Festivals
2006
Big Mini DV Film Festival 2006 Winners
Best Experimental:
Libera, Jeff Denis.
Best Documentary Long:
10 Days in Malawi,Brian Ekdale.
Best Documentary Short:
Sleuthing Mary Shanley, Patrick Mullins.
Best Narrative Short:
Detroit: Not For Wimps, Leigh Richert.
Special Recognition Docudrama:
No Retreat From Destiny: The Battle That Rescued Washington, Kevin R. Hershberger.
Guest Speaker
Allan Brown
Emmy and ACE award winning cinematographer Allan Brown, has been a moving force within the industry for almost 17 years. “Big Al,” as he is known by his friends and colleagues, is widely regarded as a Hi-Definition video expert by his peers. He is also a co-founder and partner of Silverback Digital Productions (SDP) which produces digital, hi-definition 24P, 1080i and 720P video imagery.
As part of SDP, Allan recently served for the third straight year as the technical director for Banco Poplars annual Christmas DVD/CD project. Some of SDP’s other clients Ford Fiesta, CBS, ABC, BET, Listerine and Adidas to name a few. SDP is currently finalizing the edit of its first self-produced TV pilot.
In addition to his work with SDP, Allan also served as HD Production Specialist on the recently released theatrical presentation, “Martin and Orloff”, an independent “film” and on three others, all yet to be released.
Allan continues to freelance with major television networks in order to keep his finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving television industry. Allan views his fieldwork as essential to his personal learning cycle.
Judging Panel
Allan Brown
Audrey Bernstein
Maureen Nappi
Matt Waugh
Rodney Hurley
Hans Dudelheim
Lynn Hassan
Larry Banks
Festival Director:
Larry Banks
Assistant Festival Director:
Sonya Brown
Festival Creator and University Liaison:
Kevin Lauth
Screening Schedule
4:00PM FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10 2006
4:00PM - No Retreat From Destiny: The Battle That Rescued Washington, Kevin R. Hershberger (01:46:00) Docudrama.
Synopsis: The true story of the Confederacy�s last invasion and the attack on Washington, DC.
5:50PM - Sleuthing Mary Shanley, Patrick Mullins (00:23:00) Documentary Short.
Synopsis: A historical family documentary about a celebrated undercover New York City Policewomen.
6:15PM - Quantum Words, Gil Dekel (00:01:42) Experimental.
Synopsis: The Quantum power of words to affect our physical reality.
6:20PM - Life, Expression College for Digital Arts C/O William Craig (00:06:00) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: The length of a father’s love.
6:30PM - AWARD CEREMONY & SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER
8:30PM - Libera, Jeff Denis (00:13:00) Experimental.
Synopsis: Bizarre ritual of a middle-aged man.
8:45PM - 10 Days in Malawi , Brian Ekdale (00:51:00) Documentary Long.
Synopsis: Medical volunteers witness Malawi’s beauty and despair face-to-face.
9:40PM - Detroit: Not Fort Wimps, Leigh Richert (00:17:45) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: A hilarious comedy about kids from Detroit back in the late 70s.
12:00PM SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11 2006
12:00PM - York Street, Jason Cusato (01:36:00) Experimental.
Synopsis: Sometimes inspiration finds you.
1:40PM - Mohawk Wash, Manfred Merchan (00:24:00) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: Two friends come across the dead body of an illegal immigrant.
2:05PM - Buddy Nunziata, Stephen M. Bono (00:03:00) Documentary Short.
Synopsis: Buddy Nunziata, a true New York character, unknowingly spreading good will everyday.
2:10PM - Tough Luck, Alexander Lewis (00:05:23) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: Two young superheroes find things out the hard way.
2:15PM - Home Permanent, Bruce N. Taylor (00:29:00) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: Split ends, broken dreams.
2:45PM WORKSHOP AND BREAK UNTIL 5:00PM
5:00PM - The Good Coffee House Music Parlor, Joe Coppa (00:28:00) Documentary Short.
Synopsis: A documentary about an acoustic music venue in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
5:30PM - Invisible, David Khachatorian (00:11:50) Experimental.
Synopsis: A convenience store clerk works on New Year’s Eve over the course of three consecutive years.
5:45PM - Inheritance, Expression College for Digital Arts C/O William Craig (00:09:30) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: A man rents a room in a large house where he investigates strange sounds.
5:55PM SHORT BREAK
6:05PM - The Birth of Serfs, Mirco Chen (00:41:17) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: Toby Kepler’s world is ending, but so is everyone elses.
6:50PM
- Thick & Thin, Jordan Canning (00:25:00) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: Sometimes home is the last place you want to be.
7:15PM - One by 1, Jason Clarke (00:10:00) Narrative Short.
Synopsis: The future looks like you and me.
