Black Maria Film Festival Brochure 2017
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The<br />
BLACK<br />
MARIA<br />
FILM<br />
FESTIVAL<br />
The<br />
Thomas Edison<br />
Media Arts<br />
Consortium<br />
Fueling<br />
the<br />
independent<br />
spirit<br />
since<br />
1981
Message<br />
The Director<br />
Jane Steuerwald<br />
The history of film began with the short. The first films, including those created in Thomas<br />
Edison’s “<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>” film studio in West Orange, were about a minute long. <strong>Film</strong> was<br />
a novelty, and entertainment for the masses was the goal of early film pioneers.<br />
In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the<br />
phonograph. It soon became the most<br />
popular home entertainment device in<br />
history. Edison saw even more potential<br />
in the link between sound and image and<br />
commissioned his young lab assistant<br />
William Dickson, to develop a motion picture<br />
camera to complement the phonograph.<br />
The result was Dickson’s invention – the<br />
Kinetograph - which addressed the problem<br />
of recording and reproducing moving<br />
images.<br />
In 1895, Edison bought the rights to a state-of-the-art projector, developed by the<br />
American inventor Thomas Armat, and in early 1896 Edison began to manufacture and<br />
market it as his own invention. On April 23, 1896 in New York City, Edison’s Vitascope<br />
brought motion picture projection to the United States and was at the forefront of<br />
American film exhibition for years.<br />
In honor of the tradition of Edison, we “fuel the independent spirit” by sustaining the<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong>. Edison was truly the quintessential American inventor – a<br />
fiercely independent man who moved forward with his vision against all odds. The<br />
filmmakers we represent in every <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong> program do exactly that.<br />
Their films celebrate the indomitable human spirit, shine a light on injustice, educate us,<br />
and entertain us, frame after frame after frame.<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc. 2
About us<br />
Since 1981, the <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong> has been celebrating and preserving<br />
the diversity, invention, and vitality of the short film. The <strong>Festival</strong> is named after<br />
Thomas Edison’s original West Orange film studio dubbed the “<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>”<br />
because of its resemblance to the black-box police paddy wagons of the same<br />
name.<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> is an international juried film<br />
festival competition. We have embraced<br />
our mission for close to four decades by<br />
focusing on short films including those<br />
which shine a light on issues and struggles<br />
within contemporary society. We advance<br />
and exhibit the work of diverse filmmakers<br />
from across the US and around the world. The<br />
festival has a serious, abiding commitment<br />
to the short form as its centerpiece and<br />
reason for being.<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> is an open-genre festival<br />
including narrative, experimental, animation,<br />
documentary, and hybrid films that push<br />
artistic boundaries. The festival’s touring<br />
collection often addresses topics such<br />
as the environment, poverty, civil rights,<br />
education, climate change, immigration,<br />
people with disabilities, and LGBTQ issues.<br />
Like Thomas Edison, we support filmmakers<br />
exploring what the medium can do, and<br />
favor conceptual and cross-over films rather<br />
than conventional categories.
Mission and History<br />
The Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium was incorporated in 1981 by<br />
founder, John Columbus, with its main project being the <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong><br />
<strong>Festival</strong>. With assistance from the Charles Edison Fund, created to maintain<br />
the legacy of Thomas Edison, the first year of the <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong><br />
had one hundred submissions and three screenings. The first program was<br />
held at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park’s Visitor Center and<br />
projected exclusively 16mm films.<br />
Documentary Animation Experimental Narrative<br />
John Columbus wanted to take the <strong>Black</strong><br />
<strong>Maria</strong> to cities that did not have any<br />
film festivals, which is exactly what the<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> does today. The idea was<br />
to bring the <strong>Festival</strong> to the people, not<br />
the other way around. Today, following<br />
the <strong>Festival</strong>’s premiere in February,<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> film programs reach out to<br />
audiences at museums, schools, art house<br />
cinemas, cultural centers, and colleges and<br />
universities throughout the United States<br />
