FROM http://filmstreams.org/filmstreams_calendar.aspx?SeriesID=48

LOCAL FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE
Friday, August 6 - Thursday, August 12, 2010

Join us opening night (Friday, August 6, 7:30pm) for a premiere screening and party with the filmmakers!

We take pride in showing films from around the world and throughout the history of film, but there’s always something to be said for the here and now. Led by an independent jury of local artists and film enthusiasts, our first Local Filmmakers Showcase celebrates the fantastic work being done throughout our region. It’s worth noting: This is not a festival. Rather, all 14 films will be presented together in a single, 120-minute program showing daily August 6 – 12.

Film Streams’ First Local Filmmakers Showcase is curated by jurors Sara Adkisson Joyner, Jody and Roger duRand, Mark Hoeger, Peggy Jones, Maggie and Bob Mundy, and Derek Pressnall.

CLICK HERE FOR SHOWTIMES AND ADVANCE TICKETS

Due to some language and adult themes, the Showcase is recommended for mature audiences.

THE PROGRAM (14 films, 120 mins):

Hump
Directed by Lindsay Trapnell.

HUMP was shot in a single warm, sunny day in L.A. It was a group effort, and a lot of fun to make. No one was harmed during the process, though the filmmaker’s arms were a bit sore. Somewhat surprisingly, only one concerned person stopped to ask if everything was all right.

About the filmmaker: Lindsay Trapnell enjoys making short films, documentaries and music videos and hopes to gradually expand into longer film forms, even though she thinks most movies are too long. She is currently in pre-production on a short titled “Seafarer” that will be shooting in Omaha in September. To find out more about the film or to donate to the production, go to www.seafarerfilm.com. Lindsay also teaches in the Visual Arts department at Metropolitan Community College and writes freelance for publications including Venus Zine.

Sync or Swim
Directed by The Animutts: Rebecca Hermann, Peggy Reinecke, Tom Sain.

SYNC OR SWIM is a hybrid of stop-motion and digital animation that tells the visual story of what croakers dream about, and how dreams can influence actions in real life.

About the filmmakers: Rebecca Hermann works as a visual artist in Omaha, Nebraska. Her vibrant and highly textured paintings are widely collected and she shows her pieces nationally. A full-time instructor in Electronic Imaging & Media Arts at Metropolitan Community College, Becky helps students wrestle their animation projects into reality. Tom Sain directs creative energy at Envoy Inc, a marketing agency located in Omaha. An artist, designer and sound sculptor, Tom plays with sound and music loops when not juggling digital and traditional-media visuals. Peggy Reinecke tells stories, sometimes visually, to anyone willing to listen or see. A Nebraska Arts Council roster artist, Peg often finds herself surrounded by children and awash in their creativity. She hopes that when she grows up she will be just like them.

Valentine, Nebraska
Directed by Patrick Geske.

VALENTINE, NEBRASKA is a character study of a girl living in a small town.

About the filmmaker: Patrick Geske has lived in Omaha for seven years. He continues to work on shorts, music videos, and short documentaries.

One Good Turn
Directed by Ryle Smith.

A dark, slightly comic, and mysterious film demanding the audience’s attention.

About the filmmaker: Ryle Smith’s background is in fine art (painting, drawing, printmaking, etc.) and theater (writing, directing, acting). His cinematic inspirations include Georges Melies, Orson Welles, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, John Huston, Ingmar Bergman, The Ealing Studio films, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Hal Ashby, Arthur Penn, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Jean Cocteau, Steven Soderbergh, Wes Anderson, and The Coen Brothers.

Paperdolls
Directed by Allison Smoler.

The film PAPERDOLLS was created in hopes to portray the concept of clothing being an aspect of identity. This short film was done in conjunction with two other pieces shown at the Muddum Art Space, Prague.

About the filmmaker: Allison Smoler was born in Omaha, Nebraska and studies Psychology and Studio Art at the University of Colorado in Boulder. While studying abroad in Prague, she has been documenting her experiences and travels through various forms of art. Fascinated by the combination of reality and imagination, Allison started to create short stop motion animation films inspired by childhood fascinations.

Fantasia in Clay
Directed by Kelly Rush & Brian Seifferlein (NET).

The potter’s wheel is traditionally used to create functional pieces, but in Gerit Grimm’s artful work horses, fish, and humans come alive with the turning of the wheel. FANTASIA IN CLAY is edited beautifully to capture Gerit’s talent and sparkle. The film was produced for the NET Television program Nebraska Stories and has been viewed all over the world via NET’s YouTube channel and its network web page.

About the filmmakers: Producer Kelly Rush has been part of NET Television for over 25 years, working in many aspects of production, including as a television camera operator, production assistant for many local and national documentaries, and now as promotion producer. Outside of work Kelly is also a ceramic artist and sells her work nationally. Brian Seifferlein is an Emmy Award-winning NET Television videographer/editor, who has traveled extensively to document diverse people and places in Nebraska, Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New Zealand, and Antarctica. His productions include NOVA: Secrets Beneath The Ice, Beef State, The Price of Water, Solomon Butcher: Frontier Photographer, Ted Kooser’s Poetic World, and Mind Over Murder. NET Television is Nebraska’s statewide public television network.

