Schedule
Friday Feb. 27 2004

7:00pm Screening
9:00pm
Screening

Saturday Feb. 28
12:00 - 5:00pm workshops
7:00pm Screening
9:00pm
Screening



Sunday Feb. 29
12:00 - 5:00pm workshops
5:15pm Screening Discussion Session



The Ms. Films Festival is made possible in part by a facility grant from the Durham Arts Council.
Tickets
$15 : full festival pass
includes all workshops and screenings
and the DIY Guide to Filmmaking

$8 : screening pass (any two screenings)/
$6 : single workshop or screening

Workshop and Panel Sessions Schedule


Day/Time

Workshop

Presented By Room

Saturday

     
12:00-1:30pm DocuFemmes Women of the Southern Documentary Fund

Adaron

12:00-1:30pm Cameraless Filmmaking Pat Doyen GTE Fiber Arts
1:45-3:15pm Works in Progress Joanne Hershfield Adaron
1:45-3:15pm Toning Workshop Pat Doyen GTE Fiber Arts
3:30-5:00pm Sound Technique Suzanne Harris Adaron
3:30-5:00pm Animation Nayeli Garci-Crespo GTE Fiber Arts

Sunday

     
12:00-1:30pm Super 8 Jen Ashlock

Adaron

1:45-3:15pm Life of an Independent Animator Francesca Talenti Adaron
1:45-3:15pm Intro to Lighting Technique Heidi Mehltretter Duke Power
3:30-5:00pm Animation Nayeli Garci-Crespo Adaron
3:30-5:00pm Lighting Technique II Heidi Mehltretter Duke Power
5:15-6:00pm Screening Discussion Filmmakers & Audience Members Adaron

SATURDAY WORKSHOPS


DocuFemmes 12:00-1:30pm

Presented by the Southern Documentary Fund : New this year!

Rebecca Cerese

Alice Elliott

Cynthia Hill

Amy Morrison Williams

Dawn Dreyer, moderator

Four women, four feature-length documentary filmmakers, four vastly different subjects and styles, with numerous awards (including an Academy Award nomination) and festival screenings between them. Do documentaries made by women constitute their own genre? How did each of these women get their start, and how do they make their artistic and social visions come to life? What do they think is most important for women filmmakers (or any filmmaker) to know about the process of documentary filmmaking? We'll view samples of each filmmaker's work, followed by a lively and informative conversation and time for dialogue with the audience.

 

Cynthia Hill is a filmmaker who's works include the feature-length documentary, Tobacco Money Feeds My Family as well as various works centered on documenting southern life and culture.

Dawn Dreyer is the Learning Outreach Director at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, director of the Documentary Film and Video Happening, and is board president of the Southern Documentary Fund.

Rebecca Cerese works at Video Dialog, Inc., working on videos to document educational reform initiatives in inner city areas, through programs such as GEAR UP and Project GRAD. Her film February One has been screened at many film festivals, and was awarded the Human Rights Award at the River Run Film Festival, Winston-Salem, and received the first annual Global Peace Film Festival Award, presented in Orlando, Florida. Her new film is Mobilizing the Poor: Launching the War on Poverty.
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Cameraless Film Workshop with Pat Doyen 12:00pm-1:30pm

Scratching and painting directly on film has a long history and explores those qualities which are unique to the film itself. Participants will learn about the many types of films made without a camera and will then create their own 16mm film using clear and black leader. Techniques include scratching, painting, drawing, tape transfer, collage and stamping.

Pat Doyen is our featured visiting filmmaker for the 2004 festival. Her experimental films have been screened at many film festivals, and she has taught innovative workshops such as these all over the country. More information about Pat and her activities during the festival can be found on her page.

More info on Pat Doyen

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"Works in Progress" with Joanne Hershfield New this year! 1:45-3:15pm

"Works in Progress" is designed as a workshop for film and videomakers who are at the stage of "work in progress." That stage may be conceptual; you may have shot 30 hours of footage and are searching for your film; maybe you've just finished your first rough cut and are still wondering what your film is about. Joanne Hershfield will also share her "work in progress:" The Gillian Film: An Exceptional Daughter's Story, and together, all of the workshop participants will work through the following questions in relation to their works in progress:

1. What is my film about? 2. How do I find the right structure for my film? 3. What is the story I want to tell? 4. Whose voice/voices will tell the story? 5. What kind of visual style will best tell the story?

Workshop participants are encouraged to bring vhs copies of their own works in progress to be screened and discussed during the workshop.

Joanne Hershfield teaches media studies and production at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has been working in film and video for twenty years. Her most recent productions include Women in Japan: Memories of the Past, Dreams for the Future, Nuestra Cominidad: Latinos in North Carolina, and Leading Women.