and abroad.<br />
Thomas Edison was open to unconventional<br />
people coming into his studio to experiment<br />
with moviemaking. The results were<br />
scenes and sketches made by curious,<br />
creative people who wanted to see what<br />
the medium could do. Now for nearly four<br />
decades, the renowned <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong><br />
<strong>Festival</strong> continues to celebrate the short<br />
film for its artistic challenges, aesthetics,<br />
and substance.<br />
Notable Institutions that have Hosted the <strong>Festival</strong><br />
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.<br />
American University of Rome, Rome, Italy<br />
Anthology <strong>Film</strong> Archives, New York, NY<br />
Cal Arts, Santa Clarita, CA<br />
Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, NY<br />
Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA<br />
Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, NY<br />
Capri Theater, Montgomery, AL<br />
Hoboken Historical Museum, Hoboken, NJ<br />
LBI Foundation of A & S, Loveladies, NJ<br />
University of Wisconsin, Fond Du La, WI<br />
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ<br />
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA<br />
University of Gloucestershire, UK<br />
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI<br />
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA<br />
University of Delaware, Newark, DE<br />
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA<br />
ArtsEmerson, Boston, MA<br />
The Des Moines Art Center, IA<br />
The Roxie Theatre, San Francisco, CA<br />
The Paramount Theater, Charlottesville, VA<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc. 4
Unique Features<br />
The <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong> is a constantly touring festival, not a oncea-year<br />
destination festival, like most. We hold anywhere from 50 to 60<br />
screenings annually, throughout the United States and internationally.<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>’s New Jersey host sites span the following counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson,<br />
Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren.<br />
Each year program booklets are published and then distributed at every <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong><br />
screening. The booklets contain descriptions of the films in the current annual collection<br />
as well as monographs written by well-respected filmmakers, artists, curators, and scholars.<br />
Since the early days of the festival, these monographs critique, examine, and deconstruct<br />
subjects relevant to aspects of cinema. Often they are a critical analysis of the state of<br />
contemporary cinema itself. The annual program booklet is available each season in digital<br />
form on the festival’s website which facilitates large print for those with vision impairment.<br />
“I am so thrilled to have my short film, A Way Back, selected for the touring program for<br />
the upcoming <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong>! This is such an iconic and important festival<br />
for independent filmmakers like myself, and being presented with the opportunity to<br />
have my film screened on the tour is one for which I am truly honored and grateful.”<br />
Alan King Director / Producer A Way Back (Victoria, Australia)<br />
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The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc.
Global and National Participation<br />
Each of the last two years filmmakers from six of the seven continents including<br />
35 countries have submitted work.<br />
Over the same period submissions in the US have come from 34 states.<br />
Each year we present custom curated programs at 50-60 venues<br />
across the US and internationally.<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc. 6
Testimonials & Quotes<br />
“The <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong> is unquestionably one of our major<br />
showcases for the independent short film. The poetry of the form,<br />
its history and its relevance, is underscored and celebrated by<br />
the <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>, and as a platform for exposing new genius and<br />
contemporary talents, this festival is second to none.”<br />
Margaret Parsons<br />
Curator, <strong>Film</strong><br />
National Gallery of Art<br />
Washington, D.C.<br />
“Thank you so much for your emotional words and recognition to my film<br />
Resplandor, it’s a great honor to know that my artistic work had made an<br />
impact on you and the jurors. Warmest regards from Argentine.”<br />
Fernando Priego Ruiz – filmmaker (Buenos Aires, Argentina)<br />
“We are so very, very happy about being selected for your beautiful festival!!<br />
I’m so excited! Thank you for this honor! Again, thank you so very much!”<br />
Emile V. Schlesser, artist-filmmaker (Düsseldorf, Germany)<br />
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The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc.
