The 12th Annual Virginia Film Festival comes to Charlottesville October 21st through 24th, turning the town into a virtual cinematic happening, as the theme of TechnoVisions explores the evolution of media technology from the dawn of film through virtual reality and beyond.
Headlining this year's event will be a special tribute to UVA alumnus, Stan Winston, one of Hollywood's legendary special effects and creature creators, with special guest Sigourney Weaver. Weaver and Winston will present Aliens along with clips from Dreamworks' upcoming Galaxy Quest, starring Weaver and featuring effects by Winston. Kicking off the Festival will be a gala opening party in honor of the Festival's special guests at the Bayly Art Museum, where an exhibit of Stan Winston Studio art will be on view.
TechnoVisions will present more than sixty films and over a hundred videos, CD-ROMS, specialty simulation rides, art installations, discussion panels, parties and demonstrations of new hi- and low-tech art forms at locations in and around Charlottesville. According to Festival Director, Richard Herskowitz, "While the Festival will be as intellectually and artistically stimulating as ever, this year's event will be filled with sensations, a technological carnival for all ages."
The Festival will devote two days to "Reveling in Technology: Film asImmersive Experience." Audiences will be able to experience the first cinematic sensation of Louis Lumiere's Train Entering a Station (1896), as the Festival highlights the enduring links between trains and cinematic "thrill rides." Alfred Hitchcock's 3 -D thriller, Dial M for Murder is scheduled for viewing, along with William Castle's The Tingler (in Percepto!) and John Waters' Polyester (in Odorama!). Multi-screen presentations of video artist Daniel Reeves' Try to Live to See This, Andy Warhol's Outer and Inner Space, and performances by New York-based new-media artists Kevin and Jen McCoy and Zoe Beloff highlight the Festival's wide array of media experiences.
Then, for two days, the Festival will explore "Liberating Technology: Terminators and Culture Jammers," featuring critical views of technology from Modern Times to Dr. Strangelove to Terminator 2. Also highlighted will be the "culture jamming" movement, promoting low-tech, affordable and accessible media production and the appropriation and subversion of mass media imagery. Mark Hosler of Negativland and Craig Baldwin (Sonic Outlaws) are among the "culture jammers" coming to the Festival.
Discussions, formal and informal, will feature filmmakers, directors, scholars, stars, screenwriters and composers-in all more than fifty speakers — who will focus for four days on the new developments in CGI, online gaming, Web art, broadband entertainment and all their historic precedents in early cinema.
At the time of this writing, demonstrations and exhibits will include:
- A virtual roller coaster called the Maxflight Simulator in the Regal Cinema lobby, along with displays of "IFC Broadband" independent films and online games by Kesmai
- Stereoscopic photography by Boris Starosta and Lynne Butler at Dream's Light Gallery
- Media installations by Daniel Reeves throughout Charlottesville and at the Bayly Art Museum
- "Contact Zones" exhibit of 70 artists' CD-ROMs at the Robertson Media Center
- A demonstration of physical special effects by Walter Suarez of Park Avenue Armourers
- "Jam It!," an exhibit of low-tech editing tools in the Downtown Art Space, and more.
Last year's Festival explored the idea of "cool" in film and was a sold-out success with over 10,600 viewers, 73 speakers and 66 films. Actor Rip Torn, director Arthur Penn and critic Roger Ebert participated. Legends from the Beat generation showed their work to packed houses as film, music and poetry combined. The Festival was widely covered by a wide range of media outlets from the U.S. and abroad.
Check the festival website www.vafilm.com or phone the office at 1-800-UVA-FEST or 804-982-5277 for the latest schedule of events and locations and ticket information.
