WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26TH
Experimental & Animation Night, 7 PM
INFINITE JUSTICE (Karl Tebbe, Germany)
This animated film takes fragments from Iraq war reports shown on German television and reconstructs these frame by frame with action figures sold in the USA, suitable for children over 5.
CROWDED WITH VOICES (Anya Belkina, U.S.A.)
An experimental short created by artist Anya Belkina and composer Scott Lindroth. It is inspired by the poetry of Rumi, whose 800th birthday is being celebrated this year. The film is intended as a tribute to Rumi’s teachings and art that appealed to people of many faiths in his lifetime and united them at his funeral.
THE GREEN GRASS OF TWILIGHT (Richie Sherman, U.S.A.)
Three vignettes exploring the role of mortality in our lives. As a single time-lapse shot of cemetery headstones progresses to night, we are surprised to see the occupant step out to mow the grass and prepare for anticipated morning guests...
GODS OF LIGHT, IDOLS OF MUD (Jeremy Moss, U.S.A.)
Three characters are introduced in surreal fits of action; actions that are attempts at transcendence, but ultimately fail to satisfy. The modern city acts as the ominous catalyst.
5TH & MARKET (Ishan Vernallis, U.S.A.)
It's amazing what happens. It's even more amazing what continues to. The corner of 5th & Market mirrors the global games...and you never know just who might be playing on any given day.
GLIMPSE (Dustin Grella, U.S.A.)
Glimpse, an experimental animated short using stop-motion photography, is a study of the life of painter Willem de Kooning and a stream-of-conciousness narrative concerning the impermenence of life.
CANTATA IN C MAJOR (Ronnie Cramer, U.S.A.)
605 film clips are assembled and used to create a piece of electronic music. As the visual component appears in the center of the screen, the original analog audio is sent to the left channel while it is simultaneously converted into digital music data and sent to the right channel. The digital data is also transposed into traditional musical notation and displayed on the screen as it is converted.
FALL IN LINE (Andy Musser, U.S.A.)
A 3-D computer animated short film that examines the language governments use and their resulting actions. The plot revolves around three protesters that interrupt their king while he is making a speech, and are made to suffer the consequences. In this film, dominos are used as a metaphor for the manner in which governments communicate.
FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY (Natalija Vekic & Christian Bruno, U.S.A.)
From Saturday to Sunday is a travelogue without geography; whose images echo, contrast, reverberate within its two screens; beginning in flight and prayer, culminating in circularity and a giddy return to the air. The soundtrack, like the original super8, was gathered in Mexico City, Paris, NYC, Budapest, and Northern California.
TEA REVERIE (Yonsu Kim, U.S.A.)
A girl named Tee explores a surreal forest. While playing among the trees, she discovers a mystic 'Tea God' within the heart of this ancient forest. In the form of a great wood statue, the ' Tea God' emits plumes of smoke, which take on dragon shape. Entranced by the spectacle, Tee watches in awe and finally finds happiness in this fantasy.
WHEN THE WORLD GOES DARK (Anthony Scalmato, U.S.A.)
In the underworld of the New York City Subway system, one man struggles with madness for a chance at love. Presented as a disjointed sequence of fantasies 'When the World Goes Dark' is a chilling reminder that the everyday and commonplace can be as grotesque as it is absurd. In the end, only one certainty remains: this macabre delusion is not only on screen, but within our own minds.
POMAGRANATA (Alexis Bravos, U.S.A.)
Poma granata means “many seeded apple” or pomegranate. This piece Is a remembrance of four generations of women in the filmmaker's family. It’s loosely constructed around disturbing rites of passage, first experiences of freedom as a young person, and the loss of home. It’s an attempt at regaining memory through finding the perfect food...
DINNER CONVERSATIONS (Mark Anzelc, U.S.A.)
Set in a strange world where a confrontation occurs between a man and a woman amid a decaying turkey dinner, Dinner Conversations explores the ideas of truth and honesty in relationships, and the consequences we face when we choose to evade them.
