Written by Jonathan Morello, Assistant to the FLEFF Codirectors

I recently spent some time with Tom Shevory, codirector of FLEFF, to probe his ideas about the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival.

In this portion of our interview, Tom discusses new media and how the various forms of film featured in the programming shape the festival.

Jonathan: What gives you most joy while working on FLEFF?

Tom: For me, it’s learning new ideas and new ways of thinking about these ideas. I’ve learned so much about so many things with the festival.

That’s what keeps me interested. FLEFF is always changing. It’s always different. Year after year, we offer fresh content, presented in ways that have never been seen before at the festival.

The recent transformations of media really add to this way of thinking. I enjoy gaining insight on how this works. It’s just different than the traditional academic structures to say the least.

Jonathan: Can you explain how transformations in media have changed the festival?

Tom: We do a lot of work with new media. We always make sure to include works that engage digital interfaces. We don’t see the distinction between forms. We see film as a broad category that includes all media formats.

Jonathan: How does the incorporation of new media formats add to FLEFF?

Tom: It creates an inclusive environment without limits. New media allows FLEFF to incorporate works in new interfaces.  It allows activist groups, nonprofit groups, and educators to have their message about sustainability heard. They will submit their films to the festival in the form of DVD, Blu-ray or in a digital format for the on-line audience. The use of Skype allows us to interact globally.

Everyone is welcome to share their story, their ideas, and their feelings toward sustainability regardless of form. It doesn’t matter if you are a distributor of major independent films shot and projected using 35mm film or an activist group using online interfaces for user-generated upload.

Jonathan:  How does distribution across these different formats impact FLEFF?

Tom: It mainly effects how and where we plan to program events during the festival.

Most of the films created and distributed by activist groups, nonprofit groups, and educators are shown at Ithaca College during the festival. These works screen better on campus and the creators of these films really enjoy working with the undergraduates. As guests in the classroom, the creators really enhance the dialogue and discussions that pertain to their particular exhibition.

Larger budget films, distributed by major distributors have very particular roll-outs on the film’s exhibition. These pictures are shot and projected using 35mm film. 35mm films are generally what the industry and programmers dub “the most commercial.” A commercial film is something you can sell tickets to because it is designed for wide distribution. These types of works will screen at Cinemapolis in downtown Ithaca.

When programing for the more popular films, we have to be mindful of the roll-outs and how long major distributors plan to run these films in the theaters. In order to use these films, the roll-outs have to coincide with our scheduling and when we plan to have the festival.

Jonathan: Can you think of any other challenges relative to these commercials films?

Tom: Everything in the commercial and art cinema theaters is changing. 35mm film is going to disappear. Replacing it is high-quality digital projection. This provides quality that is superior to DVD, Blu-Ray and even 35mm film.

Jonathan: How does this pose a challenge for FLEFF?

Tom: In order to screen these films, you need high-quality digital projectors that cost about $60,000 each. Cinemapolis needs five of them for a complete upgrade. The theater is in the process of raising money through grants and fundraising to make this full and necessary transition complete.

Keep your eyes and ears open for Part II of this story! It's coming soon! 

By Jonathan Morello, FLEFF Assistant to the Codirectors 

A few days ago, after grabbing an afternoon pick-me up at a local coffee spot in downtown Ithaca, I decided to stop by Cinemapolis to see if anyone was around to chat about the theater’s involvement with FLEFF.

For those of you who may not know, Cinemapolis is home to all of FLEFF’s off-campus film programming during the festival.

During my visit I was lucky enough to run into Scott Bliss, the executive director of the theater. He offered that we sit down and chat about Cinemapolis and FLEFF. I could not pass up a chance to have a discussion with a key film exhibitor in the upstate New York region!

Jonathan: Can you talk about the relationship between Cinemopalis and FLEFF?

Scott: It’s a hand in hand partnership. We try to accommodate FLEFF as much as possible. We have a facility that allows the directors to host a considerable amount of programing in a location that is right down the street from Ithaca College.

