UNCG Media Studies Department Announces Screening of Thesis Films
The UNCG Media Studies Department is proud to announce screening dates for its Master of Fine Arts Class of 2013’s thesis films. For the past year or more, the graduate students in the MFA program have planned, written, directed, filmed, constructed and edited their thesis films. All true labors of love, the resulting works range from narrative to documentary to animation.
These screenings are the public’s first opportunity to view emerging art from a diverse and talented group of students. Listed below are the screening events, all free and open to the public:
April 20th 2013 4:00PM — Facing Up, directed by Mandi Hart. Lord Auditorium, Pack Library 67 Haywood Street, Asheville, NC 28801
April 29th 2013 6:30PM — Battleground Lake, directed by Wil Davis; 28, directed by Alice Dull; Good Earth, directed by James Gould; For the Love of Food, directed by Cindy Hsieh; Fruitless, directed by Adrienne Ostberg; The Barbituaries, directed by Ryan Walker; Brother Jesse, directed by Kevin Wells.
May 9th 2013 6:00PM, Weatherspoon Art Museum 500 Tate Street, Greensboro, NC 27412 —The Healing Power of Art, directed by Mariah Dunn & Tsunami Flotsam, directed by Melissa Willenborg.
If you’d like more information about this event, please contact Cindy Hsieh at cahsieh@uncg.edu or call 919.889.5921.
YES! Weekly article highlights CFVF events
In this week’s edition of YES! Weekly, movie critic Mark Burger interviews Carolina Film & Video Festival co-director Cindy Hsieh and UNCG alum Michael Ferrell, whose debut feature film Twenty Million People will screen at the Elliott University Center at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23.
For full story, visit:
http://npaper-wehaa.com/yes-weekly/2013/02/20/?article=1819318&output=html
B&G Studios garners national attention for UNCG Media Studies
UNCG Film Studies majors David Stapp and Jesse Ashe, Class of 2013, founded B&G Studios out of mutual respect and a desire to simply make movies. Stapp and Ashe formed B&G Studios as a student collaborative and the upstart production company has produced seven award-winning films under its masthead. A student-run production company, B&G’s filmmakers have garnered 14 awards and 17 clients to date.
Stapp’s film, “Relapse,” has been named a national finalist of Campus Movie Fest, the world’s largest student film festival. In June, Stapp, along with 20 of his B&G collaborators, will travel to Los Angeles for the national competition.
In 2011, both Stapp and Ashe had their films nominated at Campus Movie Fest. Stapp’s film, “Life After Death,” won Best Drama and Best Director, which sent him to the national competition in Los Angeles. Stapp finished in the top five in voting for Best Director and top 25 for Best Picture.
Five B&G films have been nominated for awards this year — Relapse, Moon, Light, Jeff and Love Digital. There’s event the possibility one of B&G Studios films could screen at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Jesse Ashe’s “Love Digital” will screen on Wednesday, Feb. 20 during the 2013 Carolina Film & Video Festival.
B&G Studios, which stands for Blue & Gold — UNCG’s school colors — has seen its ranks swell to 40 student filmmakers who all specialize in specific areas like cinematography, editing and sound design.
B&G Studios is currently in talks with the university to explore the possibility of offering internships to Media Studies majors as part of the department’s overall curriculum. In the meantime, Stapp and Ashe continue to hold weekly pitch sessions where student filmmakers bring their ideas to the table, as the awards continue to pile up for the student-run artist collaborative known as B&G Studios.
For the full story, visit:
http://ure.uncg.edu/features/2013/02/15/filmmakers/
2013 Carolina Film &Video Festival kicks off Feb. 20
The 2013 Carolina Film & Video Festival kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 20 with screenings of films by student and independent filmmakers, including a selection of films by UNCG and North Carolina filmmakers. The Carolina Film & Video Festival (CFVF) is an annual celebration of independent film festival held at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
CFVF features animated, narrative, documentary, and experimental films from around the globe. CFVF has on-campus screenings and daytime programming throughout festival week, which runs Feb. 20-23.
