Category: Uncategorized

Director Biography – Renee J. Vaca (LAST LOOKS)

When you look at me, you don’t see bi-racial. Yet, in my lifetime, my parents were not allowed to buy a home outside of Santa Ana, the deemed location where minorities were permitted to purchase property and raise families in Orange County, CA. You can’t tell I’m gay per say, based on whatever society’s version of what a Lesbian is supposed to look like, act like, and be. Who knew 40 was now a protected demographic? Well, I hit that and I don’t look or feel it. Being female is the only box people will put me in when they meet me, even though my dimensions are much deeper and brighter than what they see. I am a woman. A proud woman raised by 2 parents whom defied societal norms and instilled a sense of power within me and an understanding that just because that door is closed now doesn’t mean it can’t be opened later.

Director Statement

My long and varied career in the industry has not only afforded me many unique opportunities and experiences, it’s also given me the skills and confidence needed to be an effective leader, communicate effectively and make timely decisions. I approach each project with an unrelenting passion and energy. Surrounding myself with likeminded people, I enjoy collaborating and crafting a clear artistic/creative vision, culminating in a work that inspires and motivates everyone involved.

Director Biography – SHAWN M CHEATHAM (8 3/4)

After receiving a BA in film and media studies at the University of Florida, I spent a number of years in the commercial audio-visual industry with organizations such as Walt Disney World Co. honing my skills as a cinematographer, editor, sound & light technician. I acquired an MFA from the University of South Florida which has helped me to develop a rigorous studio practice, and immersed me in the world of contemporary art. I am currently the Instructor of Art and Media at USF’s School of Art and Art History while also pursuing a PhD in Media Studies from Western University.Director Statement

8 3/4 was made on a shoestring budget by a family of artists in the wake of enormous change. The film challenged us to accept a new reality while reminding us that we are still loved. Simply put, it’s exactly the kind of film we need right now.

When Is an Editorial Not an Editorial? The Covid-19 (Quarantine, Era 1) Edition — Film Quarterly

There is no such thing as business as usual now. And most certainly, no film as usual: every festival canceled, every movie theater dark, as the names of the closures and cancellations bring sadness and grief for curators and filmmakers, film critics and distributors, cinema owners and workers, film studies professors and students, and, yes, their audiences—all, of course, as of print time.

When Is an Editorial Not an Editorial? The Covid-19 (Quarantine, Era 1) Edition — Film Quarterly

Thinking about Watchmen: A Roundtable — Film Quarterly

Michael Boyce Gillespie leads a roundtable with scholars Jonathan W. Gray, Rebecca A. Wanzo, and Kristen Warner to discuss issues of medium, genre, fandom, and African American history in the highly regarded HBO series Watchmen. Characterizing the HBO series as a disobedient adaptation that modifies, extends, and redirects the world making of its source material, the famed twelve-issue comic-book series of the same name, written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons, Gillespie et al. explore the ways in which Watchmen remediates American history, starting with the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 that serves as the historical and ideological trigger that sets the series in motion. In a wide-ranging conversation that encompasses subjects including fan fiction, adaptation, cultural mythology, and black superheroes, the authors argue for Watchmen’s significance as some of the most consequential television of the century so far.

Thinking about Watchmen: A Roundtable — Film Quarterly

Weekly Virtual Film Festival

via Weekly Virtual Film Festival

 

WATCH Tonight: Tuesday June 7th. 8pm EST (5pm on the West Coast.).

Virtual Film Festival, Sponsored by Yonge/Dundas Square.

