| Film Festival: intriguing and eclectic
By Bette Keva / bkeva@cnc.com
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
On Thursday, when darkness descends on Marblehead, hundreds of
people sitting cross-legged on Crocker Park will look up at the
huge screen situated on the beautiful landscape overlooking the
harbor and view eight independent videos by filmmakers from the
Boston area, Vermont and Rhode Island.
The films, chosen by Film Festival Chairman Michael Evers with
a committee of four, are short, non-commercial films showing a diversity
of themes, ranging from nearly 3 to 20 minutes. All are suitable
for families, with the possible exception of the one to be shown
last, "We've Got Johnny," which has "strong language,"
according to Evers.
The professional filmmakers have produced an array of subjects
that stretch from the experimental to narratives to animations and
a documentary. All are free. Show time runs from 9 p.m. until 10:30
p.m.
"Variations," by Walter Wright (6 minutes, 10 seconds)
"shows what can be done when you join a camera, a dancer, some
lively, improvised music and some computer effects," states
the literature. Wright is a Boston-area video artist who employed
the music of Boston and New York musicians.
"Carpool" (16 minutes) by Thomas Bacon centers on the
interaction between four carpool commuters from Berkeley to San
Francisco on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. "Carpool"
was featured in the New England Film and Video Festival this spring.
"Birdbeat," (4 minutes, 5 seconds) by Geoff Adams is
an animated short about a backyard war of the warblers. Adams is
also a composer who creates the live action segments for the PBS
animated series "Arthur."
"Forests of the Sea" (20 minutes) by Mark Miller is a
documentary about the underwater vegetation that is the source of
life under the sea and ultimately for all of us. Miller, a biologist,
maritime historian and author lives in Salem.
"Met State" (10 minutes) by Bryan Papciak is a visual
dance through the now closed and crumbling Danvers State mental
facility. Papciak is an award-winning animator.
"We've Got Johnny" (20 minutes) by Andrew Grant is set
in the town of Leominster and centers on a town girl who discovers
her real roots are no farther away than the nearest orchard. It's
an old-fashioned story, but does contain strong language.
"Echolalia" by Robert Arnold (2 minutes, 40 seconds),
whose theme is that if you repeat something often enough, people
will believe it. Arnold's "Morphology of Desire" was shown
at last year's Arts Festival.
"Café" by Greg Abate (14 minutes, 47 seconds)
is shot in an outdoor café, where the shifting relationship
between a novelist and a waitress unfolds. There is no dialogue,
only classical music and the flow of the seasons.
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