On Sunday, Feb. 10, CFVF will hold a Launch Party at Aperture Cinema in downtown Winston-Salem beginning at 7 p.m. We will be screening a selection of past festival favorites plus a sneak preview of some of this year’s films. Admission is free. Aperture Cinema is located at 311 West 4th Street in the heart of the Winston-Salem Arts District. For further info, check out the festival website:
http://www.cfvfestival.org
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On Wednesday, Feb. 20, CFVF will present an eclectic group of student films in a program entitled, “Visions.” That will be followed by a showcase of five films by North Carolina filmmakers. The evening will conclude with a screening of North Carolina native Olympia Stone’s feature documentary, The Cardboard Bernini.
On Thursday, Feb. 21, CFVF will screen the 2006 documentary film, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, followed by a panel discussion on flaws in the criminal justice system that have led to hundreds of wrongful convictions in North Carolina and nationwide. Panelists include Mark Rabil, Darryl Hunt’s attorney; Jim Coleman, co-director, Wrongful Convictions Clinic, Duke University School of Law; Phoebe Zerwick, former Winston-Salem Journal reporter featured in The Trials of Darryl Hunt; Rev. Willard Bass, founder, The Institute for Dismantling Racism; Saundra Westervelt, UNCG sociology professor, author, Life After Death Row.
A block of experimental/documentary shorts will follow the panel discussion.
On Friday, Feb. 22, CFVF will present Emilio Rojas, an openly gay Mexican-American artist and filmmaker. Rojas will speak about his career as an artist working in a variety of mediums and introduce his 20-minute short film, Intersections, which was shot at Elsewhere artist collaborative in Greensboro. Following Intersections, Rojas will participate in a panel discussion on LGBT equality issues.
A block of foreign narrative shorts will follow the panel discussion.
CFVF programming on Saturday, Feb. 23 will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a block of dramatic short films. The evening’s festivities will begin with a 6:30 p.m. screening of director Michael Ferrell’s comedy, 20 Million People. The film will be followed by a block of comedic short films, which will segue into the awards ceremony and a raffle drawing for some terrific prizes.
The Closing Night Film, director So Yong Kim’s For Ellen, will screen at 9 p.m. Starring Paul Dano, John Heder and Jena Malone, For Ellen was an official selection of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Parties and receptions will be a big part of CFVF 2013, so come early, stay late and network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts! 2013 Carolina Film & Video Film Festival Schedule Wednesday, February 20th 5:00PM – 5:15PM Visions Reception 5:15PM-6:45PM Visions Intro, Films (75 min)
- The Elect (19:25 minutes) – Notre Dame
- Coup Savage (7:20 minutes) – L’Institut national de l’image et du son
- Hindsight (14 minutes) – Emerson College
- The Birds Upstairs (8:34 minutes) – NYU
- Incest The Musical (23 minutes) – Dodge College of Film & Media Art
- Q&A (with attending filmmakers)
7:00PM-7:30PM Reception 7:30PM NC Filmmakers (77 min)
- Sergeant Townsend (Narrative) RT: 12 min (NC School of the Arts)
- Daffodil (Narrative) RT: 10 min (NC School of the Arts)
- Rebuild (Experimental Narrative) RT: 7 min (NC Filmmaker)
- Sunflowers (Narrative) RT: 11 min (NC Filmmaker)
- Wagonmasters (Documentary) RT: 37 min (NC Filmmaker)
- Q&A (with attending filmmakers)
9:00PM
- Cardboard Bernini (Documentary) RT: 80 min (NC Filmmaker)
10:30PM UNCG Showcase
- TBA
- Q&A (with attending filmmakers)
Thursday, February 21st 6:00PM-7:00PM Reception 7:00PM-8:46PM – Trials of Darryl Hunt (Documentary) RT: 1:46 9:00PM-10:00PM – Panel Discussion 10:00PM Panelist Reception- Old Town Draught House 10:00PM Experimental/Documentary Shorts(35 min)
- Here inside you (Experimental) RT: 3min
- I’ll be your mirror (Experimental) RT: 2min
- Rose Apple Tree (Documentary) RT: 30min
