Inaugural Zeitgeist Media Festival 2011
Brings Socially Conscious Art

To The Music Box in Hollywood
Sunday, September 11, 2011


With Additional Global Events: 9/9/11 to 9/11/11

LOS ANGELES, CA – August 25, 2011 – The inaugural Zeitgeist Media Festival (ZMF), uniting the world through socially conscious art, happens in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at The Music Box in Hollywood… and around the world on the same weekend!  The not-for-profit festival features music, visual and interactive art, poetry, comedy, and theatrics including a concert featuring forward-thinking artistic powerhouses such as world musician Natacha Atlas, El Willy & the Wolves with special guest guitar legend Billy Gibbons, violin virtuoso Lili Haydn, Ben Stewart’s Hierosonic, and the social comedy of Rick Overton (MC) and Lee Camp.  The Zeitgeist Media Festival runs from 2:00pm to 10:00pm and is an all ages event.  In addition to $40.00 per ticket, attendees must also contribute a small canned/sealed food donation to gain entrance. The Music Box is located at 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028. For more information on the venue, please call 323-464-0808 or visit http://www.themusicbox.la.  For online tickets, please visit http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/venueSearch.jsp?venue_id=8104. This is a Non-Profit/At Cost Event, where the ticket price reflects the expenditure of the event itself.  For additional information on the Zeitgeist Media Festival, please see http://zeitgeistmediafestival.org.

ZMF is a global, multimedia event working to utilize the Arts as an avenue to create sustainable values in the pursuit of a better world. The event features a magical 3,000 square foot rooftop “living garden” environment, which will house fine art, video projections, and more music with the help of LA’s Dream Circus Theatre. Notable artists with work in the rooftop garden include Banksy and Mear One. Interpretative live painter Norton Wisdom will also perform in the rooftop garden.  ZMF will also host a regional food drive, in partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, to provide relief to the growing number of people struggling with poverty in LA County. A list of recommended goods can be found here. Several nonprofits will also be on hand at the Los Angeles event with information booths on-site.

From Canada to London to Israel, ZMF expects over 70 parallel events.  In addition to socially conscious art, the global event encourages participants in other regions to also conduct similar, local, resource-based drives for those in need in their respective regions.  The global events are being updated on the ZMF website as they are finalized. A short list can be found near the bottom of this page.  If you wish to follow the global events’ progress on Facebook, please see: 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Zeitgeist-Media-Festival/194115850637429. The Facebook page for the ZMF LA event is at: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229754137068117.



LA Performers –
Los Angeles ZMF performers include:

- Rick Overton (MC) – social comedy – site
- Lee Camp – social comedy – site
- Natacha Atlas – world musician – site
- El Willy & the Wolves with special guest Billy Gibbons – site
- Lili Haydn – violin virtuoso – site
- Dream Circus Theatre – rooftop atmosphere and performance – site
- Hierosonic- filmmaker Ben Stewart’s hybrid rock project – site
- Peter Joseph – multimedia, performing “Zeitgeist: Requiem for One” – site
- Norton Wisdom – live visual art – site
- Charles Fleischer – comedy – site
- Garret John LoPorto – “The Wayseer Manifesto” – site
- The Lions – dub reggae musical group – site
- Master Zero – theatrical – site
- The Lost Children of Babylon - “The Protectors of Spiritual Hip Hop” – site
- Heather Donavon – singer-songwriter – site

Performer bios and descriptions of participating organizations are summarized below.

Webcast –
The entire ZMF LA main event will be webcast live for free at http://www.stickam.com (details TBD).

Peter Joseph, the creator of the Zeitgeist Film Series and founder of the “Zeitgeist Movement” who helms the festival, explains, “Since antiquity, the Arts have been a powerful catalyst in the development of the ‘zeitgeist’ of the time. From the awe-inspiring aesthetics of religious art and music throughout the ages to the Renaissance and the dawn of the Age of Reason, the Arts have given way to powerful awareness, often opening the doors for social and cultural evolution. The Arts have continually challenged common beliefs in order to initiate progress. It is no wonder that many of the greatest thinkers and scientists in history have given tremendous credence to its power and utility.”

The Zeitgeist Film Series –
The award-winning, controversial Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007) obtained over 100,000,000 views during its first year online.  In 2008, the sequel, Zeitgeist: Addendum, premiered at the Artivist Film Festival in Hollywood, CA.  As with its predecessor, the award-winning Addendum was a huge viral internet phenomenon obtaining over 50,000,000 views within its first year.

In January 2011, over 300 independent groups around the world hosted theatrical screenings of the third installment, Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, in 30 languages across 60 countries.  The headcount for the global premiere was over 50,000 in attendance.  Zeitgeist: Moving Forward may be the widest nonprofit, global theatrical premiere in history with the most languages, countries and locations — ALL with no major distributor but solely on a volunteer and nonprofit basis. This follows on the footsteps of Zeitgeist: The Movie being the most watched documentary in internet history!

The three films have become a cultural film series project, which continue to consider the current “zeitgeist” or “spirit or awareness of the time.”

http://zeitgeistmovie.com
- Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007)
- Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008)
- Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011)

Participating ZMF LA Nonprofit Organization (NPO) Partners:

Los Angeles Regional Food Bank –
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is a nonprofit charitable organization that has been serving the disadvantaged in the Los Angeles community since 1973.   To fulfill the organization’s mission, the Food Bank sources and acquires food and other products to distribute to needy people through charitable agencies or directly through programs.  The Food Bank energizes the community to get involved and support hunger relief.  The organization conducts hunger education and awareness campaigns.  And it also advocates for public policies that alleviate hunger.  The goal is for no one to go hungry in Los Angeles County.  The Food Bank is at the heart of a charitable food distribution network that includes over 1,000 charitable agency sites throughout Los Angeles County.  The organization partners with Feeding America, the nation’s largest non-governmental, domestic hunger relief organization. As part of this partnership, the Food Bank follows the guidelines put forth by the network and is subject to monitoring. http://www.lafoodbank.com

Inside Out Community Arts –
Through visual arts, performing arts, and media workshops, Inside Out Community Arts promotes healthy interaction among diverse at-risk and underserved Los Angeles middle school and high school youth. Led by both specially trained teams of professional artists and high school age mentors, Inside Out bridges cultural, geographic, socioeconomic, and differently-abled boundaries to support youth in creating and presenting topical theater, art, and media. The organization’s goal is to empower youth with the tools, confidence, and inspiration to make a positive difference in their communities and the world … “from the inside out.” http://www.insideoutca.org

KPFK 90.7 FM –
KPFK 90.7 FM is a member station of the Pacifica Foundation, which consists of five radio stations, over 100 affiliate stations, and the Pacifica Radio Archives, responsible for preserving the voices of artists, activists and progressive journalists since 1949, when the foundation was established by peace activist Lew Hill. To further peace through broadcasting activities, Hill determined that radio sponsored by individual listeners would be the best way to ensure editorial freedom. http://www.kpfk.org

NextAid –
NextAid is a Los Angeles-based humanitarian organization that harnesses the power of music to support sustainable development projects that serve vulnerable children, youth and women in Africa. Through music events and public education initiatives, NextAid provides empowering opportunities for concerned individuals to make a difference. NextAid’s current initiatives benefit youth in Nairobi, Kenya, specifically the Kawangware Vision Centre (KVC).  KVC is a project based in the Kawangware slum of Nairobi, Kenya, run by a community-based youth group, which makes silk-screened gift bags out of recycled paper to sell to local businesses. Recognizing the organization’s potential to make a bigger impact, NextAid has partnered with KVC to build a new “green” workshop and multipurpose facility in order to expand KVC’s operation and serve more youth. On August 12th, International Youth Day, NextAid’s Bids Build Hope Online Auction kicked off featuring over 50 unique items to raise funds for KVC. http://www.nextaid.org

Venice Arts –

Venice Arts’ mission is to ignite youths’ imagination, mentor their creativity, and expand their sense of possibility through high quality, accessible media–based arts education programs. Venice Arts also serves as a catalyst for people of all ages, living in low–income or underrepresented communities, to create and share personal and community stories through photography, film, and multimedia. http://www.venice-arts.org



Additional NPO participants to be confirmed.

