October 22-24, 2015
Shadowbox Studio, Durham, NC
(See list of films below)
2015 highlights…
Thurs 10/22 8 pm
Jenny Morgan curates a special listening block in time for Halloween guaranteed to push your aural sensitivities to the extreme. No need to look at the screen for this one; the pictures will be in your mind.
Photo by Eric Waters
Live music from The Wigg Report
Fri 10/23 7 pm
Come early, drink a beverage, and hang out with Durham’s most Durhamest band, The Wigg Report. They’ll probably bike in!
Sat 10/24 8 pm
Watch the trailer
Catch the NC premiere of the award-winning doc from triangle filmmakers Sabine Gruffat and Bill Brown. In this impressionistic, idiosyncratic film, Gruffat and Brown travel across Spain to explore the consequences of the housing crisis that began with the 2007 global financial crisis. What they find are Spanish citizens, inspired by the politics of The 15M Movement and Occupy Wall Street, who are mobilizing, collectivizing, and fighting for the right for a decent place to live. Along the way, the filmmakers visit young mothers and their families squatting in failed condo developments; intentional communities of mountain cave dwellers; protest campsites that have sprung up in front of bank branches; and empty apartment buildings transformed into experiments in utopian living. The film examines the ideologies that separate housing from home, and real estate speculation from speculations about a better way to live.
LOADING
Film schedule
16mm Sound Film
Computers (in our Lives)
cyberGenesis
Saturn Return
Stardust Serenade
From Ally to Accomplice
Bump Classique
1-0
Listen
Audio under the stars
THURSDAY 10/22 8:00 PM
16mm Sound Film (2:16)
Aaron Kutnick, Durham, NC
Hey you–get your fingers off the film! Thaaat’s better.
Maybe in the Space Age (9:00, double 16mm)
Tom Whiteside, Durham, NC
Sputnik was only 23” in diameter, the first artificial moon, visible from more than 500 miles away October 1957 as it streaked across the sky. On Earth, as they had done for thousands of years, people planted trees.
Computers (in our Lives) (1:58)
Traci Hercher, Chicago, IL
A glitch-musical rendition of an educational film. If 1980: Computers in our Lives :: 2014: Computers (in our Lives).
cyberGenesis (13:00)
Andre Silva, Wilmington, NC
There was a great void before the first keystroke. After that, it got batshit insane.
Immortal Cats (:55)
Scott Fitzpatrick, Winnipeg, MB Canada
What’s your greatest ambition in life, kitty?
Saturn Return (14:43)
Ale Bachlechner and Olivia Platzer, Cologne, Germany
From your perspective, I must look like a total bitch. Blame it on the planetary motion.
Toward the Flame (5:30)
Paul Turano, Roslindale, MA
paulturano.com
Siberian meteor causes existential shockwaves.
Stardust Serenade (2:52)
Kathleen Quillian, Oakland, CA
kathleenquillian.com
Mid-century advertising comes to life in a surreal mash-up of interstellar dimensions.
Haiku 7: Pulse (4:41)
Lyle Pisio, Calgary, AB, Canada
A drum troll struggles for freedom from his prison, while an artist works to free his muse.
From Ally to Accomplice (17:34)
Kelly Gallagher, Chester Springs, PA
purpleriot.com
"To-day at last we know: John Brown was right." -W.E.B. Du Bois.
An experimental essay in three movements that explores the importance of being more than an "ally" in struggle.
Bump Classique (3:40)
Ben Wheele, London, England
benwheele.com
Creepy balloon people and a large pin are a recipe for fun.
1-0 (1:00)
Saman Hosseinpuor, Sanandaj, Kurdistan
samanhp.ir
Nothing is more important than football.
Pure Virtual Function (2:50)
Péter Lichter, Budapest, Hungary
lichterpeter.blogspot.hu
A meditation on the representation of violence, seeping out of painted 35mm frames.
Listen (12:00)
Hamy Ramezan & Rungano Nyoni, Madrid, Spain
promofest.org
A foreign woman brings her young son to a Copenhagen police station to file a complaint against her abusive husband. A film about cultural isolation and bureaucratic ignorance.
