Thursday, December 20, 2007

SCREENING: Joe Merrell, NYC, January 2008


Joe Merrell, our man in L.A. and JSF double-hitter (Vol.1, Vol.10), is having his work screened in the East Village in NYC in January. The venue is a sidewalk on 19 1st Avenue. The storefront at that spot is home to East Village Radio and its glassed-in DJ booth. During January, Ceci Moss, who does a show on Tuesday nights (10pm-12am) called “Radio Heart,” will be showing some of Joe’s work in the booth. Her program is an eclectic mix of music that can be heard on the street in front of the booth, streamed online, and through podcasts. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and check out the mirrored radio station and Joe’s work. Explore EVR here, and see the booth here.

SCREENING: JSF at the Detroit Film Center, 12/29


December’s DFC A/V show featuring the JSF includes Volume 3, followed by musical guests Rough Satellites, w/video accompaniment by Natasha Beste. Volume 3 is a great collection with a more-than-normal amount of humor. Check out the complete listing on the website.

Production note

Okay, as some of you might’ve guessed, we’re running slightly behind around here. Volume 10 was a little slow to collate, and the blog is clearly neglected. But we’ve turned a corner, and we’re charging into 2008 with new plans for world domination, . . . . or at least subversion. Happy holidays, and we hope everyone gets the arm bands we’ve sent.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

SCREENING: JSF at the Detroit Film Center, 11/24


The next installment of the JSF screening at the esteemed DFC is happening this Saturday. Along with are special musical guests The Space Band. It should be a smashing show (film #11 is actually called “Demolition 7,” by Richie Sherman). Rumor has it the publisher will be in attendance. Feel free to hand him screeners if you’d like to submit to the Journal. For a list of the films, check out the listing in the left frame for Volume 2.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

SCREENING(S): JSF at the Detroit Film Center, 10/27, 11/24, etc.


Brandon Walley up at the Detroit Film Center has programmed the Journal into the DFC’s A/V Club, resulting in a series of screenings to happen on the last Saturday of each month. The first installment will happen on Sat., Oct.27th, and will feature the screening of the full-length Volume 1 of the Journal PLUS live music and projection from local renegade noisemakers, The Eagles Club. If you haven’t seen Vol.1 yet, navigate leftward and read the listing of films and filmmakers that got the Journal off the ground back in 2005. If you have seen it, trust us that the films really deserve a theater screen.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

EVENT!: Unusual Animals, Portland, OR, 10/20


We’re excited to finally have an event on the left coast. On 10/20, we’re joining up with Asthmatic Kitty Records to take part in their Unusual Animals series. You may know AKR best for Sufjan Stevens, but the label is stacked with countless other amazing talent, as well.
See all the event details below, and if you’re in the area be sure and say hi.

WHAT: The “Unusual Animals” show, presented by The Journal of Short Film, Meow Meow Presents, and Asthmatic Kitty Records. All ages. Free show.
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 20th, 3pm
WHERE: Urbangrind Coffee Eastside, 2214 NE Oregon, Portland, OR

Featuring music of Half-handed Cloud, Lake, The Beauty, Upsidedown Cat, and Kelli Schaffer; films by Vanessa Renwick, Karl Lind, Chel White, Jeremy Bird, Uli Beutter, Stephen Slappe, Ryan Jeffery, and Matt McCormick.

Here is some backstory from AKR:
“Unusual Animals, an imprint of the internationally celebrated music
label Asthmatic Kitty, was created as a side-project aimed to expose
more conceptual and experimental projects not fitting squarely into
any one genre of music. Originally, Unusual Animals explored these
sounds through vinyl-only releases, pairing its own artists with
friends and sometimes-unlikely bedfellows.