Performer Bios:

Rick Overton –
Rick Overton is the son of two musicians — his father was Thelonious Monk’s arranger and a teacher at Julliard, and his mother was in the pop quartet The Chordettes, the girl group famous for the singles “Lollipop” and “Mr. Sandman.”  So, of course, he had no choice but to go into comedy. He has been in over 100 films and countless TV shows (most recently in Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz), but still has time to do his own brand of comedy that combines quick routines with deeper questions, theories, and “quantumplations” about how we all wound up here.  He has an Emmy Award for his writing and just returned from a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  In his over 40 years of getting laughs, he’s been a rabble rousing alternative comic since long before being socially aware was an “alternative.” Comics have always led the way in pointing out naked emperors, never more so than in these last few years. He is a Patriot with a true love for the global experiment of America and its founders, as well as a Matriot with a strong love for planet Earth. He loves Human Kind for, among other things, paying his bills. Though he is not as fond of Human Unkind, who are screwing everything up.  According to Overton, “We’re stuck in a brightly lit Dark Age these days with only one smart door to choose in this game show — a Renaissance beats a Dark Age every time.”  The answer, according to Overton, is in good alpha role models — bold souls to defend us from encroaching malice.

Lee Camp –
Lee Camp is a stand-up comic, actor, activist, and writer.  He provided a catharsis for millions of people when he went live on Fox News and called the network a “parade of propaganda and a festival of ignorance.”  He’s a contributor to The Onion and has performed stand-up comedy at events featuring Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore.  He was recently on Showtime’s series The Green Room with Paul Provenza with Roseanne and Bob Saget.  Called one of the best new faces at the Montreal Comedy Festival, he ran for president on Comedy Central’s Fresh Debate ’08 and he has performed comedic commentary on PBS, E! Network, SpikeTV, MTV, and ABC’s Good Morning America. He is also featured in the bestseller Satiristas! with the likes of George Carlin, Bill Maher, and Stephen Colbert.  He is also popular on the college circuit — hundreds of schools across the country have raved about Camp’s unique and fast-paced comedy. He is a regular contributor to New Dissident Radio and The Jeff Santos Show on Revolution Boston Radio and bears a tattoo on his left forearm, a quote from Howard Zinn, which says, “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can suppress, a power that can transform the world.”

Natacha Atlas –
Anglo-Egyptian singer Natacha Atlas has spent more than a decade fusing electronic beats with North African and Arabic music, finding links between seemingly disparate musical genres, exploring new and different sonic settings, and working with a wealth of like-minded collaborators from across the world along the way. Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabic, hip hop, drum ‘n’ bass, R&B, Hindi pop, French chanson, and reggae. Atlas began her career as part of the world fusion group Transglobal Underground. In 1995, she began to focus on her solo career with the release of Diaspora. She has since released seven solo albums and been a part of numerous collaborations. Atlas’ list of collaborators include artists as varied as singers Sinead O’Connor and Sarah Brightman, the avant-garde classical composer Jocelyn Pook, British Asian visionary Nitin Sawhney, and the multi-instrumentalist and musical director of Ana Hina, Harvey Brough. Her version of “Mon Amie La Rose” became a surprise success in France, reaching 16 on the French Singles Charts in 1999. She is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Conference Against Racism.

El Willy & The Wolves –

El Willy, aka El Willy & The Wolves, is an art derivative drawn from Elwood Francis and Billy F. Gibbons and their infamous alliance within the New City and Williamsburg community of experimental soundscapists.  The communal exchange between the long-standing association of Francis and Gibbons extends into signal and audio bending within a contemporary backbeat driven framework without the exclusion of blues based art forms. To the contrary, the unusual combination is a blend of elements ranging from solid twelve and sixteen bar patterns toward modern surrealist interpretations.  An antagonists’ design termed by observers as “Redneck Tech.”

Lili Haydn –
Before launching her solo career, Lili Haydn established herself as one of the most sought after violinists in Los Angeles playing with the LA Philharmonic, Porno for Pyros, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Victoria Williams, Tom Petty, Robert Plant, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Roger Waters, Funkadelic, and Jimmy Page. In 1994, she formed her own band and started a two-year stint at the Viper Room in West Hollywood.  By 1997, she had a record contract with Atlantic and released her debut album, Lili.  Since that time, she went on to record three additional, critically acclaimed, major label recordings as a solo artist.  Her last CD, Place Between Places, was a favorite on NPR, and Hadyn performed the single “Strawberry Street” on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and HBO’s Californication.  A humanitarian and activist, she performs regularly for various human rights organizations.  In addition to the previously mentioned artists, she has also played with Brandy, Tony! Toni! Tone!, and No Doubt.  George Clinton calls her “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin.”

Dream Circus Theatre –
Dream Circus Theatre (DCT) was involved in the local underground scene in the mid 1990s, the first in the Los Angeles area to merge theatrical performances such as fire dancers, aerialists, performance artists, and art installations in a DJ dance party environment.  DCT is known for their innovative series of event/parties called “I AM” – costume, themed parties, which fuse all the elements mentioned above. DCT has self-produced, created and written over 100 original events and shows. They have worked with numerous organizations and artists over the years including Red Bull, M-Audio, Native Instruments, the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, KCRW, KPFK, KROQ, KLOS, MTV, CNN, FNN, CBS-TV, Rolling Stone Magazine, Details Magazine, Time Magazine (Asia), Bad Boys television show, Magic (Las Vegas), Jane’s Addiction, Snoop Dog, Lollapalooza LLC, Coachella Music Festival, Burning Man, Electric Daisy Carnival, Dance with Films, Qtopia, Vanguard, House of Blues, Lou Malia (former president of Island Records), and PF Changs.

Hierosonic –
Hierosonic, filmmaker Ben Stewart’s hybrid rock project, prides itself on raw, energetic performances both on stage and in the studio. Originally conceived in 2002 out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the band’s career has spanned over 9 years and several hundred performances, solidifying the band as a staple within the realm of underground rock music.  Keeping it fresh, the band redefines its rock music heritage with the musical language of industrial and hip hop. With a healthy dose of thought-provoking lyrics, dirty bass lines, and pop hooks, Hierosonic strives for new sounds with a unique familiarity.  The band is widely known for performances with A-list acts such as A Perfect Circle, Incubus, Jane’s Addiction, 30 Seconds to Mars, Audioslave, Filter, Sick Puppies, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, The Used, Cold, Lacuna Coil, and Halestorm.

Peter Joseph –
Peter Joseph, born in North Carolina to a mailman father and a social worker mother, began his creative interests with music at a young age. He moved to New York to attend a conservatory, only to drop out after an inability to afford the tuition. As the creator of the world famous, award-winning Zeitgeist Film Series and founder of the controversial “Zeitgeist Movement,” which seeks to shift our social system into a more sustainable paradigm, Joseph continues to focus on media-related expressions, including music composition, performance, and film production, each with a focus on affecting society for the better. He has lectured around the world on the topics of social sustainably and has been featured in the New York Times, Russia Today, TedX, and many other outlets.

Norton Wisdom –
Since 1979, interpretive performance painter Norton Wisdom has worked with numerous musical ensembles, spontaneously painting images that capture the essence of the moment. He regularly performs live with bands/musicians onstage, creating art inspired by the music. Working on an illuminated Mylar surface, his imagery emerges, evolves and dissolves throughout the performance. He has worked with members of Jane’s Addiction, The Rolling Stones, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, the Grateful Dead, George Clinton, David Navarro, LTJ Bukem, Lili Haydn, Ivan Neville, and DJ Nobody.  He is also deeply connected to the LA improv jazz scene, and specifically to guitarist Nels Cline.   He contributed his creative efforts to the Winter Olympics 2002 (Salt Lake), the opening of the Bellagio Hotel (Las Vegas), and premiere of Cirque Du Soleil (Las Vegas). Museum and festival projects include Coachella, UC Santa Barbara Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Skirball Museum, Orange County Art Museum, San Diego Museum, WOMAD World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival, Milwaukee Museum Art, and others.

Charles Fleischer –

Comedian Charles Fleischer is best known as the voices of Roger Rabbit, Benny The Cab, Psycho, and Greasy in Disney and Amblin Entertainment’s film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.   Fleischer’s other voice roles include work on The Polar Express and We’re Back! A Dinosaur Story. On-screen roles include Back to the Future Part II and Gridlock’d.   Roles on television include a recurring role on the 1970s hit series Welcome Back, Kotter as Carvelli, and as Chuck on the hit series Laverne & Shirley.  Fleischer’s stand-up routines are known for an intelligent but unusual take on obscure topics. A musician and songwriter as well, he has performed as a guest with the group Blues Traveler.  Fleishcher writes for film and television plus continues to do stand-up.  He also hosts his own weekly web show, Fleischer’s Universe.