7:25PM - Visions Revealed, Yasmin Mistry (00:01:12) Experimental.
Synopsis: An experimental, animated video designed to raise awareness of non-verbal language.
7:30PM - The Luring, Dawn A. Gilardi (00:09:00) Experimental.
Synopsis: They won’t be leaving, but their organs will . . .
2005
Best Julieta y Ramon
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Best Dope Sick Love |
Best Sugar in Wartime |
| Julia Mintz (Producer/Post Production Supervisor) |
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Award winning Creative Director and accomplished visual artist, Julia Mintz, co-founder of Full Res Productions, spends her career focusing on the marriage of new technology and design. Ms. Mintz began her forays into digital media at Tape House Interactive in New York City: producing websites, enhanced CD-ROMS and interactive media art designs. At the Advanced Imaging Center for Tape House, Julia worked as a Senior High Definition Producer where many of the first high definition projects in the U.S. were completed. Her experience in High Definition culminated her with the first nation-wide High Definition Broadcast. Ms. Mintz’s relationship with NASA and NHK Enterprises produced multi-camera High Definition coverage of shuttle missions STS 92, STS 99, and STS 105 with complete Surround Sound coverage. Julia has taught numerous seminars on HD Production and Post: HD EXPO Workshops, the Santa Fe Cinematographers Workshop, The International Film and Television Workshops ME, and the National Film Art Festival in Hong Kong. Recent projects include her role as post-production supervisor for the documentary on “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo” with award winning director/producer Amy Stechler. Ms. Mintz’s dedication and enthusiasm continues to build paths into the future of high definition technologies that has branded her an innovator in the television and film industries. BIG Mini-DV will host a special screening of “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo” at 5:15 pm, Saturday November 12, 2005. |
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2004
Best Narrative (Feature) .
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Best Documentary (Feature) .
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Quadruped Mirror Tim Reardon
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FRIDAY 11/5 5pm – 10pm
- 5:00 PM - What A Cock, Mark Hammett. (0:15:00) Experimental
Synopsis: Chris lives in his own little world with his own little friend. Hew would like nothing more than to get to know the girl at the launderette, but can he find the courage and will his little friend behave or not?
- 5:15 PM - The Stranger By The Bay, Andy Foster. (0:42:00) Narrative Long
Synopsis: The story follows a Seattle writer as he struggles to write a follow up to his recent best seller. As he navigates the frustrations of his personal and professional life, he becomes intrigued by a mysterious woman whose unlikely story sets in motion a series of perplexing discoveries that connect strange events in the past and present.
- 5:57 PM - Quadruped Mirror, Tim Reardon. (0:04:00)Experimental
Synopsis: This visual poem looks at an innocent bike ride through the Lower East Side and multiplies every nuance by four. Familiar objects become moving mathematical equations. The spinning of the spokes. The blurring of the ground. The slight grimace on the girl's face. Every aspect is slowed down and examined in great detail.
- 6:01 PM – 5 Minute Break
- 6:06 PM - The Tarantella, Jim Kiernan. (0:26:00) Narrative Short
Synopsis: A romantic comedy about a young man and woman who are unexpectedly reunited under unique circumstances. Set during a baptism, it tells the story of Brian and Angela, a former couple who after breaking up months earlier find themselves sitting next to each other at the ceremony. They voice their feelings for one another as they try to respect their surroundings. After a surprising moment and some sage advice, it's what happens in these surroundings that just might lead Brian and Angela back where they belong... with each other.
- 6:32 PM - The Old Man and Hemingway, Hugo Perez. and William Charles Moss (08:00) Documentary Short (Winner ’04)
Synopsis: The first thing one notices about Gregorio Fuentes is his eyes. "Everything about him was old except his eyes..." was the way that Hemingway described Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea. Out of a 102 year-old face that is as worn as the side of a mountain, Gregorio's eyes shine brightly. Gregorio was Hemingway's boat-captain from 1938 until Hemingway's death in 1961, and provided the template for several Hemingway characters including the old fisherman Santiago. This is a documentary that chronicles the long friendship between Ernest Hemingway and Gregorio and the way that forty years after his death, Hemingway is remembered by his friend.
- 6:40 PM - Roadside Attractions, C.J. Roy. (0:15:00) Narrative Short (Winner ’04)
Synopsis: A fable-thriller set in Surreal Middle-America. A local trouble-maker receives a deadly lesson in irony after harassing a quiet stranger passing through town.
- 7:00 PM – Refreshment Break (Salena Gallery)
- 7:30 PM – Panel: The Match that Lit the Fuse: Mini-DV and the Non-Fiction TV Explosion.