“During this year's SXSW music festival, however, Asthmatic Kitty took
the Unusual Animals' series one step farther by hosting a live event
that forced the Unusual Animals' artists from the dash of car stereos
and into live performances. The combination of local art, music,
piñatas, food, and culture brought about the second evolution in the
series and a shift in focus. No longer strictly highlighting
underexposed artists, the series now explores the contribution of all
community members, urging the planet to recognize the variety of
activities that make up the cultural being that defines a given city.”


So in stepped the JSF to line up some films, with the help of Karl Lind. Oh, and there will also be puppetry. The all-Portland-artist event should be a great, weird time. The venue is in a nice, warehouse-y section of NE PDX near 22nd and Oregon. Join us!
For more info:
Asthmatic Kitty Records
Meow Meow Presents

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Screenings: Neil Ira Needleman (fall) and Daniel King (10/5)

Before we start sending press releases for some big upcoming JSF events, we want to share the news of various screenings by Journal alums and acolytes.

1) Neil Ira Needleman (JSF, Vol.2) is involved in a slew of screenings this fall. His films A Trip to Prague, Meditation, and TANZ!, among others, are being shown in no less than ten film festivals across the U.S., Europe, and South America. Fests include the Berkeley Film & Video Festival, the Boston Jewish Film Festival, the Atlanta Underground Film Festival, and the Thin Line Film Festival. Meditation can also be seen online at the Independent Film Channel website---www.ifc.com, at the top menu bar go to “Short Films,” then down to “Rooftop Films,” in the June listings.

2) Daniel King, our virtuosic graphic designer, is included in San Francisco’s Studio 27’s Impure Cinema: Hybrid Works Rupturing Media Boundaries fest this Friday, Oct.5th, at 9pm. Check out Authority Head Exorcism, his multi-layered visual expression of time spent as a propagandist. His excellent film is not kidding around, for sure.

And stay tuned over the next two weeks for many exciting updates, or at least two or three.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Article in KAMERA.CO.UK

The Journal’s sojourns S.W.-ward are over and it’s time to return to our planning for world domination. Or at least to clean out the Inbox, send out some orders, and go see Sunshine and Rescue Dawn.

But today we mostly want to draw attention to a new article in the online Brit film mag KAMERA.CO.UK. Antonio Pasolini wrote a small piece on “How to get seen.” Our esteemed publisher has a quote or two that divulge the JSF’s secret formula for marketing and make what appear to be at least one or two passive-aggressive admonitions. To whom, we’re not sure, but we recognize the tone.

KAMERA is a fine film site. Recently this writer benefited from its review of a new book by Mike Figgis. "Digital Filmmaking" is a short, accessible near-manifesto on moviemaking today. Very short. Unencumbered by depth, really, which was fine by me, at the time. The book’s optimism and lack of pretension were refreshing.

Anyway, read Antonio's article HERE.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Screening: Matt Meindl, Columbus, OH, 8/15

As mentioned below (7/31 post), Matt Meindl (JSF, Vol.7) will be part of the CineMUSEica show in Columbus on 8/15. If you’re anywhere nearby, don’t miss it!

UFVA Conference

To reconnect with our colleagues, friends, and fans in Academia, we are attending the UFVA conference next week. We’ll be screening films, accepting submissions, meeting new people, and eating as many tacos as legally allowed by the TX state legislature. If you’re attending, drop by and see us!

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Screenings, News, Vlogs, Etc.

The only thing better than putting out a new volume of the JSF is getting to relax after it’s finished. To that end, it’s time to sit back, eat a burrito, and share some news of upcoming events.

1) Matt Meindl (JSF, Vol.7) will be involved in the CineMUSEica series here in Columbus on August 15th at the Grandview Drexel theater. Matt’s films will be accompanied by music from the band The Giants of Gender in a multimedia show the likes of which is rare around here. Be sure to say hi to Matt.