Garret John LoPorto –

College dropout turned sonic drug dealer, best-selling author, YouTube sensation, rabble-rouser, troublemaker, and champion for free-thinkers everywhere, LoPorto is raising an army of the world’s misfits, mavericks, visionaries and pioneers – dubbed “Wayseers” - to help bring greater alignment with the mysterious source of genius known as “the Way.” He uses music, video, books, and social media to call this legion of Wayseers to turn on to what they are, tune in to the Way, and drop out of unhelpful institutions, blazing a trail for what the world really needs. He has been written about in The New York Times, Money Magazine, The London Financial Times, and The Boston Globe, and many other national newspapers. LoPorto and his projects have been featured on national television, including CNN and ABC.

The Lions –
Many of The Lions met through the LA rare groove outfit Breakestra and have collaborated on various projects throughout the past 10 years. The LA dub reggae collective came together as the result of an impromptu recording session, which included members of not only Breakestra, but also Connie Price and the Keystones, Rhythm Roots All-Stars, Orgone, Sound Directions, Plant Life, Poetics, and Macy Gray (to name a few).  Their live show is a healthy mix of vocal and dub tracks, balancing classic reggae, soul cuts, and new originals, while incorporating the sounds of Ethiopia, Colombia, and Africa. The Lions have performed at Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Sunset Junction, El Rey Theatre, The Roxy, Belly Up, Slims, and The Echoplex.  They have supported the likes of Antibalas, Fat Freddy’s Drop, The Aggrolites, Bedouin Soundclash, and Ooklah the Moc.  They were also the backing band on two occasions for reggae legends The Heptones. LA radio stations KCRW, KPFK, and KXLU all support the group.

Master-Zero –
Born from the ethers of the universe, Master-Zero is an inter-dimensional being who views the world as we live in it.  A master of zero is a void, nothing. In that emptiness, there is a place to be open to everything. Master-Zero is a question of what is or isn’t, right or wrong, good or bad. A voyeur of the human condition, Master-Zero embraces music as the portal into reality, the key to unlock the door of this dimension. Singing about what is present in the world of now with electronic beats that pulsate rhythm and subsonic bass, Master-Zero gravitates to the electric guitar to awaken the sirens.  Human theatrics play a part in the story through movement of dance and expression.  Artful scenic designs, along with visual images projected as moving light, create the backdrop to set up a voyeuristic live drama where the story remains the question and in that question is the story.

The Lost Children of Babylon –
The Lost Children of Babylon (LCOB), aka “The Protectors of Spiritual Hip Hop,” are a Philadelphia-based conscious hip hop group founded by Rasul Allahu in the mid-1990s. The group is known for their conscious and spiritual style with lyrics influenced by Nuwaubian philosophy, Islam, and The Nation of Gods & Earths.  They first appeared in 1996 on Jedi Mind Tricks’ Amber Probe EP.  Combining underground hip hop with esoteric ideologies and political zeal, LCOB has released four albums. The first three were released through Babygrande Records — The Equidivium: Where Light Was Created, Words From the Duat: The Book of Anubis, and The 911 Report: The Ulitmate Conspiracy. The latest album, Zeitgeist: The Spirit of the Age, was released by Chamber Musik/LCOB Productions in 2010.  They are also affiliated with Killah Priest, Black Market Militia, The Maccabeez, Wu-Tang Killa Beez, and the Sunz of Man.

Heather Donavon –
Hailing from Atlanta, GA, and raised in Dallas, TX, Heather Donavon is a performing songwriter, studio/session singer, and voice over artist.  She has opened for Keb’ Mo’, Fiona Apple, and Tori Amos.  Her voice has been heard in national TV and radio commercials for brands like Toys R’ Us, Coke Zero (Super Bowl), TJ Maxx, MTV, and Hyundai Elantra.  She has independently released two albums on iTunes.  Her first album, Mosaic, is a compilation of soulful jazz and Spanish classics along with intimate interpretations of her favorite songwriters’ material. Donavon’s second album of piano pop driven melodies, Sense of Me, was co-written with Jonathan Hayes and Bonnie Hayes.  The title track, “Sense of Me,” was awarded “Song of the Year” from the West Coast Songwriter’s International Song Competition and “Honorable Mention” from The Billboard Songwriting Competition. She has performed at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX, at Ground Zero in New York City, alongside the San Francisco Glide Ensemble Gospel Choir, and at Agape Church in Los Angeles, CA.

Visual Artist Bios:

Banksy –
Banksy, an internationally known graffiti artist, activist, director, and painter based in England, creates satirical street art and subversive epigrams that combine irreverent dark humor with graffiti using a distinctive stenciling technique. His work gives a voice to the voiceless living in urban environments.  Bansky’s work was born out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. His first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as “the world’s first street art disaster movie,” made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  In January 2011, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film. Banksy has also self-published several books that contain photos of his work in various countries as well as some of his canvas work and exhibitions, accompanied by his own writings.

Mear One –
Mear One, born in Santa Cruz, California, is a Los Angeles-based artist known for his often-political street graffiti art.  He sees himself as a messenger and spiritual warrior using his imagination as a communication device. He is commonly associated with the CBS (Can’t Be Stopped – City Bomb Squad) and WCA (West Coast Artist) crews. As a graphic designer, Mear One designed apparel for Conart, Kaotic, and his own Reform brand. He has done album covers for artists like Limp Bizkit and joined artists Shepard Fairey and Robbie Conal to create a series of anti-war, anti-Bush posters. A well-known street artist and prolific graffiti writer for over 20 years, his partners have included Skate One, Az Rock, Tren, Item, Anger, Yem, and Cisco.

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For more information, images, or to request an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

The Artivist Collective

Celebrate the Artivist Film Festival’s Winning Films And
Award Honoree Kristen Bell
At the Festival’s Closing Night Ceremony
Saturday, August 20, 2011
-
Artivist Film Festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood
Thursday 8/18 – Saturday 8/20

LOS ANGELES, CA – August 16, 2011 – The Artivist Collective presents its 8th annual Artivist Film Festival August 18, 19, 20, 2011 at the historic The Artivist Collective presents its 8th annual Artivist Film Festival August 18, 19, 20, 2011 at the historic Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, California.  This year the closing night awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 20th from 6:00 to 10:00PM.  Highlights include the Artivist Awards given to ten films and Artivist Award Honoree Kristen Bell, known for her film (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Burlesque, etc.) and television work (Heroes, Veronica Mars, etc.), as well as her philanthropy (Alzheimer’s Association, Invisible Children, PETA, SCPA, etc.).  Actress Rachel Bilson will present the award to Bell.  Also on hand will be Master of Ceremonies Dan Nainan and presenters Persia White and Marco Antonio Regil.  The closing night ceremonies are complimentary to the press and public (as is the entire festival) but seats are limited and must be reserved in advance. in the heart of Hollywood, California.  This year the closing night awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 20th from 6:00 to 10:00PM.  Highlights include the Artivist Awards given to ten films and Artivist Award Honoree Kristen Bell, known for her film (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Burlesque, etc.) and television work (Heroes, Veronica Mars, etc.), as well as her philanthropy (Alzheimer’s Association, Invisible Children, PETA, SCPA, etc.).  Actress Rachel Bilson will present the award to Bell.  Also on hand will be Master of Ceremonies Dan Nainan and presenters Persia White and Marco Antonio Regil.  The closing night ceremonies are complimentary to the press and public (as is the entire festival) but seats are limited and must be reserved in advance.  To do so please visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/193484.  The Egyptian Theatre is located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.  To learn more about the festival please visit http://festival.artivist.com.

This year the festival will present a total of 41 independent narrative and documentary films from around the globe over the course of the three-day festival, which kicks off on Thursday, August 18th at 5:00PM.  Seats for many of the screenings can be reserved in advance by visiting http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/69318.  Advance reservations are highly recommended since most, if not all, screenings and events are expected to “sell out.”  To view the At-A-Glance three-day schedule please visit:  http://festival.artivist.com/film-guide/viewing-schedule.html.  To read a synopsis about all festival films please visit:  http://festival.artivist.com/film-guide.html.

During the closing night ceremony ten Artivist Awards will be presented to films that embody the festival’s mission to strengthen the voice of activist artists – Artivists – while raising public awareness for social global causes.  The evening of August 20th begins at 6:00PM with red carpet arrivals.  The awards presentation commences at 7:00PM and an after-party in the Egyptian Theatre’s courtyard gets underway immediately following the Awards Ceremony.

