontier and to explore a form, a medium, in terms of looking at its envelope of possibilities and capabilities, I look to push that out and take a step towards some unknown territory with it to see what it can do.

Pushing buttons and using things like the flash that are built into the current kinds of machines we use is only interesting to me momentarily. The source of my thinking and interest isn’t tied to a particular form or medium. So [film and video etc.] are all just things for me to use to get to something that’s of interest to me.

Now I think that my experience with analog forms such as photo, chemical photography, 16mm film, analog video, analog audio is really important. It gives me a certain perspective on using tools that I think are important. Not to say that somebody who does not have experience [with analog forms] cannot use current tools very well and with master level skill. It’s just that where I’ve been and what I’ve done has helped to shape how I see these things. They give me a perspective that is useful and valuable and that also help’s me to convey to others, like students, a kind of perspective on how to think about using media tools. They also give me an appreciation for the common threads that run throughout the spectrum of media tools — the concepts, principals and organizing structures — that a really skilled practitioner recognizes and uses.

There are things that happened in cinema history — going back to the early 20^th c. — that are still absolutely relevant and critical today. Regardless of one [form] that someone is using that’s part of the visual language. At the same time there are things that are possible with the tools that we have available today that were not possible in the early 20^th c. and actually changed the conversation today. That’s also important to recognize and to make [certain] distinctions between them. All [technology] is worth knowing; I think its kind of sad that young practitioners today are not so exposed to the analog forms, but I’m old and you know [analog technology] looks a certain way to me. But, it won’t stop great work from being produced in the current environment. 

MR: I have a super-8 camera and I’ve used 16mm film before. There’s just something about pre-digital technology that’s very malleable and hands on, which is a good thing. You only have once chance to get the right shot for example so there’s some planning that goes with it. With digital a chip captures the image yet you have more flexibility. So I do agree that there are good things to go along with both analog and digital mediums.

End of Interview.

I thank Mr. Jones for talking to me. His insights and great memories of Ithaca prove that this town is a great place to live. I’m glad he will be able to bring his knowledge of new (and old) media formats to FLEFF.

So what aspect of Mr. Jones’ work do you want to learn more about?

Blog posting written by Abby Sophir, Television/Radio '14, FLEFF Intern, St. Louis, Missouri.

Overwhelmed by the number of great films coming to FLEFF? Here are a couple you'll want to be sure to catch!

Good Fortune

Why? 

• Directed by Ithaca College alum Jeremy Levine
• Forces viewers to question international humanitarian efforts: How are massive efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa undermining the very communities they aim to benefit?
• Captures a vibrant Kenyan culture
• Two showings (Sunday, April 17 at 2pm and 9:30pm at Cinemapolis) means twice the opportunity to catch this film!
• Q & A with Jeremy Levine after both showings
• NOTE: Get there early! This film has quite the buzz and will like sell out!

Workshop on Environmental Docs and Persuasive Storytelling-- Wed., April 14 5:25-6:40, Friends 205

Why?

• Presented by Tom Swartwout, a highly-regarded industry professional. His wide-range of experience in feature films, documentaries, televisions, commercials, and music videos provides something for everyone.
• Great learning experience for any Park student or aspiring filmmakers and storytellers
• Offers a break from films without having to miss out on anything!

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism '13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, MA

Here are two events, one on-campus (and free!) and one off-campus, that I'm especially looking forward to.

As I said in a previous post, all FLEFF events are valuable to attend, but these are two that appeal to my personal interests:

Checkpoints Activism Panel: Documenting Iraq, Burin: Stories from a Palestinian Village, and Witness to Uprising: Voices from Cairo and New York (FREE)

Moderated by Beth Harris, featuring Menna Kahlil and Michael Kennedy

7 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, in Friends 309 (Ithaca College campus)

 If you have been trying to follow the recent revolutions in the Middle East as best you can, you will probably be very interested in this event.

In reading about what is going on in, I try not only to learn about events via the news, but also to learn about what is happening from multiple news sources and perspectives. I also use Twitter to try to get information from people who are in the affected areas whenever possible.

I am very interested in hearing Menna Kahlil’s first-hand account of the uprisings in Egypt, and also learning more about the demonstrations in New York City in support of Egypt.

To read two great interviews about this event, one with Menna Kahlil and one with Dr. Beth Harris, see the links below.

Both interviews are by FLEFF intern Brian McCormick.

Interview with Beth Harris

Interview with Menna Kahlil

Lunch Love Community webisodes on healthy food for public schools, with film director Helen De Michiel, chef and cookbook author Julie Jordan, and public health professor Stewart Auyash

12 pm on Saturday, April 16 at Cinemapolis

I recently had the privilege of being able to speak with Ms. De Michiel about her work on this exceptional documentary/web series (will be posted soon – stay tuned!) about the story of school lunch reform in Berkeley, California.