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Toning Workshop with Pat Doyen 1:45-3:13pm

Hand processing and chemically toning is not merely a method of achieving a different "look" in a film, but an important tool in controlling and manipulating an image which links filmmaking to other art practices. Using chemicals to go beyond the "professional", clean look of lab processing can open up new avenues of expression to a filmmaker. In this workshop we will explore the effect of different chemicals on previously processed film. Techniques include toning, duo-toning, bleaching and more. Participants should wear old clothes as this is a hands-on workshop, and are encouraged to bring their own 16mm black & white footage for experimentation.

More info on Pat Doyen

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Sound Technique with Suzanne Harris 3:30-5:00pm An overview of techniques used to record sound in a variety of mediums.  We will attempt to come up with solutions for a variety of problems that can surface during a production as well as responding to different situations that have been encountered by the participants attending.
Suzanne Harris is co-owner  of the rental house Harris-Chewning. She's worked in various aspects of the business since 1978, working as a recordist, and on documentaries, commercials, dramas. Her workshop at the 2003 Ms. Films was so packed that we are thrilled that she is coming back to offer it again.

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Animation with Nayeli Garci-Crespo 3:30-5:00pm Introduction to traditional animation techniques (hand drawn, stop motion, cut-out).  Learn how to make your own animation using simple tools and a video camera or film camera.  Participants will create a 12 frame praxinoscope strip which will be viewed at the end of the workshop.
Nayeli Garci-Crespo is a PhD student in the Film/Video/Digital Program, and chair of Freewater Productions. She has taught film production courses and workshops at Duke and in the area, and has worked as a freelance editor and a director of production on many films. She was the 2002 recipient of the Hal Kammere Award for Grace. Some of her titles include Grace, Vanishing Point, and Blue Skies.
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**SUNDAY WORKSHOPS**

 

Small movies:  How to make your first super 8 film with Jen Ashlock 12:00-1:30pm
Come find out why super 8 is one the best ways to start your filmmaking adventures.  You'll learn why super 8 is so darned super, where to buy a camera and
film, and what to do with all that junk once you've got it.

Jen Ashlock is a doctoral candidate at UNC Sociology, instructs undergraduates at UNC, has made three short films, and has been the director of the Flicker Film Festival in Chapel Hill for two years. The is the proud recipient of the 2003 Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

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The Life and Times of an Independent Animator: Francesca Talenti Presents Recent Work 1:45-3:15pm

Ranging from highly experimental pieces to children's poetry, Francesca's recent work is based on the idea of fluidity. This idea itself has a range: from the literal fluidity of liquids featured in an animation like "The Planets," to the more metaphoric fluidity necessary to the creative process.

Francesca has made a multitude of short films which have screened internationally. She holds a graduate degree in film production from the University of Southern California, and teaches at the University of North Carlina at Chapel Hill.
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Intro to Lighting Technique with Heidi Mehltretter New this year! 1:45-3:13pm

This workshop will cover the basic film/video production lighting equipment and techniques and will include: types of lighting instruments: spots--lensed and open faced; softlights three-point lighting light metering for key to fill ratio lighting aesthetics--high key/low key diffusion materials

Heidi Mehltretter is a filmmaker and co-founder of Hybrid Films, a non profit organization that supports and promotes the work of indie filmmakers in South Carolina. Mehltretter's company, Snipe Hunt Films, LLC, produces a blend of commercial spots, public service announcements and corporate image pieces. Her recent documentary work includes Carnaval, a documentary (currently in edit) about the history and traditions surrounding the yearly carnaval celebration in the Dominican Republic, and SIGHT, a lyrical narrative film depicting anartist's struggle to reveal the human rights violations she sees in modern day society. Heidi also travels extensively, documenting the lives and work of people in other cultures.

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Animation with Nayeli Garci-Crespo 3:30-5:00pm Introduction to traditional animation techniques (hand drawn, stop motion, cut-out).  Learn how to make your own animation using simple tools and a video camera or film camera.  Participants will create a 12 frame praxinoscope strip which will be viewed at the end of the workshop.
(see bio above)
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Lighting Technique II with Heidi Mehltretter New this year! 3:30-5:00pm

This workshop will cover more advanced film/video production lighting concepts and will include: Color temperature and using gels for color correction and/or effects diffusion materials the use of kickers, eyelights lighting for mobile camerawork--keeping lighting consistent and avoiding shadows in dolly shots etc., mixing light sources shooting at night/creating nighttime effects.

(see bio above)

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Screening Discussion New this year! 5:15-6:00pm

To close the festival on Sunday afternoon we will gather to talk about the film screenings with audience members, filmmakers, volunteers, and workshop presenters. It will give us a chance to talk about what we've been watching and ask questions of the filmmakers in an informal setting. Coffee and donuts will be provided.

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