Ten participating films have been chosen to receive a 2011 Artivist Award in these five categories:

• Human Rights:
- Best Feature:  Because We Were Beautiful (Indonesia, Netherlands), Director Frank van Osch
- Best Short:  Umoja: No Men Allowed (Kenya, Australia), Director Elizabeth Tadic

• Children’s Advocacy:
- Best Feature:  Surfing Soweto (South Africa), Director Sara Blecher
- Best Short:  Grace (Philippines, Switzerland), Director Meagan Kelly

• Environmental Preservation:
- Best Feature:  Spoil (Canada, U.S.), Director Trip Jennings
- Best Short:  The Leaves Keep Falling (Vietnam, USA), Director Julie Winokur

• Animal Advocacy:
- Best Feature: Green (Indonesia, France), Director Patrick Rouxel
- Best Short:  Saving Pelican 895 (USA), Director Irene Taylor Brodsky

• Artivist Spirit:
- Best Feature: Love Hate Love (USA), Directors Don Hardy, Dana Nachman
- Best Short:  Crooked Beauty (USA), Director Ken Paul Rosenthal

- To read more about the films and filmmakers honored with these awards please visit:  http://www.artivist.com/festival/media/press-releases/23675-2011-film-awards.html

The Artivist Film Festival and Awards are dedicated to recognizing activist efforts of filmmakers, specifically in the areas of human rights, child advocacy, environmental preservation, and animal welfare.  Each year the festival also honors celebrity advocates.  Past honorees include Peter Fonda, Olivia Wilde, Hank Azaria, Ted Danson, Alyssa Milano, Daryl Hannah, Matthew McConaughey, Joaquin Phoenix, James Cromwell, Mira Sorvino, Tippi Hedren, Mike Farrell and Ed Begley, Jr.

This year, Artivist proudly welcomes back Petrobras as its Official Community Partner.  Since 2004, Petrobras has supported the growth of the international Artivist Film Festival and Artivist Awards.

KPFK (http://www.kpfk.org) reprises their role as a media sponsor this year.

The festival is also sponsored proudly by Kanon Organic Vodka (http://www.kanonvodka.com) and Hansen’s Natural (http://www.hansens.com).

About Petrobras –
Petrobras, a Brazilian energy company, has a 30 year history of distributing ethanol from sugar cane as fuel for vehicles, and is now committed to increasing the production and exports of ethanol.

At its new research center, scientists are looking for ways to produce ethanol from farming byproducts, which can increase production without the need for more farming land.

Petrobras is the largest funder of Cultural Arts Programs in Brazil, and a partner of hundreds of social, animal welfare, and environmental projects, such as the protection of endangered sea turtles, spinners dolphins and the manatee, as well as initiatives on carbon capture, water protection, biodiversity, and climate change.  As the only company in the energy sector that is part of the Global Compact Board of the United Nations, Petrobras commits its corporate governance to the 10 principles set forth by the United Nations.

Understanding the interdependence between humanity, animals, and the environment is crucial in our global community. By working with individuals and groups, organizations and companies, we can create long-term solutions to our global problems (http://www.petrobras.com.br/en).

About Kristen Bell –
Bell, an avowed vegetarian since age 11, has a long history of working with charitable and NGO-related causes. She traveled to Brazil as a volunteer while a student at New York University.  While there, she helped medics deliver two babies during her work in an underprivileged community. During the time she lived in Michigan, Bell fostered animals from Michigan Humane Society, and she now supports the San Diego-based Helen Woodward Animal Center.

She also advocates for Invisible Children, which works to create awareness of the plight of the people of Northern Uganda, the voter education charity Declare Yourself as well as such well known charitable organizations such as PETA, SCPA and the Alzheimer’s Association. She was a member of the 2007 American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet.

“I believe empathy is our most important impulse. Helping others is what makes human beings great. I am just responding where I see my skills can help meet a current need, and I think we have a duty to protect and love one another. 

Artivist embodies these principles and helps bridge the gap between awareness and action,” says Bell.

Internationally known for her work in Veronica Mars and in the films Burlesque (with Cher and Christina Aguilera) and When In Rome (in which she starred opposite Josh Duhamel), she will next be seen starring in the new Showtime series House of Lies, opposite Don Cheadle, premiering in January 2012.  Soon after, she will be seen in Universal Pictures’ film Everybody Loves Whales, opposite Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski, being released on January 13, 2012.  She also recently wrapped filming Movie 43, for the Farrelly Brothers, which is being released on April 13, 2012.  Currently, Bell is filming the feature film Outrun, for director Dax Shepard.

About Rachel Bilson –
Rachel Bilson’s latest production, her CW pilot Hart of Dixie, will premiere on September 26, 2011.  She also recently wrapped the independent film L!fe Happens opposite Kate Bosworth.  Other film credits include starring as the female lead in Waiting for Forever as well as in Jumper for 20th Century Fox Studios, as well as The Last Kiss, with Zach Braff, which was directed by Tony Goldwyn for Paramount.  She also stared opposite Andy Garcia in a film comprised of a series of shorts called New York, I Love You.   Bilson has also appeared twice as a guest star on the hit television series How I Met Your Mother as well as Josh Schwartz’s Chuck.  Other TV credits include The OC (a series regular for four seasons on the Fox Network) and guest-starring roles on That ’70s Show, Mad TV, 8 Simple Rules, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The Artivist Film Festival, Artivist Satellite Festivals, and Awards –
The Artivist Collective (www.artivists.org) presents the only film festival specializing in progressive issues of the environment, social justice and animal rights.  Since its inception in 2003, Artivist Film Festival has screened 400+ films representing more than 60 countries, and has produced film festival tours in Los Angeles, New York, London, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Lisbon, that have reached more than 35 million people.

Earlier this year, Artivist Film Festival launched a nationwide expansion of its programming with simultaneous screenings in six cities in the U.S., beyond its traditional annual programs in Los Angeles and New York. The other cities included Austin, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, Sedona and Washington D.C.

Among the films presented at the Artivist Film Festival over the years have been Academy Award winner Born Into Brothels and Academy Award nominee Super-Size Me as well as the Los Angeles Premiere of critically-acclaimed documentaries God Sleeps In Rwanda, Fast Food Nation, Emmanuelle’s Gift, Zeitgeist, Trudell, Stolen Childhoods, and Regeneration.

The Artivist Film Festival has been publicly endorsed by internationally recognized NGOs such as Amnesty International, Unicef – The United Nations Children’s Fund, HSUS – Humane Society of the United States, Global Green, Greenpeace, by Claes Nobel of the Nobel Prize Family, and by the United Nations Department of Public Information.

For more information, photos, or to arrange an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 and lynn@greengalactic.com.

Dance Camera West

For Immediate Release:  February 3, 2011

Dance Camera West Announces
10th Anniversary Dance Media Film Festival & Conference
Dance Media: An Active Spectrum
Los Angeles – June 16 – 19, 2011

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its annual presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces its 10th Anniversary Dance Media Film Festival & Conference.  This year’s festival, entitled Dance Media: An Active Spectrum, which will also include a conference component, takes place at several venues around Los Angeles from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 19, 2011. In addition to a full program of provocative screenings, this year’s special anniversary event will also include a unique series of educational events, guest speakers, and networking opportunities for the international dance media community.  DCW once again partners with the city’s most prominent venues to offer this year’s screenings, installations, and panel discussions with visiting international artists. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates at www.dancecamerawest.org.

“In celebration of our decade milestone, we have added a full day conference of presenters and panels to our four day festival schedule,” says DCW Executive Director Lynette Kessler, “In addition to educating, inspiring, and empowering artists, our goal this year is to serve as a catalyst for dance media distribution opportunities while, at the same time, create greater access for new audiences.”

Dance Media: An Active Spectrum -
Dance media, or any media for that matter, has evolved beyond the traditional theater-based cinematic experience which requires today’s media makers to create work with a multitude of platforms in mind.  The “active spectrum” of opportunity today includes multi-screen installations, mobile applications, websites, online social networks, and more.  DCW’s special anniversary panel discussion program will, among other things, take a look at transmedia storytelling that offers creators an opportunity to reach fragmented audiences by adapting productions to new modes of presentation.

Poised at the intersection of dance media’s artistic, academic, and commercial pursuits, Dance Camera West is uniquely positioned to facilitate a robust discussion on the blending of art, technology, and commerce.  The anniversary project will provide a necessary forum for facilitating real-time discussions and international networking opportunities for leading artists, local audiences, and emerging practitioners through panel discussions, talkbacks featuring prominent directors and choreographers, multiple programs of experimental international short dance films, installations and documentaries with special guests.

