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

DON'T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE FLEFF EVENT CALENDARS! Click here to view/download now!

I had the great privilege of interviewing Canadian jazz pianist John Stetch about his live performance during the FLEFF Week silent film event, The Last Laugh. 

You will be playing piano during FLEFF Week's screening of The Last Laugh, tell us a little about the creative process you undergo.

The music that I'll be playing is all improvised. I'll allude to the period of the film occasionally so there will be some stylistic references to early jazz. But if it were only that, it would sound boring for the whole movie, and I might run out of ideas. So, I also go with the moment, and play modern-day piano sounds that reflect the action and images of the film. 

How long have you been performing for silent films? 

I've played several over the last few years but this one is the first solo piano performance. The nice thing about silent films is that many different bands and musicians will all interpret the same film in their own personal way. Because of that, there are infinite combinations and results for a limited amount of vintage silent films. It is also an opportunity for me to play a concert that's quite different than my normal line of work: by improvising to an inspiring film. The overall package for the audience is more accessible and engaging than just an all-audio concert.

The theme of FLEFF is Checkpoints, ideas coming together. How does the piano and the silent film represent the FLEFF theme? 

Sometimes there are sections in the film with either no action, or sections where images are inconsistently changing and unpredictably contrasting to each other, so part of my job is to provide a steadily flowing, forward-moving backdrop to tie these visible images together, provide a steady undercurrent and help make the audio link to the present.

What do you wish the audience can get out of this performance? 

I think its a chance to see a collaborative, creative process happen in real-time; they can even have fun imagining 'what would I play if I were a pianist at this moment'. And thank goodness we are going to have a real acoustic piano in Cinemapolis, thanks to Don McKechnie at Ithaca College Piano Services.

The Last Laugh will be screened Friday, April 15 at Cinemapolis. SAVE THE DATE!

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

Schedules for Ithaca College Campus FLEFF events and FLEFF events at Cinemapolis are now up! Click here for more information.

One of the most exciting events during FLEFF Week includes two pianos, a baritone, and the meshing of two unlikely pieces of music.

You guessed it! The April 11 event, The Checkpoints Concert in Hockett Recital Hall.

This live performance features pianists Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin and baritone Brad Hougham.

Igor Stravinsky's work, The Rite of Spring, will be performed by Geronymo and Martin on two pianos. This commonly orchestrated piece will be reworked as a duel piano rendition. 

Brad Hougham will perform Ruckert Lieder by Gustav Mahler.

The combination of these two distinct styles is a never before heard event everyone must attend. It will dazzle all the senses and, accompanied with visual art on modernist screens, will be a show you cannot forget. 

I am excited to attend this event because I am not familiar with any of these works. It will be a great opportunity for me to learn something new and become more artistically cultured. I am also excited to see the visual art on the modernist screens my peer interns will be helping with. It is a bold statement but I am truly happy Ithaca College has the technology to support such an adventurous performance.

If you would like to attend this event, GET THERE EARLY. The event starts at 8:15PM in Hockett Hall on April 11. Hope to see everyone there!

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

I hope everyone is having a great week!

The FLEFF Intern team is busy preparing for FLEFF Week coming up April 10. We are all really excited. I hope everyone bought their passes!

I interviewed FLEFF intern and team leader Holly Kreczko about her experience with FLEFF.

Holly is a Documentary Production and Studies major at Ithaca College and has Anthropology and Outdoor Pursuits minors.  She is from Endicott, NY and likes to hike, go camping, explore the Adirondacks and make movies. Her academic interests include photography, anthropology and art. Holly hopes to one day start her own independent film company for documentaries and music videos. She enjoys watching documentaries about African social rights activism. 

What Holly does as a FLEFF Team Leader:

• team leader for a group of 7 interns
• makes sure her group is doing their jobs correctly and that everything is running smoothly
• keeps the enthusiasm for FLEFF running high throughout the semester

What Holly has learned:

"FLEFF is much more than just a film festival.It's an opportunity for people to come together, learn about a topic, and discuss it afterwards.

Going into this, I thought the festival would just be about directors making movies and presenting them, but I soon learned that it's all about activism." -Holly Kreczko

 Question of the Blog to our Loyal Readers: What is your favorite Film Festival?