Program:

Rolling Man 1min, 16mm, 1999, U.S. Commemorative, .5min, 16mm, 1992, Hot Nuts, 16mm, 1min
Director: Devon Damonte

Rolling Man -- A glimpse at the unending Sisyphusian trueism proving that what goes around does indeed come around. Original made by hand without cameras using clear 16mm leader, photocopier, and splicer. U.S. Commemorative -- Close up musings on our national colors, ceremonial remembrance, and allegiance to the pure experience of absolute film. Original made by hand without cameras using clear 16mm leader, color photocopiers, 8mm found footage, various collage materials, scratchy devices and the magical guillotine tape splicer. For the past 14 years, Devon Damonte has been creating experimental animated films using unique techniques he develops himself. This animation doesn't look anything remotely like Disney or Saturday morning cartoons. Damonte's films are motion graphics made up of abstract imagery edited in streams of color, pattern and rhythm - much like a moving painting. These films are made entirely by hand, without using any cameras, crafted by taping semi-transparent collage materials directly onto clear and colored film leader. Inspiration comes from pioneers of direct animation including Len Lye, Stan Brakhage, and Barbel Neubauer. Damonte's films have screened in festivals in such places as San Francisco, Virginia, Ann Arbor, MI, Olympia, WA, and Spain. Live soundtrack is performed by Vic Rawlings (cello), Greg Kelley (trumpet) and Liz Tonne (vocals) who are members of the undr quartet. The undr quartet was formed in 1997 with the aim of exploring silence and low volume improvisation. Their performances are marked by a strong sense of intimacy and a deep sensitivity to context. Their sonic investigations illustrate the nature of sound as it emerges from silence.

Branch 11min, video, 1994
Director: choreographer Paula Josa-Jones and videographer / musician Ellen Sebring

BRANCH is a solo based upon the Daphne myth -- the story of a young woman pursued by Apollo, who is turned into a tree to save her. It is a story of initiation, with loss of innocence, and blood as a sacred and profane female symbol. The film was funded by the New England faundation for the Arts and Meet the Composer and the Dakota Foundation. Paula Josa-Jones, a founder of Paula Josa Jones Performance Works (1985), has gained international reputation for risk-taking, adventurous dance theater. Paula has been called "one of the country's leading choreographic conceptualists" by the Boston Globe, and the Village Voice describes her work as "powerful, eccentric, and surreal." Josa-Jones creates works of total theater which combine rich imagery, virtuosic movement, evocative visual designs, and idiosyncratic use of music. For a number of years, Paula has been collaborating with multimedia artist Ellen Sebring, Ellen Sebring's video art has been exhibited in museums internationally and awards include Artist;s Foundation Fellowship; Canon Europa prize, WorldWide Video Festival, Holland; PBS; NEA and others. Ellen holds Master's degree form MIT and received grants for major multimedia events at the MIT Media Lab. She is also a co-founder of Botticelli Interactive.

A man must dream a long time to act with grandeur, and dreams are nursed in darkness - Jean Genet 15min, 16mm 1996
Director: Maria Klein

Original made by hand without cameras using 16mm film, ink, paper and paint. Live soundtrack is performed by Bhob Rainey (soprano saxophone) and Greg Kelley (trumpet). Maria Klein was born in the year of the Horse. Greg Kelley was born in the year of the Buffalo. Bhob Rainey was born in the year of the Rooster. But none of this may mean anything. We have known each other for at least 4 years. Sometimes we like to go out for Indian food. Nmperign (Bhob Rainey-soprano saxophone, Greg Kelley-trumpet) has been called "one of the most provocative working groups in free improvisation today." (Ed Hazell, Boston Phoenix). They have played all over the world, their concerts and recordings appearing on "best of" lists in magazines from England (the wire) to Italy (blow up) to here in the united states (cadence). Their fourth CD is soon to be released on the prestigious German experimental music label, Selektion.

GodFoot 8.5min, s8 on video
Director: David Franklin

GodFoot was sourced on super8 film using xeroxographic animation & live action. The xerox machine makes incremental changes in the image. As the non-digital techniques of reproduction become rarer, the xerox machine will go the way of the mimeograph. The final sequence draws on Shintaido, a Japanese movement combining the techniques of martial arts with meditation and artistic expression. Original score by Vessela Stoy·nova performed by D. Franklin, Vessela Stoy·nova, and Valerie Thompson, engineered by Assen Stoy·nov. Award-winning video and performance artist David Franklin has been a practitioner of martial arts for nearly 20 years. He is a certified instructor of Shintaido, a contemporary Japanese movement art that combines the training techniques of martial arts with the philosophies of meditation and artistic expression. A graduate of Boston's Museum School Diploma Program, he is a member of Mobius Center for Experimental Art and co-founder of Pan9 Performance Space. He is a professional shiatsu bodyworker, freelance videographer, and asst. technical director of Shintaido North East. Current projects include: performing in and co-producing Neovoxer, a feature-length non-dialogue film with live musical score; and Flying & Flowing, a collaborative performance with Czech political activist/artist Milan Kohout.

Surface 9min, s8/video, 2000 Director: Alla Kovgan, Alissa Cardone Surface was inspired by "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank. The quality of images and shifting sound divide the inside and the outside. It is a journey of spirit through the struggle between forces of isolation and connection, oppression and release, the hidden and the revealed. Alla Kovgan is a film and video maker from Moscow (Russia) who has live and worked in Boston since 1996. Her 16 mm films have been screened at the film festivals around he US, Canada, and Europe including Boston Underground Film Festival, Antimatter Film Festival (Victoria, BC), East Art Gallery (Hungary), EuroUnderground (Poland), Dance on Camera (US), Napolidanza (Italy). Alla's mediums of expression and exploration encompass short films, multimedia performances, interactive video projections and other image/sound/body installations in collaboration with dancers and musicians. Alissa Cardone loves to sing, dance, play guitar and make things. She has danced with choreographers Nicola Hawkins, Anna Myer, and currently Marjorie Morgan, Christine Bennett and Paula Josa-Jones/Performance Works, whom with she has toured internationally. Alissa collaborates with different musicians, film makers, dancers and other artists to manifest interactive performances of various kinds through the Outside Art Collective that she co-founded in 1999. She's performed in France and Russia as well as in the subway, the Boston Public Gardens, and in the street in Harvard Square. Her work has been influenced by the study with Min Tanaka on Body Weather Farm, Japan.