“If utopias are nowhere, microtopias are everywhere.”

Microtopias never stay the same. They are alive. Like an audience, they move, respond and engage.

The concert was harmonious in its differences, overlapping in a seamless manner. It took the microtopias concept of a shared world, applying it to the worlds of music, theater, poetry and live audio/visual mixing.  

Everything was fantastic and vital to the concert. The pianos. Brad Hougham’s angelic voice. The poetry brought to life. The visuals. My favorite use of the visual mixing was the combination of past rehearsal films and in-the-moment monologues. Also the overlap of close ups on hands with the larger shot of the piano performances was unique and strikingly beautiful.

Each aspect of the concert was a small place, a microtopia within the microtopia of the concert.

The performers, the visuals, the music all engaged in a conversation with each other, but also with the audience. They broke all performance boundaries — because there are no such things as boundaries within a microtopia. The possibilities are endless. Grow and see the world with different eyes and different perspectives; acknowledge different concepts.

For example, the purple fabric was transformational. Depending on the context, the small space within the concert, the fabric went from water to a small child being sung a lullaby. At one point, when the fabric represented the tide, it skimmed my foot as it was dragged down the stairs. Invested in the concert and the moment, I could have sworn water trickled over my toes.

But even with its different purposes, the transparent cloth was a constant throughout the entire concert. It was a staple uniting the pieces. It also united the audience, being carried over the their heads. The moment when everyone reached up, mystified, to touch the fabric was extremely powerful.

Jairo Geronymo told me this concert would be different than anything I ever could expect. He was so right. The Concert for Microtopias flooded me with passion and moved me to tears -- it shocked me in all the best ways possible. And now all I want to do is talk about it.

Welcome to FLEFF week. 

Blog posting written by Isabel Galupo, Cinema and Photography '14, FLEFF Intern, Towson, MD

FLEFF Week 2012 is coming up fast, and the list of this year's festival guests is up on our website!

While every FLEFF guest brings something dynamic to the table, here are five guests that I am especially looking forward to meeting and learning from!

1. Cynthia Henderson: An Ithaca College Theatre Arts professor. Cynthia Henderson has countless acting and directing credits in the United States, Europe, and Africa. As I am pretty unfamiliar with theatre, I am hoping that Professor Henderson will shed some light on the intersections between live performance and social change and the ways in which live performance and film interact with and contradict each other. I am also extremely interested in her work on "A Wrinkle in Time" at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, as that is one of my absolute favorite books!

2. Chris White: As a cellist who actively performs both classical AND non-classical music, Chris White straddles the line of tradition versus innovation. White seems, to me, to epitomize the purpose of FLEFF; to make sense of (false) binaries and create new meanings out of tension and polarity. As the founder and director of New Directions Cello Association & Festival, I am sure that he has a lot of great insights about how to create a hub for like-minded artists and intellectuals to learn and grow together. 

3. Matthew Podolsky: A graduate of Ithaca College with a double major in Cinema and Photography and Environmental Science, Matthew Podolsky helps run the non-profit organization Wild Lens. Podolsky's very obvious interests in documentary production and the environment speak directly to FLEFF's mission, and I am excited to hear about his experiences as an IC alum. 

4. Toivo: From Trumansburg, NY, Toivo is a six-piece band that boasts of a hodgepodge of musical influences, such as Finnish and Tex-Mex, suited for dance traditions from all over the world-- waltzes, tangoes, polanise, two-steps, and many, many more! Much like Drs. Brad Hougham and Debbie Martin in their presentation about "The Concert for Microtopias," Toivo seems to embody the very "FLEFF-y" idea of creating meaning from conflicting musical forces. I am very excited for their performance, as I don't think that I have ever heard traditional Finnish music before!

5. Laura Kissel: A documentary filmmaker and Director of Film and Media Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. Her short biography on the FLEFF website already had me asking questions; I am excited to learn about her use of "orphan films" in her critical media work. As Kissel is heavily involved in academia, I hope that she will be able to provide faculty, students, and other FLEFF attendees advice on how to balance institutional demands with creative needs. 

Which artists are you most excited to see during FLEFF week 2012?