The Cinematexas International Short Film Festival has already been called “the most promising and pioneering short film festival in the country.” Here is a preview of the programming for the 2001 festival running September 14-23.
COMPETITION SCREENINGS ^ International Competition: Over 100 films mined from the corners of the world. In past years, films having their US premiere here have gone on to screen in the Sundance and New York Film festivals, and be listed on ’10 Best Films of the Year’ in Film Comment and other journals. Includes (out of competition) new films by Guy Maddin, Hal Hartley, and Errol Morris. Jury members include: Jytte Jensen (Museum of Modern Art, New York), Ed Halter (New York Underground Film Festival, New York Press), Bill Horrigan (Wexner Center for the Arts), Elisabeth Subrin (Shulie), and Ximena Cuevas (Dormimundo). Co-sponsored by 501 Post.
University of Texas Competition: Approximately 50 premieres of the best and brightest films from up and coming undergraduate and graduate student filmmakers. This year jury members include: Bart Weiss (Dallas Video Festival), Laura Harrison (Secret People), Dara Greenwald (Video Data Bank), Bryan Poyser (filmmaker, programmer, and UT graduate)
SPECIAL PROGRAMS ^ All the Girls with Cameras in their Heads: A survey of diverse work by seven legendary and prolific avant-garde women filmmakers, with in-person presentations by most artists. Filmmakers include: Trinh T. Minh-ha, Leslie Thornton, Peggy Ahwesh, Greta Snider, Ximena Cuevas, Miranda July, and Elisabeth Subrin. Co-presented with UT Center for Women’s Studies and the Gender and Sexuality Area of the RTF Department, The Hideout, Hotel San Jose, and Gallery 106.
Jan Svankmajer: Three programs of short films by the Czech animator, from the ’60’s through the 90’s. This is a rare screening of archival prints from the Prague Film Archives, many of which have never been available in the US. Co-sponsored by the Czech Endowment Chair and the Austin Film Society.
Peter Tscherkassky: the first US retrospective of the Austrian filmmaker whose work has forever altered the art of contact printing. A curator, teacher, critic, and the founder of Vienna’s infamous Sixpack Film distribution initiative, Tscherkassky will present a retrospective of his own work, as well as a program of Austrian avant-garde cinema he has assembled. Co-sponsored by the Germanic Studies, UT Austin; Austrian Cultural Forum, New York; Austrian American Film Society; and University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. ^ Andy Warhol: a rare screening of two featurettes by Andy Warhol, MY HUSTLER and VINYL, Warhol’s pre-Kubrick adaptation of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Co-sponsored by the TX Union Co-Sponsorship Review Board.
FESTIVAL SIDEBARS ^ Terra Cognita Moving Image Installation Series: Our answer to the “end of cinema” debate and the agoraphobia of the digital age, Terra Cognita reclaims public space with moving image installations and video interventions throughout the city of Austin. Guests artists from Cologne, Dublin, New York, and Los Angeles will meet with local architects, filmmakers, musicians, and performers to upset the boundaries of inside/outside, body/machine, image/apparatus. Featured artists include Harun Farocki, Gabel Karstein, Luke Savinsky, Leslie Thornton, Rosa Barba, and Anne Bray and Molly Cleator of LA Freewaves. For more information, please contact Elana Logsdon (elanal@cinematexas.org). ^ Parallax View: the Political Economy of Images: A forum for cutting edge work from several disciplines addressing the relationship of art to social questions. With an unprecedented combination of genre busting film, installation, internet intervention, comic book artists, culture jammers, tremendous writers and micro radio gurus, Parallax View turns the traditional concept of media participation on its ear during with some of the highest quality work and thinking available in the hemisphere. Emceed by Craig Baldwin. For more information, please contact Micah Magee (micah@cinematexas.org).
Cinemakids: By publicly exhibiting youth-made films from around the world, this series of screenings honors young filmmakers and empowers other youth to express themselves through film and video. The program is a two day workshop for persons under the age of 18 located at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex. Workshops will include screenings of international and local work by kids, a hands-on Super 8 workshop with puppets and a video workshop. The workshops and screenings are free for all under 18. Co-sponsored by Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex and Yale Film Lab. To register or for more information, please contact Mary Celeste Kearney (mkearney@mail.utexas.edu).
Plus ten days of workshops, receptions, and parties! For ticket information or press information, please e-mail Cinematexas or visit the official Cinematexas web site.
Check out FILMTHREAT.com’s FILM FESTIVAL ARCHIVES for more fest news!