At the same time, we work with Tom Shevory and Patty Zimmerman (festival co-directors) to promote films to our customer base. This gives FLEFF great exposure--and helps Cinemapolis build its audience. It works to both of our advantages to do that. We recognize how important FLEFF is to the community and Ithaca College. We want to do anything to help them. And they will do anything to help us. It’s kind of a no-brainer to partner together.

Jonathan: What role do you play as the executive director of one of FLEFF’s most important partnerships?

Scott: I mostly work with marketing. Part of my job is to brand Cinemapolis and move it into different directions. That’s why one of my tasks was to work with Tom and Patty on FLEFF. It’s a huge annual event that is able to showcase Cinemapolis for what it is. They recruited me.  I wanted to help them in any way possible.  I think last year (2012) was a huge success.

We were able to make FLEFF more visible to our regular patrons and the community. The-tie in with Ithaca College is really important as far as branding goes.

Jonathan: Does Cinemapolis contribute to any of the programming that is presented at FLEFF?

Scott: Patty and Tom are really great. They do a lot of the negotiating with the film distributors. They handle the scheduling. However, I do meet with them to discuss the ways we can collaborate together. I have a booking agent that takes care of the movies that we show, so we’ll try to open a film or two that weekend to coincides with the festival.

Jonathan: Is there anything new that Cinemapolis hopes to contribute to FLEFF 2013?

Scott: This year Cinemopolis started selling tickets online. I think we will do the same for films that will be shown at the festival this year. We have seen a lot of success with online ticket sales for our general films. This method will be useful to pull-in younger festival goers who are accustomed to grabbing their tickets quickly and going right into the theater instead of standing in line and waiting.

Jonathan: I understand that you recently installed a high-quality digital projector. What opportunities will this open up for FLEFF?

Scott: Most major independent film distributors today allocate their titles through digital cinema.  I think higher quality presentation throughout the festival is key this year: it will really enhance the experience.

Jonathan: What was the best part of your involvement with FLEFF last year?

Scott:For me, it was interacting with the interns. It’s good to see young people who have an interest in film and possess passion about causes that are important to them. It’s refreshing to see that there are groups of people out in the world who care about film and care about a medium that can facilitate social change or any other host of actions afterward.

Jonathan: What do you think an experience like FLEFF offers someone who might be thinking about an internship or junior fellow position?

Scott: FLEFF offers incredible preparation for whatever you decide to pursue later on in life.  You learn how to work as a  team. Your communication skills will improve as you drum up support for something that you truly believe in.  

In any field it is important to obtain the working knowledge of seeing a project from beginning to end. I think experiencing something like that is absolutely essential for professional growth. Sometimes in an academic setting, you may not get that. You take your classes, you write your papers, and you take your tests. But being involved with FLEFF provides you with hands-on experience that you can take away and apply to whatever career that you end up going into.

Jonathan: Is there anything else that you want to add?

Scott: We are really excited about hosting the festival again. We always look forward to it. It is a little crazy at times but you know, being a little bit crazy is better than not being involved at all.

For a list of current screenings and events at Cinemapolis, check out their schedule HERE.

My name is Jonathan Morello.  I’m inviting you to learn with me, explore with me, and grow with me as we embark on a journey that is the 2013 Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF).   This year's theme is MOBILITIES.

However, before we submerge completely in ideas ,films, music, art and politics, I would like to invite you to get to know me. I'll be keeping the Fresh at FLEFF blog updated, and working on community outreach for the festival.  

I’m currently a full-time graduate student pursuing a master’s of science in communications at Ithaca College. My studies here started last spring. I  focus on corporate and organizational communications. Once I complete my degree in summer 2013, I hope to start a career in marketing or public relations for a corporation or agency that handles clients within the entertainment industry. So FLEFF is a perfect transition for me--a great way to contribute to a major festival.

Before I decided to attend graduate school, I had just received my bachelors of arts from Hofstra University in May of 2011. I majored in print journalism and minored in music. I was also extremely active on campus, so I am hoping to share time-management skills with interns, mini-course students, and festival course students as they embark on their FLEFF journey this year.

