Screening
Program 2: Protest films by Alex Westhelle, Joan Michel, Adrian Garcia Gomez, Jason Livingston, studio Third World Collective, Lénie Blue, Anthony Jay Van Dunk, Brett Wallace, and Tobe Carey.
In Solidarity: Protest Films in a Time of Crisis
Inspired by the omnibus protest film For Life, Against the War, which was produced as part of the 1967 anti-war protest festival The Week of the Angry Arts, “In Solidarity” updates a concept first enacted by the Coop in 1967, when filmmakers joined together at the height of the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Women’s Rights Movement to assert the political value of freedom of expression. As we look to these protests of the past, and consider their relationship to the ongoing militarization of the police and contemporary protests against racial injustice, this series of films reflect the global importance of change, whether it’s Black Lives Matter, Climate Change, or Human and Animal Rights.
Organized by M.M. Serra and Rachael Guma - Oct. 2020
Program 2:
Notes from a Mass Movement–2020 Black Lives Matter Protests, Week 1 (excerpt) (Alex Westhelle, 2020, 4:00, USA)
On June 2, 2020 groups from about 25 churches from all over Brooklyn came out to protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.- A.W.
#BLACKOUTTUESDAY (Joan Michel, 2020, 1:58, USA)
I shot this on 6/02/20, the day it was called Blackout Tuesday, my home Jersey City conducted a peaceful protest where I documented it on [Canon Zoom 518, Kodak 50D Super 8 film]. This almost 2 mins I hope you feel a bit of how I felt when I was there. - J.M.
Primavera (Adrian Garcia Gomez, 2020, 5:00, USA)
Primavera is a frenetic experimental animation that documents the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests as they intersect in springtime Brooklyn. Shot during isolation on a phone, the video explores the effects of imposed distance on touch and intimacy, the proximity of an invisible virus and invisible deaths and the revolt against the racist, corrupt systems that commodify, exploit and render their most vulnerable citizens disposable. - A.G.G.
If Attica Is Still Blue (Jason Livingston, 2020, 2:46, USA)
September 9 was the anniversary of the 1st day of the Attica Prison Revolt.
If people are in prison, then no one is free.
#Abolition #AtticaMeansFightBack - J.L.
Capital (studio Third World Collective, 2019, 2:10, India)
Capital is a short essay film shot in New Delhi, India about a dystopian urban reality. The text is borrowed from the Indian author Arundhati Roy's critically acclaimed book, 'Capitalism - A Ghost Story'. - TWC
CITIZEN VIDEO PATTERN (Lénie Blue, 2020, 0:23, France)
CITIZEN VIDEO PATTERN is a video transposition of manufactured protest products at first designed from an attempt on protest slogans cataloging, trying it hand at being universal and intended for the greatest number, regardless of their natures: humans, intelligent machines (robots, artificial intelligences, deep learning programs, chatbots, virtual assistants, IoTs etc.), others (foreign civilizations including alien lives).
This 23sec citizen-pattern video loop with transparent background is distributed in portrait and landscape formats. Adjustments in other formats are possible from the source files, without change in quality and content. - L.B.
We Stand Because Others Can Not (Anthony Jay Van Dunk, 2020, 4:47, USA)
Catching the energy and voice of a disappointed protesters who changed the life and government of New York City after the murder of George Floyd. - A.J.V.D.
Defund NYPD (Brett Wallace, 2020, 4:11, USA)
Trigger warning: this video contains images of violence by the NYPD.
A short video covering various Black Lives Matter protests in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York in early June 2020. This work was created in solidarity with victims of police violence, the calls to defund police, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
The video includes archival footage of NYPD police brutality against peaceful protestors during this period. Video credits on Twitter: @CMONMYBOY @NickAtNews @paragon @JoshFoxFilm @ajrupchandani @left_voice @WhitneyHu
#DefundNYPD #DefundthePolice - B.W.
"And a Child Shall Lead Them - Rainy Day Edition" March 24, 2017 in Kingston (Tobe Carey, 2017, 2:10, USA)
For two years I documented rallies and marches in Kingston and Woodstock NY. This is one short one. Others include a series of 30 second animations and rallies for Education, Health Care, Racial Justice, Women's March on Woodstock, and more. Over 50 videos posted. - T.C.
Total Run TIme 27:25