2) Potter Belmar Labs (JSF, Vol.1) will be in NYC from Sept. 3-8 for their live, improvised cinema show at The Lab at Roger Smith Hotel. Also, check out their blogs for more events, examples of their work (art installations, etc.), and travel reports (Venice Biennale!). (PBL blog; Leslie’s blog)

3) Brian Liloia (JSF, Vol.4) has started a video blog to document his experience at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri this summer. It’ll be fun to see Brian apply his New Jersey-based filmic profundity to the gtritty fecundity of an ecovillage in the sticks. We will be sure to revisit this in the near future.

4) We have confirmed a date for the joint Journal of Short Film – slash – Asthmatic Kitty Records event in Portland, OR, this fall. It will happen on Sat., October 20th. This all-Portland artist event will combine stunning music by AKR with films from the JSF and various PDX filmmakers. More details to come.

5) There is another JSF event tentatively scheduled for Detroit this fall, but we’ll have to keep you in suspense on the details.

That’s all for now. Come back and see us.

Press Release: The Journal of Short Film Releases Volume 8 (Summer 2007)

for immediate release

(July 31, 2007) The Journal of Short Film released Volume 8 (Summer 2007) today. The JSF is a quarterly DVD featuring exceptional, peer-reviewed short films. To date, the JSF has published over 80 filmmakers from 10 countries. Volume 8 includes the Journal’s first films from Romania and Iran.

Volume 8 covers more ground than most previous volumes, walking through fields in Romania, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge in 1899, busing the streets of San Francisco, and touring a prehistoric site in Mexico. But before a theme can take hold, the collection of 11 films continues the Journal’s policy of diversity. Other settings range from urban Iran to a sheep farm to a morgue to a birthing room full of surprises.

The Journal was pleased to host Chicago-based filmmaker Deborah Stratman as a guest editor for Volume 8. She is known for her work through her production company Pythagoras. She was highly praised for her short work In Order Not To Be Here, and she recently completed Kings of the Sky, a feature documentary about Muslim Uyghur tightrope walkers in western China.

The Journal continues to have a free and open submissions process. Submissions should be sent to The JSF, PO Box 8217, Columbus, OH 43201, USA. The Journal also remains ad-free, committed to independent and underrepresented work, and insistent that art and entertainment are not mutually exclusive.

Following is a list of the films in Volume 8:

1. LAMPA CU CACIULA (THE TUBE WITH A HAT) – Radu Jude [Romania] (2006, 23:00) A father and son carry their TV set to the city to have it fixed before the afternoon movie. 2. THE BOY IN THE AIR – Lyn Elliot (2005, 2:00) An enigmatic advertisement inspires a letter. The corporation writes back. 3. MANUELLE LABOR – Marie Losier (2007, 10:00) A collaboration with Guy Maddin leads to a birthing scene unlike any other. 4. ART/WORK – Avram Dodson (2006, 5:00) A realistic look at the relationship between the artist and the day job. 5. FLIP-FILM – Ellen Ugelstad and Alfonso Alvarez (1999, 1:05) A staccato peek at San Francisco from the inside of a bus. Made in the tradition of Biograph’s 1890 Mutoscope. 6. MARDHA HAMDIGAR RA BEHTAR MIFAHMAND (MEN UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER) – Marjan Alizadeh [Iran] (2007, 8:00) Two men and a woman: it seems men understand each other better. 7. UNIFIED FIELDS – Brandon Walley (2006, 9:00) During a hot summer weekend in the country with my family, I tried to capture an odd sense of interconnectedness yet isolation. 8. OUTERBOROUGH – Bill Morrison (2005, 8:30) A split-screen extrapolation of a film taken while crossing the Brooklyn Bridge in 1899. 9. NOTHINGNESS – Arzu Ozkal Telhan (2005, 2:55) Nothingness is about resignation; an unwilling state of existence under the weight of insatiable humanity. 10. MARTIN – Bill Basquin (2004, 5:00) Martin is a poetic portrait of a sheep shearer and his philosophical musings on rural life. 11. TO THE SOUTH WAS 72 – Sabine Gruffat (2005, 11:00) “A personal guided tour of the largest prehistoric city north of Mexico.” -Anonymous

Contact: Karl Mechem, publisher, The Journal of Short Film, contact@theJSF.org

###

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Volume 8 Update

We know it has been a long time since our last post. We blame poor oversight. The publisher has been away—collecting fossils in Tierra del Fuego, or whatever he does—and we’ve been alternating between working hard on Volume 8 and . . . enjoying the nice weather.

