WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL September 28 - October 2 2005 Fiercely Independent From Brooklyn, so you know they’re tough. Lights, Controls, Mounts & Kits for Imaging Professionals, from the World Leader in Location Lighting lowel.com 718 921-0600 800 334-3426 SHORTS THE GREAT IDEA BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA) Directed by Javier Fesser RIDE OF THE MERGANSERS SPAIN, SENEGAL / 2004 / 30 minutes In French with English subtitles A SONG FOR DANIEL SOUVENIR EAST COAST PREMIERE Binta is a seven-year old girl who lives in a small village on the Casamance river in 55 minutes southern Senegal. She goes to school. Her Fri.S ept.30, 5:00PM @ Upstate 2 cousin Soda, does not have the same good Sun.Oct.2, 2:45PM @ Bearsville fortune and is not allowed to learn about the things of the world. Meanwhile, Binta’s father (a humble fisherman) is concerned about the devel- opment of mankind and he determined to carry out his great idea. RIDE OF THE MERGANSERS A SONG FOR DANIEL SOUVENIR Directed by Jason DaSilva S Directed by Steve Furman Directed by Stephen Rose H O 2004 / USA / 11 minutes 2005 / IRAQ, USA / 9 minutes 2004 / USA / 5 minutes R T The Hooded Merganser is a rare and reclu- In English and Arabic S EAST COAST PREMIERE sive duck found only in North America. A Song For Daniel compares a routine day A shadowy fable unfolds from inside a sou- Every spring, in the Great Lakes region, the of two nine-year-old Iraqi boys: one living venir snow globe, in this unique film that wary hen lays and incubates her eggs in a in Baghdad and the other born and raised was shot entirely with a toy camera. nest high in the trees. Just 24 hours after in New York City. hatching, the tiny ducklings must make the perilous leap to the ground below to begin life in the wild. This age-old rite is rarely observed by humans. Ride of the Mergansers brings this hidden drama to the screen. Filmed entirely in northern Minnesota, Ride of the Mergansers offers a rare glimpse into the secret world of the Hooded Merganser. WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL 2005 71 SHORTS SCREENING WITH… Dave Holland Directed by Ulli Gruber CLOSE 2004 / USA / 22 minutes DAVE HOLLAND US PREMIERE HOW I KNOW YOU Dave Holland is one of the world’s lead- PARTY FOR THE PEOPLE: ing acoustic bass players. His career ROCK AND REVOLUTION spans more than three decades. It was IN REGGIO EMILIA Miles Davis who discovered the young Englishman in 1967. This documentary THE RAFTMAN’S RAZOR gives insight to the musician’s life and THE TOURIST approach towards his work. Dave Holland won the Grammy Award (2002) THE VENTURE for Best Performing Big Band. W(IT)H Screens prior to: Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR HOW I KNOW YOU Directed by S T Matthew Timms R O 2005 / USA / H 2:30 minutes S Our witless hero rolodexes through his brain to remember how he knows the man walking towards him. Yoga? The video store? Stabbings can be so awkward like that. How I Know You is a dark comedy about familiar faces. Screens prior to Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic CLOSE Directed by Tom Hopkins IRELAND / 2004 / 8:47 minutes PARTY FOR THE PEOPLE: ROCK AND When Jill awakes after a serious car crash, she finds herself REVOLUTION IN REGGIO EMILIA Directed by Sascha Paladino floating above her own body, still lying in the wreckage of her car below. Not finding encouragement in the bitter thoughts ITALY,USA / 2005 / she hears as she floats over the bystanders, she prepares to 7 minutes leave for good, but then one last miracle happens.... WORLD PREMIERE Screens prior to Automatic An exploration of the connections between communism and rockabilly music in northern Italy. Screens prior to Instrumental WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL 2005 72 SHORTS SCREENING WITH... THE RAFTMAN’S RAZOR Directed by Keith Bearden USA / 2005 / 7 minutes THE VENTURE Two teen boys spend the summer trying Directed by Ben Fleisher to figure out the secret of their favorite USA / 2005 / 8 minutes comic book hero, the Raftman, who drifts out to sea without food, water, or any noticeable superpowers. He just WORLD PREMIERE shaves, thinks an odd philosophical A businessman, rushing to an thought, and stares at the ocean. Will he be rescued? Use his straight razor on himself? important meeting, has a day of Starve to death? What does it all mean anyway? By summer’s end, they get their answer, delays, distractions, and obstacles. and it’s nothing like they ever imagined. As his frustrations reach a peak, his anxieties are relieved by a memory Screen prior to Puffy Chair from his childhood. With a nod to classical melodrama, and a wink