2016 United States Super 8mm Film & Digital Video Festival
By Al Nigrin
Now in its 28th year, the United States Super 8mm Film & Digital Video Festival is the largest and longest running juried Super 8mm film and digital video festival in North America. The festival encourages any genre (including animation, documentary, personal, narrative, and experimental) made on Super 8mm/8mm film, Hi 8mm/8mm, or digital video. The 28th annual Festival will be held on February 19+20, 2016 at Voorhees Hall #105, beginning each evening at 7 PM, on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University, 71 Hmailton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Festival will include a different program each evening.
All of the submitted works were screened by a panel of twenty-one jurors comprised of media professionals, journalists, students, interns, and film scholars. The panel included: Suraj Ganguly, Julia Hernandez, Chris Hammarberg, Jason Redlitz, Molly Rich, Andrew Zrebiec, Vic Fern, Amy Boland, Richard Hampson, Kelly Hannavi, Zari Haynes-Prescott, Dakota Johnson, John Noonan, Ashley Perez, Shannon Ray, Morgan Sanguedolce, Heejae Shin, Ezekiel Tek, Heather Van Ness and Irene Fizer. The fourteen finalist works were selected from over 100 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the jurors chose the Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director. During the two days of the festival, audience members will participate in the judging process by voting for their favorite work via the "Audience Choice Prize." Award-winners will be publicly announced after the closing-night screenings on Saturday, February 20, 2016.
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2016 United States Super 8mm Film + Digital Video Festival Schedule
Friday, February 19, 2016
#filmforever – Michael McGuirk (Brooklyn, New York) An experimental film about a young girl that discovers the beauty of filmmaking. This was shot entirely on Kodak Super 8 Vision-3 500T & 50D. 2016; 4 min
Flush – Marie Ward (Toronto, Canada) This short film is a fly-on-the-wall perspective of the subtle drama that unfolds within the walls of a public ladies room. 2015; 3 min.
Milepost 479 – David Dibble Durango, Colorado) A railroad conductor recounts his creepy encounter with a mysterious passenger. 2015; 3 min.
Again – Daniel Macarone (Westfield, New Jersey) A story of the pursuer and the pursued! Shot on Super 8 film. 2015; 7 min.
Rust Belt Driven - Alexander Hope (Easton, Pennsylvania) Just as new vinyl collectors have repurposed their parents' old collections, business owners are repurposing beautiful, defunct factories in the Lehigh Valley. This film, shot entirely on super 8mm, aims to show respect for these things. The film is structured around a particular 45 single by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (Columbia, 4-33036), thereby depicting the physical experience of listening to a record. The 'A-Side' is an interview with a local record shop owner about the resurgence of vinyl. The 'B-Side' is an interview with a 43-year veteran of Bethlehem Steel. 2016; 7 min.
Picnic – Jure Pavlovic (Zagreb, Croatia) Sarajevo, rush hour, 15 year-old Emir , accompanied by a social worker, Is on his way to meet his father Safet for a weekend picnic at Igman, a semi-open penitentiary. Due to heavy traffic they are late. In Bosnian, subtitled. 2015; 13 min.
MOVE! - Wijnand Geraerts (Abcoude, Netherlands) The video introduces a man who is taking pictures of training machines in a fitness hall. Apparently, he has no further use for the photos and puts them in an old shoe box to completely forget about them. The shoe box now operates as a magic space: the machines become alive and decide to go to the theatre to attend an acrobatic fitness performance. This provides the starting point of a fantasy film sequence consisting of various narratives representing contemporary views on fitness. In contrast to most films MOVE! uses visual language, among which rhythmicity of image (and sound), to give structure to the film. 2015; 15 min.
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Saturday, February 20, 2016
NO SIGNAL – David Ellis (Ellisville, Massachusetts) Dedicated to the invisible and the forgotten, NO SIGNAL is as much a metaphor as it is a narrative about what we do see and what we choose not to see. In the words of Sherlock Holmes - “ I see no more than you but I have trained myself to notice what I see.” With poetic sensibility and contemplation replacing traditional storytelling in this experimental work, the interplay of image, sound and atmosphere leaves the viewer to create their own narrative by searching their imagination and personal experiences to find meaning. NO SIGNAL is superbly complemented by the electronic music of Warsaw’s Bartosz Dziadosz (Pleq&Hakobune). 2015; 5 min.
Eduardo - Michael Stevantoni (Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada) Shot on Super 8 film, Eduardo has a toothache and has decided to handle it like a man: by pulling it out himself. Egged on by his wife Ana, the couple discusses the differences between men and women, and through their conversation a complex and loving relationship is revealed. 2015; 5 min. In Spanish, subtitled.
Nuthouse Drawings - Jim Hollenbaugh (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) Susan Lowe is most well known as an actress in the early films of filmmaker John Waters. This short portrait film focuses on Susan's life as an artist and in particular her works known as 'Nuthouse Drawings'. Sometimes thought of as painting friends, Susan starting creating these works while staying at a mental hospital. Serving as a way to battle her depression, fear, and loneliness, the Nuthouse Drawings are a one of a kind look into the mind of one of Baltimore's most imaginative artists. 2015; 6 min.
Dinner Date – Ricardo Charlie Liriano (Bronx, New York) First dates are always a gamble. 2015; 7 min.
Clare - Tony Lawrence (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) A young woman finds herself in a strange place where she is confronted by desire. Shot using 5 different Super 8mm film stocks and utilizing home made revolving light devices. 2015; 7 min.
Dark Light - Gina Guerrieri (New York, New York) Dark Light is a short experimental film that attempts to convey the experiential nature of depression. Most people who've never struggled with clinical depression don’t understand what it feels like. Dark Light hopes to provide some insight into that feeling and, in doing so, engender greater empathy in the non-afflicted for the afflicted. 2015; 10 min.
The Tutor – Grant Johnson (Park City, Utah) A woman who lost her fiancée in a car accident struggles in her college courses. She is given a chance to keep her scholarship if she tutors a dyslexic student. 2015; 15 min.
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2016 United States Super 8mm Film + Digital Video Festival
Friday+Saturday, February 19+20, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey
$12=General; $10=Students+Seniors; $9=Rutgers Film Co-op Friends
Information: (848) 932-8482; www.njfilmfest.com
Free Food courtesy of Jimmy Johns of New Brunswick will be given out prior to this screening of the New Jersey Film Festival!
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