So, to update, yes, Volume 8 is coming together and is looking spectacular. Final details are still being hammered out, as they say, but be assured it will be another great collection. Look for a release in late July.

We also have very exciting news about Volume 9 and a possible collaboration, but it is Top Secret, so you’ll just have to wait or listen for leaks from Cheney’s office.

Other exciting news involves an amazing, rocking even, event in Portland this fall, but that too will have to remain shrouded in secrecy for the time being.

In other event news, the publisher is making an appearance in DC this weekend. If you find yourself at the ALA conference, look him up. He'll be the one with a projector under his arm and shale dust in his hair.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Screening: Daniel King and Matt Meindl, Columbus OH, 5/12/07

Friend and JSF pillar Daniel King will be part of a screening at the Wexner Center here in Columbus tomorrow night. His film AUTHORITY HEAD EXORCISM will be screened alongside other short films from Ohio.

Also at the screening will be a film by Matt Meindl, the JSF's most recent Ohio filmmaker to be published (Vol. 7). We're not sure which of his is showing, but it's bound to be good.

The details: Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio Film & Video Showcase 2007. May 12, 7pm, Columbus, OH.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Screening: Neil Ira Needleman, NYC, 4/12/07

Neil’s solo screening on Saturday night will include no fewer than nine of his films. Two of them—Last Request and Meditation—are world premieres, and the rest are “recent and virtually recent.” (You will recall Neil’s film in Volume 2, Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn.) Join him and his following at the Millennium Film Workshop at 8pm.

Speaking of the Millennium, go there Saturday, June 9, for “Southwest Experimental Video” night, curated by friend-of-the-JSF Brian Konefsky. The screening is made up of work from Basement Films, an Albuquerque-based microcinema and performance group.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

press release: The Journal of Short Film Releases Volume 7 (Spring 2007)

for immediate release

Columbus, OH (May 1, 2007) The Journal of Short Film released Volume 7 (Spring 2007) today. The JSF is a quarterly DVD publication of exceptional, peer-reviewed short films. To date, the JSF has published 70 filmmakers from 8 countries.

Volume 7 opens with a thoughtful and entertaining documentary about Hurricane Katrina and the impact of religion on the American South. Several strong narrative films, two of which are Spanish, take us from medieval France to an abandoned bombing range. Love stories sit next to revenge stories, with comedies nearby. Several experimental films and hand-made animations complete the collection.

The Journal is pleased to welcome Chicago-based filmmaker Deborah Stratman as a guest editor for Volume 8. She is known for her work through her production company Pythagoras. She was a 2003 Guggenheim Fellow and was praised for her short work In Order Not To Be Here. She recently completed Kings of the Sky, a feature documentary about Muslim Uyghur tightrope walkers in western China.

The Journal continues to have a free and open submissions process. Submissions should be sent to The JSF, PO Box 8217, Columbus, OH 43201, USA. The Journal also remains ad-free, committed to independent and underrepresented work, and insistent that art and entertainment are not mutually exclusive.