to postmodern exhibitionism, this hip THE TOURIST fable begs the question, “How Directed by James Israel much is your childhood really and Jeff Israel worth?” USA / 2005 / 15 min- Screens prior to Runaway utes EAST COAST S PREMIERE H Claire finds her routine O R day of hiding inside her T apartment has changed S after she discovers a mysterious box of puzzle pieces in her closet. As she assembles the puzzle to reveal the image, she struggles to confront her loneliness and self-imposed isolation. Screens prior to 212 W(IT)H Directed by Hunter Carson WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR Directed by Shelly Silver USA / 2005 / 11 minutes USA / 2004 / 15 minutes The last, tricky, funny 11 minutes on the night A woman sets out to photograph a hitman (Tim Roth) moments of intimacy. On an revisits his old neighbor- Internet dating site she writes: A hood to do a whack-job. woman sets out to photograph moments of intimacy. On an Screens prior to Dead Internet dating site she writes: ‘I’m Man’s Shoes looking for people who would like to be photographed in public revealing something of themselves... What I’m Looking For documents this adventure; the connections formed at this inter- section between virtual and actual public space. The video is a rumination on the nature of photography and the persistence of vision. It is a short tale of desire and control. Screens prior to Zizek WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL 2005 73 SHORTS NY X 10 NYC WEIGHTS AND MEASURES E=NYC2 Directed by Jem Cohen HARLEM SISTAS USA / 2005 / 5:30 minutes DOUBLE DUTCH Jem Cohen’s NYC WEIGHTS AND MEASURES film opens with a parade A REASONABLE FACSIMILE for astronaut ROUTINE John Glenn, then makes THE SPACE INVADERS its way across E=NYC2 boroughs and Directed by Kimi Takesue SUPER POWER BLUES time to USA / 2005 / 5:15 minutes THROUGH THE ICE explore New York City’s many moods–from loud and relentless to grave Structured in a series of observational and dreamy. THE UNDERMINER vignettes, this visually-driven piece cap- ZERO VISIBILITY tures the dynamic energy and movement of New York City. It features New Yorkers moving through self-contained yet inter- 52 minutes connected worlds as they pursue dreams, earn a living, escape into fantasy, and find *Parental Advisory: mature content ways to enjoy the day. S T The Woodstock Film Festival is R proud to present the only O H theatrical screening of S A REASONABLE FACSIMILE NY X 10 outside of NYC. Directed by Edin Velez USA / 2005 / 5 minutes Encompassing every genre– from narrative to documentary Edin Velez’s multi-layered video combines and from animation to documentary material and narrative seg- ments to reveal a city rife with missed con- experimental–NY X 10 nections and misunderstandings among its features 10 short films created inhabitants. specifically to celebrate the tenth season of Thirteen/WNET’s acclaimed independent film and video HARLEM SISTAS series, REEL NEW YORK. DOUBLE DUTCH Sun.Oct.2, 5:15PM @ WCC Directed by Nicole Franklin USA / 2005 / 5:37 minutes Courtesy of Vivian, a free-spirited diva who is thriving in Harlem’s new renaissance, WNET-TV gives advice to her admiring, 27-year-old niece in Nicole Franklin’s film, which reveals how family bonds can get in the way of a woman’s night on the town. WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL 2005 74 SHORTS THROUGH THE ICE Directed by Jennie Livingston USA / 2005 / 5:30 minutes In this film, Jennie Livingston explores how Miguel Flores broke through the ice of Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn in January of 2003. The dog walkers saw it hap- pen. What was he doing there? What were the repercussions of the events of that day? What is it that binds us together as New Yorkers and as human beings who all walk on the same uncertain ground? ROUTINE Directed by Micahel Britto USA / 2005 / 4:50 minutes THE UNDERMINER A visual meditation on the redundancy of Directed by Todd Downing the more mundane aspects of life in New USA / 2005 / 5:45 minutes York, Michael Britto’s short work examines the notion of fleeting time and mortality, Based on the book and makes a case for putting a little variety by Mike Albo and into the mix. Virginia Heffernan, Todd Downing’s film reveals the insidious tactics of THE SPACE INVADERS the quintessential S Directed by Marina Zurkow New York under- H miner, a master of O USA / 2005 / 3:40 minutes R passive aggression T Black-and-white video is combined with who throws his vic- S hand-drawn animation in Marina Zurkow’s tim into a spiral of unsettling, post-apocalyptic (post-election) self-doubt and hopelessness vision of a bleak and capricious future every time he sees him.