I wrote for the university’s student- ran newspaper. I  worked as a resident assistant (R.A). I played for the men’s club ice hockey team. I was a  leader in my fraternity. All of these activities gave me something very special:  joy.  These extracurricular activities are the reason I hold my alma mater dear to my heart. And they motor my interest in working on building social relationships within a festival like FLEFF.  Community outreach and community building are two goals I have for my work with FLEFF this year.

My involvement with FLEFF began a few weeks ago when Dr. Patricia R. Zimmermann, codirector of FLEFF and professor in the Department of Cinema, Photography and Media Arts at Ithaca College, contacted me via e-mail. She informed me that I’d be working as the assistant to the co-directors for this year’s festival!  This would be my graduate assistant in the Roy H. Park School of Communications--a step toward my goal of doing marketing, public relations and community outreach.

This news ignited feelings of excitement and intrigue.  I immediately began researching everything I could about FLEFF. (tip for intern applicants:  RESEARCH!)

Reading the vast array of blogs, supporting documents and film descriptions on last year’s website helped me understand the fundamentals of FLEFF, the diversity of those involved and the international recognition and impact of the festival. 

To me, FLEFF is  something much more than a way to help me gain solid professional experience within the field of communications. It is something that offers me the chance to meet people and hear voices from all over the world as they seek to have their messages heard.

The stories found at FLEFF are powerful. The topics are serious: war, disease, health, genocide, the land, water, air, food, education, technology, cultural heritage, diversity and beyond.

You see, I never had the chance to study abroad. Now,  I feel lucky.  FLEFF is my passport to the world. It's not a physical location, but an artistic and intellectual place, a place I am very excited to explore with all of you.

Diabolically imaginative and ever interested in the potential applications of film to politics, Nazi propagandists made a fake documentary about life inside the Warsaw Ghetto. While this film will disturb you, you should take time from your busy schedule to see it. It represents a unique historical artifact, the implications of which are only now becoming apparent.

The long and complex history of the film unwinds through its reconstruction, as a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and a cameraman involved with shooting the film screen the footage together and give their reactions.

Synopsis

At the end of WWII, 60 minutes of raw film, having sat undisturbed in an East German archive, was discovered. Shot by the Nazis in Warsaw in May 1942, and labeled simply "Ghetto," this footage quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record of the Warsaw Ghetto. However, the later discovery of a long-missing reel, inclusive of multiple takes and cameraman staging scenes, complicated earlier readings of the footage.

A FILM UNFINISHED presents the raw footage in its entirety, carefully noting fictionalized sequences (including a staged dinner party) falsely showing "the good life" enjoyed by Jewish urbanites, and probes deep into the making of a now-infamous Nazi propaganda film.

A Film Unfinished has received widespread critical acclaim:

 GRADE: A' “A profound and vital documentary.” — Lisa Schwartzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

'FOUR STARS'  
"A subdued aural-visual symphony.  A brilliant reminder of the importance of bearing witness." — Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York (Critic's Pick)

"A unique cinematic experience.  There's no doubting the profound depths of Hersonski's research, and her brilliant capacity to assemble this material into a coherent narrative." — Eric Kohn, Indiewire

FLEFF 2011 Checkpoint Not to be Missed:

Saturday, April 16

Siren of the Tropics

7 p.m.

Cinemapolis

Silent Film/Live Music/Performance

Fe Nunn and Friends, jazz

Cynthia Henderson, performance

 
A Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival Original Commission

Use your FLEFF pass for admission, or $9.50 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors. Plan to arrive early, as seating is limited.

About the Film

Siren of the Tropics [La sirène des tropiques] ( Henri Étiévant, Mario Nalpas, Portugal, 1927; 86 , min.) The dazzling, extraordinary, riveting, singer and dancer Josephine Baker stars in this film, the first to feature an African American woman as a star. Baker was born in St. Louis but spent most of her life in France. Marquis Sévéro, a rich, lazy Parisian, wants to divorce his wife so that he can marry his own goddaughter Denise. But Denise herself loves André Berval, an engineer employed by the marquis. Filled with jealousy, the marquis sends André to the Antilles, to prospect some land he has just acquired. He promises André that he can marry Denise if he is successful in the tropics, but he then writes to Alvarez, his manager at the site, asking him to prevent André from ever returning to France. The brutal Alvarez forms an instant hatred for André when the engineer breaks up Alvarez's attempt to rape Papitou, a beautiful native girl. Papitou becomes devoted to André, and protects him against Alvarez's schemes. But she faces a crisis herself when she learns that André plans to marry Denise.