Even though I admittedly may have forgotten about school lunches after they no longer affected me, I think nutritious food, especially for children at the elementary level, is really a crucial component, so it's excellent to hear that the people involved in this reform took the initiative to make it happen.

Though it was a local occurrence, I think it can provide global inspiration. I look forward to seeing the webisodes with Ms. De Michiel present, and also to learning more about how the members of the movement managed to effect such great change.

(It would be wonderful if this movement could spread…)

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism '13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, MA

Assistant Professor Rachel Wagner, who teaches the FLEFF mini course, Checkpoint: Can Games Change the World, took some time out of her schedule – which includes a recent book deal — to speak with me about the relationship between religion and film.

GM: How did you get involved with FLEFF?

RW: The first course I taught was a few years ago. It was related to a course I teach on religion and virtual reality. It was sort of focusing on various aspects of games and religion, because I am a professor of religion and I do work on religion and culture, religion and film, and religion and virtual reality.

The earlier courses I taught were sort of taking those principles of religious studies that overlap with elements of media studies: Storytelling being one, elements of gaming being one, ideas of rules being another.

I’m personally fascinated with the idea of how religion and media are closely connected in terms of — well, many religious people encounter religion as a sort of mediated worldview. They open up their text, it’s sort of like someone looks into a television screen, they see images; they open up their Bible and they see what God wanted them to do. There are some really interesting parallels if you think about religion and about media.

I used to do that course. This course is more squarely centered on the issue of gaming and how gaming relates to real life.

GM: Can you tell me about your book?

RW: It's called Godwired: Religion, Ritual and Virtual Reality. It grew out of a seminar that I’ve taught here at the college three times now. We're in the middle of it right now.

The best way to look at it is, it looks at religion and virtual reality, but it also looks at virtual reality as religion, and what made the game by that comparison — that includes games, but not just games. It also includes websites, apps on your phone. It includes discussion boards, social media.

Anything that involves a screen I consider virtual reality. So it examines the relationships and comparisons between religion and virtual reality in all its different forms.

GM: As a professor of religion, one of the areas you study is religion and film. Can you tell me more about how religion and film go together?

RW: It's actually a very popular emerging field in religious studies. I actually do some work for the national American Academy of Religion in that area. It is one of my main areas. I teach a class called religion and film too.

One way to think about it: remember I said virtual reality as religion and religion in virtual reality, the two ways of looking at it? You can do the same thing with film. You can look at religion in film: How is lighting and editing used to make commentary about existing religious beliefs? So maybe a film that has Buddhism in it: how does it portray nature? And how does the lighting and the framing and the story and the cuts, how does that affect the way that story is told?

GM: Would an example be The Passion of the Christ?

RW: That film got a lot of attention. There were so many articles written about it by religious scholars of film. For example, one scholar argues that the film itself imitates, in its order, the Stations of the Cross, and that for viewers who encountered it had a sort of ritual engagement with it. If we're increasingly a visual culture, for some people their encounter with film in some ways is more real than their encounter with the Bible.

They will somehow see the film as identically providing the same sort of inspiration or sacredness that the text provides — even though if we stop and think about it, we know Mel Gibson made choices about dialogue and costuming and lighting and all those things he affected. But, we get a blind spot to that when we think about the film somehow accurately portraying the same truth as in the text.

That's one place where you could interrogate what's going on with religion and film, the relationship within textuality within sacred text and then portrayal on the screen.

And, what things can be portrayed and what can't. There's a Muslim film called The Message from 1977 and Mohammed is never shown. They somehow avoid it. They have other people talk to him. He represents the camera lens at times. There are all sorts of filming choices made to acknowledge the Muslim resistance to portray their prophet. He's so holy — he has God’s word coming out of his mouth — that you want to not portray him, because that would be a human portraying what is God's, right?

In a more general sense, Muslim art tends to be more geometric or nature-focused, sometimes abstract patterns of leaves and vegetation, but you're not typically going to have people: Mohammed being sort of the pinnacle of what you would not do in representation of people.

GM: You mentioned that to some people, film can be more real than the Holy Text. How is this possible?

RW: People debate what “real” means. We are an intensely visual culture. There are some Christians today, I wouldn't say how many…who just don't read their Bible, just like they don't read any books, but they'll go see the movie.

Mel Gibson himself said something like those who have a problem with my movie don't have a problem with me, they have a problem with the gospels. So he's saying this is true. Many uncritical viewers went in and wept. I saw them coming out of the theater myself. [They] wept, “It's so true. That's just how it happened.”

