2012 Official Selections

Take a look at this year's official film and paper selections.

In its second year, the Visions Film Festival & Conference at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, will continue the tradition it established in 2011 of bringing the finest student talents in filmmaking and film studies research to North Carolina. Planned, organized and run by undergraduate students, Visions will bring to Wilmington scholarly works and well-crafted films from the next generation of academic and industry leaders from around the globe.

Filmmaker Javi Zubizarreta, writer and director of “Zuretzako” and the 2010 recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation’s Undergraduate Scholarship Cary Grant Award, will kick off this year’s festival with a keynote address on Friday, March 30 at 9 a.m. in Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center.

A screening of Zubizarreta’s film “Zuretzako” will take place after his first speech. “Zuretzako” tells the story of Zubizarreta’s grandfather, a Basque immigrant working as a sheepherder in Idaho. The film highlights the sacrifices his grandfather made in life and the repercussions of those sacrifices on the lives of those around him.

CONFERENCE SELECTIONS

Hosted by the UNCW Department of Film Studies, Visions is the first international film festival and conference showcasing exclusively undergraduate filmmakers and scholars together in one forum. Conference presentations will follow Zubizarreta’s address with two blocks at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. The 2012 film scholarship presentation line-up includes:

“My Name is Khan, and I am Not a Terrorist: How My Name is Khan Defies Muslim Stereotypes in Popular Hindi Cinema” by Olivia Simmons (University of North Carolina Wilmington)

Sheds light on the history behind the common portrayal (or lack thereof) of non-Hindu "Others", particularly Muslims, in Bollywood Cinema and examines how the hit film "My Name is Khan" (2010) breaks the norm of these often offensive representations.

“Touki Bouki: Djibril Diop Mambety and the Postcolonial Aesthetic” by Michael Daye (University College Falmouth, United Kingdom)

Daye defines traits of a post-colonialist aesthetic through analysis of a specific work, the Senegalese film Touki Bouki, by exploring particular motifs within the film in the context of Third Cinema.

“War and Poetry: The Use of Genre Violence and Poetic Digression in The Thin Red Line” by Jacob Mertens (University of North Carolina Wilmington)

Mertens argues that The Thin Red Line challenges viewers to integrate both war genre and poetic segments into a holistic understanding of the narrative, allowing the film’s conventional war segments to transcend their base violence – engendering a feeling of beauty and existential depth.

“The Repressed Tension in Haute Tension” by Zulma Y. Terrones (University of Chicago)

Aims to dissect the horror genre’s established gender conventions and how these become complicated when a female murderer replaces the traditional male killer. Terrones' paper and discussion examines how the genre relies on an unbalanced power relationship, where male superiority and woman’s passivity parallels the repressed female status of the patriarchal society that views it.

“Robert Siodmak – His Career and Contributions to Film Noir” by Gregory Baker (North Carolina School of the Arts)

Baker explores Siodmak’s career from UFA through Hollywood and beyond, uncovering important influences on his directorial style and examining how that style benefited his considerable body of work in the film noir genre.

“Bruce Conner Knows That Girls Just Want to Have Fun: Humanist Sexual Liberation in Avant Garde Film” by William Frasca (University of North Carolina Wilmington)

Frasca takes a look at three avant-garde films by Bruce Connor – Cosmic Ray, Breakaway and Marilyn Times Five – and how each of these, as powerful combinations of pop music and film, challenge taboos and cultural norms of female sexuality.

“Action Stars Who Don’t Get Any Action: Hong Kong Actors in U.S. Roles” by Javi Zubizarreta (University of Notre Dame)

The Eastern philosophical view of masculinity and its influence on Hong Kong cinema are examined and compared to Hollywood ideals of masculinity to offer a cross-cultural explanation for the continued emasculation of male Asian actors. A feminist critique is also applied to further the reasoning behind the emasculation and degradation of Asian manhood in Hong Kong and U.S. films.

“A Sadomasochistic Circus: Critique of Society in Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000)” by Sonya Mladenova (Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University, Montreal)

Mladenova analyzes Lars von Trier’s critique of mainstream spectator positions through examination of spectatorship, sadomasochism and the role of the protagonists in relation to the aforementioned films.