About Cynthia Henderson

Cynthia Henderson is an associate professor with Ithaca College’s Department of Theatre Arts. A professional performer for a number of years in the United States, Europe, and Africa, her Ithaca credits include Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Hangar Theatre, and Lily in Crumbs from the Table of Joy and Callie in Stop Kiss, both at the Kitchen Theatre. Her New York City credits include A Wrinkle in Time at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, and Dorothy Dandridge: An Evening of Song and Remembrance, Brother’s Keeper, and It’s Only a Play off Broadway. Her European credits include leading roles in Dreamgirls, Into the Woods, Children of a Lesser God, and Little Shop of Horrors. She was acknowledged by the European Tournament of Plays with a best supporting actress in a musical award for her role in Little Shop of Horrors. African credits include Charlayne in Pretty Fire and a production of For Colored Girls, which she directed. Television credits include a starring role in UPN’s Ghost Stories, as well as numerous commercial and industrial credits. She is also the recipient of a Fulbright award.

About Fe Nunn and Friends

Fe Nunn is a songwriter and composer who lives in Ithaca, New York. He has written music for television and radio commercials, as well as for film. As a pianist, he specializes in jazz and avant-garde musical forms. He grew up in Buffalo, New York, during the powerhouse jazz era there in the 1960s, where he regularly heard John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, and Roland Kirk perform live at the Blue Moon. He wrote the score for the All of Us Project, an initiative to involve the entire community in children’s education. With Jeff Claus and Baruch Whitehead, he helped to launch the Community Unity Music Education Program, a new form of music school. His CDs include We Can Make It (1999) and Precious Moments (2004). He currently teaches media literacy and television production at Boynton Middle School. He and Mike Vitucci, guitarist, have played together for over 25 years. His band, Fe Nunn and Friends, has worked with silent film and live music events, most notably the Within Our Gates project, recently featured in the archival journal Moving Image as an innovative project combining archival research, African American silent film, and live music.

Sound Support: Calf Audio

Producing and Lighting: Insights International

Writer and Researcher: Patricia R. Zimmerman, with Cynthia Henderson and Ann Michel

Funding for this performance of silent film/live music is generously provided by the Park Foundation and Ithaca College.

FLEFF: A Different Environment    www.ithaca.edu/fleff

FLEFF partners with the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art to mount a one day workshop on video art, and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking and internationally recognized Experimental Television Center in Owego, New York.

Come to hear top video artists and programmers discuss the state of the field on Wednesday, April 13 at Kroch Library Room at Cornell University, FREE

The Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art collaborates with the Mellon Central New York Humanities Corridor and the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) to stage a celebration of two new large video art archives that have been donated to the Goldsen Archive: "Elayne Zalis Video Studies Archive" and "ETC: Experimental Television Center Archives."

Schedule of Events

Kroch Library Lecture Room

1:15        Welcome

Timothy Murray, Curator, Rose Goldsen Archives, and Director, Society for the Humanities

1:30 - 2:30 Archiving the Video Archive

Elayne Zalis and Timothy Murray, in conversation "History of the Zalis Archive"

Sherry Miller Hocking, ETC, and Patricia Zimmermann, Co-Director FLEFF, in conversation "History of ETC"

Guerlac Room, A. D. White House

3:00-4:00    Video Art: Practice in and through the Finger Lakes

Chair, Renate Ferro, Department of Art

Philip Mallory Jones, Co-Founder and Director, Ithaca Video Projects  (1971-85)

Barbara Lattanzi, Interactive Art, Alfred University

4:30-6:00    PLENARY LECTURE

Anne-Marie Duguet, University of Paris 1 (Sorbonne) "Anarchives: Project and Process"

Sponsors: Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art, Mellon Central New York Humanities Corridor, Society for the Humanities, The Tinker Factory, Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival

SALE ENDS ON FRIDAY April 8 at 5:

FLEFF 2011 Checkpoints early bird student passes for $20 for five films, faculty/staff passes for $35.

