Blog posting written by Chloe Wilson, Television-Radio ’14, FLEFF Intern, Ashland, Massachusetts.

1.     It’s interdisciplinary.  FLEFF brings people of all mediums together.  You can be an Environmental Studies major learning about new media, an electronic musician watching a silent film, or an aspiring novelist immersing him/herself in The Concert For Microtopias, Every FLEFF attendee brings something to the table.

2.     It’s inter-generational.  Whether you’re a student, a media professional, or an Ithaca resident, FLEFF has something for all ages.  The welcoming environment and endless opportunities for FLEFFers to mingle leads to inter-generational conversation.  Who knows what you’ll learn from another FLEFFer?

3.     It’s intellectual.  This is one of the many goals that FLEFF accomplishes each year.  FLEFF inspires attendees to learn from media and its creators, as well as from other attendees.  Everyone has a story and lesson to share, and FLEFF celebrates that by providing countless opportunities for FLEFFers to do so.

4.     It’s a great opportunity for professionals and students. For students, there is no better professional opportunity. You learn directly from industry professionals about working with all forms of media.  Students learn about media (as well as film festival protocol) through their experiences with the festival.  And for professionals?  They get to show and talk about their work to an incredibly eager audience!  What could be better?

5.     It is not static. FLEFF is always changing.  While some professionals come back and give presentations year after year (like Robby Aceto), FLEFF always brings something new to the table.  This is why FLEFF has themes: to allow each festival to explore new technologies and ideas, and this is what makes FLEFF so stellar.

It was hard to narrow the list down to five, but what do you think, FLEFFers? What do you think makes FLEFF unique?

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

FLEFF: A Different Environment

It's a promising tagline. Promoting sustainability, encouraging environmentally friendly habits, and even being able to capitalize on eco-friendly...well...anything. But it's not just about carpooling and recycling, and FLEFF's interdisciplinary nature speaks in a stronger and more influential way.

FLEFF is about bringing people together for an enlightened and highly cultured discussion. It's a microtopia of intellectual unification. It requires musicians, filmmakers, artists, and guests who reside along a wide spectrum of ages to hold sophisticated conversations. It's an encouraging outlook on engaged curiosity and unique lenses to view the world through. After all, culture is saccharine.

By proposing these requirements at the actual festival, FLEFF projects its own sense of captivating higher-level thinking. Curiosity drives scholars and an inquisitive audience towards ascertaining information, thereby making them capable of achieving remarkable results, whether they are as complicated as groundbreaking medical formulas, or as simple as finding a shortcut on your way to work. Either way, the environment is defined by this influential role FLEFF plays.

How would you define "a different environment?"