Blog post written by Amber Thibault, Cinema and Photography ’15, FLEFF Intern, Lewiston, Maine.

My apologizes for such a late response to this week's event. The week before break was crazy busy with work and getting myself ready to leave. I miss Ithaca but I'm happy to be home for the week with my family and to wrestle up some much need relaxation.

The kick-off event had a beautiful turn out! The line to get into the theater ran almost all the way down the hall! People stood, talked and munched on popcorn, all anxiously awaiting the opening of the doors to Cinema 5 and the start of our kick-off event. I talked to one guest who's daughter was interning. He said he was very proud of her and that he was looking forward to seeing the films.

It was heart-warming to see parents there supporting their interns. I'm from Maine so it's a little more difficult for my parents to be physically present at everything I do but I know they always are thinking of me and wishing me the best.

Seeing all of my fellow interns moving around Cinemapolis in our FLEFF shirts was a lot of fun. We seemed to swarm the theater with black and white. Every where I turned there was black and white, like a sea of penguins.

After I had found my seat, my friend and I were talking about Becky Lane's film "Hens and Chick" and a woman in front of us, Alicia, said "That was shot at my bed and breakfast! Are you film students? If you ever need somewhere that looks like a house, let me know. It's called Amazing Grace Bed and Breakfast. And spread the word!" She proceeded to give me her contact information. I thought it was very cool that at my first film festival event I was already making connections.

When the films started to roll and I experienced a sort of Wizard of Oz moment: beautiful colors after all that black and white! (If you're not familiar with the movie, there is a point when the movie goes from black and white to technicolor and was quite a spectacle for the film world at the time.) The most important part of the night was finally here. As the films played on the screen, I thought about how lucky I was to be see the work of Ithaca professors and other community filmmakers who's films can have rather exclusive showings.

Featured filmmakers (in order of appearance on the program):

     Jason Harrington showing "My Mind" and "Tree With Lights In It"

     Vincent Grenier showing "Armoire"

     John D. Scott showing "One Art" and "Notes On Liberty"

     Arturo Sinclair showing "The Half-Century Song"

     Becky Lane showing "Hens and Chicks" and "Happy Hour: The Chanticleer"

The works were an interesting collection. Some danced on the screen and others made you laugh while still others took you for a wild ride. Like any good film, all of them made you think in such a way that trying to explain them here would not do them justice. 

The talk back after spent a lot of time focused on the filmmakers opinions on the film and digital and their thoughts on the digital conversion. However, this was to be expect as the focus of the night was a fundraiser for the Cinemapolis digital conversion. 

I really enjoyed hearing what the filmmakers had to say about this conversion. I first heard about the conversion from a friend of mine who is not a film major but works at a cinema and is definitely what you would call a film junkie. Now, since the transition is so close, it's interesting to see how the dialog as begun to penetrate my conversations at Ithaca.

Now that you've heard what my favorite part of the night was, I'm interested to know what your favorite part of the evening was?

Blog post written by Amber Thibault, Cinema and Photography ’15, FLEFF Intern, Lewiston, Maine. 

This past week, I had the privilege of interviewing Becky Lane. Becky Lane is a part time TVR professor at the Roy H. Park School of Communications. She has submitted two works to next week's March 3rd kick-off event happening THIS SUNDAY at Cinemapolis! The event starts at 4pm and tickets are $8. 

Now a little bit from Becky Lane...

Amber Thibault: How did you hear about FLEFF?

Becky Lane: Ithaca is my home so I've followed FLEFF from it's inception. When Karen Rodriguez, the curator of the Upstate Filmmakers Showcase, program invited me to present my work, I was honored. Ithaca College has been an instrumental part of my education as a filmmaker, and I was so excited to become a part of FLEFF and screen alongside the other fantastic pieces.

AT: What is your project that you are presenting at the March 3rd kick-off event?

BL: Well I'm actually presenting two works "Hens and Chicks" and "Happy Hour."

AT: Can you tell me a little bit about those films?

BL: "Hens and Chicks" is a family film about a young girl who is a sperm donor offspring who begins to question who her father is. "Happy Hour" is teaser for a dramatic series I'm working on entitled "The Chanticleer." It's set in 1955 and one of the storylines involves underground gay and lesbian culture.

AT: I know there is going to be a whole collection of different types of works at the event this on March 3rd. Can you tell me about the kind of work you are presenting?

BL: Well, "Hens and Chicks" is a short film while "Happy Hour" is a more of a performance piece with dance and music. It tells a story about how two women make a connection that only they can see, reflecting the invisibility that was required at that time period. The series that follows will have a broader scope, reflecting the cultural and political shifts occurring at that time period, which were significant. The goal is to have distribution with some episodes exclusively made for the web.

AT: What made you interested in doing films like these? 

BL: I like to portray strong women characters, families and gender and sexualties that are usually unrepresented, misunderstood, and/or not favorable. In the first film, Hens and Chicks, I wanted to show that there are different types of well-adjusted families. For "Happy Hour" I wanted to highlight the oppression many people faced then [during the mid-twenty century in regard to their sexuality]. in regard to their sexuality]. People are resilient, though, and will find ways to live their lives the way they want. I wanted to honor that. I see these women as courageous and subversive.

Having already been aware of the suppression of women during this time period, I am anxious to see Becky Lane's physical representation of these circumstances. Also, having been involved in theater before coming to college, I can't help but loving the melding of dance and music to create an emotionally charged scene. I hope you all found this interview as intriguing as I did. Please come out and support Becky Lane and all the other filmmakers as we raise money to help Cinemapolis with it's conversion from film to digital. 

One final question: What interests YOU most about Becky Lane's projects?