“Dance media is a technological medium,” adds Kessler,  “Whatever hardware is used for viewing  — computer screens, handheld devices, home projectors, etc. — audiences are now in the position to demand when they want to see work, where they want to see it, and what format they want it in.  All those technological options, along with great content, need to be delivered by dance media makers.”

Dance Media -
Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography. The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media. The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematography styles, exhibition formats, and subject matter traversing global perspectives.  The festival includes everything from experimental shorts to documentaries – ranging from surreal visual abstractions to strict narratives.

Dance Camera West’s Tenth Anniversary Highlights-
Dance Media: An Active Spectrum, Dance Camera West’s Tenth Annual Dance Media Film Festival & Conference, opens at The Getty Center with a screening and special guests on Thursday, June 16, 2011. The next day, Friday, June 17, DCW will bring together artists, dancers, educators, and film/television industry professionals for a full day of panel discussions followed by an outdoor screening at a venue TBA. Panels cover the state of the art, distribution, funding, art and commerce, as well as the future of dance media.  DCW will then present two days of screenings and a director’s roundtable at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater on Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19.

“Dance Camera West seeks to ensure that Los Angeles remains an international hub for dance media, inspiring and supporting artists and audiences from all corners of the globe,” says Kessler, “We are bringing together the best in today’s dance media to help commemorate our tenth anniversary.”

Lynette Kessler -
Dance Camera West founder and executive/artistic director Lynette Kessler is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and media artist with an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Dance from York University in Toronto. Known for her innovative collaborations and dance work for the screen that have been shown in film festivals worldwide, Kessler has received numerous awards including a Lester Horton Dance Award, Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship, and an artist residency at Headlands Center for the Arts. She recently made panel presentations at IMZ Dancescreen/Cinedans in Amsterdam and at the Latin American Video Danse Forum in Brazil. She is a founding member of the international Media & Dance Network (MAD), has served on selection committees for EMPAC Commission (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center), American Choreography Awards, Dance on Camera Festival in New York, Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film in Toronto, CHIME (Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange), and is a guest lecturer at UCLA, UC Irvine, and Cal Arts. Kessler sits on the board of directors for the Buckminster Fuller Institute and the California Ear Unit. She is an active member of the advocacy groups: Arts for LA, California Arts Advocates, and Americans for the Arts. And she’s also on the Media Arts Advisory Committee to guide the new Media Arts initiative creating a fifth arts discipline for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Dance Camera West -
Dance Camera West is a nonprofit organization committed to fostering and promoting the vibrant art of dance media from around the world. DCW connects diverse cultures and environments through its exploration of dance on screen, bringing thousands of challenging and provocative films to Los Angeles from around the globe, effectively bridging the gap between the uniquely influential Los Angeles film community and the significant local dance populace. The organization is unique in its artistic purpose, as no other organization in Los Angeles offers audience exposure to such a diverse range of work by international dance companies.  DCW also strives to create a broader and more engaged audience for dance and dance media by merging both performance and cinematic aesthetics. DCW is one of only a handful of organizations in the world that present the thought-provoking adventure of dance media and the only one of its kind on the West Coast.  Known as one of the world’s premiere presenters of dance media, Dance Camera West aspires to awaken and infuse the public mainstream with critical creative programming.  DCW has expanded the audience for dance in Southern California with the presentation of more than 2,000 dance films from 47 countries since its inception in 2002.

Annual DCW dance media events have been extremely well received by local and national media. The Los Angeles Times has twice named the festival “Best of LA.” LA Magazine selected the festival as its “Pick of the Month,” and Angeleno included the festival in its “Top Ten List” in 2010. DCW was also voted one of the “Top 25 Dance Organizations to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2005 and 2006.  FOX News has aired three-minute features on the festival for the past three years, and Moving Pictures Magazine ran a full-page feature article with photos.  Publicity also flows from influential online outlets such as The Huffington Post, which ran a full review of the festival in June 2010, and flavorpill, which selected the festival as its “Hot Tip” of the Week for several years. Additional press coverage is available at: dancecamerawest.org/press_archives.htm

This year’s 2011 Dance Camera West anniversary event is supported in part by Mortimer Levitt Foundation, Metabolic Studio of the Annenberg Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

“Dance Camera West has had a tremendous impact during its first ten years, building audiences not only for dance media but for all dance.  Our ongoing support for artists, both locally and globally, inspires new work to be created, as artists know that Dance Camera West supplies a critically important platform for disseminating this very special art form,” says Kessler summing up the festival’s relevancy.

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For more information, press passes, photos, or to interview DCW’s founder Lynette Kessler, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Banner credits moving from left to right:

Image One
Film Title: For Water
Director: Natalie Metzger
Photographer: Robert Allaire
Choreographer: Natalie Metzger
Dancers: Lisa Long, Anne Moore, Dewi Nurnaeny, Cherise Richards, Helda Yossiana

Image Two
Film Title: Aqua-Booty
Director: Marta Renzi
Dancers: Alethea Pace, Jen Queliz, Jenny Tortorello, Tina Vasquez

Image Three
Film Title: Ecstasy Forbidden
Director: Jonny Silver
Photographer: Marlena von Kazmier
Dancers: Lucy Rupert and Danny Wild
Choreographer: Claudia Moore

Image Four
Film Title: Body of War
Director/Photographer: Isabel Rocamora,
Dancers:  James Hobson and Krysztof Szczenpanski

image from "North Horizon" by Thomas Freundlich and Valterri Raekallio

Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces the programming for its ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010.  Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography.  The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media.  “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematic styles, exhibition formats, and subject matters traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler… For Immediate Release:  April 26, 2010 [revised 05/26/10]

Dance Camera West
Announces Program Schedule For
Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival
Throughout Los Angeles – June 2010
–
REDCAT, Downtown Art Walk, Hammer Museum, Screen Actors Guild,
Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Grand Performances

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces the programming for its ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010.  Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography.  The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media.  “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematic styles, exhibition formats, and subject matters traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler, “The festival includes everything from experimental shorts to documentaries – ranging from surreal visual abstractions to strict narratives.”  Once again DCW partners with the city’s most prominent venues in offering a host of screenings, installations, and panel discussions with visiting international artists. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates at www.dancecamerawest.org.

Dance Camera West’s ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival opens at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) in downtown LA, with its celebrated opening night party on Friday, June 4, 2010.  The opening weekend, entitled “Dance Media Screen Innovations,” will captivate audiences on Friday and Saturday night with three separate programs of screendance short films from around the world.  On Thursday, June 10th look for a DCW media installation as part of the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.  The following weekend DCW will present two days of programming at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theatre – “Weekend at the Hammer” – which will feature iconic Pina Bausch films on Saturday, June 12^th (three West Coast films premieres in two programs: Pina Bausch [2006], and A Breath with Pina Bausch [2004] at 4:30pm and then at 7:00pm Dancing Dreams [2010]), and on Sunday, June 13th experience “SurREEL Moves: Weird & Wonderful Experimental Dance Shorts.”  Join industry insiders at the 4th installment of the Choreography Media Honors on Wednesday June 16th at the Screen Actors Guild for “Choreographers In Media: A Panel Discussion.”  On the evening of June 19th, DCW showcases work from Los Angeles-based creators in its “Local Makers” program with an entertaining outdoor, community event at the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center.  The final weekend wraps up with “Movement Media Installations” on Saturday June 26th, a closing reception in Beverly Hills at Timothy Yarger Fine Arts.  Then on Sunday evening DCW presents Dzi Croquettes, a lively Brazilian documentary at Grand Performances.

Known as one of the world’s premiere presenters of dance media, Dance Camera West aspires to awaken and infuse the public mainstream with critical creative programming.  DCW has expanded the audience for dance in Southern California with the presentation of more than 1,000 dance films from 45 countries since its inception in 2002.  The West African country Burkina Faso was added this year.

“Dance media is pushing art in a new direction as choreographers and directors continue to fuel innovation and impact the way we perceive art and life,” says Kessler.

