Black Maria line-up | Des Moines Art Center

FRIDAY, MARCH 25 / 6:30 PM

***My First Science Fiction Movie - 4 min. (2010) by Neil Needleman, Katonah, NY
The experimental artist writes: “My team of physicists at the Institute for the Advanced Study of the Universe was the first to make a startling discovery. What was the discovery? Watch this video, and in less than four minutes, you’ll have the answer. But I warn you: it’s an answer that rocks the very foundation of our universe.”

**Cet Air La - 3 min. (2010) by Marie Losier, Brooklyn, NY
This witty musical ditty features April March and Julien Gasc performing a popular 1963 French song. The couple sings and playfully gesticulates while floating over a superimposed projection of clouds, birds, bubbles, whiffs of smoke, and glitter.

**Mrs. Buck in Her Prime - 10 min. (2010) by Eric Yates Green, James Franklin Gould, and Alex Gould, Washington, NC
Mrs. Buck in Her Prime is a tender documentary portrait of a spirited 104 year-old African-American church pianist who, despite her physical frailties, carries on playing the piano with spirited vigor at services in her small hometown of Washington, North Carolina.

*The Stitches Speak - 12 min (2009) by Nina Sabnani, Mumbai, India
Fabric art graces this intriguing animation/documentary tracing Kutch artisans’ journeys between Pakistan and India in forming the Kala Raksha Trust and School for Design. The women’s appliqués and embroideries reveal a powerful narrative in this visually rich work.

**Stanley Pickle - 12 min. (2010) by Vicky Mather, Berkshire, England
Stanley Pickle is a comic “pixilated” live action animation in which the quirky main character, 20 year-old Stanley Pickle, never leaves the house where he lives with his parents. He likes to play with his clockwork toys and every night his mother kisses him goodnight. The trouble is that Stanley thinks this is all quite normal, until he spies a mysterious girl in the meadow outside his window. She turns his world upside down.

***La Premiere - 20 min. (2009) by Nick and Michael Regalbuto, New York, NY
The late 1800s were a time of invention and exploration. Science, chemistry, and ingenuity were rapidly changing the way people lived. Thomas Edison developed the light bulb and the phonograph and raced to create the technology for motion pictures. He had the edge over all inventors with his Kinetoscope; however, the device could only be viewed by one person at a time. La Premiere is a recreation, a photoplay, of the race between Edison and the Lumiere Brothers. The brothers, Auguste and Louis, dreamt of projecting movies large enough to be seen by groups of people all at once. Edison was out maneuvered in this effort even though his electric light bulb was key to the Lumiere's success. Narrated by actor James Earl Jones.

***Sputnik 5 - 9 min. (2009) by Susanna Nicchiarelli, Rome, Italy
The Soviet Union launched the satellite, Sputnik 5, on August 19, 1960. Its payload of dogs, rats, mice, and insects survived the journey into space. In this droll digital animation, subtitles provide a tongue-in-cheek English translation of the animals’ barks and squeaks as the creatures discuss their predicament. Sputnik 5 is witty commentary on blind patriotism and animal rights.

***Steeples - 3 min. (2009) by Bryan Papciak, Providence, RI
The animation artist of Steeples writes: “As I look back on my childhood, I realize that a religious upbringing and my love for 1970s ‘special fx’ movies have become conflated in my head. This film is probably a result of that.” Steeples is a very short and truly zany film about church steeples jettisoning themselves into outer space. It is shot one frame at a time, using balsa wood models and plaster sets.

*The Burning Wigs of Sedition - 9 min. (2010) by Anna Fitch, San Francisco, CA
The Burning Wigs of Sedition is an untamed, irreverent, and fractured pseudo-musical set in the belly of a square-rigger bound for a crazed bacchanal.

***Transformations on Bartok - 1 min. (2010) by Stephen Campbell, Lancaster, PA
This delightful work is a drawn interpretation of the music of the Béla Bartøk.

***Carpe Diem - 5 min. (2010) by Alison Neale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
This is a campy and biting musical satire, which takes place aboard a flight from big oil crazed Houston, Texas to Ft. McMurray, the capital of the Alberta, Canada Tar Sands. The “VP” of Hexxon oil finds his world collapsing around him as the market goes into a tailspin and investors jump ship. The “VP” is confronted with a two-headed fish, evidence of big oil’s environmental impact in this over-the-top hors-d’oeuvre operetta.

