I
have a deep spiritual and mystical foundation in all of my work.
Over the years I have a evolved a belief that film is a magic medium
and is capable of capturing and recording things beyond our normal
sense of the physical world. One conclusion that I have formed is
our thoughts and consciousness are recorded and captured by film.
So most important when I am creating and filming is my state of mind.
I try to hold a space that everything is sacred and touched by the
hands of the greater spirits, which give life to everything. The
universe has a perfect rhythm, every moment of time followed by the
next. I work by stepping into this rhythm and allowing myself to
be carried along by the current.| The Black Maria Film Festival | |||
| March 8 | |||
| The 23rd Black Maria Film Festival
(named after Thomas Edison's 1893 motion picture studio) is know
for its individually curated two hour programs of cutting edge films
and videos drawn from its annual collection of 50 competition award
winners. Likely winners to be exhibited in Colorado are Bill Morrison's, "Light is Calling" a wondrous experimental found footage piece based on the 1926 love triangle film "The Bells" by James Young. Robert Fenz's new 32 minute film "Meditations on Revolution, Part V: Foreign City" which is a gritty portrait of the back streets and alleys of New York City, and a first sound film by the accomplished maker. It is a sublime meditation on urban space seen through the eyes of a masterful visualist who is known for his atmospheric cinematography. Leighton Pierce's new 10 minute video "A Private Happiness" is a highly sensual, impressionistic journey portraying a lovemaking voyage from Manhattan to Niagara Falls. There will also be a special 40th Anniversary tribute this year to Stefan Sharf (cofounder of the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University and chief mentor of the Festival Director) whose exceptional and historic 22 minute 1964 documentary "Selma to Montgomery" will be shown on the Festival Tour. For additional information please phone 201-200-2043 or e mail the festival: blackmariafest@aol.com or visit the website: www.blackmariafilmfestival.org |
|||
Abraham
Ravett holds a B.F.A and M.F.A in filmmaking and Photography and
has been an independent filmmaker for the past twenty eight years.
Mr. Ravett received grants for his work from the National Foundation
for Jewish Culture: Fund for Documentary Filmmaking, National Endowment
for the Arts, The Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities,
The Japan Foundation, The Hoso Bunka Foundation, The Marion and Jasper
Whiting Foundation, and a 1994, filmmaking fellowship from the John
Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. His films have been screened
internationally including the Museum of Modern Art, Anthology Film
Archives, The Collective for Living Cinema, Pacific Film Archives,
S.F. Cinematheque, LA.. Forum, Innis Film Society( Toronto), and
Image Forum, Tokyo, among others. In 1999, he collaborated with dancer/choreographer,
Bill T. Jones, on his solo performance, "The Breathing Show."
Mr. Ravett teaches filmmaking and photography at Hampshire College,
Amherst, MA.
"A
SNAIL'S TRAIL IN THEMOONLIGHT": Conversations with Brakhage
STAN BRAKHAGE ON THE ART OF FILM In celebration of Professor Solomon's
forthcoming book, he will be presenting video excerpts from Stan
Brakhage's salons, where Brakhage and others discuss his own work
and the work of fellow filmmakers. Each film presented will be introduced
or followed by a short video of Brakhage discussing the art and the
artist:
Born
in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1969. His films have shown in the Museum
of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum Reina
Sofia and the New York, Vienna, Rotterdam, London and Toronto Film
Festivals. Robert Fenz lives and works in Boston. Meditations on
Revolution, Part I: Lonely Planet. 1997, 16mm, b&w, silent, 12
1/2 minutesObserves the serene rhythm of Havana's street life. Concerned
with space, time, movement and light, it is an improvisational homage
to Cuba's endurance. Meditations on Revolution Part II: The Space
in Between. 1997, 16mm, b&w, silent, 8 minutes. Inspired by architect
Oscar Niemeyer, focuses on the movement of the masses through the
streets of Favela neighborhood of Rochina, Latin America's largest
shantytown. Meditations on Revolution Part III: Soledad. 2001, 16mm,
b&w, silent, 14 1/2 minutes . Shot in Mexico City, Chiapas, and
New York City. Moments of everyday life come together with images
of Mexican tradition. Creating a timeless space, where revolution
remains present. Meditations on Revolution, Part IV: Greenville,
MS. 2001, 16mm.b&w, silent, 29 1/2 minutes. A portrait of a boxer
in training. Evoking the preparation required by revolution. Meditations
on Revolution, Part V: Foreign City. 2003, 16mm, b&w, sound,
32 minutes. A portrait of New York City as a place of immigration
and displacement. The film has a timeless, anonymous quality until
it is given the voice of artist and jazz musician Marion Brown.