Run, jog, crawl, hop, slide, or dance to the Ithaca College Bookstore to take advantage of this all-time low offer before it ends!

On April 9, student passes price go to $35, and faculty/staff prices go to $45.

 Don't miss out on the over 50 guests, 62 downtown screenings, and over 80 events at IC, Cornell, Delilah's and Buffalo Street books that comprise FLEFF 2011.

We'll see you at the Checkpoint!

FLEFF: A Different Environment
www.ithaca.edu/fleff

Do you want an international experience without leaving town?

Do you want to meet filmmakers, new media artists, and industry insiders in an informal, engaged environment?

Then you need to get your FIVE PASS FOR CINEMAPOLIS for FLEFF 2011 NOW!

Pre-Festival Pricing for IC faculty and staff for FESTIVAL PASSES is $35 (regularly $45) until 5 p.m. on April 8 at the IC Bookstore.   $7 a film! Festival screenings are normally $9.50

Passes also available at pre-festival price at Cinemapolis until last show on Friday April 8.

If you are an IC student, we have a limited number of passes left at the $20, until we sell-out all 200.  Then festival passes increase to the regular price of $35.

Visiting filmmakers and industry professionals appearing at Cinemapolis include Helen De Michiel, Rodrigo Bellott, Rodrigo Brandao, David Brancaccio, Danny Schechter, Maple Razsa, Karin Chien, Arthur Smith, Tina Mabry, Jenny Stein, James La Veck, Tom Swartwout.

For more information on FLEFF 2011 edition Checkpoints program, check HERE.

FLEFF, A Different Environment

FLEFF and Cinemapolis have unspooled a one-week only treat for festival goers to celebrate that we are now back from Web 2.0 to RL (real life):

$35 for five extraordinary Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival films at Cinemapolis for our 2011 edition for faculty and staff.

But only if you buy before Friday, April 8 at 5 p.m. It's a ONE WEEK ONLY PRE-FESTIVAL PRICE.

Passes increase to $45 for five once the IC Bookstore closes its doors on Friday.

If you are an IC student, run, jog, walk, skip to the IC Bookstore ASAP to secure a FLEFF festival five pass for the all-time low price of $20.  Only the first 200 passes will be sold to students at this price--and we are nearing our quota. So don't procrastinate!

This year FLEFF's 2011 edition Checkpoints hosts more filmmakers, more music, more industry professionals, and more films downtown than ever before: Danny Schechter, David Brancaccio, Jenny Stein, James LaVeck, Helen de Michiel, Karin Chien, Maple Razsa, Rodrigo Bellott, Rodrigo Brandao, Arthur Smith, Tina Mabry, Franklin Lopez, Tom Swartwout, Carol Jennings, Cynthia Henderson, Karen Rodriguez.

Plus:  live music for silent film by Fe Nunn and Friends, Robby Aceto, Chris White, Peter Dodge, and John Stetch.

Plus: performances by Cynthia Henderson and Josephine Baker.

Plus:  62 screening downtown alone, with films from Boliva,Spain, Israel, US, Palestine, Thailand, China, the Arctic, Mexico, UK, Canada, France, Russia and Indiewood.

See you at the Checkpoint.

FLEFF, A Different Environment

www.ithaca.edu.fleff

Blog written by Patricia Zimmerman, codirector of FLEFF

I have a big announcement to make: FLEFF is ALMOST programmed.

I say almost because every day, something seems to open up, we get a call, a lead on a film, or an artist comes through, some funding falls into place.

One thing I have learned about programming a festival is that it is not some bureaucratic organization. It operates as a living, constantly morphing organism in endless engagement with the outside world. 

Its always changing. Guests get added. Films get added.  Something happens. A conversation. A connection. An enthusiastic new idea from an intern. A new band. A different kind of party. Music that changes how you hear the world.

