Blog posting written by Kimberly Capehart, Documentary Studies and Production '16, FLEFF Blogger, Cherry Hill, NJ 

How much time do you spend on the Internet?

In a society that is constantly connected to smartphones and laptops, researchers have determined that the average teenager spends around seventeen hours a week online. But with the modern potential the Internet has for communicating with others, how can you blame them?  

Popular websites like Twitter and Facebook make it childishly simple to share thoughts and ideas; and once that idea is put out on the Internet, it's as simple as the click of a mouse (or the click of a trackpad, for all of you wireless folks) to share that idea and to spread it to more people. The "retweet" option on Twitter and the "share" option on Facebook promote a global network of idea sharing: a tweet can be tweeted in Ithaca, New York and in a matter of seconds can be seen by people as far away as Berlin, Germany and Koriyama, Japan. 

The potential for idea sharing isn't limited to social media. Smartphone applications like Instagram and the recently-popular Snapchat allow users to share pictures in a matter of seconds. Internet-based computer applications like Skype and Oovoo allow people from around the globe to video chat while simultaneously allowing them to share files. 

This list of websites and applications that connect people and their ideas goes on and on and is constantly growing each day. The number, and diversity, of users is also growing daily; teenagers aren't the only ones taking advantage of idea sharing. Major corporations, local businesses, non-profits, musicians, artists, and so many more people reach a huge audience through this global idea network and can easily tweet, post, share, etc. their own ideas much more easily.

Mobilities is what makes this massive sharing of ideas possible, even when people are sitting at home. Mobilities allows ideas to spread around the globe and spark new ideas in others with ease. Connections and communications that never would have been able to happen are able take place thanks to the global idea network that Mobilities accommodates. 

FLEFF is what brings these ideas, and the people responsible for said ideas, together. If so much idea sharing is able to take place around the world without people meeting, imagine how much more occurs when people come face to face. 

This year at FLEFF, members of this global network of ideas will connect face to face. People from all over the world will be coming to Ithaca, NY to share their ideas on a wide range of topics, and the best part is YOU can join in on this global conversation and share YOUR ideas.

Are you ready to network? 

Blog posting written by Andrew Ronald, Film, Photography & Visual Arts '15, FLEFF Intern, Mahopac, New York

Cinema is moving. 

Usually at twenty-four frames per second for all you filmmaker enthusiasts out there (putting Peter Jackson's attempt at innovation aside.) But nonetheless, the statement remains valid.

Cinema has the ability to transcend space and time. Spark social rebellion. Create dynamic cultures. Truly change how people see the world. 

And hey, isn't this why they call them motion pictures in the first place?

But festivals are just as mobile. FLEFF is no exception as it gathers heterogeneous ideas and cultivates people, ideas, exchanges, businesses and, of course, films together. It is a hodgepodge of artistry and commercialism. A reflection upon the historical birth of cinema to today's Oscar-nominated films. A widespread connection between internationally foreign films to the ones made in your own hometown.

The concept behind mobilities is meant to explore the actual movement of people, ideas, and things, as well as the broader implications behind these movements.

And FLEFF is the perfect vehicle to explore what is mobile.