Words You Can Use: The BAVC BLOG

by Wendy Levy, Director of Creative Programming

As Director of Creative Programming, the focus of my attention is bringing the most promising stories and media makers, new media projects and video archives into the world of BAVC; and creating partnerships and programs that impact the field of public media and independent filmmaking. 2007 was a big year at BAVC, full of opportunities for artists and institutions to explore innovative approaches to new work, and creative solutions to challenges in postproduction and preservation. These programs included: Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, Mediamaker & Mediamaker Advance Awards, and the Womens HD Artist-in-Residence.

Thanks to new funding from MacArthur Foundation, and partnerships with Adobe, MobiTV, & Google, BAVC hosted nine teams of independent producers and public broadcasters in San Francisco at the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies. The experience provided resources for the development of interactive, multiplatform projects based on significant documentary programs. Projects included the PBS series Not In Our Town (Director, Patrice O’Neill), the upcoming POV documentary Calavera Highway (Renee Tajima Pena and Evangeline Griego), and the highly-anticipated CPB and LPB-funded New Muslim Cool (Jennifer Taylor). Other projects included Return (Damani Baker) a beautiful exploration of indigenous healing in Africa; Mind Games (Phillip Daniels), an inventive Canadian doc about the history and culture of video games, Frontrunner, Virginia Williams’ new project (which premiered Monday 1/21 at Slamdance) about women in Afghanistan, Paperback Dreams, an ITVS-sponsored documentary by local producer Alex Beckstead about the closing of independent bookstores; the OPB series America’s History in the Making (Sam Ward), and Unconstitutional by Nonny de la Pena, who, along with Peggy Weil, transformed her award-winning documentary into a vibrant virtual Guantanamo Bay in Second Life. Expert technical and creative mentorship was provided to the production teams – and everyone prototyped an interactive, mobile, social networking or game development project – and pitched it to industry leaders and potential funders at the Adobe theater in SF at the end of the 10-day intensive workshop. Applications for the 2008 Producers Institute are due February 1st!

The BAVC Mediamaker Awards Program recognizes both emerging and experienced independent filmmakers with substantial inkind postproduction and preservation support. In 2007, the Mediamaker and Medamaker Advance projects recognized a slate of talented local filmmakers and significant national media collections:

The two 2007 Mediamaker Advance recipients were Vivian Kleiman of Signifyin’ Works, for the preservation of selected Marlon Riggs works on video, and UCLA/Outfest Legacy Project, for the preservation of at-risk videotapes from the nationally-recognized ONE Archive of LGBT history. They each received $30,000 in inkind preservation and digital media services. Marlon Riggs’ films Ethnic Notions, Black Is/Black Ain’t, and Color Adjustment are three seminal works on African American identity that have tremendous cultural relevance and historical significance, and the ONE’s collection of audiovisual materials includes over 3,000 videos of archival television, and rare interviews with many pioneers of the national gay and lesbian movement.

The Mediamaker Awards are in-kind grants of $8,000 in state-of-the-art post-production services and certified training classes awarded to independent producers each year to help them complete new films and videos. These awards often provide the crucial resources and technical guidance needed to prepare projects for national broadcast on PBS and multiplatform distribution. Mediamaker winners also receive a BAVC-sponsored work-in-progress exhibition. The 2007 winners were: Hrag Yedalian, The People’s Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles R. Garry, John Lightfoot, Obituary: A Caustic Tale, Arne Johnson, Girls Rock!, and Duc Nguyen, Bolinao 52 . The People’s Advocate premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival and has screened internationally, Girls Rock! premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and has screened at numerous prestigious festivals, including Hot Docs. It opens theatrically in March. Bolinao 52 has also screened around the world, in Los Angeles, London, Vietnam, Dallas, New York, and more. It will be broadcast nationally on PBS in 2008. The deadline for the 2008 Mediamaker applications is February 1st!

The goal of the Women’s HD Artist Residency is to facilitate the creation of powerful technology-based art and nurture the next generation of media artists. The Residency provides an extended creative experience for one mid/late career female artist per year, who receives extensive access to the equipment and services needed to complete a new HD project, as well as teaching and mentoring opportunities, and public exhibition.

This year’s artist was Lise Swenson, who created a new original piece called Mr. Gary on the Feedback Show. Mr. Gary is an absurdist comedy about an elderly shut in, her favorite media personality, and her attempt to order her media-saturated universe.
In Holland Cotter’s recent article in the New York Times, he talked about current video art as shaped by a combination of “pop fantasy, ingrained cybersmarts, neo-tribalism, and an angts-free take on contemporary life that marks an attention-deficient Internet culture.” It was as if he had seen Lise’s new piece. He hasn’t, but I have, and it’s gorgeous. It will have a Bay Area premiere at the SF Cinematheque in the Fall of 2008. Check out the set design from local artist Megan Wilson.

2007 was the final year of the Women’s HD Residency Program. Since HD production has become relatively affordable over the last three years, we have decided to open up additional opportunities for independent artists in new media innovation. We will be designing a residency award in 2008 to provide creative and technological mentorship to artists and producers exploring emerging media platforms. Details will be posted later in the year.

2008 is already crazy, in a good way. I’m writing this from Sundance, in a subzero documentary bliss. But that’s next week’s blog. For now, just know that we are planning another kick-ass Producers Institute, another slate of awards for independent filmmakers and national media archives, and a brand new program where local nonprofit organizations can create projects for mobile and interactive media platforms to benefit the communities they serve. Can you kadoink? Can you kadoink for change?