- 9:00 PM – Presentation of 2004 Prizes
- 9:20 PM - Necrolog, Steven D. Addair. (0:33:00) Narrative Long (Winner ’04)
Synopsis: A modern-day film noir, set in a seaside Gothic mansion.After the death of his son, a hired killer struggles to escape the haunts of a lifetime of sin. Now asked to kill another man’s wife, Alexander Poversky tries to hold onto what’s left of his sanity as he spirals downward into a never-ending nightmare, making it increasingly difficult to stomach his chosen profession. Each death has become a tragedy, a tragedy followed by an obituary, an obituary with a name and a past. A name and a past for Alexander, he only wishes to forget.
SATURDAY 11/6 10 AM – 10 PM
- 10:00 AM - Tales From Beyond, Josh Austin, Nate Barlow, Eric Manning, Russell Scott (1:55:00) Narrative Long
Synopsis: When a trendy young couple enter a quaint antiquarian book-store seeking a present for their friend, they find more than they bargained for. Mysterious shopkeeper JAY (Adam West) takes the couple into the world of his books, leading them through four amazing stories: “Abernathy,” “Nex’s Diner,” “Life Replay,” and “Fighting Spirit.” Still indecisive, the couple ask about two plain-looking tomes at the end of the shelf. What happens next they could never have imagined.
- 11:55 AM - Iceland & Me Fishing For Identity, Dale Kalbfleisch. (1:30:00) Documentary Feature
Synopsis: The hypnotic draw of the stunning Icelandic landscape together with the ideal of a courageous and freedom-loving Icelandic soul is Icelandic-Canadian Dale Kalbfleisch’s heritage from his mother. This quirky and charming documentary takes the audience on a trip to discover the filmmaker’s roots, and his personal history leads to the history and myths of this small but fascinating country in the middle of the sea.
- 1:25 PM - 10 Minute Break
- 1:35 PM - In the Shadow of the Mob, Tony Orcena. (0:55:00) Documentary Feature
Synopsis: A candid look at the city dubbed Murder Town USA by the national media – Youngstown, Ohio. Within the restrictions of a fifteen-week semester and three hundred dollar budget, a group of college students attempts to capture the identity of a community haunted by its past. The first locally produced documentary focusing on Youngstown’s association with organized crime. Interviews with local politicians, experts, and public figures take a step beyond the city’s bloody history, in an effort to find out why Youngstown remains In the Shadow of the Mob.
- 2:30 PM - Endless Winter, Aaron Weiss. (0:15:00) Narrative Short
Synopsis: Nate Wannemaker is a man with a passion -- for snow, in all its myriad forms, and snow shovels, in particular. From their supple curves to their long handles, Nate cares for his shovels like family. Wife Kate dutifully enables Nate's instinct for snow removal. Son Nate, Jr. wants out – out from the shovels, the snow, the cold. Nate's chance to become a role model for his son is triggered by a rival neighbor, The Bear, who has never met a flake of snow he hasn't obliterated with gas-powered machinery. His zealous snow throwing crosses a line and sparks a confrontation with Nate. As a result, Nate Jr. learns a cold lesson in pride and family.
- 2:45 PM - Argyle Sox, William Jozokos-Bookman. (0:10:00) Experimental
Sypnopsis: ARGYLE SOX is a frightening world where original artists are stripped of their creativity and kept away from society at large. Only one artist remains but he grows lonely and impatient as his identity screams to be revealed. Is he going to give up his creativity to be like everyone else? Or spend the rest of his life living in fear?
- 2:55 PM - Lake Ivan Exists, episode #30 The Artificial, David Finkelstein. (0:29:00) Experimental
Synopsis: Two speaking actors and one silent drag queen improvise a meditation on shame, artifice, and ecstasy. The video takes us on a journey into an inner landscape, which includes a description of the desserts offered to pilgrim visiting a mystical shrine, a feather duster which makes apartments dirtier rather than cleaner, and a mysterious tapping sound which ruins a nights' sleep. Multiple layers of overlaid imagery and text help the viewer to make sense of the complex soundtrack, which consists of two simultaneous monologues plus music, by bringing out the emotional and musical threads which run through the piece, while highlighting key phrases of text.
- 3:25 PM - 10 Minute Break
- 3:35 PM - Final Solution, Rakesh Sharma. (1:00:01 -Excerpt) Documentary Feature (Winner ’04) -
Synopsis: A study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat, India, during the period Feb/Mar 2002 – July 2003, this documentary examines the consequences of Hindu-Moslem polarization in the state. It probes the causes and consequences of the genocidal violence against Moslems in 2002 by right-wing cadres in Gujarat. A censorship ban on this documentary being shown in India was only lifted in October 2004.
- 4:36 PM - To Every Story, Adam Etline.(0:05:00) Experimental
Synopsis: Originally created for the modern dance piece “To Every Story” by Spela Sterle & Dancers, this video describes the dichotomy between natural and urban environments through visuals and narration, shot entirely on location in New York City and upstate New York.