***An Architect’s Vision - 6 min. (2010) by Mina T. Son, Stanford, CA
When it comes to architecture, it’s presumed to be a mainly visual/spatial endeavor and experience, but this piece provides a glimpse into the world of a blind architect, Chris Downey. Downey had a 20-year career of designing award-winning projects, but in 2008 a brain tumor led to his loss of vision. Armed with his other senses, Downey continues his work, even finding strength in his disability. An Architect’s Vision is a powerful statement about a man whose vision is not lost despite his missing eyesight.

Total Running Time: 94 minutes

SATURDAY, MARCH 26 / 1 PM

***Grandpa Looked Like William Powell - 5 min. (2010) by David Levy, Brooklyn, NY
Sometimes a memento only reminds one of how little one knows of someone. What remains behind of a person’s life may tell a bit about the past, but there’s a mystery to the discovery. When an animation artist came to possess his grandfather’s high school photo album/autograph book from 1924, the divide between the two generations became very tangible. David Levy created this original work in which a sketchbook comes alive and questions surface about his grandfather’s world.

**Pinburgh - 5 min. (2010) by Doug Cooper, Pittsburgh, PA
Pinburgh is a highly inventive musical fantasy, combining live action and digital animation techniques. The piece is set in Pittsburgh’s hilly industrial landscape. A live actor is seen dancing down a drawn set of steps and into a bar where a patron plays a game of pinball. As balls bounce out of the bar and about into the city, they activate drawings which conjure up the perspectives of M.C. Escher, yet retain an originality that reflects a quirky and witty sense of humor.

***Where the Dance Is - 16 min. (2009) by Marta Renzi, Nyack, NY
In the spring of 2009, choreographer Doug Elkins worked with eight students from Beacon High School in New York City. This dynamic documentary captures the youthful energy of these diverse students as it follows their rehearsals, and as they bond with their teacher. The choreographer’s wit and support help the youth unleash their creativity, gain confidence, and connect with each other. This captivating look at an artist/teacher and his energetic students moves from philosophy to physicality, and subverts the clichéd American Idol formula of bravura final performance – because as Marta Renzi says: “that’s not Where the Dance is.”

New London Calling - 10 min. (2010) by Alla Kovgan, Somerville, MA
New London Calling is a zestful urban dance film shot on location in New London, Connecticut. A tribe of 75 young people take over the entire city, playing their games, running, jumping, and simply being exuberant. Their vibrant spirit is uplifting and brings fresh, youthful vitality to an otherwise drab city.

Yard Work Is Hard Work - 28 min. (2008) by Jodie Mack, Hanover, NH
Disillusionment plus hope in collage and song, part experimental animation, part romantic comedy, Yard Work Is Hard Work is also a biting critique of stereotypes and myths around marriage and consumerism. This seemingly droll work turns into a poignant musical following a pair of newlyweds as they learn the perils of “upward mobility” and life in general.

**Imaginary Circumstances - 19 min. (2010) by Anthony Weeks, San Francisco, CA
Imaginary Circumstances explores issues of representation, identity, and performance through the creativity of people living with disabilities. Clips from the classic Todd Browning film Freaks set the stage for three actor’s stories. Diana Elizabeth Jordan, an acting coach and actress with cerebral palsy in Los Angeles; Robert David Hall, a series regular on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; and Geri Jewell, an actress with cerebral palsy who appeared in the popular TV series The Facts of Life and Deadwood, are featured in this telling film.

***Just About Famous - 15 min. (2009) by Jason Kovalsev and Matt Mamula, c/o Blue Collar Films, Los Angeles, CA
This film is full of shtick. Is that actually Robert DeNiro doing a sort of standup routine about the hassles of being recognized? Oprah, Whoopie Goldberg, Sarah Palin, Britney Spears, Robin Williams, Dame Edna, President’s Obama and George Bush, and Elvis populate this spoof-like documentary.

***Cycle of Love – 4 min. (2010) by Catherine Marshall, Providence, RI
This whimsical animation anthropomorphizes a child’s tricycle, endowing it with tender feelings for a grown up racing bicycle that’s way out of its league. The little red three-wheeler is rebuffed by the swift and elegant two-wheeler, and so he considers ending it all. But just in the nick of time, a charming pink tricycle happens upon the scene and all is right with the world.

Total Running Time: 102 minutes

*Jurors’ Stellar Award Selection
**Jurors’ Choice and Jurors’ Citation Selections
***Directors’ Choice Selection

Black Maria Film + Video Festival Line-Up