FILM SELECTIONS

This year’s film line-up includes a wide selection of award-winning narrative, animation, documentary and experimental undergraduate films from around the world. There will be two screenings: the first from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and the second (suited for more mature audiences) from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The 2012 official film selections are:

The Birds Upstairs, directed by Christopher Jarvis (Tisch School of the Arts, New York University): The animated tale of a lonely winged couple and the trials and tribulations that accompany their desire for a child.

Baptism, directed by Jacob Mertens and Michelle Byron (University of North Carolina Wilmington): The city, the water, the people in the water. The flow, then the ebb.

The Elect, directed by Dan Moore and Erin Zacek (University of Notre Dame): Documentary exploring the lives of members of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church and their relationships within their family and the community.

Jemila’s Tale, directed by Christina Bryant (Ithaca College): Narrative film that tells the story of Jemila, a young black girl whose fairy tale comes to life in her bedroom as she copes with the death of her mother.

Incest! The Musical!, directed by Grant Reed (Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Chapman University): A narrative detailing the very special relationship between a brother and a sister in their high school setting, told through song and dance.

Coup Sauvage, directed by Stephane Moukarzel (L’institut National de l’image et du son, Montreal): After a traumatic accident, a mother’s grief alters her perception of her surroundings.

Out of the Blue, directed by Matt Stamm and Corey Godwin (University of North Carolina Wilmington): This documentary sheds light on the unsettling occurrence of beached dolphins and the people who work to rehabilitate them.

Hypnocus Pocus, directed by Victor Suarez (Columbia University): In this surrealistic comedy, things get out of hand when a young man tries to hypnotize his brother and the two become trapped in the limbo of their subconscious.

Man Is Always On the Stairs, directed by Jing Niu (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill): Light is used to create a living painting in this experimental interpretation of the Robert Burns poem, “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye.”

The Bachelor Experience, directed by Fiona Dalwood (Victorian College of Arts, University of Melbourne): Humorous animation about the misgivings of the “desirous” bachelor lifestyle.

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, directed by Talia Alberts (Northwestern University): Muses on the delicacy of maturing out of childhood imagination when a boy discovers a strange visitor who falls from the sky.

Hindsight, directed by Sean Hanley (Emerson College): Experiences of nostalgia, youth and memory are successfully captured in this impressionistic portrait of a small town called Hindsight.

The Sierra Project, directed by Gabriel de Urioste (Tisch School of the Arts, New York University): A scientist’s ambitious effort to map the human brain takes a dark turn when the project exposes a painful truth.

Dissonance, directed by Shreyasi Das (Rochester Institute of Technology): An animated film about finding harmony in disorder.

Simulacra, directed by Sumie Garcia (Savannah College of Art and Design): A woman experiences a series of surreal yet beautiful situations in a dream, most of which incorporate a mysterious stranger and a mirror box that holds abstract memories and sounds. Fear and anxiety prompt an inner dialogue and a reflection on solitude and the people in her life.

Protocol of Person and Social Syntax: Lesson One, directed by Walter Lowe III (University of Michigan): An imaged film searching for answers to those ubiquitous questions regarding life, acceptance and individuality.

Body of Work, directed by Gabby Follett (University of North Carolina Wilmington): A documentary portrait of an elderly woman and how, in her life, being an artist and suffering from Parkinson’s disease are inextricably related.

I Am An American, directed by Kyle Rogers (University of Hartford): A found footage film exploring the juxtaposition between American wartime and American pastimes.

Visions will foster an inclusive undergraduate community and provide an enriching film experience, bringing together student filmmakers with the UNCW campus community and the local community. The majority of film scholars and filmmakers will be in attendance at the festival, participating in discussions, panels and workshops throughout the day.

All Visions sessions are free and open to the public, including the mid-day video race. For more information and a full schedule, visit www.visionsfilm.org.

Media Contacts:

Dana Fischetti, Media Relations Manager, UNC Wilmington, (910) 508-3127 or fischettid@uncw.edu


Jonathan Gedney, Public Relations Director, Visions Film Festival & Conference, (919) 215-5187 or jgedney@visionsfilm.org