Samples from Our Collection<br />
How Do You Raise a <strong>Black</strong><br />
Child?<br />
Narrative<br />
By Seyi Peter-Thomas<br />
South Orange, NJ<br />
Starfish Aorta Colossus<br />
Experimental<br />
by Lynne Sachs and Sean<br />
Hanley, Brooklyn, NY<br />
NYC poet Paolo Javier invited<br />
filmmaker Lynne Sachs to create a<br />
film that would speak to one of his<br />
poems from his newly published<br />
book “Court of the Dragon.” She<br />
asked film artist Sean Hanley to<br />
collaborate with her in the editing of the film. Together, they traveled through 25 years of the<br />
unsplit Regular 8 mm film that Sachs had shot - including footage of the A.I.D.S. Quilt from<br />
the late 1980s, a drive from Florida to San Francisco, and a journey into a very “un-touristic”<br />
part of Puerto Rico. Paolo Javier’s text became a catalyst for the digital sculpting of an 8mm<br />
Kodachrome canvas.<br />
This short film adaptation of Cortney<br />
Lamar Charleston’s poem “How Do<br />
You Raise a <strong>Black</strong> Child?” paints an<br />
important portrait of everyday life for<br />
a young black man growing up in America. It is an impressionistic piece that explores the<br />
delicate balance parents must strike as they steer their children toward adulthood. Poet<br />
Cortney Lamar Charleston is a recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Artist<br />
Fellowship.<br />
“When I first proposed the <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong> to the Thomas Edison<br />
National Historical Park in 1980, my idea was to find and gather fresh cutting<br />
edge independent films, mostly shorts, for the public to see - work that would not<br />
normally be seen at mainstream outlets… The <strong>Festival</strong> continues to be appreciated<br />
for its exhibition of adventuresome, whimsical, absurdist, exploratory, affecting,<br />
diverse and provocative works by both veteran and emerging filmmakers.”<br />
John Columbus, Founder and Director Emeritus, <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong><br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc. 8
Radiance (Resplandor)<br />
Documentary<br />
By Fernando Priego Ruiz<br />
Buenos Aires, Argentina<br />
At the foot of the Patagonian Andes,<br />
Camilo Peña is an old gaucho suffering<br />
from a disease that is leading him<br />
to blindness. He knows that sooner<br />
or later his worsening condition will<br />
bring him to the edge of darkness.<br />
This sensitive portrait is imbued with light and grace and reflects details of Camilo’s daily<br />
life and the way in which nature always comes into its own. His wish is to stay among his<br />
animals, isolated in the harsh winter, in the beautiful mountains where he is still a free man.<br />
Feral<br />
Animation<br />
By Daniel Sousa<br />
Providence, RI<br />
A wild boy is found in the woods by<br />
a solitary hunter and brought back<br />
to civilization. Alienated by a strange<br />
new environment, the boy tries to<br />
adapt by using the same strategies<br />
that kept him safe in the forest.<br />
“Feral” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short <strong>Film</strong> – 2013. Daniel<br />
Sousa has been a professor of animation at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) for 15<br />
years.<br />
“<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong> called and they said that “Bedhead” is a smash! The<br />
director of the festival talked to me about it and said audiences were raving<br />
about it. He said that they go crazy when Becca summons the water hose. I<br />
told him how we shot it and he can’t believe the primitive equipment we used.<br />
He said that it has a professional feel and style to it. He loves it.”<br />
Excerpted from Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old <strong>Film</strong>maker with<br />
$7,000 Became A Hollywood Player by Robert Rodriguez<br />
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The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc.
Board of Trustees<br />
and Staff<br />
Jane Steuerwald<br />
Executive Director<br />
studied photo, film and video at Syracuse<br />
University and Bard College. Her films have<br />
screened at MoMA; the National Gallery of<br />
Art in Washington, D.C.; the Thalia Cinema,<br />
NYC; The Kitchen, NYC; Anthology <strong>Film</strong><br />
Archives, NYC; The Gramercy Theater,<br />
NYC; and numerous festivals nationally.<br />
She received Artist Fellowships from NJ<br />
State Council on the Arts, and grants from<br />
the NJ Historical Commission, the Puffin<br />
Foundation, Lightworks, and Sony/AFI.<br />
She teaches film, video and graduate media<br />
studies at NJ City University.<br />
Maureen DeCicco<br />
Board President<br />
has more than 30 years of professional<br />
accounting, auditing and consulting<br />
experience, encompassing 25 years at<br />
WithumSmith+Brown, PC a top Regional<br />
Public Accounting Firm. Maureen is an<br />
active member of the Media Financial<br />
Management Association and New Jersey<br />
Broadcasters Association and serves as an<br />
advisory board member for William Paterson<br />
University’s college of business. She is an<br />
audit and advisory practice partner and the<br />
team leader of Withum’s Media Broadcasting<br />
and Entertainment Group and team member<br />
of Withum’s Risk Advisory Group<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc. 10
“I’m incredibly honored and grateful for receiving this<br />
email. I can’t wait for my film to go on this journey with<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong>. Thank you!”<br />
Katrine Holmgren, filmmaker (London, UK)<br />
Matt Savare<br />
Board Vice-President<br />
is a partner at the national law firm of<br />
Lowenstein Sandler LLP. With over 13<br />
years of experience, he is known for his<br />
tireless commitment and dedication to client<br />
service. His practice is focused on media,<br />
entertainment, sports, intellectual property,<br />
online advertising, technology, and privacy<br />
issues. Matt represents a range of clients in<br />
many facets of the media and entertainment<br />
industries, including film, television, music,<br />
publishing, theater, visual and performing<br />
arts, and new media.<br />
Steven Gorelick<br />
Board Treasurer<br />
is Executive Director of the New Jersey<br />
Motion Picture and Television Commission,<br />
the state agency responsible for promoting<br />
film and television production in New Jersey.<br />
During his tenure with the Commission, New<br />
Jersey has hosted over 22,000 projects,<br />
enhancing the state economy by over $2<br />
billion. He has also authored articles that<br />
have appeared in numerous publications<br />
such as the New York Daily News, New York<br />
Post and Variety, and has received screen<br />
credits on dozens of motion picture and<br />
television productions.<br />
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The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc.
