Marblehead Festival of Arts to Host Winter Film Festival
Jeff Kane
2013 Winter Film Festival
To bring some warmth to a cold night, come to the Winter Film Festival sponsored by the Marblehead Festival of Arts. The Festival is set for Wednesday, February 20 at 7:30 pm with doors opening at 7 pm. Two hours of entertainment will be comprised of 13 films, ranging in length from 1.5 minutes to 17.5 minutes. They will be screened at Marblehead Little Theatre, 12 School Street in Marblehead. Admission is free, and coffee will be provided by Haley’s Market Cafe.
This wide variety of selected pieces shows the many ways that film and video can be used as an art form to inform and express. They are not commercial films found in a standard multiplex. Although some of these works can certainly be enjoyed by children, not all of the films will be appropriate for young audiences. Parents are encouraged to review the lineup.
Film Committee Co-chairs are Mike Evers and Laurie Stolarz. Working with them to create an exciting evening are Carol McLaughlin, Phil Osborn, Jocelyne Poisson, Sandy Rhoads, Bill Smalley, Paulina Villarroel and Carol Anne Wildfield.
2013 Winter Film Festival Program
Mina Healey: Guidance (6:05 minutes)
This comedy portrays the rocky relationship between three very different students and their long-suffering guidance counselor as they progress through their senior years. Mina Healey completed this film in 2011 under the auspices of the Lynn’s Raw Arts Film School.
A J Mungo and Amie Spindigliozi-Keefe: The Cat Lady (5:57 minutes)
Newburyport’s ace raconteur A J Mungo tells the shaggy cat story of his sister’s attempt to establish a cat rescue mission and the unintended consequences of that attempt. Note the hilarious illustrations by Marty Riskin.
Perry Hallinan: Bye Bye Linden (3:45 minutes)
While children play, Peabody city workers cut down an old Linden tree. An entertaining film with a light touch has more at work in this piece than you think. Perry Hallinan is a North Shore-based filmmaker with directing, camera, and editing credits.
Cory Corcoran, RAW Arts V: Cut the Lemon (3:30 Minutes)
This film from the RAW Arts Real to Reel Digital Film School combines animation and live action in a story about the world’s most obnoxious mother and her doormat child. It was screened at the Summer Festival in 2008.
Sam Stratton: Henry Loomis Is Going to Die Tonight (8:55 minutes)
She’s about to turn 14 and cosmic forces decree that she has to kill off her imaginary friend, but he’s acting out and she’s not sure she can do the deed. Find out what happens! Sam Stratton is a prolific filmmaker who shot the film in Marblehead and Swampcott and used Marbleheaders in his cast.
Mysterieuse: Samantha Olschan (3:20 Minutes)
Mysterieuse, which was screened at the 2008 Summer Festival, is a colorful and haunting animation about a woman’s relationship with a mysterious creature and the devastating outcome of that relationship. Ms. Olschan is a filmmaker from Connecticut, and her film was selected as one of the region’s best independent films by the Boston Cinema Census in 2008.
Oasis Film Institute: I Am Lynn (8:00 Minutes)
Young Lynn residents tell their moving stories about growing up in a tough environment. The Oasis Film Institute is one of the activities of Lynn’s St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. This film was a finalist in last year’s Salem FilmFest Five Minute Student Film Contest.
Jane Urban: Moonsong (3:52 Minutes)
This experimental music video is based on Brenna Sahatjian’s Moonsong (Trash Monster). “The trees are our history/The forest is full of stories/We’ll never forget even when we’re in the city.” Jane Urban made this video under the auspices of the ICA Fast Forward teen production program, and it was a finalist in this year’s Salem Filmfest Five Minute Student Film Contest.
Nabila Eltantawy: Fahisha (17:28 Minutes)
Fahisha (“abomination” in Arabic) documents what happens when kids who have grown up in strict Muslim families decide to come out as gay. Although the stories discussed here occurred in the Muslim community, the heartrending conflicts between parents and children, and children and peers, will be familiar to many American families. Nabila Eltantawy is a 19-year-old filmmaker living in New York.
Bill Domonkos: The Fine Art of Poisoning (5:37 Minutes)
“It’s quite an elaborate scheme/The fine art of poisoning/The dose to comatose/Slyly administered…” There are dark goings-on in the manor in Bill Domonkos’ animated music video of Jill Tracy’s song. Starting out as a painter, Bill Domonkos experimented with computer animation and now works in San Francisco where he has toiled in the computer game industry, directed music videos, and designed websites. The Fine Art of Poisoning has won numerous awards in the animation and experimental film categories in various film festivals around the country. It first screened in the 2006 Summer Film Festival.
Sean Hennigan: The Color of Paint (14:43 Minutes)
Stuck in a rut, a middle-aged suburban couple decides to repaint their bedroom. Doing so turns out to be better than years of therapy. Many improvements follow.
Damien Patrik: First and Last (11:00 Minutes)
This is a mordant comedy about a man who knows how to take advantage of the housing crisis. Damien Patrik is a Colorado filmmaker whose works have been shown in previous Arts Festival screenings.
Olivia Chuba, Jamie Ember, Marka Mayburry-Gaulke: Where the Sidewalk Ends (1:36 Minutes)
Three students from the Harvard-Westlake school in Culver City, CA collaborated on a visual interpretation of the Shel Silverstein poem about a special place where the imagination reigns supreme. Their film was part of the 15th Annual National Video and Film Festival, which was recently screened in Cambridge.
For more information, visit marbleheadfestival.org.