Following is a list of the films in Volume 7:

1. GOD PROVIDES – Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky (2006, 8:30) Shot in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this unexpected short examines faith and inexplicable loss in the American South. 2. BOMB – Ian Olds (2006, 13:50) An almost love story set on the edge of an old Air Force bombing range. 3. HOW SHE SLEPT AT NIGHT – Lilli Carré (2006, 3:30) A man tries to remember his wife but only comes up with scant details as his memory starts to stray. 4. CHOQUE (COLLISION) – Nacho Vigalondo (2005, 10:00) Strong temperaments—and cars—collide in this chic film from Oscar-nominated director Nacho Vigalondo. 5. LOLLYGAGGER – Matt Meindl (2006, 5:00) All sidewalks are not created equal in this experimental travelogue. 6. CRANIUM THEATER – Jason Sandri (2006, 6:45) A quirky and surrealistic critique on the excessive demands of Church and State on the common man. 7. AVATAR – Lluís Quílez (2005, 15:00) Avatar: 1) Chance event that usually involves a sudden change in the course of something. Change of fortune. 2) Test someone goes through. 8. DISCONNECTED – Karl Lind (2006, 3:00) A million tiny hearts break. Somehow, everything is much more one sided than we would like it to be. 9. CHRISTINE. 1403. – Erica Berg (2006, 12:45) A magical cry for peace from the midst of the 100 Years' War, inspired by the words of medieval writer Christine de Pizan.

Contact: Karl Mechem, publisher, The Journal of Short Film, contact@theJSF.org

###

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Join Us in NYC This Weekend

Please save April 8 for a special program of New York shorts at the Pioneer Theater, co-presented by The Journal of Short Film and The Reeler. Filmmakers include Ian Olds, Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, Peter Sillen, Marie Losier and many others; visit the Pioneer's site for information and please join us if you can.

The Reeler Presents
The Journal of Short Film: NYC Series
Sun., April 8th, 7pm
@ The Pioneer Theater, NYC
(East 3rd Street, between Avenues A and B)

Many filmmakers will be in attendance. Plus, film submissions will be accepted in person. Below is the program.

1. Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, GOD PROVIDES, 8:30, v.7
Shot in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina this unexpected short examines faith and inexplicable loss in the American South.
2. Josh Safdie, WE’RE GOING TO THE ZOO, 14:40, v.6
Driving to the zoo, a young woman and her little brother pick up an unconventional hitchhiker.
3. Marie Losier, ELECTROCUTE YOUR STARS, 8:00 v.3
A dream-portrait in which American Underground legend George Kuchar tells stories of extreme weather and how not to kill the actors.
4. Ian Olds, BOMB, 14:00, v.7
An offbeat love story set on the edge of an old Air Force bombing range.
5. Natalie Frigo, FIRST LADIES, 1:30, v.6
In FIRST LADIES, the focus of news footage is altered, addressing alternate histories disregarded due to implicit cultural structures.
6. Joel Fendelman, BAND OF SISTERS, 8:00, v.4
A group of 1.15 million women and men march through Washington, D.C., in the largest march in U.S. history.
7. Paul Karlin, WHY I DON’T GO TO THE MOVIES, 7:00, v.4
The force of romantic obsession and the doldrums of life with a goddess lead to a strange vow.
8. J.J. Adler, FINAL LAP, 11:50, v.2
A sleepy American suburb. A mysterious car roars around the block each night. Tom Bickerton, 15, watches and waits.
9. Peter Sillen, GRAND LUNCHEONETTE, 5:00, v.5
This film documents the final days of Fred Hakim’s unforgettable 42nd Street lunch counter.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Production Update & Misc. News

1) Volume 7 is coming together nicely. It will be a great collection and include the following: 15th century mysticism, Hurricane Katrina, a very offbeat romance, and a brain farm. And a lot more, of course.

2) Borja Cobeaga (JSF, Vol.4) didn’t win that Oscar, but we congratulate him, anyway. Huzzah! There are still copies of Volume 4 available, by the way. We sent more to Amazon.com, the other day, but we still recommend you get them from us.