Dance Camera West founder and executive/artistic director Lynette Kessler is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and media artist with an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Dance from York University in Toronto.  Known for her innovative collaborations and dance work for the screen that have been shown in film festivals worldwide, Kessler has received numerous awards including a Lester Horton Dance Award, Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship, and an artist residency at Headlands Center for the Arts. She is a founding member of Media & Dance Network (MAD), has served on dance film review committees for EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) Commission, American Choreography Awards, Dance on Camera Festival in New York, Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film in Toronto, and is a guest lecturer at UCLA, UC Irvine, and Cal Arts.  Kessler sits on the board of directors for the following organizations: Buckminster Fuller Institute, Dance Channel TV, and the California Ear Unit.  She is an active member of the advocacy groups: Arts for LA, California Arts Advocates, and Americans for the Arts. And she’s also on the Media Arts Advisory Committee to guide the new Media Arts initiative creating a fifth arts discipline for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Dance Camera West is a nonprofit organization committed to fostering and promoting the vibrant art of dance media from around the world.  DCW aims to bridge the unique mix of film and dance communities in Los Angeles through the exploration of this hybrid genre.  DCW also strives to create a broader and more engaged audience for dance and dance media by merging both performance and cinematic aesthetics.  DCW is one of only a handful of organizations in the world that present dance media and the only one of its kind on the West Coast.  The 2008 and 2009 festivals were featured in FOX News segments, Los Angeles Magazine selected Dance Camera West as its “Pick of the Month” for the June 2008 issue, the Los Angeles Times selected the Dance Camera West Media Film Festival as one of the “Ten Best” dance events in Los Angeles for 2006 and 2007, and DCW was voted one of the “Top 25 Dance Organizations to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2005 and 2006.

In addition to the planning of the upcoming June 2010 festival, Dance Camera West is also preparing a special 10-year anniversary event for 2011.  In celebration of this milestone, the organization will host an international Dance Media Symposium in downtown Los Angeles next year, bringing together artists, dancers, educators, and film/television industry professionals.  With a working title of Dance Media: The Active Spectrum, 2011 conference participants from the dance and media worlds will come together for a conversation on the exciting opportunities for expansive growth, creative expression, and innovation offered by new media. In addition to a full program of evening screenings, the 2011 anniversary event will also include a unique series of daytime panel presentations, guest speakers, and networking opportunities. A steering committee for the conference is being formed with notable artists and leaders from the international dance media community.

This year’s 2010 Dance Camera West festival is supported in part by Mortimer Levitt Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, Chora, a project of the Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

See below for DCW’s June 2010 Festival Schedule:

➢    Fri. June 4 [8:00pm] and Sat. June 5 [6:00pm & 8:00pm] at REDCAT [downtown LA]
“Dance Media Screen Innovations” (contains adult content)

Opening night screening and party on Friday followed by two different screening programs on Saturday. In three unique experimental shorts screening programs, held during the first two days of the festival, this collection of innovative dance films represents a survey of what’s happening in the current state of screen dance from around the world, which explores the intersection between movement and cinema.  The “Dance Media Screen Innovations” program includes 24 films – three of which are world premieres, the other 21 are all West Coast premieres and most are U.S. premieres – from 14 different countries including France, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, China, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Belgium, USA, Canada, Ireland and Brazil.  Audiences should be warned that some films contain adult content.
- Fri. June 4 – 8:00pm – Screening followed by Opening Night Reception
- Sat. June 5 – 6:00pm – Screening
- Sat. June 5 – 8:00pm – Screening (all three screenings different)

REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) in Walt Disney Concert Hall complex
631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213 237-2800; www.redcat.org)
- Tickets $15 opening night, $10 for other screenings
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➢    Thu. June 10 [5:00 – 9:00pm] [downtown LA]
DCW Installation at Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk

DCW will take part in the increasingly popular Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk. DCW presents the media installation “Body/Traces,” a commission from EMPAC (Jaffe Foundation Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center), in the basement of the Los Angeles Theater Center (LATC).  The LATC is an historical building, formerly Security National Bank dating from 1916, whose marble walls enclose the Center’s Grand Lobby.  The installation will be in the former vault!

“Body/Traces” by Lisa Parra and Sophie Kahn
“Body/Traces” is a fascinating media installation that examines the body by reducing it to lines through the interaction of three-dimensional media, movement, sound and the environment.  The tranquil piece about perception presents an interesting juxtaposition as it exerts itself within the context of the legendary art walk masses.

The Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour of the many art exhibition venues in Downtown LA.  It takes place on the 2nd Thursday of every month.  It began in September 2004 and has grown enormously since, with many thousands of people attending every month (50,000 in March 2010).  More than 40 galleries and museums participate throughout the central downtown area, within the walkable districts between the Grand Avenue/Disney Hall/MOCA area, Little Tokyo, and the Financial District, centered around Gallery Row on Main and Spring Streets in the Historic Core.

Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk – www.downtownartwalk.org
Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (213-489-0994; http://thelatc.org)
- FREE admission, no reservations required

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➢    Sat. June 12 [7:00pm] and Sun. June 13 [2:00pm & 6:00pm] at the Hammer Museum [Westwood]
“Weekend at the Hammer” – three programs over two days at the Hammer

- Saturday – “Pina Bausch Celebration”
Pina Bausch, a master of transformative theater, surreal stagings and an incomparable brand of neo-expressionist dance, was one of the greatest dance artists of the last 40 years. Join us for a celebration with three West Coast film premieres taking an in-depth look at the work and life of Pina Bausch.  Co-presented by the Goethe Institute.
- Sunday – “SurREEL Moves: Weird & Wonderful Experimental Dance Shorts”

Saturday – 4:30pm -
Pina Bausch (Germany, 2006, 45 min.)
From confused and irritated audiences to standing ovations worldwide, Pina Bausch shares stories of her journey in this documentary starting with forming her company Tanztheather Wuppertal in the early 1970’s to creating over 30 astonishing works. Directed by Anne Linsel.  Co-presented by the Goethe Institute.

A Breath with Pina Bausch (Turkey, 2004, 45 min.)
Award-winning director Huseyin Karabey‘s high-caliber documentary provides unprecedented access into the creative process of one of modern dance’s most compelling minds. A Breath with Pina Bausch was inspired by the city of Istanbul, the cosmopolitan center that the Byzantine, Roman and the Ottoman Empires all called home.

Saturday – 7:00pm -
Dancing Dreams (Germany, 2010, 89 min.)
The documentary centers around a group of high school students rehearsing for a performance of one of Pina Bausch’s signature pieces, “Kontakthof” (Comfort Zone), a stylized presentation of the entanglements of the sexes. Directed by Anne Linsel.  Co-presented by the Goethe Institute.

Sunday – 7:00pm -
“SurREEL Moves: Weird & Wonderful Experimental Dance Shorts” (85 min.)
From poetic to peculiar, this collection of recent award-winning international dance shorts presents both kinetic and immobile bodies in space, defying traditional notions of dance. Sushi, reindeer, and a bright pink wig triumph in this program of smart, cool and LOL dance media.

Hammer Museum – Billy Wilder Theater
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310-443-7000; www.hammer.ucla.edu)
- FREE admission, no reservations required; seating is first come first served
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➢    Wed. June 16 [7:00pm - 9:00pm] at Screen Actors Guild [Mid-Wilshire]
Choreographers In Media: A Panel Discussion
Presented by Dance Camera West and held in association with Screen Actors Guild and Career Transitions for Dancers

This years Choreography Media Honors will be presented as a panel discussion featuring today’s working choreographers. Dance makers continue to create iconic moments that shape film history for audiences all over the world.  The panel will discuss how they create work for the camera and the role they play at the intersection of dance on screen.

Panelist’s include:
Chuck Maldonado is an award-winning choreographer and performer whose credits include Stomp The Yard (1 & 2), You Got Served, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew, an Apple iPod commercial, and the 1996 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.   He has worked with many top artists including P. Diddy, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Fergie, Missy Elliott, Kanye West, Usher, and Pink.

Kim Blank appeared in seminal ’80s music videos such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Lionel Richie’s “Dancin On The Ceiling,” and Steve Winwood’s “Roll With It.” As a choreographer, she earned an Emmy nomination for her work on Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, starring Halle Berry, and she created dances for Madonna, Keri Russell, Walter Matthau, and Raven Simone.  Credits include Frankie & Alice, Ray, Evita, The Mambo Kings, and That’s So Raven.

Award-winning choreographer Lula Washington is the founder and artistic director of the Lula Washington Dance Theater, a modern dance company founded in 1980 in South Central Los Angeles. Her work on the 2009 blockbuster Avatar with filmmaker James Cameron brought acrobatic life to the avatars on screen.  She also coined the wildly popular Avator line: “eye see you.”  Washington’s dancers have performed at both the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers and she has received the prestigious Minerva Award for Women’s Achievement in California.