- Q&A (with attending filmmakers)
Friday, February 22nd 6:00PM-6:30PM Reception 6:30PM-7:00PM Guest Speaker Emilio Rojas 7:00PM Intersections (Documentary) RT: 20min 7:30PM-8:30PM LGBT Panel Discussion 8:30 PM Panelist Reception- Old Town Draught House 8:45PM Narrative Foreign Shorts (71 min total)
- A Matter of Sex RT: 28 min (Israel)
- Easter Eggs RT: 16 min (Croatia)
- The Wanderer RT: 12 min (Canada)
- The Campers RT: 15 min (UK)
- Q&A (with attending filmmakers)
10:00pm After Party with The Family- New York Pizza Saturday, February 23rd 4:30PM Dramatic Shorts (76 min total)
- Big Horn Sheep RT: 16 min
- Quiet Girl’s Guide to Violence RT: 15 min (Acquired)
- Henley RT: 11 min (Acquired)
- Olivia RT: 15 min
- Game Night RT: 12 min
- The Weaver RT: 6:40 (Acquired/NC Filmmaker)
- Q&A (with attending filmmakers)
6:00PM-6:30PM Reception 6:30PM 20 Million People RT: 75 min (Comedy) 7:45PM Comedy Shorts (46 min total)
- Madly Unto Eternity RT: 13 min
- The Office One RT: 10 min
- Fuck Lance Armstrong RT: 13 min
- The Cub RT: 5 min (Acquired)
- Born This Way RT: 5:18 min (Acquired)*
- Grass of Parnassus RT: 7 min
- Q&A (with attending filmmakers)
8:45PM-9:00PM Awards & Raffle Drawing 9:00PM For Ellen RT: 1:34 (Drama) 11:00PM Wrap Party For over thirty years, CFVF has strived not only to give emerging and independent filmmakers their first break but has also enriched the UNCG and Greensboro communities with great films not otherwise available. We look forward to seeing you at the 2013 Carolina Film & Video Festival!
Professor Brett Ingram’s films to air on educational access television
UNCG Media Studies Associate Professor Brett Ingram will have six of his films air on the City College of San Francisco’s Educational Access Television network this spring.
Ingram’s award-winning feature-length documentary Monster Road (2004) will be broadcast along with his 2009 film, Rocaterrania, described as “a journey into the secret world of 76-year-old Renaldo Kuhler, a scientific illustrator who invented an imaginary country to survive his disaffected youth.”
Two of Ingram’s short documentary films, “Panic Attack” and “Armor of God,” will also screen on the school’s educational access television network. Ingram co-directed “Armor of God” with Durham filmmaker Jim Haverkamp. The film screened at the 2012 Cucalorus Film Festival in November.
Two of Ingram’s animated shorts, “Spent” and “Freak Box,” will also air on the City College of San Francisco’s network this spring.
In addition, Ingram is co-curating an exhibit of Kuhler’s illustrations at Center 548 gallery in New York City’s Chelsea art district. Kulher, the subject of Rocaterrania, is a former scientific illustrator at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
The exhibit includes Kuhler’s vast array of artwork, including “drawings divulge a sweeping narrative set in a fictional sovereign nation dubbed ‘Rocaterrania,’ populated by Eastern European-like immigrants with their own style of dress, language (Rocaterranski), alphabet, architecture and religion. Inhabiting the country is a large cast of political and military leaders, dignitaries, entertainers, celebrities, satirical figures and commoners, all with fully mapped-out biographies and histories,” according to a review published in the June 15, 2011 edition of The Independent Weekly.
Ingram’s film, Rocaterrania, will be part of the exhibit as well as a wall-sized panel of an article he co-authored on Kuhler for RAW VISION, an international publication on outsider art.
For further info on Rocaterrania, visit:
http://www.brettingram.org/film/RocOverview.php
Media Studies major Frannie Williams earns prestigious honor
Frannie Williams, Class of 2013, was recently named the recipient of the Community Impact Award. Williams, a UNCG senior majoring in Media Studies, has earned a number of scholarships for her career of service, including the Pamela A. Wilson Memorial Scholarship, the Georgia Cooper Moore Award and the Sigma Alpha Lambda Honors Society Path of Excellence Award.