3) We’ll post more about this soon, but our latest news is of our upcoming screening in NYC. It will happen on April 8th, at the Pioneer Theater. The official title is The Reeler Presents: The Journal of Short Film NYC Series, or something like that. It will feature some of the films that have appeared in the Journal that come from NYC filmmakers. (not even all of them, actually, since NYC is our single greatest source of contributions.) Stay tuned for more details from us and for coverage on The Reeler.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Screening: Neil Ira Needleman, Black Maria Film Festival (traveling)

Neil’s new video “Uncle Hyman Cleans Up” was a third-prize winner at the 2007 Black Maria Film Festival. It is now currently traveling with the festival around the country. The work features Ira’s 96-year-old uncle and a lesson in making ourselves useful. As in most of Ira's work, an unfiltered, vérité-delivered love of family shares itself with a wicked sense of humor.

Neil’s video in Vol. 2 of the JSF “Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn"--featuring two elderly aunts--was aptly deemed a kvetchumentary by someone around here, a filmic term that has yet to enter the lexicon and still results in only a single Google hit (the one from this blog). Someday it'll take off.

Go HERE for the festival’s schedule.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Screening: Brian Liloia in the Stockstock Film Festival

Brian Liloia’s film “Sí, Se Puede!” (JSF, Vol. 4) is playing now in the Stockstock Film Festival. In this festival, filmmakers download several hours of stock footage and edit it down to a 2-min. film. The semi-finalists have been announced, and the winner will be announced in March. All of the films are available on the festival’s website.

The films make for some fun comparative viewing. Brian’s film, seen HERE, is a patriotic celebration of the true Amerikuh. Other favorites, upon a quick survey, include “VD Is for Everyone,” which is a helpful PSA, and “Murder Me Now,” which is a well-timed noirish piece.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

On Super Bowl Ads and the Avant Garde

At our recent screening, when the publisher was up front making a point about short film being 100 years old, someone in the audience said something like, “and now they’re TV commercials.” Sadly, she’s right. Somehow short film went from being the avant garde to a tool of advertising, without most of us getting to see any of it.

The recent slate of Super Bowl ads gives us occasion to consider this disaster. The publisher said he couldn’t be bothered on this topic; he pelted us with gruyere and said he was busy planning next year’s Davos forum (after this year’s topic, “Shaping the Global Agenda: The Shifting Power Equation,” they will be more clear next year with, “Does Anyone Else Miss the ‘80s?: All Zimbabwe Needs Is a Good Loan”). But most of us watched the game and a lot of TV ads, in general. While this year’s Super Bowl ads were less creative than in recent years---and we also think the NYT is crazy for reading Iraq-related feelings into the inanity (see HERE)---it is still undeniable that advertisers have adopted many of the lessons of experimental film from the last 50 years into their product.

Just like short stories have been a place for creativity and experimentation in literature since their beginning, short film has often led cinema down new audio-visual roads. The big difference, of course, is that everyone got to read short stories almost right away. Nobody locked them up and only let writers and MFA students read them. But short film, despite being over 100 years old, has remained marginalized and obscure. Directors and film students are well versed in the form—indeed most of them have made short films—but somehow the general public has been kept in the dark.

But back to advertising. Lamentably, advertisers have not been so deprived. They’ve kept up and were quick to adopt any new a-v trick that might grab one’s attention and lead one to buy, say, Sprite.

Historically, before an art form is fully coopted and used as a tool for selling crap, it usually passes through a phase of popularity. Rock music is an easy example. It went from being cool, to being popular, whereby it was then used to peddle Ford Mustangs. But at least people got to hear the music. (Then we had the 1970s. And, after the ’73 oil embargo, we didn’t even have real Mustangs, anymore.)

There is really no way to remedy this. But we can do our best to promote short film and start to reclaim it for the general public. Art should give the public new ways to think about the world, not just advertisers.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

press release: JSF's Volume 6; Oscar news; Australian film

for immediate release

The Journal of Short Film releases Volume 6 (Winter 2007)

Columbus, OH (February 6, 2007) The Journal of Short Film released Volume 6 (Winter 2007) today. The JSF is a quarterly DVD publication of exceptional, peer-reviewed short films. Volume 6 contains the JSF’s first films from Australia. To date, the JSF has published 61 filmmakers from 8 countries.