Audio Under the Stars presents: Haunted Obsessions, Fixations, and Otherworldly Encounters (25:06)
Jenny Morgan curates a spooky audio block just in time for Halloween.
Elizabeth Friend, Chapel Hill, NC
Chapel Hill resident Linda Fleishman recalls what it was like to work at Duke’s Psychical Research Foundation in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
The Maco Light (5:30)
Jenny Morgan, Durham, NC
Ghost story collector and history teacher Bob Hale tells the story of one of North Carolina’s most famous ghost stories.
14 Degrees Below Zero (5:13)
Leanne Simon, Durham, NC and Elizabeth Friend, Chapel Hill, NC
One single dose can be all that separates life and death.
Wraith (1:28)
Elizabeth Friend, Chapel Hill, NC
Some hauntings continue in the light of day.
Basement Story (8:36)
Austin Bunn, Ithaca, NY
When his mother decided to sell his childhood home, Austin Bunn returned to help clean out the basement and discovered traces of a childhood game that never really ended.
BIRD SONGS of DOOM
Winged Invasion
La Botanique des Amours
Nothing to Celebrate
Song for Elliott Jaques
Historia Calamitatum (The Story of My Misfortunes), Part II: The Crying Game
Pagliacci
Sixth Grade Cannibals
BIRD SONGS of DOOM (3:36)
Lansing Bruce Robertson, Winnipeg, MB Canada
Doomsday is near and the birds are singing merrily. Thanks a lot, birds.
Winged Invasion (8:36)
Lisa Sorg, Durham, NC
In 1969–70, millions of blackbirds inexplicably descended on Scotland Neck, North Carolina. Bummer.
Canaries in the Mine (8:00)
Lana Z Caplan, San Diego, CA
lanazcaplan.com
A warning from the recent past to the futuristic present.
La Botanique des Amours (4:28)
Anne-Sophie Cayon and Laura Nicolas, Brussels, Belgium
Plants would have an affective life. Some even go as far as speaking about « love ».
Together Apart (10:08)
Matt Hulse, Edinburgh, Scotland
anormalboy.wordpress.com
“I’m still here. Where’d you go? Where?” Hope fuels a state of ongoing discomfort as a separated pair seek to connect.
Nothing to Celebrate (3:35)
Pattiann Koury, Napa, CA
pattiannkoury.com
“Fourth of July fireworks are a seductive public spectacle, but I think about being in a country where those explosive sounds do not signal celebration, but extreme danger.”
War Prayer (17:00)
Richard Wiebe, St. Paul, MN
An icon is a prayer, a window to heaven, to a listening ear.
Song for Elliott Jaques (3:40)
Tommy Becker, San Francisco, CA
tommybecker.com
Superman vs. his greatest foe: the mid-life crisis.
Historia Calamitatum (The Story of My Misfortunes), Part II: The Crying Game (21:05)
Roger Beebe, Columbus, OH
rogerbeebe.com
It's all right to cry. Sometimes it's better than all right.
Pagliacci (8:20)
Livia Ungur & Sherng-Lee Huang, Brooklyn, NY
ungur-huang.com
A bizarre yet lyrical wrestling ballet charged with the politics of sexuality and gender.
Tři Cíga (8:17)
Liam Hall and Matias Breuer, Elon, NC
High school boys’ friendship is no walk in the park.
Sixth Grade Cannibals (5:36)
Jeanette Castillo, Muncie, IN
A coming of rage story.
phoria (8:36)
Forrest Lotterhos, Superior, CO
5phoria.wordpress.com
An intimate inquiry into identity, self, trans-ness, and estrangement from one’s own body
Manila Folder
The Stream 4
The Lost Mariner
My Life is a Dream
He Miss Road
The Regret
Scrapbook
Volta
Film Sound (9:17)
filmdesign.com.br
Cesar Gananian and Alexandre Moura, São Paulo, Brazil
Roberto MIchelino is an inventor of sound instruments who goes through the city surrounded by sounds he creates.
Manila Folder (3:07)
Laura Iancu, Iowa City, IA
lauraiancu.com
A poem, a boxing match and a tattoo.