This is the fourth installment of the Choreography Media Honors.  All are welcome – dancers, choreographers, industry leaders, and dance aficionados – to celebrate and strengthen LA’s dance community.
-  Moderated by Larry Billman
-  The panel will be followed by a reception.

Screen Actors Guild – James Cagney Room
5757 Wilshire Blvd., 7th Fl, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323-954-1600, www.sag.org)
- FREE admission, no reservations required
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➢    Sat. June 19 [8:00 – 10:00pm] at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center [West LA]
“Local Makers – LA Choreographers and Directors” – Outdoor Screening

DCW will host over 25 local makers of media and dance in an outdoor screening event in the park behind the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center.  The landscape will be transformed into a cinematic cross-cultural display with five different screening areas.  Each screening area will run the gamut of local talent from established artists such as Mitchell Rose, Morleigh Steinberg, Roberta Shaw, and Cari Ann ShimSham to emerging artists and students from LAUSD middle and high schools.  For this family-friendly evening please bring a flashlight and a blanket, and join in the fun under the stars.

Cheviot Hills Recreation Center
2551 Motor Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90064 (310-837-4233)
- FREE admission, no reservations required
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➢    Sat. June 26 [7:30pm-9:00pm] at Timothy Yarger Fine Art [Beverly Hills]
Movement Media Installations

Timothy Yarger Fine Art of Beverly Hills will host DCW’s closing weekend reception. Join DCW for a collection of select media installations with an emphasis of body and movement.

An internationally recognized art gallery exhibiting modern and contemporary art, Timothy Yarger Fine Art is grounded in the historic artwork of the Modern Masters and pop icons of the 20th Century, alongside established contemporary painters, printmakers, photographers, and new-media artists.

Timothy Yarger Fine Art
354 N Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 (310-278-4400; www.yargerfineart.com)
-  6:00pm – open to VIP and DCW members
-  7:30pm – 9:00pm – open to the public
-  FREE admission, reservations ARE required
-  Please RSVP: 310-278-4400 or info@yargerfineart.com
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➢    Sun. June 27 [8:00pm] at Grand Performances in California Plaza [downtown LA]
Dzi Croquettes (adult content)

Dzi Croquettes is a revealing Brazilian documentary that explores the legacy of the daringly original, all-male dance and theater group by the same name resembling a late-20th-century version of the Ziegfeld Follies.  The cabaret group – Dzi Croquettes – used an empowering sexuality to counter Brazil’s military dictatorship and revolutionize the gay movement worldwide during the 1970’s.  The documentary is Tatiana Issa and Raphael Alvarez‘s pleasure-packed exploration of the group’s impact, using a multitude of talking heads and period footage to chronicle the troupe’s seminal influence on their time and today’s culture.
-  Best Documentary Jury Award and Audience Award Rio de Janeiro Film Festival
-  Portuguese with English subtitles
-  Brazil 2009, 95 minutes
-  Co-director Raphael Alvarez will be in town to introduce the film

Grand Performances at California Plaza
300 – 350 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (213-687-2190; www.grandperformances.org)
- FREE admission, no reservations required
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Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates regarding Dance Camera West’s ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival – www.dancecamerawest.org.

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For more information, press passes, photos, or to interview DCW’s founder Lynette Kessler, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

For Immediate Release: January 11, 2010

New Book from Award-Winning Filmmaker Jon Reiss
Think Outside the Box Office:
The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era
To Be Released in Print on March 15, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – Award winning filmmaker Jon Reiss is set to release his new book Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era on March 15, 2010. The book is a primer for filmmaking in the digital era covering distribution of all types of media content – feature films, shorts, webisodes, transmedia, vblogs, etc., and is the first to address the new distribution and marketing landscape facing filmmakers today. For more information please visit www.thinkoutsidetheboxoffice.com and the director’s blog, www.jonreiss.com/blog.

The book is a step-by-step, nuts and bolts guide to distributing and marketing a film. Each chapter addresses an essential aspect of a film’s release and offers specific techniques so filmmakers can take control of their distribution and marketing destiny.

Jon Reiss, an award-winning filmmaker himself, spoke with countless filmmakers, distributors, publicists, web programmers, festival programmers and marketing experts to create this ultimate resource of up to the minute information. Throughout the book, Reiss redefines the process from a filmmaker’s point of view empowering the reader to create unique strategies for their individual films.

“Open this book! Eat up every morsel Reiss provides. Internalize it and make it your second skin,” said Ted Hope, Producer (Adventureland, The Ice Storm, In the Bedroom, and 21 Grams).

Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed filmmaker who has produced and directed feature films, documentaries, shorts and music videos in a career that spans nearly 30 years. Named one of the “10 Digital Directors to Watch” by Daily Variety, Reiss also teaches in the Film Directing Program at the California Institute for the Arts.

The independent film community continues to redefine itself with the collapse of the traditional independent film distribution model. Just as the digital revolution created a democratization of the means of production, a new hybrid approach to distribution has created a way for independent filmmakers to take control, combining the best techniques from each distribution arena, old and new.

Reiss will travel in the U.S. and to Singapore in the next three months. He will close out the Filmmaker Summit at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, UT on January 23, 2010. Other participants at the Summit include Steven Soderbergh, Brian Newman, Jamie King, Timo Vuorensola, Khavn de la Cruz, Lance Weiler and Peter Baxter. Reiss travels to NYU’s Singapore campus in February as well as to SXSW and Miami International Film Festival in March.

Jon Reiss’ Upcoming Appearances & Book Signings:

January – Park City, UT –

Sat. January 23, 2010
Slamdance Filmmaker Summit
Part V Workshop: Jon Reiss workshops an existing documentary and narrative film and creates new strategies for distribution in conversation with the filmmakers and the participants.”
11:00am to 2:00pm (US Mountain Time)
Treasure Mountain Inn
255 Main Street
Park City, UT 84060
Book Signing from 2:00 – 2:30pm
http://www.slamdance.com/summit

Sun. January 24, 2010
Book Signing
Dolly’s Bookstore Park City
510 Main Street
Park City, UT 84060
3:00 – 5:00pm
http://dollysbookstore.com/2010/01/sundance-2010-author-signings

February – Singapore –

Wed. February 17 – Thu. February 25, 2010
NYU Singapore Producing Workshop
Jon Reiss will be giving a ten day workshop on producing independent film with an emphasis on reel world survival skills, distribution and marketing.

March – Austin, TX –

Sun. March 14, 2010
SXSW Film Festival Panel
The Main Event: Finding an Audience for Your Film
Specific Location TBD
3:30pm
Book Signing Immediately After
http://sxsw.com/film/talks/panels

While in Austin and South East Asia Jon Reiss will be continuing production of Bomb It 2 for Babelgum (http://www.babelgum.com). Bomb It 2 will be a further exploration of graffiti and street art throughout the world in areas not covered in Bomb It. For Bomb It 2, Reiss will be exploring other U.S. cities such as Chicago, Austin, and San Francisco. In Asia he’ll be covering Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and perhaps Malaysia. In Europe, Denmark and Italy – both hotbeds of graffiti – will be included and a trip to the Middle East is in the works.

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For more information, photos, or to arrange interviews, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213-840-1201 and lynn@greengalactic.com.

CREDITS:

Author: Jon Reiss
Foreword by: Ted Hope
Title: Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era
Published by: Hybrid Cinema Publishing a division of Hybrid Cinema
Distributed by: SCB Distributors
Publication Date: March 2010
# ISBN-10: 098257620X
# ISBN-13: 978-0-9825762-0-5

Content: 354 black and white pages
Cover: Paperback
Size: 6” x 9”
Language: English
Subject: Filmmaking
Price: $24.95

First Printing: 2010
Copyright: c. Jon Reiss 2010 All Rights Reserved

Book Layout and Design: Will Hays
Cover Design: Justin Van Hoy
Book Title by: Susan Graves
Cover Photographer: Jay B Sauceda
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Bousley
Copy Editor: Jennifer Hoche
Website Programmer: Kazuha Torisawa

Online:
Book site – http://www.thinkoutsidetheboxoffice.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/ThinkOutsidetheBoxOffice
Author blog – http://jonreiss.com/blog
Twitter – http://twitter.com/Jon_Reiss
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Think-Outside-Box-Office-Distribution/dp/098257620X

Grateful acknowledgement is made for permission to reprint the following copyrighted works:
- Lance Weiler’s Culture Hacker column on Piracy and Torrent Sites and Lance Weiler’s Hope is Missing MIG both originally published in Filmmaker.