One BIG change this year is that we've expanded FLEFF from 7 days to 8 days. And we've expanded our downtown Ithaca presence significantly, from three days to four.  And, we're doing THREE whole nights of after parties with multiple bands and performers at Delilah's, programmed by the ever energetic London McDaniels.

This year, our downtown screenings and events have the most guests, the most filmmakers, the most films, and the most musicians for after parties of any FLEFF to date.

Here's just a very small sampling of FLEFF programming at Cinemapolis April 14-17, to whet your appetite for quality cinema that creates a different environment.

FLEFF opens up an international world of film directors, editors, new media artists, musicians presenting their work and post screening conversations with you at Cinemapolis, one of the most beautiful new multiplexes for art cinema in the country. 

Directors and industry professionals presenting at Cinemapolis include Rodrigo Bellott (Bolivia/Amsterdam, EVEN THE RAIN), Tina Mabry (MISSISSIPPI DAMNED), Danny Schecter (PLUNDER), David Brancaccio (FIXING THE FUTURE), James La Veck and Jenny Stein (PEACABLE KINGDOM), Jeremy Levine (GOOD FORTUNE), Helen De Michiel (LUNCH LOVE COMMUNITY), Franklin Lopez (END: CIV), Tom Swarthout (Sidney Lumet's film editor), Karin Chien (executive director of Dgenerate Films from China).

Plus, do not miss FLEFF's signature events of new commissions of live music for silent film at Cinemapolis:  THE LAST LAUGH, with John Stetch, piano; SIRENS OF THE TROPICS,the first film starring African American dancing sensation Josephine Baker, with performance by Cynthia Henderson and jazz music by Fe Nunn and Friends; and STORM OVER ASIA with Robby Aceto, Chris White,and Peter Dodge, electronic/experimental rock music.

The festival program is up, the grids for campus and downtown are onlinr, the bios of the 40 guests invited to this year's FLEFF are in PDFs for downloading. Find it all --and more-- on our website HERE. 

Just print out---and start charting your path through the multimedia extravaganza of the mind and the heart and the soul that we hope is FLEFF 2011 Checkpoints.

See you at the Checkpoint?

You will never get a better deal than this:  a 2011 Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) pass for $20. 

Translation:  five theatrical screenings  at Cinemapolis with directors and speakers for $4 each. 

FLEFF is offering the first 200 passes at $20 to Ithaca College students with I.D. This price is ONLY available at the Ithaca College bookstore. 

This offer is valid only for Ithaca College students. Student festival price are regularly $35.

The downtown screenings will feature film directors David Brancaccio, Danny Schecter, Helen DeMichiel, Tina Mabry, Jenny Stein, Maples Razca, Jeremy Levine, James LaVek, commercial film editor Tom Swathout and more to be announced. 

The downtown screenings also feature FLEFF's signature silent film/live music original commissions, featuring musicians John Stetch, Chris White, Robby Aceto, Peter Dodge, Fe Nunn and actress Cynthia Henderson.  Silent films this year include The Last Laugh, Storm Over Asia, and Siren of the Tropics.

The 2011 FLEFF explores the theme of Checkpoints and runs April 10-17. Theatrical features run April 14-17, downtown.

For more information on the myriad industry, arts, new media artists, filmmakers, musicians, bands, and writers booked for FLEFF 2011 Checkpoints, and for more information on films as we confirm titles, go to:  http://www.ithaca.edu/fleff

7 New Mini Courses

Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival

One Credit, P/F, Block II Mini Courses*
Register on Homer

Checkpoints: Markets, Crisis, Disaster [IISP 10100-01] CRN 43199

Examines how various economic and financial controversies have been portrayed in popular and documentary films. Students will explore such topics as the Enron fiasco, the Great Depression, and more recently the collapse of the banking industry and the housing market. Students will use their knowledge to analyze and compare FLEFF 2011 films. 1 cr. LA Instructor John McKinley Thursday 6-7:15 pm.

