Tonight, Thursday April 2 is the Black Maria Film Festival
that begins at 7:00 PM at Monmouth University within Pollak Theatre
From the world-renowned Black Maria Film Festival, the Department of
Communication presents a screening of highly-recognized and award-winning short films, spanning across several genres and topics. Introduction and post-screening discussion to be held by Specialist Professor Matthew Lawrence.
The Line up Includes
Umbrella House – Director’s Choice Award - Documentary
10 min. by Catalina Santamaria, New York, NY.
“Umbrella House” reveals the stories of the squatter community -
most of them immigrants - that took over abandoned buildings in
the Lower East Side of Manhattan, reconstructed them and made
them into homes. They gave new life and vitality to the area, and
now the Lower East Side is one of the most attractive neighborhoods
in New York City. Gentrification, however, has forced out most of the
local people including many of the squatters who helped to transform
the neighborhood.
Ideas That Are Grand (Así de Grandes son las Ideas) – Jury’s Citation Award –Animation
5 min. by Jose Enrique Rivera Rivera, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Sometime in the future an old man, equipped with the benefits of evolution, has survived the extinction of all other living beings. It is a very lonely world for someone unable to die. ‘Así de grandes son las ideas’ is a collaboration between director/animator Quique Rivera Rivera and multiple Latin Grammy and Grammy Award winner René Pérez Joglar (Calle 13).
Fausto and Emilio – Director’s Choice Award - Documentary
13 min. by Nora Sweeney, Los Angeles, CA.
I like it...because it’s my job.” Waiting, snipping, shaving, smoking, and
chatting. These are the daily rhythms of a barbershop in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio where brothers Fausto (age 83) and Emilio (age 75) have worked together for decades. The barbershop, with its turquoise barber chairs, porcelain sinks, collection of glass bottles of aftershave, vintage postcards from Italy, is more than a workplace - it is a window into an earlier time.
Killing My Girl – Director’s Choice Award - Narrative
12 min. by Tasos Giapoutzis, London, UK.
A young pregnant South Asian woman lives in London with her husband and in-laws. While living miles away from her home in an alien city, she is forced by her husband and his family to undergo a sex-selective abortion against her will. The film becomes a psychological portrait of the young woman as she deals with her personal fears, long-standing cultural norms, and other people’s desires.
Self Portrait Portrait – Documentary
6 min. by James Hollenbaugh, Lancaster, PA.
Bryan Lewis Saunders has been creating a self-portrait every day for nearly twenty years. This short documentary examines his process and determination to create, without pretension or boundaries. Each portrait is a unique slice from Bryan’s daily life exploring a wide range of emotions, desires, and fears.
Jaya – Jury’s Stellar Award - Narrative
19 min. by Puja Maewal, Los Angeles, CA.
Young Jaya survives gruesome gang life on the unforgiving streets of Mumbai by posing as a boy. When she meets a wealthy businessman who may be the father who abandoned her, she sets out to reclaim her identity.
A Pirate Named Ned – Jury’s Choice Award - Animation
8 min. by Steve Gentile, Dorchester, MA.
“A Pirate Named Ned’ explores the competing versions of the life story
of ‘Golden Era’ pirate Edward ‘Ned’ Low, who is portrayed in historical texts as both sadistic monster and single parent pirate. The film also makes a link to modern Somali pirates and the evolving distortion in their story. Employing both humor and abstraction, “A Pirate Named Ned” is an animated essay that challenges the accepted understanding of a character who existed on the fringe of early Colonial American society by questioning the validity of the historical record.
The Stick Maker – Director’s Choice Award - Documentary
4 min. by Curtis Albucher, Philadelphia, PA.
For the Onondaga, the game of lacrosse is played for the pleasure of the
Creator, and has a deep meaning for the players and their community.
Traditionally it was a method of spiritual healing, and today it is played to
honor past traditions. Alfred Jacques is an Onondaga lacrosse stick maker
who has been making sticks for over fifty years. He respects his ancestor’s
ways and even lives by them. For over 50 years he has poured his soul into every lacrosse stick he has ever made. With his wealth of knowledge, he teaches the deeper meaning within the game and the importance of the Lacrosse stick.
Lightning In The Hand – Director’s Choice Award - Narrative
15 min. by Joey Grossfield, Brooklyn, NY.
Big business, the law, struggling silver miners, and a lone Apache youth
clash over a claim dispute in 1890’s New Mexico.
The Festival Jurors for the 2015 Festival Tour
Emily Hubley has been making animated shorts for over thirty years.
Her first feature, The Toe Tactic had its theatrical premiere at the Museum
of Modern Art in January 2009 and was released on DVD by Kino International in the fall. Ms. Hubley created the animated sequences for Hedwig And The Angry Inch and more recently for Diana Whitten’s Vessel (2014) and Brendan Toller’s Danny Says (in production)
Art Jones has produced and directed pieces for MTV, Deep Dish Television, and the Women’s Health Project of New York City Department of Health, and has served as director of photography on projects for The New York Times, Red Bull BC One Tokyo, and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
Jones is best known for his innovation in the art of audio/visual mixing.
His live mixes have been performed in collaboration with musicians
and artists including Soundlab, DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Phillip
Virus with Alec Empire, Teleseen, Amiri Baraka, Femmes with Fatal Breaks,
and Anti-Pop Consortium. Jones’ films and media art projects have been
presented at the Museum of Modern Art and London’s Tate Gallery.
Jeannette Louie is a filmmaker and artist who screens globally, including
STATE Festival (Germany), Imagine Science Film Festival (NY), Toronto
Independent Film Festival (Canada), Columbus International Film & Video
Festival (OH), Brooklyn Film Festival (NY), the Los Angeles Asian Pacific
Film Festival (CA), The Black Maria Film Festival (NJ), XXIII Message to
Man International Film Festival (Russia), Festival Miden (Greece),
Big Muddy Film Festival (IL), Cinesonika 3 (Northern Ireland), The Noyes
Museum of Art (NJ), File Sao Paulo (Brazil), Stomper (UK and Australia),
United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival (NJ), Washington
Project for the Arts (Washington DC), Athens International Film & Video
Festival (OH), Directors Lounge (Germany), Modern Fuel (Canada), and
Carnegie-Mellon University (PA).
Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium - Black Maria Film Festival
The films that become the centerpiece of the Black Maria Film Festival
honor the vision of Thomas Edison, New Jersey inventor and creator of the motion picture. It was his New Jersey studio, the world’s first, which
he called the “black maria” from which we take our name. The Festival
reaches out to diverse audiences in diverse settings including universities,
museums, libraries, community organizations, and arts venues. The cutting edge, cross-genre work that makes up the Festival’s touring program, has been traveling across the country every year for decades.
We focus on short films – narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary - including those, which address issues and struggles within contemporary society such as the environment, public health, race and class, family, sustainability, and much more. These exceptional works range from animation, comedy, and drama to the exploration of pure form in film and video and are the heart and soul of the festival.
The Consortium is grateful for generous funding support from:
NJ City University, Jersey City, NJ
NJ State Council on the Arts
The William H. Donner - Pikes Peak Community Foundation
The Hudson County Office of Cultural Affairs
Private foundations
And most importantly, viewers like you! Please visit our website and
click on “Donate” to support the Festival. www.blackmariafilmfestival.org
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