Cover photo is from a B-Side screening of Before the Music Dies, Republic Square Park, Austin, Texas June 5, 2006.

For Immediate Release: January 22, 2009

Dance Camera West
Announces Eighth Annual Dance Media Film Festival
Throughout Los Angeles – June 2009

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dance Camera West‘s annual festival, recognized as one of the world’s foremost celebrations of dance on film, announces the Dance Camera West Eighth Annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout southern California in June 2009. A unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography, the month-long film festival features all forms of dance media. Chosen by Los Angeles Magazine as “Pick of the Month” for their June 2008 issue, Dance Camera West (DCW) again partners with the city’s most prestigious venues in offering a global perspective on a new visual language through a host of experimental shorts, documentaries, features, and symposiums with visiting international artists. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates – www.dancecamerawest.org. See below for the confirmed events.

The June festival opens at the REDCAT Theater in downtown LA, with its legendary kick-off party on Friday, June 5, 2009. Presenting “ScreenDance: A New Visual Language,” three programs of short films from around the world will captivate audiences on Friday and Saturday night during the opening weekend. DCW will present two days of programming at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theatre on Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14. The month-long festival continues with an outdoor screening, VideoDanza II, Friday, June 19 featuring artists from Latin American at the Braude Center Plaza in Van Nuys. On Sunday, June 21 at the Autry National Center expect a program of documentaries featuring Native American dance legends. Throughout the festival, DCW will also present lively panel discussions with directors and choreographers, as well as screenings with the Los Angeles Film Festival and the American Cinematheque.

Known as one of the world’s premiere presenters of dance media, Dance Camera West has expanded the audience for dance in Southern California with the presentation of more than 1,000 dance films since 2002. Speaking to its global diversity, festival founder and director Lynette Kessler explains, “Dance is an art form that is universally understood and celebrated. It can break down the language barriers that oftentimes separate Los Angeles’ culturally diverse communities as it allows the audience to engage with dance media from around the world. In playing directly to an audience drawn from one of the world’s great arts capitals, the festival provides wide access to innovative and experimental dance on-screen. In 2009, DCW builds upon the foundation of the previous seven festivals to bring to Southern California a selection of the most boundary-pushing dance films anywhere.”

Dance Camera West founder and executive/artistic director, Lynette Kessler is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and media artist with an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Dance from York University in Toronto. Known for her innovative collaborations and dance work for the screen that have been shown in film and video festivals worldwide, Kessler has received numerous awards including an Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship and an artist residency at Headlands Center for the Arts. She is a founding member of the Media & Dance Festival International Network, has served on dance film review committees for EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts) Commission, American Choreography Awards, Dance on Camera Festival in New York, Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film in Toronto, and is a guest lecturer at UCLA, UC Irvine, and Cal Arts. Kessler sits on the board of directors for the following organizations: Buckminster Fuller Institute, Dance Channel TV, and the California Ear Unit. She is an active member of the advocacy groups: Arts for LA, California Arts Advocates, and Americans for the Arts.

Dance Camera West is a non-profit organization committed to fostering and promoting the vibrant art of dance media from around the world. DCW aims to bridge the unique mix of film and dance communities in Los Angeles through the exploration of this hybrid genre. DCW also strives to create a broader and more engaged audience for dance and dance media by merging both performance and cinematic aesthetic. DCW is one of only a handful of organizations in the world that present dance media, and the only one of its kind on the West Coast. The 2008 festival was featured in a FOX News segment, and Los Angeles Magazine selected Dance Camera West as its Pick of the Month for the June 2008 issue. The Los Angeles Times selected the Dance Camera West Media Film Festival as one of the Ten Best dance events in Los Angeles for 2006 and 2007. DCW was voted one of the “Top 25 Dance Organizations to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2005 and 2006.

Dance Camera West events are supported in part by the Annenberg Foundation, Mortimer Levitt Foundation, Lloyd E. Rigler and Laurence E. Deutsch Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

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For more information, photos, or to interview Lynette Kessler, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.

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See below for a glimpse at DCW’s June 2009 Festival Schedule as of 1/20/09:

>>> Fri. June 5 and Sat. June 6 At REDCAT in downtown LA

“Screendance: A New Visual Language”
Opening night screening and party on Friday followed by two different programs on Saturday. In three unique screenings over two days, this collection of 25 innovative dance films from around the world explores the intersection between movement and cinema.

- Friday, June 5, 2009 – 8:00pm –Screening and Opening Night Reception
- Saturday, June 6, 2009 – 6:00pm & 8:00pm (different programs)

REDCAT, Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (Walt Disney Concert Hall Complex)
631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213 237-2800; http://redcat.org)

- Tickets $15 opening night ($10 for CalArts or DCW members), $10 for other screenings ($7 for CalArts or DCW members)

>>> Sat. June 13 [2:00pm] at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles

The Dancing Room
2:30

In Transylvania music accompanies most of the rituals of life and death. In this enigmatic dance film based on the choreography of Kate Flatt, the Hungarian band Muzsikás provide the music and are part of the action around a dozen characters from young to old. Although the music is traditional, the dance is contemporary and draws on many styles and traditions from round the world. Filmed in an eerie underground location, The Dancing Room is a powerful and memorable piece specially-worked for the camera. Produced by the BBC, directed by Simon Broughton
Recorded in London 1995, 45 minutes

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 North Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310-440-4500; http://www.skirball.org)

Free – No reservations needed

>>> Sat. June 13 & Sun. June 14 at Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood

Program TBA

>>> June 19 [7:00pm] at Braude Center Plaza in Van Nuys

VideoDanza II: Latin American Dance on Screen
DCW will present an outdoor screening event of Latin American artists for the second year. Coming from a rich tradition of choreography and filmmaking these artists continue to re-define dance and cinema. This program of short films featuring work from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay are at times deeply thought-provoking, sublimely ethereal, and laugh-out-loud funny. These are not the ordinary tango and salsa films but rather a new expression of dance made for the screen that has been flourishing in recent years throughout Latin America. It’s the perfect community event for family and friends on a summer evening.

Martin Braude Center Plaza
6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91401
- FREE admission, no reservations required: bring your own seating, blankets or chairs

>>> Sunday, June 21 [2:00pm] at Autry National Center of the American West in Los Angeles
“Contemporary Sacred” – a program of two films featuring First Nation and Native American artists

Byron Chief-Moon: Grey Horse Rider -
A documentary film featuring First Nation artist Byron Chief-Moon, Grey Horse Rider was directed by Philip Szporer and Marlene Millar and won “Best Documentary Short” at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco. Byron Chief-Moon is a multi-talented actor, stuntman, dancer, choreographer playwright, and founder of the Coyote Arts Percussive Performance Association. Through art and life, his story is one of cultural survival. Themes of Chief-Moon’s dance creations begin with his people’s traditional stories, his attachment to the land and his community, as well as the inner conflict he faces in existing within the Aboriginal culture and society at large. He is ensuring the preservation of his native language through its incorporation into his work, and he’s adamant that the spoken legends of his people are passed on to the next generation, and to the greater community. Challenging the cultural construct is never easy, but Chief-Moon does so with steadfast determination and spirit. One of the main features is the name-giving ceremony for The Blood Nation of which until now has never been filmed.
2007, Canada, 48 minutes

Water Flowing Together –
A documentary on legendary Jock Soto and his 25 year career with the New York City Ballet by filmmaker Gwendolen Cate is a moving, intimate portrait of an internationally renowned artist who is Navajo Indian, Puerto Rican, and openly gay. On the verge of retirement, one of modern ballet’s most gifted and celebrated dancers is forced to contemplate life after dance. Exploring identity, family, and transition, the film climaxes with his emotional departure from ballet at age 40 in 2005. As Soto reflects on his uncertain future, he also attempts to connect with his past, revisiting his Navajo roots and the cultural heritage to which he is at once detached and devoted. Soto’s story defies stereotypes in the same way that his dancing transcends the expected. Written by Gwendolen Cates.
2007, USA, 77 minutes

Autry National Center of the American West
4700 Western Heritage Way (Griffith Park Campus), Los Angeles, CA 90027 (323-667-2000; www.autrynationalcenter.org)

More June dates, venues and programs TBA for Dance Camera West’s Eighth Annual Dance Media Film Festival. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates – www.dancecamerawest.org.

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