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Wet Weather Fails to Dampen Enthusiasm for da Vinci Film Festival
CORVALLIS, ORE., April 24, 2008 — Neither snow, nor rain, nor hail, nor gloom of unseasonably chilly nights could spoil the spring debut of the da Vinci Film Festival.
Previously held in conjunction with da Vinci Days in July, the 9th annual film fest drew more than 400 cold and soggy filmgoers to LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University campus and to the Darkside Cinema in downtown Corvallis. “While there were fewer attendees than we planned for, those who braved the harsh spring weather had a great time,” said da Vinci Days Executive Director Brenda VanDevelder. “From a financial perspective, this was a good first year as an independent event, and it laid the foundation for next year's festival.” The hardy crowd was rewarded with a diverse lineup of short and feature-length films in a variety of genres. Lizz-Ayn Shaarawi, da Vinci Film Festival’s programming director, said several documentary films received particular praise from attendees, including Gary Mortensen’s “This is War: Memories from Iraq,” Khashyar Darvich’s “Dalai Lama Renaissance,” and Jeremy Monroe’s “RiverWebs.” Other highlights included “Certain Green,” a drama based on an essay by OSU professor Marjorie Sandor, and the animation films “A Jazz Sketchbook” and “The Popcorn of Doom.” “Attendees commented that the films were entertaining, well-executed, and amazingly diverse,” Shaarawi said. British filmmaker Alex Cox opened the festival Friday evening with a keynote speech that provided an insider’s view of independent film. Cox spoke about the filmmaking industry and the rapid changes that have resulted from technological advances and the new ways that audiences are connecting to film. This year’s festival also featured filmmaker workshops, a “Meet the Filmmaker” panel presentation, and the Fast Film Project that challenges teams or individuals to write, shoot, and edit a short film in 48 hours. This year’s only Fast Film Project entry was “Invisible Citizens,” a documentary about Corvallis’ homeless community from the perspective of a 10-year-old. The festival attracted several filmmakers from outside the region, including young Drew Morton Goldsmith. Drew, who is autistic, flew from Wisconsin to attend his first film festival and to participate in the panel presentation. His film “Treasure Diversity” made an appeal for tolerance and understanding of autism. After hearing lots of good reviews from this year’s attendees, VanDevelder is already looking forward to next year’s event, which will take place in April 2009. “The commitment of our volunteers is beyond belief, and we have tremendous momentum heading into next year's film festival,” VanDevelder said. “We heard from many attendees that the move from the summer da Vinci Days was a welcome change, and we’re confident that the event will continue to evolve into something really special for Corvallis. My hope is that everyone interested in supporting the concept of a growing film festival event for Corvallis will get in on the planning now and share their talents and resources to make this another signature Corvallis event.” Those who would like to know more about volunteer opportunities can contact da Vinci Days at 757-6363. The following films received top honors at the da Vinci Film Festival. A selection of these films will be screened this summer during da Vinci Days, which runs July 18-20. The schedule will be announced later this spring. Category Winners (Cash Prize Awarded) Best Feature Film “The Flyboys,” Rocco DeVilliers Best Short Film “Operation Fish,” (animation), Jeff Riley Best Film by a Young Filmmaker “The Confession,” Cameron Abdo Avid Award for Best Editing “Pivot,” (drama), Julius Ramsay Spirit of da Vinci Award “Alternate Endings,” Greg Townsend Best Documentary To be announced Genre Winners (Judges’ Picks / No Cash Prize) Comedy “Red Yellow Blue,” Changhee Chun Drama “Pivot,” Julius Ramsay Experimental “Agneszska 2039,” Martin Gauvreau Animation “Operation Fish,” Jeff Riley About da Vinci Days da Vinci Days is the country's longest-running festival of its kind. Operating as a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization and with help from more than 150 community partners and 1,000 volunteers, da Vinci Days showcases innovative artists, engineers, teachers, community organizations, and individuals. The 20th annual summer festival takes place July 18-20, 2008. On the Web: www.davinci-days.org Welcome to the da Vinci Film Festival