As a freshman, Williams lived in the Make a Difference House and her service resumé has continued to grow. Williams has been involved in Black Child Development tutoring, Church World Services support for refugees, and New Mind Education mentoring of Chinese students.
“The things that matter to me were all here. There are so many avenues for me to lead and to serve,” Williams said.
For the full story, visit:
http://ure.uncg.edu/features/2013/01/25/looking-inward-reaching-out/
MFA alum Monique Velasquez documents ‘Accidental Mummies’
Monique Velasquez, a 1995 graduate of UNCG’s MFA program in Film & Video Production, took full advantage of an amazing opportunity three years ago, and it’s still paying dividends.
Martina Guzmán, a journalist and filmmaker, recruited Velasquez to help her produce a documentary as part of a museum exhibit entitled, “The Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato.”
Valesquez’s company, Valesquez Media, was in a unique position to participate in the project because of Monique’s bilingual skills as well as the fact the company had produced a documentary in the Mexican state of Guanajuato in 2006.
Velasquez said she and Guzmán —an award-winning journalist — had previously worked together on a documentary and had a solid working relationship. When Velasquez got the call in the summer of 2009, Guzmán was facing a time crunch.
“She was in a hurry and they were trying to get the exhibit together,” Velasquez said. “We went down [to Guanajuato] in July and spent about three weeks out there. We didn’t have a real plan but we knew the mummies would be on exhibit and the [exhibit] focused on the science of mummification.”
Velasquez landed in Guanajuato and she and Guzmán went to work. They conducted interviews with local cultural and history experts and captured the rich life of the town. They spoke with the curator of Guanajuato’s Museo de las Momias, or the Mummies Museum, when inspiration struck.
“What we were thinking about doing was looking at the culture of death in that particular state,” Velasquez said. “We then thought of [famous Mexican] portrait photographer Romualdo García, who did a lot of portraits of doctors and miners in Guanajuato. We used his book as a jumping off point.”
Some of García’s portraits of babies who had died prematurely captured Valesquez and Guzmán’s imagination.
“So you would see these photographs of babies with flowers — it was a fascinating cultural phenomenon about death,” Velasquez said. “It tied directly to the mummies [exhibit]. [The museum] claims they have the smallest mummy in the world.”
Velasquez and Guzmán set up their camera in one of García’s favorite backdrops in Guanajuato and asked people to dress in the style of García’s portrait subjects of the early 20th century.
Velasquez and Guzmán then approached people on the street and asked them to participate in the documentary.
“We [interviewed] young and old people, families with children, couples of different ages — we put that in as a tie-in to life and death in the city,” Velasquez said. “We sort of juxtaposed the people to these old photographs and to the new photographs we got when we were there.”
“Martina and I captured the history of death and what was happening at that time that the mummies were dated to,” Velasquez continued. “We kind of had a plotted out story arc that we were shooting for.”
After Velasquez and Guzmán captured their footage, they flew back to Detroit and the editing process began. A few months later, the 60-minute documentary film was broadcast on public television in Detroit. The “Accidental Mummy” exhibit has toured the country and is currently on display at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. The exhibit runs through Dec. 30.
The Natural Science Center’s website notes that only one in 100 bodies buried in Guanajuato’s cemetery ever experience the process of mummification. Accidental mummies form in rare climates and conditions. The identity of the Guanajuato mummies has always been a mystery, but state-of-the-art diagnostic tools have given a reconstructed face and story to these amazing human relics that are more than 100 years old, according to the center’s website.
Velasquez said she remembers her time at UNCG fondly and credits her experiences in the MFA program with her success in her field of endeavor.
“One of the biggest and most advantageous exercises during my time at UNCG was to craft and develop story — how to do it visually, how to do it with sound, how to think about story,” Velasquez said. “That has been invaluable to me in my business. I’m really glad I went to UNCG. I feel like a got a big boost in my career because I learned how to tell a compelling story.”