ANTI-NARRATIVE NO. 4 (Jeremy Kruse, U.S.A.)
A man's life is examined; a narrator gives the audience insight into the man's thoughts and feelings. The narrator eventually confesses that he is in fact the man in the film; the narrator is making a film about himself. The very nature of film is examined. Issues of morality and mortality are explored...
DE LA TETE AUX PIDES (Josie-Anne Lemieux, Quebec)
(English:From the head to the feet) is a homemade ludique self-portrait exploring camera and medium movements.
SECOND MEMORY (Chiara Adorno, U.S.A.)
Second Memory developed from the artist’s actual experience remembered as the second memory in her life at about the age of 3 years old. Riding in the car with her mother, she was standing (not sitting), in the front passenger side of the car, back in the days of the 1960’s when they made front bench seating for cars. She notes that because she was standing up, she had to be about 3 years or younger, in order to not have hit her head on the car’s ceiling. Also one should take note the 1960’s was at a time when there were no rules about children in cars or seatbelts for that matter.
5 TEARS (Colin Barton, U.S.A.)
Part poem, part spell, ‘5 Tears’ is a shedding of past debts. Originally hand crafted on 35mm leader, each tear represents a point of regret that gets purged. Fake religion, fake friends, false society, lost love, and loss of innocence are the basic segment themes.
DINNER TABLE (Song E. Kim, U.S.A.)
On an ordinary day, a couple is having dinner. The girl casually asks him how the food is. He briefly answers. However, his manner of speaking takes her to her psychological journey in which she explores what is really happening in their relationship. While the conversation at the dinner table remains ordinary and mundane, the images jump back and forth between the dinner table and her mind's eye.
KAMP (Paul Alvarez, U.S.A.)
“Kamp” is a world controlled by a metallic emperor. It follows two slaves who are ordered to spend their day feeding a deity. Pushed beyond the breaking point, one of them is forced to take charge.
DIARY OF A USER (Channa Booker, U.S.A.)
A poetic dive into the mind of the heroin user. What do we find? The past, present, and future merge into an amorphous haze. Who are we and why do we do what we do? Is it our parents, our surroundings, or is it something completely different? Those who turn to the drug find their own answers.
MEAT (Kevin Krutz, U.S.A.)
Challenging the double-standards in today's politically correct gender depictions, "Meat" is about a man's acknowledgment and eventual acceptance of the perversity of his own fantasies.
GOING BYE BYE (Michel Sargent, U.S.A.)
An experimental montage of the found footage genre.
ENVY (Tawana Rae De Hoyos, U.S.A.):
A stop-motion animation about how society still treats the female gender, through manipulation and control. There is a constant battle within ourselves to fit the mold that is created on the outside, the empty shell that is broadcast everywhere. The key is not to conform but to be true. Stand tall, walk proud, and believe in yourself.
NUMBER ONE (Leighton Pierce. U.S.A.)
With water imagery as the foundation, Number One engages the experience of elasticity between varying states of mind.
AN INDEFINITE MEANDERING OF WORDS LEFT UNSAID (Lexi Lefkowitz, U.S.A.)
An Indefinite Meandering of Words Left Unsaid is a very personal film that examines the guilt following suicide.
DANCE BOOK (Eddie Uehara, U.S.A.)
A collection of inspiring dance quotes shown visually in an animated notebook.
I REMEMBER THE SUN (Montel Vanderhorck III, U.S.A.)
An experimental short from the director of the award-winning 'Left Shoe the Bunny Slipper.'
LATEST NEWS:
April 4:
Check out this year's Award Winners!
March 9:
Lori Petty, Ry Russo-Young, & Joaquin Alvarado announced as Guest Judges!
February 5:
Don't miss our final deadline for submissions, February 16!
November 23:
We are now accepting online submissions at withoutabox.com!
November 18:
Early "L.A. Time" deadline extended to December 15! See Submissions.