Blog post written by Sarah Lockwood, Cinema & Photography '15, FLEFF Intern, Blairstown, NJ

As a FLEFF Intern for the 2012 season, I have had the pleasure of attending class weekly with two brilliant and inspiring internship coordinators - one of whom is Philip Wilde. Phil was kind enough to spend an extra ten minutes of his evening discussing his background in film, his involvement in FLEFF, and some advice for festival goers this year:

On His Journey to Video

Phil began his college career as a science major at Cornell University, here in Ithaca, NY. However, his true calling began in 1971, the year in which he first picked up a video camera, and "never looked back." Phil operates a production company with his wife - and fellow internship coordinator - Ann Michel. Together they create videos, mostly scientific in nature.

On His Involvement With FLEFF

Seven years ago Phil joined the FLEFF staff, due mostly to his good friend Dr. Patricia Zimmerman, co-director of the film festival. Also based in Ithaca, Dr. Zimmerman knew of Phil and his interest in all subjects technical theatre and video related, and asked him to join the process of running the festival.

Over the years, Phil noted that the most noticeable change in the festival is that it has become "more intellectual", a noticeable evaluation of film and the film environment.

On the Perks of FLEFF

To put it simply, the "excitement of possibilities", that "anything is possible". FLEFF is not limited by the academic world or the real world - it is a place to "make experiments", and revel in the results (in successes and mistakes).

Phil's Advice

"Go to everything you can possibly go to. Talk to everyone you can possibly talk to."

Plain and simple, a film festival is about involvement and communication. Equal interaction with all people present at a festival - interns, directors, guests, crew members, audience members - is crucial. 

And most importantly - "Don't talk too much, listen."

Blog post written by Sarah Lockwood, Cinema & Photography '15, FLEFF Intern, Blairstown, NJ

In order to define microtopias, I believe we must divide the word into two logical halves, toss in a little bit of etymology, then piece it back together again. With a little help from the Online Etymology Dictionary, of course.

Micro

Sounds like - microscope, microphone, microchip, microeconomics.

What it derives from - Greek, form of micros, meaning small.

Topia

Sounds like - dystopia, utopia, digitopia, topiary.

What it derives from - Greek, topia is plural of topian, meaning a field, which is diminutive of topos, meaning place.

Micro + topia = Small place.

Small places, small worlds, small moments. How and where they exist.

Microtopias are different for each person, which partly embodies their brilliance. True to their etymological origin, the small places human beings create when they express themselves and connect with one another, create microtopias.

However I do pose a question as to the choice of microtopias for FLEFF 2012: the word is not, may I note, microUTOPIAS.

I fear that many who encounter the word microtopias will assume one end of the topia bias, in favor of divine perfection and ephemeral beauty, over the other topia with which intellectuals are familiar - dystopia, which embodies the abnormal, the difficult, the imperfect. 

Rather, topos or topia simply indicates a place - for good or for evil. 

Do you believe this neutral choice was deliberate?

Blog post written by Sarah Lockwood, Cinema & Photography ’15, FLEFF Intern, Blairstown, New Jersey.

Greetings fellow film connoisseurs, artists, environmentalists, and creative folk alike. My name is Sarah Lockwood. I spent my whole life up until the past few months in a small town in Northern New Jersey called Blairstown.

Blairstown’s claim to fame lies in the sole fact that decades ago, its charming campgrounds and eerie graveyards served as the setting for a film now considered a cult classic– Friday the Thirteenth. I live in smug satisfaction with the knowledge that I have driven down roads that, at one time, Kevin Bacon himself drove over, too.

My idea of a perfect evening is to spend a few hours in the cinema, only to emerge and discuss the film at length until my mind tires, or until my fellow movie-goers grow tired of me. More often than not, the latter occurs. The plight of an excitable film major, I suppose.

Not surprisingly, Friday the Thirteenth never quite inspired me. However, from the moment I was old enough to grasp that movies were not “real”, that they were created through human vision, I was hooked. From messily drawn pictures to my eventual (or shall we say irreversible) love affair with a digital camera, creativity has always been my primary outlet in life.

However, in a rapidly developing age of technology and communications, creativity no longer limits itself as solitary activity.  The internet provides the perfect medium through which human beings communicate with one another. It is with this intent that I search the web before spending money on movie tickets, have my own Vimeo account to host videos, and find myself blogging for FLEFF this 2012 season.

What drove me most to FLEFF was its appeal on many levels, though the true fun lies the amount of new information I learn with each passing day. For example, that FLEFF is one of the few festivals in the country that employs student interns. Additionally, FLEFF’s first even will be held in five days! Lavinia Currier’s Oka! will screen at Cinemopolis on Sunday, the 12^th.  

I am – as I am sure many of you are – extremely, extremely excited to ensure that this year’s festival surpasses even our own expectations.

On a final note, I invite you to answer two questions – Why do you believe humans choose to blog? And most importantly, what are you looking forward to most about FLEFF's 15th anniversary, MICROTOPIAS?