But it's impossible to deny, once you think about it, the fact that what Gibson did was, he took the Bible's text, he took some visions of a Catholic nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich. He wove those in, and some stuff he just made up. He took the four gospels and picked and chose what he wanted out of them and created what biblical scholars call a harmonization. So he created a new thing with pieces that he gathered from all over the place.

Then he made directorial decisions about editing. He added characters, he added dialogue — but people don't read that, necessarily. Viewers don’t necessarily pick up on that. Part of it is ignorance, but part of it is just the tendency to engage with film as a story, but also as representing something that we experience perhaps more richly more deeply than the textual in today's society.

Blog post written by Evan Johnson, Journalism, Environmental Studies, German Language Studies ‘13, FLEFF Intern, Marlboro, VT

Danny Schecter is a journalist and independent film producer. He is the winner of multiple awards including the Society of Professional Journalists' 2001 Award for Excellence in Documentary Journalism. His film, Plunder: The Crime of Our Time will be shown at FLEFF on April 16 at 2 pm at Cinemapolis. Mr. Schecter and I spoke recently about his film, the recent financial crisis and the responsibilities of journalists.

Evan Johnson: What originally drew you to the theme of your movie, Plunder?

Danny Schecter:  In 2005 I began thinking about what kind I could do that would bring people together and about the shared problems in our country that transcend partisan politics. I focused on the issue debt. So many people are in debt; students, people with mortgages and credit cards. So I made a film called In Debt We Trust and that film warned of the financial crisis. That came out in 2006 and the reaction was ‘you’re an alarmist. How can you say the economy is going to crash when everything is going so well?’ And the six months later the market began to melt down. I went from a zero to a hero. I wasn’t the only one who saw these problems coming by any means but the people who did see them coming were ignored. We’ve moved from warning of a crisis to an actual crisis. And as that crisis developed they saw the same patterns. No one was asking any deeper questions and that led me to stop looking at the problem as a business problem and start looking at it as a crime problem. I believe this is the most serious problem because it’s the economic security of the entire planet.

EJ: As a lone journalist or investigative reporter, how do you confront an issue as large as white-collar crime or chronic debt?

DS: You have to find who’s going to be willing to talk to you and a lot of people. I couldn’t get the FBI to talk to me because they did. I also wanted to talk to insiders, not just critics, professors of economics, radicals the like. I wanted to talk to people who were actually in the industry and I actually did find some. I talked to a convicted white-collar criminal. I talked to financial journalists, people who worked at Bear Stearns or Goldman Sachs and they basically confirmed or gave more details on all of this. I tried to tell this story about the financial crisis through the prism of crime and that’s what makes the film unique and different. But it’s not a view that’s accepted.

EJ: When confronting something so enormous and convoluted, how do you explain it to a lay audience? How do you simplify the crisis in the film?

DS: Look at the film and you’ll see how I did it. I try and break it down and I’ve also written a companion book called The Crime of Our Time to further detail and document my findings. I’m an investigative reporter. What I wanted to try and say who is behind this and what is the nature of our economy. We have a “F.I.R.E.” economy. This means it is made of three principle institutions. The “F” is for financing companies, the “I” is for insurance companies and “R.E.” is for real estate. What we found is that these three industries were working together at a profit to get people to take on more debt than they could afford. I’m fighting a battle not just to find out the facts, but also to communicate the facts.

EJ: If this system is ripping off so many people, what actions should consumers take to protect themselves?

DS: The first action an individual can take is to educate themselves and understand what actually happened. And you can’t go rely on the mainstream media for that – you’ve got to try to investigate it yourself. Ask deeper questions Read books like mine, seeing films like mine and other films. Inside Job, another film on this, won the academy award for documentary. It doesn’t go as far as my film goes, but it’s a good start in understanding the financial crisis. We live in a country where there is very little financial literacy. Most people are scared of money and don’t know much about it. The main thing is to press the government to put these [criminals] to jail. WE have to prosecute them and not let them get away with it. We don’t need a bail-out – we need a jail-out. 

EJ: What are some changes that journalists need to make in their coverage of the financial crisis?

DS: There used to be what were called labor reporters who reported on working people. But as the unions lost power, a lot of these people became business reporters. They went to business school and they identified with the people who were running these companies. They’re weren’t skeptical and they weren’t asking hard questions. But that’s the goal of a reporter – find the truth. You’re not a stenographer - you’re a journalist.

EJ: What advice do you have for aspiring journalists or students who want to pursue a career in investigative reporting?

DS: There are lots of different filmmakers. You can make YouTube videos and watch your cat jump through hoops but if you’re really interested in more serious issues, what I would recommend would be to find a mentor - filmmaker, an educator or someone who you can work with and learn by doing. I’ve had interns from Ithaca College and they all come away feeling like they’ve learned a lot.