The Bedroom Wall
Directed by Tony Costello.

THE BEDROOM WALL is a movie about a couple as they lie down in bed before falling asleep. The idea was born from a hope to distill the cinema, to make a movie that speaks a language all its own and uniquely to each individual. Music by Matt Greguska.

About the filmmaker: Tony Costello was born and raised in Omaha. He studied Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Film, Video & New Media at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is currently studying for an MFA in Film & Media Production at the University of Texas at Austin.

Pioneers
Directed by Charles Fairbanks.

A portrait of industrial agriculture and new-age spirituality, focusing on the artist's parents, PIONEERS is also an unwitting self-portrait of a director returning to the place he grew up (Lexington, Nebraska), where he feels both the comforts of home and the alienating weight of the past.

Wrestling with My Father
Directed by Charles Fairbanks.

My father was a wrestler before me. You never stop being a wrestler. "Remarkable in just how much you can achieve in a short time and on the lowest of budgets, WRESTLING WITH MY FATHER simply depicts Fairbanks' dad in the audience of a wrestling match (apparently with the filmmaker as one of the wrestlers). Within this extraordinarily simple set-up are whole worlds of humour, pathos and intrigue." (Montreal Mirror)

About the filmmaker: Charles Fairbanks is a wrestler and filmmaker. His recent work focuses on pro wrestling in Mexico, where the artist fought as the One-Eyed Cat with a camera built into his mask. Fairbanks grew up in rural Nebraska until a wrestling scholarship took him to Stanford, where he studied Art and the History of Science. In 2010 he received his MFA from the University of Michigan, was selected by Werner Herzog to take part in the first Rogue Film School, and was awarded a Flaherty Seminar Fellowship. He is currently in Mexico, wrestling and filming his way to his first feature.

Recalling Trinity
Directed by Tim Guthrie.

Shortly before the end of WWII, on July 16, 1945, at a secret site near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the first nuclear bomb, nicknamed "Trinity", was detonated with an explosive power around 20 kilotons. Years after the Trinity Test, J. Robert Oppenheimer recalled that moment.

About the filmmaker: Tim Guthrie is a visual artist and experimental filmmaker whose work is in collections throughout the country. He has had solo exhibitions at numerous museums and galleries and has been awarded numerous artist residencies worldwide. His work has received top awards in exhibitions, including purchase awards at the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art and international awards at "Conflicts: The Cult of War and the Culture of Peace - AniMOweb" (Modena, Italy) for the short film RECALLING TRINITY, which was also featured in the Hiroshima Animation Festival and the 5th Annual Athens International Animation Festival. Tim was awarded Best New Media Artist by the Omaha Arts and Entertainment Awards in 2008 and Individual Artist Fellowships (Nebraska Arts Council) in 2008, 2007, and 2006.

Vanity No. 1
Directed by Joshua France.

VANITY NO. 1 is the first of a suite of shorts concerned with the exploration of those aspects of human nature which are always ripe for satire. There will be many more to come. Some will be funny and others not so much. All of them will contribute to what the natives will call Nebraska New-Wave Cinema.

About the filmmaker: Joshua France is a Nebraska native who grew up in the South of Omaha.

Illusions
Directed by Jorge Gomez.

ILLUSIONS is about an outkast who isn't welcomed back, and needs divine intervention to try and seek redemption before it’s too late.

About the filmmaker: An Omaha native, Jorge Gomez’s biggest influences come through real stories, real people, and contemporary Mexican cinema.

Azure Ray - We are Mice
Directed by Nik Fackler.

A period piece music video created for the album Hold on Love by Saddle Creek recording artists Azure Ray (Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink).

About the filmmaker: Nik Fackler began writing and directing short films during high school in Omaha, Nebraska. His work as a painter and filmmaker was quickly noticed by members of Omaha’s music scene, and before long he began directing music videos of many high-profile local acts. LOVELY, STILL (featuring Ellen Burstyn and Martin Landau) is his feature-directing debut. When not working in film he plays occasionally in many local Omaha bands including The Family Radio, Coyote Bones and Flowers Forever.

F Word Pizza
Directed by Max Mentzer.

Greg, a young man who has never had an opinion of his own before, asks his conspiracy theorist ex-brother-in-law to come teach him how.

About the filmmaker: Originally from Schuyler, Nebraska, Max Mentzer has been writing and performing comedy for as long as he can remember. Early on, he was inspired by Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, and Saturday Night Live. Later, it was Mr. Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He previously wrote and directed a comedy short called "Rock Salad" and recently produced a pilot for a local sketch comedy show called "Just Trust Us". He graduated from Wayne State College in 2006 and currently lives in Omaha with his wife Jen.