Blog posting written by Chloe Wilson, Television-Radio '14, FLEFF Blogger, Ashland, Massachusetts.

Hello, FLEFFers!

My name is Chloe Wilson, and I'm excited to be back blogging with FLEFF for the second year in a row!

I'm a junior television-radio major with a concentration in scriptwriting.  I also have a triple minor in history, legal studies, and the honors program.

I grew up in Ashland, Massachusetts - the original home of the Boston Marathon!  I'm not athletic by any means, but I live close enough to the marathon route that I can walk outside of my house, set up a lawn chair, and cheer for all the marathoners running by.

Even though I grew up just outside of Boston, I'm a New Yorker at heart.  I spent my last summer interning at Viacom in NYC while simultaneously working with a small non-profit.  As much as I love media, I also love giving back to my community.

I consider the Ithaca area (and the surrounding Finger Lakes) my community.  As a college student, I feel like I'm always mobile - travelling home for break, travelling to Syracuse to visit friends, travelling back to Ithaca for the new semester - and I'm excited to explore the idea of mobility in film and new media.

This year, FLEFF begins with a Kick-Off Screening on March 3rd.  It's an Upstate Filmmakers showcase, featuring artists such as Carol Jennings, John Scott, and Jason Harrington. (Seeing as my birthday is March 2nd, it's like a belated present for me!)

The FLEFF schedule hasn't been announced yet, but I can't wait for the Kick-Off Screening.  What are you excited about for this year's FLEFF?

Blog post written by Sarah Lockwood, Cinema & Photography '15, FLEFF Intern, Blairstown, NJ

 What is a VJ?

"What does a DJ do?" Art Jones asks in response to my question.

A DJ at an event pools music from multiple sources, mixes and edits them through spontaneous editing to suit the audience, creating a mixture of songs and moods that is eventually "greater than the sum." 

A VJ executes the same remixing and audience reading, except visually. 

And what do you need to VJ? "A place with a projector."

A first-time FLEFF visitor this year, Art Jones is excited at the prospects of what may come - in fact, he isn't even sure how his own remixing class will proceed!

With this comment, Art laughs. That may be exaggerating to a degree, but mystery and spontaneity is what truly creates an authentic remixing experience. Most of what his class entails depends on the audience, the mood, how he choses to remix at that point in time.

This element of surprises mean one thing - the only way to truly understand DJ/VJ-ing lies in the experience.

Come see for yourself just what possibilities Art may unfold here during FLEFF week.

During FLEFF week, Art Jones will host a master class titled Live Remix Revisited (Monday 3:00pm, Park Auditorium, Ithaca College) and contribute his DJ/VJ skills to the Concert for Microtopias (Tuesday 8:15pm, Hockett Hall, Ithaca College) 

Blog post written by Gena Mangiaratti, Journalism '13, FLEFF Intern, Feeding Hills, MA

Here are two events, one on-campus (and free!) and one off-campus, that I'm especially looking forward to.

As I said in a previous post, all FLEFF events are valuable to attend, but these are two that appeal to my personal interests:

Checkpoints Activism Panel: Documenting Iraq, Burin: Stories from a Palestinian Village, and Witness to Uprising: Voices from Cairo and New York (FREE)

Moderated by Beth Harris, featuring Menna Kahlil and Michael Kennedy

7 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, in Friends 309 (Ithaca College campus)

 If you have been trying to follow the recent revolutions in the Middle East as best you can, you will probably be very interested in this event.

In reading about what is going on in, I try not only to learn about events via the news, but also to learn about what is happening from multiple news sources and perspectives. I also use Twitter to try to get information from people who are in the affected areas whenever possible.

I am very interested in hearing Menna Kahlil’s first-hand account of the uprisings in Egypt, and also learning more about the demonstrations in New York City in support of Egypt.

To read two great interviews about this event, one with Menna Kahlil and one with Dr. Beth Harris, see the links below.

Both interviews are by FLEFF intern Brian McCormick.

Interview with Beth Harris

Interview with Menna Kahlil

Lunch Love Community webisodes on healthy food for public schools, with film director Helen De Michiel, chef and cookbook author Julie Jordan, and public health professor Stewart Auyash

12 pm on Saturday, April 16 at Cinemapolis

I recently had the privilege of being able to speak with Ms. De Michiel about her work on this exceptional documentary/web series (will be posted soon – stay tuned!) about the story of school lunch reform in Berkeley, California.

Even though I admittedly may have forgotten about school lunches after they no longer affected me, I think nutritious food, especially for children at the elementary level, is really a crucial component, so it's excellent to hear that the people involved in this reform took the initiative to make it happen.

Though it was a local occurrence, I think it can provide global inspiration. I look forward to seeing the webisodes with Ms. De Michiel present, and also to learning more about how the members of the movement managed to effect such great change.

(It would be wonderful if this movement could spread…)