Jon Cole<br />
Board Secretary<br />
has been working within the insurance and<br />
capital market industries for nearly 30 years.<br />
In the early 1980’s he designed, programmed,<br />
and implemented one of the first PC-based,<br />
networked commodity trading systems for<br />
gold and silver traders of the Comex, part of<br />
the NY Commodity Exchange.<br />
Cole served more than a dozen years on<br />
The Glen Rock Board of Education, as well as<br />
multiple terms as its President. He is also a<br />
founding trustee of a 9/11 non-profit.<br />
Clayton Hemmert<br />
Trustee<br />
A founder of Crew Cuts, New York: a postproduction<br />
company for editing, graphics, VFX,<br />
sound design and mixing. For 30 years they’ve<br />
collaborated on features, shorts, television<br />
content, commercials, and music videos.<br />
Their work has garnered over 200 awards<br />
from Sundance, Cannes, Emmys, Grammys,<br />
and includes Monsters Ball, Kissing Jessica<br />
Stein, along with SNL and MTV content. An<br />
editor, filmmaker and entrepreneur, Clayton<br />
has also been an industry leader as President<br />
of AICE: a non-profit representing over 2,000<br />
post-production professionals in the US and<br />
Canada.<br />
Joel Katz<br />
Advisory Board<br />
works in experimental and documentary film<br />
and video. His works have been broadcast<br />
on national PBS television, shown at the<br />
Museum of Modern Art, and are in festival<br />
and educational distribution worldwide.<br />
He was a Fulbright Scholar in 2008 and a<br />
professor of media arts at NJ City University.<br />
David S. Denenberg<br />
Trustee<br />
As Senior Vice President, Global Media<br />
Distribution & Business Affairs for NBA<br />
Entertainment (NBAE), David Denenberg is<br />
responsible for negotiating agreements and<br />
helping manage relationships relating to all<br />
facets of NBAE’s domestic and international<br />
media business, including television, film,<br />
radio, music, digital media, photography and<br />
talent.<br />
Denenberg currently serves on the Board<br />
of Governors for the Naismith Memorial<br />
Basketball Hall of Fame where he also serves<br />
on the Finance Committee and Governance<br />
Committee.<br />
A 1991 cum laude graduate of Harvard Law<br />
School, Denenberg graduated magna cum<br />
laude from Colgate University in 1988.<br />
Edgar Hidalgo<br />
Trustee<br />
is Director and Corporate Counsel at Toys<br />
R’ Us, Inc. in Wayne, NJ. He has extensive<br />
experience in drafting and negotiating<br />
a broad range of transactions including<br />
licensing, promotion, distribution, services,<br />
development, and joint venture agreements<br />
in the retail, media, entertainment, technology,<br />
and digital advertising industries.<br />
Christopher Corey<br />
Advisory Board<br />
is both a filmmaker and has been a NJ public<br />
school teacher for a decade. He currently<br />
teaches at Middletown High School South in<br />
Monmouth County. He completed his MFA in<br />
film production at William Paterson University.<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc. 12
Don Jay Smith<br />
Advisory Board<br />
has more than 35 years of public relations,<br />
marketing communications, fund raising<br />
and concert production experience. He has<br />
worked in the arts and entertainment field<br />
for much of that time, with an impressive<br />
roster of clients. He serves as an advisor to<br />
businesses and arts organizations in matters<br />
of organizational management, brand<br />
development, marketing & public relations,<br />
audience development, event production,<br />
fund raising and strategic planning.<br />
Thomas Torres-Cordova<br />
Advisory Board<br />
(MFA Bard College) is a filmmaker. His work<br />
includes narrative, documentary, music<br />
video and performance art in the tradition<br />
of expanded cinema. He shot the awardwinning<br />
documentary An Encounter with<br />
Simone Weil (2010), and PBS-broadcast<br />
documentary Strange Fruit (2002) His<br />
films/videos, including, Sonido Blanco,<br />
have aired on the Sundance Channel and<br />
screened at numerous festivals. Everybody<br />
Loves the Sunshine (2007), was featured<br />