- 4:41 PM - Around Atocha Station, Felix De Juan Del Hoyo. (5:29) Documentary Short
Synopsis: An insight into the Madrid Atocha train station where the most bloody terrorist bomb attack in Spain’s recent history occurred on March 11th, 2004. Also a tribute to the survivors, their families and the people of Spain who demonstrated for change.
- 4:47 PM - 10 Minute Break
- 5:07 PM - The Lincoln Railsplitters, Michael Bellamy. (0:30:00) Documentary Feature
Synopsis: A documentary about the 2003 – 2004 High School Basketball season in New York City when the “Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters” of Brooklyn, led by Senior Sebastion Telfair, were the talk of the town.
- 5:37 PM - Once Upon the Time There Was A King, Massimiliano Mauceri (0:10:00) Narrative Short
Synopsis: "anyone who's right is wrong and who's wrong is right...."
- 5:47 PM - Rex-Patriates, Nancy Bishop. (1:15:00) Narrative Long
Synopsis: In 1990 Prague was proclaimed the “Left Bank of the 90s,” -- the new European haven for American artists, (just as Paris had been the expatriate home of Hemingway, Stein and Miller in the 1920s.) This herald rang out like a clarion call, summoning expatriate North Americans from Nova Scotia to the Golden Gate. Rex-Patriates is a satire that follows the lives of four expatriate Americans, a writer, an entrepreneur, a theater director and a physical artist, who venture to Prague after the fall of communism. Bedazzled by the city’s beauty, cheap beer, and liberal lifestyle, they set out to forge an artistic renaissance. But was Prague really a breeding ground for artistic genius? By the mid-90s the expatriates’ dreams are foiled and Prague becomes a dark cauldron of failure. The obvious solution would be to leave the city, but there is just one problem…the old crone. It is as Franz Kafka observed:“Prague doesn’t let go. This old crone has claws. One has to yield or else.”
- 7:02 PM – 10 Minute Break
- 7: 12 PM - National Collegiate Debate Championship, Andy Regal. (0:52:00) Documentary Feature
Synopsis: An inside look at the top 78 college debate teams in the USA. Two-person teams participate in as many as eleven 2 hour debates over 4 days debating topics they have studied and researched over the past year. The contestants speak 400 words per minute and spend as much time researching as Master’s students devote to their thesis, all to win the Larmon Trophy.
- 8:04 PM - Ron On the Roof, Craig Cobb. (0:06:00) Narrative Short
Synopsis: A couple of years after joining the race to yuppie-dom, Courtney and William have a hard time reconciling everything they lost from their bohemian days.
- 8:10 PM - The Devil's Day, Sean Drakes (0:09:00)
Synopsis: “With this paint I liberate. With his touch he affirms. In this space I release, praise …. renew.”
- 8:19 PM – 10 Minute Break
- 8:29 PM - Product Placement, Andrew Delaplaine (0:16:00) Narrative Short
Synopsis: Just how far can you take the concept of “product placement” in movies? A director and his star / lover are on their way to Miami International to catch a flight to New York to sign a product placement deal for their new indie movie, “Invasion of the Biscayne Babies” when the drawbridge on the Venetian Causeway suddenly goes up, blocking their way. There’s nothing to do but … talk.
- 8:45 PM - Ice Cream, Milo Henry Meltz. (0:52:00) Narrative Long
Synopsis: Set in a fictional America where the positions in our society that have been traditionally occupied by Blacks and Whites are reversed, Ice Cream takes a unique look at race relations, poverty, politics, and neglect in our inner- city communities of today.
- 9:40 PM - Wolves of Chechnya, Greg Cahill. (0:20:00) Narrative Short
Synopsis: After a deadly falling out with his superior officer, Russian soldier Dogadko flees into the Chechen wilderness. He befriends a strange Chechen girl whose brother is one of the anti-Russian rebels.
. 2004 Festival Sponsors .
Film/Video Arts
2003
No data
2002
Clarke M. Smith: The Ethereal Plane Norwalk, CT
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Rakesh Sharma: Aftershocks: The Rough Guide to Democracy Mumbhi, India
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Merri Cyr: The Call Brooklyn, NY
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Wide Asleep Los Angeles, CA
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Thank the War Astoria, NY
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If Spielberg Made a Snuff Film Astoria, NY
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| donation of 2 Digital Video Collections Adobe Systems Inc. |
donation of a certificate for three FVA classes Film/Video Arts |
 donation of two cases of 25 mini-DV tapes Adwar Video |
 donation of the Panasonic DMR-T3030 DVD Recorder Armatos Pro Digital Video |
 donation of two $500 gift certificates B&H Photo Video Pro Audio |