The Stream 4 (5:38)
Hiroya Sakurai, Kyoto-fu, Japan
An underwater musical starring bubbles, waterweeds, fish and floaters.
The Lost Mariner (5:45)
Tess Martin, Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands
tessmartinart.com
A sailor slips through time and memory, based on a case reported by Dr. Oliver Sacks.
My Life is a Dream (7:44)
Brian Benson, San Francisco, CA
cousinwonderlette.com
Perky Cousin Wonderlette goes on a disturbing journey involving demented housewives, greedy swine, sexual deviants, and her drunk mother. Pinch yourself, you must be dreaming!
He Miss Road (16:27)
Charles Cadkin, Glenview, IL
cadkin.net
One man’s nightly routine.
Actual Case History (8:45)
Tony Gault, Carbondale, CO
“For about 30 years, she had tried to repress the vague, indefinite fears, which, despite her efforts, kept growing in her mind.” Uh, how’s that working out?
The Regret (9:34)
Marianna Cobra, São Paulo, Brazil
marianacobra.com
A haunting examination, through corporal movements, of violence and abuse that result from a misogynistic, religious and unequal society.
Scrapbook (18:00)
Mike Hoolboom, Toronto, Ontario, CA
mikehoolboom.com
Donna Washington watches film lensed in the 60s in Ohio's Broadview Developmental Centre, to weigh in on one of her former selves.
The Wrong Story (3:40)
Ali Aschman, Chicago, IL
aliaschman.com
Limbs detach, bodies open to reveal hidden objects, peculiar figures gather among stepped archways, hesitating to touch. The Wrong Story wavers at the frayed edges of a narrative, unraveling the artist’s desire for both connection and solitude.
Volta (11:00)
Stella Kyriakopoulos, New York, NY
promofest.org
A mother and daughter start out from downtown Athens and head to the northern suburbs of the city. The daughter thinks they’re just going for a walk. A poignant rendering of the human toll of the European financial crisis..
Dis/Orientations
Port Noir
The Mailman
Platillo Puro
Speculation Nation
Dis/Orientations (13:26)
Alex Ingersoll, Stevens Point, WI
alexingersoll.com
Memories of personal and spatial disorientation. The wondrous, unexpected, or feared emerges from the mundane.
Port Noir (10:45)
Laura Kraning, Altadena, CA
laurakraning.com
A 100 year old boat shop provides a glimpse into Los Angeles Harbor’s disappearing past.
The Mailman (2:06)
Trevor Byrne, Philadelphia, PA
soft-science.net
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays the steady onward march of time.
Ambassador (10:10)
Solomon Turner, Los Angeles, CA
A report to an anonymous alien using snippets of human conversation and close ups of the human body in order to approach something essential about Earth.
Notes from the Farm (7:25)
Caryn Cline, Seattle, WA
caryncline.com
Organic materials form the basis of a “botanicollage,” connected by ambient rural sounds and a jazz tune composed and performed by New York trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt.
Platillo Puro (2:00)
Bruno Texidor, Madrid, Spain
promofest.org
The poetry of Spanish-Mexican writer Tomás Segovia explores what it means to love and be loved.
Speculation Nation (75:00)
Sabine Gruffat and Bill Brown, Chapel Hill, NC
sabinegruffat.com
The global financial crisis that began in 2007 battered Spain. Over a quarter of the population lost their jobs, and hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes. The constitutional guarantee for housing that has been a cornerstone of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco has been shaken by a combination of greedy real estate speculators, predatory banks, corrupt public officials, and a global financial catastrophe.
In this impressionistic documentary film, Sabine Gruffat and Bill Brown travel across Spain to explore the consequences of the housing crisis. What they find are Spanish citizens, inspired by the politics of The 15M Movement and Occupy Wall Street, who are mobilizing, collectivizing, and fighting for the right for a decent place to live. Along the way, the filmmakers visit young mothers and their families squatting in failed condo developments; intentional communities of mountain cave dwellers; protest campsites that have sprung up in front of bank branches; and empty apartment buildings transformed into experiments in utopian living. The film examines the ideologies that separate housing from home, and real estate speculation from speculations about a better way to live.