The staff of the Journal is very excited about Volume 6 but also wants to share its Oscar news: a film that appeared in Volume 4 (Summer 2006)—Borja Cobeaga’s “Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)”—was just nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

The Journal welcomed Sam Green as a guest editor on Volume 6. Sam was a noted short film maker before making the feature documentary “The Weather Underground,” which was nominated for an Academy Award. Sam has helped to fulfill the Journal’s mission of supporting diversity, experimentation, and independent work.

Volume 6 also introduces a new DVD feature: the video contributor notes. In these notes, the audience gets a personal introduction to the filmmakers. Following is a list of the films in Volume 6:
1. WE’RE GOING TO THE ZOO – Josh Safdie (2006, 14:40) Driving to the zoo, a young woman and her little brother pick up an unconventional hitchhiker. 2. ALICE SEES THE LIGHT – Ariana Gerstein (2006, 6:20) In an ultra-bright world, there's more to vision than meets the eye. 3. THE SASKATCHEWAN TRILOGY, PART I – Brian Stockton (2002, 5:40) An eccentric portrait of the filmmaker’s first year of life in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. 4. FIRST LADIES – Natalie Frigo (2006, 1:30) In FIRST LADIES, the focus of news footage is altered, addressing alternate histories disregarded due to implicit cultural structures. 5. LUCKY – Nash Edgerton (2005, 4:25) Lucky finds himself in a bind, and he’ll need to pull off more than a Houdini act to escape. 6. RUMSFELD RULES – Bryan Boyce (2006, 2:45) Donald Rumsfeld speaks the crazy poetic truth. 7. CARMICHAEL & SHANE – Rob Carlton and Alex Weinress (2006, 5:30) A single father has a unique approach to raising his twins . . . choose a favourite. 8. INTERSTATE, PART I – Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin (2006, 6:00) Night surveillance of circus elephants and zebras in circadian rhythm, seen through waves of traffic from a Texas interstate highway. 9. DON’T READ NOW, PART I – Michael Saul (2006, 5:20) A common warning in the art of passing notes. Secret love letters disguise our true intentions. 10. REMOTE COMMOTION – Catherine Galasso (2006, 4:00) An erotic diary of transatlantic yearning made intimate through an uncanny and frenzied collage of facial expressions. 11. THE TOUCH – Vanessa Woods (2005, 3:00) An experimental animation of an Anne Sexton poem that examines melodies within spoken, written, and visual language.
Contact: Karl Mechem, publisher, The Journal of Short Film, contact@theJSF.org

###

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Congratulations to Borja Cobeaga on his Oscar nomination!

Huzzah! Excellent news on this snowy morning: Borja’s film “Eramos Pocos” was nominated for Best Short Film (Live Action)! This film appeared in Volume 4 and has been an audience favorite ever since. The Basque film industry must be celebrating with a three-hour lunch, today. (oh wait, ....) But seriously, the Basques support their filmmakers in ways that most American filmmakers would kill for.

We half-expected two more nominations this morning for JSF filmmakers. Steve Bognar deserved a nom. for his feature documentary “A Lion in the House.” And I’m sure Peter Sillen was considered for a cinematography nomination for “Old Joy.” Neither happened, but we’re happy for Borja’s film. His film, by the way, will be shown this weekend at our screening at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Screening: Joe Merrell, Buffalo, NY, 1/26, 1/27

Joe’s excellent film “Corner, Los Angeles” graced our first volume, fourteen months ago. His new work is screening this weekend at the Resolutions 07 Festival in Buffalo. Here are some details from Joe:
The piece is called 'Sister Cities' and it's in 3D
(old school red/cyan anaglyph). If anyone is interested in seeing a
little clip from it, they can visit my website at:
http://www.uhhuhohyeah.com/