Featuring the BEST DRAMA & EXPERIMENTAL Shorts from around the world today:

LINEUP OF FILMS:

FIRST ACT PROGRAM

PLAY, 13min., Poland, Drama

Directed by Piotr Sulkowski

A man consumed by guilt because he did not dare to defend his mother, plays the role of a murderer and forces his ten-year-old self to face his original trauma…

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!play_movie_poster

OKAY, 3min., USA, Drama

Directed by Leanne Nicole

3 minute short about the struggle growing up in an abusive environment

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!okay_short_film

WEEP NOT, 13min., USA, Drama

Directed by Lenore Thomas Douglas

Journey Gordean, a successful journalist gets to cover a story of a lifetime, but her ambition is tested when that very assignment is the man who assaulted her when they were children.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!weep_not_movie_poster

SPIRIT: A MARTIAN STORY, 10min, USA, Drama/Fantasy

Directed by Stimson Snead

NASA sought evidence of life on Mars. That search begins with water, and the search for water begins with the study of the rocks and the soil. That was the historic mission of the rovers SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY. This is SPIRITS story.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!spirit_movie_poster

TERRA BEACH, 20min, Canada, Sci-Fi/Drama

Directed by Mike Gallant

A college freshman in 2069 returns home and kindles a romance with a Hispanic girl only to realize they have gained the space colony’s attention.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!terra_beach_movie_poster

SECOND ACT PROGRAM

BLACK STAINS, 14min, USA, Experimental/Dance

Directed by Tiffany Rhynardag

Black Stains addresses the systemic pattern of racial profiling by the police. Inspired by the personal experiences of choreographer Trent D. Williams, Jr., the film illustrates the reality of being black in the United States. Through interviews with men of varying ages and robust athletic dancing, the film persistently asks the question: why do we not see black men as human?

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!black_stains_movie_poster

WHEN EARTH TOOK A BREATH, 5min., USA, Music

Directed by Lambert Grand

Ora The Molecule’s “When Earth Took A Breath (Are You There?)” depicts our relationship with the natural world. Filmed with a full spectrum camera, plants and trees appear in unfamiliar colours – the sea of red pulsating like alarm bells as we’re reminded of our planet’s climate and biodiversity emergency.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!when_earth_took_a_breath_movie_poster

MONOH – With Attitude, 4min., Germany, Music

Directed by Jan Sommer

A visual journey through space, nature and the mind. The music video for MONOH’s new single With Attitude.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!monoh_movie_poster

STRUT – 1980s, 5min., Australia, Music

Directed by Tim Cash

Pierre’s prized pink flamingo has been brazenly pickpocketed! The shocking crime has led to a phone call to the FBI (Flamingo Bureau of Investigation) & the search is on. The situation grows so dire that the Pink Ninja is called to duty! ‘Strut – 1980s’, directed by Tim Cash, is the lead single off Pennan Brae’s 5th release, ‘Gravity – The Astronot’. The track is mixed by producers Kirk Kelsey & Eric Alexandrakis & mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Grammy Award-winning engineer Sean Magee. Filmed In Central Oregon with music recorded in Vancouver, BC.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!strut_1980s_movie_poster

AMERICAN QUARTET, 9min., USA, Music

Directed by Jesca Prudencio

In a 2030s small town bitterly divided over who belongs, a young Muslim-American woman puts herself at risk when she shares her private, digitized memories with strangers, challenging the status quo in the hope that empathy will triumph over hate.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!american_quartet_movie_poster

Agoria – Call of the Wild, 5min., France, Music

Directed by Loïc Andrieu

Throughout a cinematic video, director Loïc ANDRIEU introduces a new female hero high-concept. It features Jane, an enigmatic L.A.P.D officer, forced to face her Orphic power to dive into death.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!agoria_call_of_the_wild_movie_poster

SEARCHING FOR WONDER, 6min., USA, Music

Directed by Greg Osei

Searching for Wonder was inspired by conversations with fellow artists who have diverse relationships to the African Diaspora. These discussions highlighted how we all feel lost in different ways, because history, slavery, colonialism & fear have left many of us feeling disconnected, searching for something we can’t fully articulate. Searching for Wonder deals with the tremendous power we have to rediscover & reimagine ourselves through our ancestors, their gods, their cultures & our interconnectedness.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!searching_for_wonder_movie_poster

UNDER THE WATERFALL – THE AVENER, 3min., France, Music

Directed by Sebastion Caudron

This video clip shows an explosive passion between two lovers, punctuated by an elegant and a contemporary choreography in the streets of Paris where buildings are changing into real waterfalls. It is an hymn to love that uses the metaphor of water for its fluidity

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!under_the_waterfall_movie_poster

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