in a 2009 solo show at the Amie and Tony<br />
James Gallery in NYC. Currently, Thomas is<br />
co-directing a feature documentary entitled<br />
LA Roll.<br />
Cali Macchia<br />
Advisory Board<br />
is a graduate of NJ City University’s film<br />
program. She began her career working as<br />
cinematographer and first assistant camera<br />
on independent features, shorts and music<br />
videos. She also has a long history working<br />
in corporate video production for advertising<br />
agencies, public relation firms and press<br />
junkets for film studios. Seventeen years ago<br />
she began teaching digital video production<br />
while simultaneously managing a local<br />
access educational station. She continues to<br />
work in education and manages a freelance<br />
career while producing personal projects in<br />
her free time.<br />
Diana Hernandez<br />
<strong>Festival</strong> Assistant<br />
graduated from NJ City University’s Media<br />
Arts Department in 2015. She is the registrar<br />
for all <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> and NJ Young <strong>Film</strong>makers<br />
submissions, and is responsible for<br />
promotional materials, graphic design, and<br />
administration.<br />
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The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc.
The New Jersey Young<br />
<strong>Film</strong>makers’ <strong>Festival</strong><br />
The NJ Young <strong>Film</strong>makers’ <strong>Festival</strong> is a project of the Thomas Edison Media<br />
Arts Consortium. It provides young filmmakers, who either live in or attend<br />
school in the State of New Jersey, the opportunity to exhibit work and have<br />
it evaluated by prominent representatives in the field of media arts.<br />
Since its inception, the purpose of the festival has been to recognize, celebrate, and<br />
encourage emerging young talent in New Jersey, the state in which Thomas Edison<br />
first developed the motion picture. A major goal of the festival in accordance with its<br />
mission is to expand the reach of educational opportunities for New Jersey’s aspiring<br />
media artists. NJ Young <strong>Film</strong>makers operates a cooperative made up of teachers in<br />
public and private institutions, media professionals, faculty and staff from NJ colleges<br />
and universities, and students in order to advance its mission and goals.<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc. 14
Supporters<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium is grateful<br />
for the generous support of the following:<br />
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences<br />
Adobe Systems<br />
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts<br />
Arch Insurance Group<br />
Crew Cuts Edit & Post<br />
The Dodge Foundation<br />
The William H. Donner Foundation, Inc.<br />
The Edison Foundations<br />
Hudson County Division of Cultural & Heritage Affairs<br />
and Tourism Development<br />
Lowenstein Sandler, LLP<br />
Microsoft Corporation<br />
MonsterRemotes, LLC<br />
National Endowment for the Arts<br />
New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission<br />
New Jersey City University<br />
New Jersey State Council on the Arts<br />
TechSoup Global<br />
WithumSmith+Brown, PC<br />
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The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc.
The <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong><br />
Fueling the Independent Spirit<br />
CONTACT US.....<br />
https://www.facebook.com/blackmariafilmfestival/<br />
<strong>Black</strong> <strong>Maria</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Festival</strong><br />
NJ Young <strong>Film</strong>makers’ <strong>Festival</strong><br />
Global Insights Collection<br />
Are all projects of the Thomas A. Edison<br />
Media Arts Consortium<br />
https://www.instagram.com/blackmariafilmfestival/<br />
https://twitter.com/<strong>Black</strong><strong>Maria</strong>FF<br />
Address:<br />
c/o Media Arts Department - Fries Hall<br />
NJ City University<br />
2039 Kennedy Boulevard<br />
Jersey City, NJ 07305<br />
Email: jane@blackmariafilmfestival.org<br />
www.blackmaria.org<br />
The Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium, Inc.