Words You Can Use: The BAVC BLOG

by Dannie Delvos, BAVC Education Recruiter

The second installment of ROHSTOFF [raw material] is almost here and BAVC’s San Francisco office is buzzing with excitement: walls are being painted, artists are working in the labs, the audio suite, the sound booth, and the innovation lab. The new flat screen TV in the lobby is being installed and artwork hung on the walls.

This Thursday, 5/15/08, from 6-8PM six Bay Area artists will present their latest video pieces, all united under the theme “Site Specific.” Rebeca Bollinger and Anthony Discenza teamed up and created a piece using BAVC’s resources over the past few weeks. Their video is also accompanied by a an installation of 22 frames in BAVC’s hallway. Visitors will be able to get very intimate with this piece, which will be shown in BAVC’s smallest room: the sound booth. (more…)

By Jennifer Olivia, BAVC Office Manager

“Calavera Highway” by Renee Tajima-Peña won the Television Documentary Long Form category at the San Francisco International Film Festival’s Golden Gate Awards this year. “Calavera Highway” tells the story of the Peña brothers return to South Texas with their mother’s ashes. Through the course of their journey the brothers delve into their family’s history and their own identities as first generation Mexican Americans.

Tajima-Peña and “Calavera Highway” came to BAVC as part of the 2007 Producer’s Institute, where the director, along with producer Evangeline Griego, created an interactive timeline and story project that contextualizes the Peñas within Mexican American history. Via email Tajima-Peña told us about her experiences, “One crucial lesson we learned from the BAVC Producer’s Institute is there are new ways to find those hidden constituencies, like the audiences who would connect to the Peña brother’s story. There are ways to bypass the gatekeepers and connect to people directly. When we were screening at SFIFF we met people who had grown up in the central valley as farm worker kids, who had experienced fathers and family disappearing across the border. When you talk to documentary filmmakers, those are the kinds of screening moments they remember.” (more…)

by Robert Collins, Manager, BUMP Records

Our third day in NYC allowed us to recharge….a little. We didn’t have any screenings or performances scheduled, but we did have a little networking to do. Two of the “Going on 13” funders, Chicken & Egg Pictures and Working Films, held a reception for 3 films they produced that were part of the festival. The whole crew attended and got a chance to rub elbows with some big wigs. After dinner I had to make sure I kept my promise to Ryah to take her to Times Square. Lets just say she was on top of the world!

On the fourth day, we found ourselves back in the mix. We had a short screening and performance on the agenda. We were scheduled to visit the Lower East Side Girls Club(a very cool place BTW) and have Ryah participate in their weekly performance workshop with local female musicians. The LESGC also had a private screening of the movie trailer and film shorts that were produced by the some of the young ladies in the film.

The LESGC is an awesome space where the girls learn entrepreneurship by running a cafe, can work in a multi-media lab, and learn about environmental awareness and leadership. Ryah was asked to participate in a workshop where the girls would ask questions about her performance experience and background as an artist. Ryah was joined by Eagle Nebula and Erika Rose, both of whom are well regarded independent artists. Once the talk ended it was time to ‘Rock the Mic’ as they say. As the opening artist I wasn’t sure if Ryah was nervous about her first “show” in New York City. But, like the consummate professional that she is, she stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park.

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by Robert Collins, Manager, BUMP Records

Our second day in NYC was all about business. We had to put the sampler CD’s together. We had to prepare for the sound check. We had to shake off the jetlag. And, most importantly we had to get ready for the World Premiere Screening of “GOING ON 13.”

We met up at the production office and began the assembly line for the Bay Area Video Coalition/Vaquera Films Sampler CD’s. I was really pleased with how these turned out. Thanks to my BAVC Photoshop class was I able to design the cover for the CD(my first). As the ladies in the group got beautified we found out that Ryah’s performance at the 1st screening wasn’t going to happened as originally planned. Like a champ Ryah brushed it off. We thought about just going “Guerrilla Style” by grabbing a mic and taking over the Q&A accompanied by some beat-boxing by yours truly. We kept it professional though.

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by Robert Collins, Manager of BUMP Records

Arriving in New York City always seems to give me goosebumps. Having been there, to many times to count, I never really know why I get so excited. Is it the anticipation of how much fun I’m GOING to have? Is it the natural energy of the city? Or, is it just my own nerves getting the best of me. Who knows, and who cares. I love New York.

I was especially excited to go on this trip because I was going to have a chance to take one of my youth(Ryah Nikole) with me. Our trip was centered around the much heralded Tribeca Film Festival. Ryah wrote, produced and performed a song for a film called “Going on 13” which was being screened at the festival and they asked Ryah to perform. I would argue that it’s one of the top 5 film festivals in the US. So, the opportunity to not only attend, but also have a chance to perform is major.

The group stayed in a really cool apartment in the lower east side not far from Soho. After arriving at the crash pad the young ladies in the group had one thing on their minds……”SHOPPING.” I won’t get in the nasty details but lets just say that Canal Street received a real dose of Bay Area swap meet negotiating skills ;).

The director/producers(Dawn & Kristy who are awesome BTW) of the film had some friends that were from NYC and hosted a BBQ in my favorite borough(BROOKLYN), so the youth got to experience the New York Subway. It was a day of firsts and it was great to know that we had so much more to experience throughout the week.

More about our trip to come soon . . .

by Alicia Schmidt, Marketing Strategist

Jennifer joins BAVC after spending the last two years earning her Master’s Degree from San Francisco State University in Women’s Studies with a focus on Performance. Prior to moving to San Francisco, she lived in San Antonio, Texas, where she attended the University of Texas. Wanting to take a break from academia, we’re thrilled that Jenn has decided to get her hands non-profit “dirty” here at BAVC. As the new Office Manager, she will be responsible for making all our office systems hum including facility and supply management, some human resource management, and a little bit of accounting thrown in for good measure. (more…)