Joe brought a rare West Coast sensibility to the Journal, and his new film—with its evocations of sunshine and blazing heat (among other things, like porpoises)—is sure to bring a similar sunny relief to wintry Buffalo.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Screening: The Best of the JSF, Oklahoma City, 1/27-1/28

We’re thrilled about the upcoming event in the publisher’s mother country—a screening at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The publisher will be in attendance and, in between meetings with the governor and the Flaming Lips, will be accepting submissions from locals. The slate of films was programmed by OKCMOA film curator Brian Hearn. The event is cosponsored by deadCENTER Film. (This year’s deadCENTER Film Festival in OKC will be held June 6th through June 10th.)

DETAILS:

WHAT: A screening of The Best of The Journal of Short Film at The Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
WHEN: Saturday, January 27, 5:30 & 8:00pm and Sunday, January 28, 2pm
WHERE: The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr., downtown OKC

Visit the museum’s website for the complete program. Visit deadCENTER’s website for their upcoming activities.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

The Politics and Pragmatics of Film Preservation

Every now and then a discussion breaks out on the Frameworks listserv that is worth reading. (the daily trading of information is good, too, but less so for the outsider.) Last month there was a long discussion of a “cultural boycott of Israel,” which was good, if not always film-centered. (find it HERE and read the Replies.)

But there is a better example of the listserv in the recent talk about film preservation. In response to some of the activities of the Chicago Film Group (discussed last month), someone raised questions about the politics of grants and preservation. (read it HERE.) It’s nice seeing both the opinionated and the practitioners on the same list. Below are two excerpts from the thread:

(in response to celebrating the work of Anthony McCall)
But if you take a look at the recent critical work on McCall, . . . you find a complete erasure of McCall's radical political/ideological critique of the artworld. He's now been safely ensconced in the gallery and museum artworld as a formalist, after denouncing it in Argument.

(and then, in the same thread but on the issue of how much it costs to preserve film)
We can currently scan 2K at 16 fps, and 4K at 5 fps -- and 1600 x 1200 (a good choice for regular 16mm) at 32 fps. This may change radically in the near future, with very fast high resolution scanning -- 24 fps or greater at 4K. . . . Of course, there's the issue of data storage. Storing uncompressed 4K scans (at 12 bits, each frame would take over 18MB, or 27 gigs per minute). But the second you are dealing with 4K scans, wavelet compression -- JPEG 2000 or Cineform -- can be very helpful, and visually lossless -- about 40MB/second, or 2.4 gigs per minute. On a 400 gig LTO-3 tape, costing $65, holds 166 minutes, or a cost of forty cents per minute -- 2x that -- 80 cents -- for two copies.

You get the picture. Some of the listers can be snippy, but the list remains a valuable resource for both filmmakers and -tourists.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Happy New Year: A Production Update

Best wishes from the JSF for a happy and productive 2007.

Production update: Volume 6 will soon be pressed and should be released by the end of the month. It promises to be one of the best collections yet. We know, we always say that, but since 2007 is the Year of the Pig, and the Pig type is known for his/her honesty, you can trust us.

In other good news, the Year of the Pig is also associated with fertility, so look for an even more prolific year from The Journal of Short Film. In this space, alone, we plan on posting more material of actual interest. (We got the census data out of our system, thankyou.) Most excitingly, in the near future there will be more extensive interviews from our many filmmakers (61, as of Vol.6).

2007 will also be a year of JSF screenings. Check the Events page periodically for updates. This month, we’re excited to return to the mother country for a screening at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. And we’re officially starting the rumor of screenings in Portland and NYC before summer hits.

But for now, sit back, make some grand plans of your own for 2007, catch up on Volumes 1-5, and look forward to Volume 6. And as always, submit your own work for Volume 7.

Followers