One hundred years ago, filmmaking was very much in its infancy. The emerging art form was often surprisingly innovative, but filmmakers and early audiences alike were coming to terms with what was essentially a whole new visual language, still clumsy and rudimentary, but adding new words and phrases to the visual dictionary with each new film. Film viewing, too, was in its infancy. Though many audiences had moved beyond the mere amazement that pictures were moving up there, on the screen, its most likely that a trip to see movies — in a small cramped theater or in a traveling tent show — was still largely a novelty, an interesting diversion of an afternoon. Film viewers were spectators, most likely not expecting to be directly engaged by a movie beyond the surface level of its subject matter. In 2008, filmmaking is in a renaissance period of transformation. The visual language of film, though constantly changing, has been established, and the technology is immeasurably evolved from the tripod bound hand-cranked cameras of yore to the point where all the tools a filmmaker needs can be found in a hand-held high-definition digital camera and a reasonably powerful computer loaded with editing, special effects and music creation software — a movie studio on a desktop! Though filmmakers have always found a way to realize their dreams down through the years, whether shooting 16mm, 8mm, super 8, videotape or other mediums, never before has such a complete suite of tools been placed at their disposal. Creating a theater quality film, capable of being presented on a big screen, has never been so easily within the reach of emerging filmmakers. But perhaps of greater importance in the new renaissance, is the gradual emergence of new forms of distribution. In the 1970s, as corporate chains slowly began to take over and independent theaters, movie houses and drive-ins began to disappear, it became harder and harder for filmmakers to find an outlet for their work. The term “direct to video” became a mark of derision and scorn, but with film prints costing thousands of dollars each to produce, and no screens available, there was little financial incentive to filmmakers to aim for a theatrical release. But today, technology is building new distribution opportunities. Cable and satellite TV offers hundreds of channels all needing content, films are being streamed over the internet on demand, and some independent theaters, such as Corvallis’ Darkside Cinema, have been adding the capability of playing DVDs on the big screen, thus removing the expensive film print barrier to distribution. This same technology is also being used by the filmmakers themselves to bypass normal distribution channels and market their work directly to the public, and as audiences become more sophisticated, they are coming to understand that some very good filmmaking never makes it to the theater chains. The “direct to DVD” label is losing its stigma. That audience understanding is key as well. Audiences are another part of the new renaissance. Now throughly literate in the language, they are no longer content to be spectators. They want to be part of the conversation, and at the da Vinci Film Festival, and at film festivals around the country they are showing up in increasing numbers, eager to discover hidden treasure, hear new voices, be the first to spot new films and filmmakers on the cinematic horizon. Like our renaissance namesake, the da Vinci Film Festival shares this spirit of looking toward the new, seeing things with fresh eyes, and we applaud the work and creativity of the filmmakers we are presenting equally with festival attendees whose openness and readiness to embrace new ideas assures that cinema continues to evolve into its next hundred years. 2008 Filmmaker Workshops
Registration Form: Workshop 1: Secrets of the Film Audition: A Workshop for Actors & Directors When: Saturday, April 19: 9:00 am-12 Noon Enrollment Limit: 20 Experience Level: filmmakers at all levels Instructor: Stan Freitag Fee: $10 This interactive (and active) workshop is targeted at both actors and directors. Prospective film actors will get out of their seats to learn the essentials of doing an audition, how to do a "cold read" of an unfamiliar screenplay, and how to inject energy and improvisation into a reading. Directors will learn what to look for in casting roles and how to get the actors to fulfill the director's "vision." This workshop will be very participatory. Stan Freitag is a native Oregonian with a Master's Degree in Acting and Directing. Stan has dramatic and film acting and writing experience in Los Angeles, and his theater experience as director and producer, as well as his work in art direction and storyboarding for independent films, led him to co-found his own multi-media production company, What If Productions. Workshop 2: Screenwriting: Character Development When: Saturday, April 19: 9:00 am-12 Noon Enrollment Limit: 25 Experience Level: filmmakers at all levels Instructor: Linda Hamner Fee: $10 Utilizing film clips and interactive class exercises, this workshop will explore techniques to create fully-dimensional, memorable characters. Linda Hamner is a writer, script consultant, and instructor. Ms. Hamner received an Emmy and Writers Guild Award for television writing for the soap opera "Santa Barbara." She currently teaches screenwriting classes at LBCC's Benton Center.
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