Renowned DJ/VJ multimedia/new media artist Art Jones will do a master class and a concert as a featured artist-in-residence for the 15th Annual Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival.

 Art Jones   works with film, digital video, live audio/video mixes, installations,  audio, television, interactive media, and hybrid media. He has produced  and directed for MTV, Deep Dish TV, the New York City Women's Health Project, the New York Times, Red Bull BC One Tokyo, and the American Civil Liberties Union.  In Austria, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Portugal, Mexico and other international venues, he has collaborated on live mixes with Soundlab, DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Phillip Virus with Alec Empire, Teleseen, Amiri Baraka, Femmes with Fatal Breaks, and Anti-Pop Consortium. Jones' media art projects have screened at the Museum of Modern Art, London's Tate Gallery, and many international media festivals and broadcast outlets.

Master Class on Remixing, New Media and the Arts of Collaboration

Monday, March 26,

Park Hall, 3-4:30 p.m.

 
The Concert for Microtopias

Tues March 27

Hockett Recital Hall

8:15 p.m.

Live remix with classical musicians and actors

 Both events are free and open to the public.

The 15th Annual Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, exploring the theme of Microtopias, runs march 25 through April 1, on the Ithaca College campus and downtown at Cinemapolis. Festival schedules and bios of guests at FLEFF.

FLEFF: A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT

The New China occupies the news, with fear, anxiety and competitiveness.  At FLEFF, see the new China in new ways, with banned, underground, radical, and transnational projects  that refute these global  clichés from the ground up.

Beijing Beseiged by Waste (Wang Jiu-liang, China, 2011; 71 min.)

Photographer Wang Jiu-liang travels to more than 500 landfills, fearlessly documenting Beijing’s unholy cycle of consumption through poignant observational visits with the scavengers who live and work in the dumps. While China’s economic ascent commands global attention, less light has been shed upon the monumental problem of waste spawned by a burgeoning population, booming industry, and insatiable urban growth. Award-winning photographer Wang Jiuliang focuses his lens upon the grim spectacle of waste, excrement, detritus, and rubble unceremoniously piled upon the land surrounding the China’s Olympic city, capital, and megalopolis, Beijing.  With Kevin Lee,  in person, from dGenerate Films, Sat, March 31, 7:10, Cinemapolis.

Winter Vacation (Han Jia) (Li Hongqi, China, 2010; 91 min.)

It’s the last day of winter vacation in Inner Mongolia. Four aimless adolescents enjoy their last hours of freedom drifting between the barren spaces of their small town. They make surreal visits to homes of family and friends, including an unhappy little boy who dreams of becoming an orphan to escape the tyranny of his family. A prevailing absurdity casts over their lives as they endure petty instances of bullying while arguing over the purpose of school, teenage love, and life in general.  Winner of the Golden Leopard for Best Film at the Locarno Film Festival, the third film by poet-novelist Li Hongqi announces him as a major figure in China’s independent cinema. Targeting the nonsensical undertones of modern Chinese society, Li unleashes a mercilessly deadpan humor that’s as biting as the film’s wintry landscape. With Kevin Lee, in person, dGenerate Films, Sunday, April 1, 1:30 Cinemapolis

Cotton Road (Laura Kissel, USA, 2012)

From fields in South Carolina to factories in Shanghai, “Cotton Road” makes visible the production cycle of an agricultural commodity through the stories of workers who transform raw cotton from a seed in the ground to a product on a store shelf. The film begins with farmers and seeds and ends at a retail store. In between, it tracks the travels of cotton to China where young factory girls dye, spin and sew, manufacturing the products we desire to consume. Connecting our consumption to the labor behind it, “Cotton Road” weaves a portrait of globalized work in the 21st century. With Laura Kissel and Matt Hockenberry, in person, Sat, March 31, 2 p.m. Cinemapolis

The 15th Annual Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, exploring the theme of Microtopias, runs March 25-April 1, on the Ithaca College campus and downtown at Cinemapolis. For a full schedule of events and bios of guests, click HERE.

FLEFF: A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT

 FLEFF interns are building a microtopia right here on the Ithaca College quad this weekend. They are spelling out the word MICROTOPIAS with reclaimed and recycled materials.

Join us to expand this microtopia for this special, FLEFF-intern generated, outdoor installation at the Opening Reception on Monday, March 26, from 4:30 -6:30 in the Handwerker Gallery.

Refreshments and live music and you and collaboration and conversation= Microtopia

The Microtopias Installation was conceived by the FLEFF operations team, which includes Marian Brown, Ann Michel,  Tanya Saunders, Tom Shevory, Phil Wilde, Patricia Zimmermann, to highlight ways in which recycled materials can mobilize community and collaboration to make something new out of something thrown away. Insights International, the multimedia production company with offices in Ithaca and New York city, has worked as producers to mount the installation.

Interns were put into groups, with each group given a letter to devise from recycled and reclaimed materials on campus.  Members of the winning letter will each receive a gift certificate to the Ithaca College bookstore. Winners will be announced that the FLEFF after gathering on Thursday March 29 at the Finger Lakes Wine Center, a new festival partner.

Landscape architect and land artist Mary Zebell will serve as judge.

Mary Zebell is a landscape architect, planner, designer, and installation artist who has worked across the United States on public and private commissions, both large scale public green spaces and smaller scale gardens. She is principal of Mary Zebell Garden Design. She designed the Wisconsin Worker's Memorial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1995, as part of a special public art commission. Her site-specific public art installation, Counting, commissioned in 2007 by the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, commemorated those killed in war or natural disasters since 2000. She has worked extensively as a curator of exhibitions in public spaces, such as "The Inscribed Image," at the Tompkins County Public Library and other venues. As a designer, she has also created mise en scene, costuming, and blocking for theater, concerts, and special exhibitions.

The Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival runs March 25- April 1, on the Ithaca College campus and downtown at Cinemapolis.  Events on campus are free, screenings at Cinemapolis require admission. Buy your pass at the Ithaca College bookstore this week.

FLEFF: A Different Environment

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact FLEFF codirector Patricai Zimmermann at patty@ithaca.ed. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.

FLEFF's signature silent film/live music events--our version of microtopias-- roll out once again.
 

We're celebrating the 90th anniversary of the short comedies by the incredible silent film genius Buster Keaton, with a specially prepared score of lively zydeco music by Li'l Anne and the Hot Cayenne.  Saturday, March 31, 4 p.m., Cinemapolis. Admission charged.
 

This is one of those not-to-be-missed-get-there-early-to-get-a-seat-FLEFF-one-of-a-kind experiences!
 

Buster Keaton Shorts (Buster Keaton, United States, 1920-1923, 105 min.) The short films of Buster Keaton are considered cinematic classics, and offer some of his best early work.  They are “an exception to the idea that shorts are inherently less satisfying and less accomplished than feature films… And at their best they dispel the theory that you can't do something grand on a small scale.” (Screen Savour) Five of Keaton’s best--and most significant-- short films are offered in this program:  The Scarecrow, One Week, The Playhouse, The Boat, and Cops. 

Li'l Anne and Hot Cayenne. Take half a dozen groovemasters add a spicy blend of rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and funk to the up-tempo Zydeco beat, and presto, you’ve got a sound that pays homage to the Louisiana greats while blazing new trails! Li’l Anne & Hot Cayenne have been pleasing crowds of young and old alike for more than a decade.  Their music is guaranteed to get your toes tapping, fingers drumming and feet moving onto the dance floor!
 

For schedules, guest bios, and programming, go to our website: FLEFF  (updates daily, so keep checking!)
 

FLEFF: A Different Environment

Here's a heads up on what to expect  to hear at the 2012 FLEFF Concert for Microtopias.

Ann Michel and Phil Wilde, Insights International, will produce. Mary Zebell will serve as designer. And live digital remix by Art Jones on the screen. Script by Patricia Zimmermann and Tom Shevory.

Advice:  arrive early to secure a seat for this multimedia concert and performance!

The Concert for Microtopias
Tuesday March 27, 2012
8:15
Hockett Recital Hall
Ithaca College
Free

Concert Program

Festival Welcome by Dr. Marisa Kelly, Provost, Ithaca College

Microtopias Opening Invocation
                                     Cynthia Henderson and Kathleen Mulligan, actors

Concertino for Two Pianos opus 94                                                                    Dmitri Shostakovich  
                                                                                                                             (Russia, 1906 - 1975)
                                            Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, pianos

Theme for English B                                                                                               Langston Hughes
                                                                                                                                (USA, 1902-1967)
                                                           Cynthia Henderson, actor

Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod                                                                           Johann Sebastian Bach
(With gladness, I look forward to my death) from Cantata 82                        (Germany, 1675 - 1750)
                                                               Brad Hougham, baritone

Fugue in G Minor BWV 578                                                                                Johann Sebastian Bach
                                                                                                                               (Germany, 1675 - 1750)
                                                                                                                            Arranged by Silvio Scionti 
                                                    Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, pianos

Road Not Taken                                                                                                           Robert Frost
                                                                                                                               (USA, 1874-1963) 
                                                                  Kathleen Mulligan, actor

Vif from Scaramouche                                                                                              Darius Milhaud
                                                                                                                               (France 1892 - 1974)
                                                       Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, piano

Anytime                                                                                                                      William Finn
                                                                                                                                    (USA b. 1952)
                                                                       Brad Hougham, baritone

'Pas de Deux' from Souvenirs opus 28                                                                        Samuel Barber
                                                                                                                                  (USA 1910 - 1981)
                                                              Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, pianos

Remix: I Dwell in Possibility                                                                                    Emily Dickinson
                                                                                                                                  (USA, 1830-1886)
I Too Sing America                                                                                                   Langston Hughes
                                                                                                                                   (USA 1902-1967)
                                                      Cynthia Henderson and Kathleen Mulligan, actors

'Two - Step'  from Souvenirs opus 28                                                                           Samuel Barber
                                                                                                                                   (USA 1910 - 1981)
                                                          Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin,pianos

Alone                                                                                                                           Maya Angelou
                                                                                                                                      (USA, 1928-)
                                                                      Cynthia Henderson,actor

Lullaby                                                                                                                       Xavier Montsalvatge
                                                                                                                                     (Spain 1912 - 2002)
                                                                          Brad Hougham

Pavane pour une enfante defunte(Pavane for a dead princess)                                     Maurice Ravel
                                                                                                                                  (France 1875 - 1937)
                                                           Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, pianos

 Tides                                                                                                                             Pablo Neruda
                                                                                                                                   (Chile1904-1973)
                                                                            Kathleen Mulligan, actor

“Brazileira” from Scaramouche                                                                                      Darius Milhaud
                                                                                                                                 (France 1892 - 1974)
                                                            Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, pianos

Adagio from Concerto in C Major for two Pianos                                                    Johann Sebastian Bach
                                                                                                                                   (Germany 1675 - 1750)
                                                            Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, pianos

Wade in the Water                                                                                                  African-American Spiritual
                                                                                                                               (First Publication - USA 1901)
                                                                               Brad Hougham, baritone

Tarantella from Suite No. 2 opus 17 for two Pianos                                                  Sergei Rachmaninoff
                                                                                                                                     ( Russia 1873 - 1943)
                                                                      Jairo Geronymo and Deborah Martin, pianos

Microtopias Closing Benediction
                                                            Cynthia Henderson and Kathleen Mulligan, actors