Too Late to Stop Now: Tipping Points [IISP 10100-02] CRN 43200

The tipping point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point. It is the moment when protests become revolutions, popular you-tube videos become viral, and deforesting becomes devastating. We will consider the forces that bring about tipping points, including the power of individuals to fuel and/or restrain such moments. Topics will be determined by students’ interests. Our only constraint is that we be informed by our reading of Malcolm Gladwell’s, The Tipping Point, and our participation in FLEFF events and screenings. 1 cr. LA Professor Jodi Cohen, Communication Studies Thursdays 12:15-1:30 pm

 
Checkpoint: Can Games Change the World [IISP 10100-03] CRN 43201

Can games make the world better? Can they encourage cooperation, problem-solving, and altruism in ways that affect ordinary lives and address social and economic problems? In this mini-course, we’ll read Jane McGonigal’s new book Reality is Broken and engage her thesis that games can change the world for good. We will play a “checkpoints” game and decide if simulations can teach us something about the real world and the problems associated with a utopian vision. Students will attend several FLEFF films and examine how the "rules" at work in real-life social situations challenge the thesis that games can teach us how to change the world. 1 cr. LA Rachel Wagner, Assistant Professor, Philosophy and Religion MW 4-6 pm

Garbage, Oil, and other dirty stuff: Environment, Commodities, and Film in the Americas [IISP 10100-04] CRN 43202

The course will treat two themes: human and natural agency as portrayed in films & the history of "environmental films" in the Americas. 1 cr. LA Associate Professor Jonathan Ablard, History and Assistant Professor Michael Smith, History MW 2:00 pm-2:50 pm

Tying Story to Environment: the Checkpoint as Drama [IISP 10100-05] CRN 43203 [GCOM 10200-01]

A river forces its way through rock.  A four lane highway chokes down to one. A huge line forms at airport security.  Checkpoints occur in both the natural and man-made world.  Where pressure builds, drama will soon follow. This mini-course examines the recurring theme of a checkpoint as a source of drama film.  We will analyze FLEFF screenings, plus classic recent indie and Hollywood features where the narrative is tied directly to a specific environment; physical, political and otherwise.   1 cr. LA Andy Watts, lecturer, Cinema, Photography, and Media Arts M 6-8:30 pm

Cultural Ecology [IISP 10100-06 or MUNM 25200 – 01] CRN 43204

Examines the philosophic, sociological and artistic issues surrounding the transmission and assimilation of cultures. Through the prisms of film, music and dance, we will question the relationship between cultural diversity, sustainability, assimilation, artistic integrity, authenticity & creativity. 1 cr. LA Professor Peter Rothbart, Music, Theory, History, and Composition Fridays 1:00-1:50 Whalen Room 2330.

 
Public Health, Media, & Lifestyle IISP 10100-07 CRN 43205 or HLTH 39901-01 CRN 42735

Explores the foundations and applications of public health through readings and the films and events of FLEFF.  Students will explore the role of media in generating ideas, propagating myths, and influencing decisions about health. Students will attend films and participate in FLEFF events during the Festival week. 1 cr. LA Associate Professor Stewart Auyash, Health Promotion and Physical Education W 4-5:15 Hill 54.

 * For additional mini course information contact Warren Schlesinger, FLEFF mini course coordinator [warren@ithaca.edu]. All mini courses are pass/fail and one credit.

Blog written by Ann Michel, FLEFF internship coordinator and principal of Insights International.

The First Checkpoint for FLEFF 2011:

The 3 day visit by Albert Maysles, director of Salesman, Grey Gardens, and Gimme Shelter, to name a few.

Gimme Shelter played at FLEFF partner Cinemapolis to a sold-out, packed house. The audience  stayed to listen to Maysles'  stories about The Rolling Stones and shooting directi cinema, while the rest of the country watched the Steelers and Green Bay.

Maysles then spoke at free screenings of Grey Gardens and Salesman at Ithaca College, kicking off FLEFF's return to the screens and community of Ithaca.   If you weren't there, you missed it! 

A special shout-out to Professor Arturo Sinclair in the Television/Radio Department and the Roy H. Park School of Communications for all of their work to bring the Mr. Maysles, one of the pioneers of direct cinema, to Ithaca.

This screening of Gimme Shelter with Mr. Maysles was just a taste of what is to come: carefully curated shows, premieres, specially commissioned works with live music, and an active website.  

Stay tuned!