Saturday, July 13, 2002
Imaginary Architecture: SKY-FI (28 minutes)
6pm Reception + Architectural Installation, 7pm & 8pm Screenings
A Sean Gullette Project
Curated by Tara Anderson

Imaginary Architecture was conceived as a celebration in video of buildings and spaces created uniquely for the cinema. A four part series including Sky-Fi, History of the Future, Space in Space, and Haunted Houses, Imaginary Architecture is both historical survey and a tribute to the power of art direction and scenic design. Part I: Sky-Fi examines the role of the skyscraper in the modern imagination.

Sky-Fi takes the audience on a fast-paced journey through classic, contemporary, and cult films where the dominant presence of a high-rise becomes a character in itself. The skyscraper can play the villain: a symbol of conformity and domination, or the hero: an ecstatic monument to human potential. Sky-Fi is finally a timely tribute to a complicated, resonant aspect of our culture, the high rise.

Sean Gullette is a New York-based writer, actor, and filmmaker. This year, he will direct his debut feature, Monopolis, a film noir psychological thriller set in a Manhattan skyscraper in 1960, produced by Henri Kessler and Sarah Green. In 1998, Sean co-wrote and starred in the award-winning feature Pi, directed by Darren Aronofsky. He has since appeared in a dozen films including Brad Anderson's Happy Accidents (w/ Vincent D'Onofrio) Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream (w/ Jennifer Connelly), and as a guest actor on network TV dramas. In 1998 he produced Nicole Zaray's gender-inverted short film Joe's Day, (w/ Deborah Harry.) He has consulted on screenplays for Warner Brothers and Paramount productions. Recently Sean has directed a series of short films and film compilations. Sean has published essays, journalism and fiction in magazines including Entertainment Weekly, The Face, Gear, Spy, Slate and KGB magazine, which he co-founded as editor and publisher in 1991. His essay "Mile High" will appear in the book "110 Stories: New York Writes After September 11," from NYU Press.

Sky-Fi was edited by Christina Schwerin, a film and video editor for National Geographic and a long-time Dactyl associate.
Sky-Fi was commissioned and curated by Tara Anderson.

RSVP Tara@DactylFilms.com

June 25, 2002 7pm
Transportation, an episode of Rizoma by Professor Fernando Salis of The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
An integrated television program and internet site for debate and communitarian action on environmental issues

Dactyl Foundation and Big Mouth Productions present:

Directed by: Katy Chevigny
Produced by: Katy Chevigny and Julia Pimsleur
Co-Produced by: Dallas Brennan
Camera by: Kirsten Johnson
Music by: Jason Kao Hwang
Edited by: Li-Shin Yu

As millions of Americans are turning to the healing powers of alternative medicine, director Katy Chevigny explores the contemporary development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). A student of East Asian Studies and Mandarin Chinese, Chevigny follows the path of Chinese medicine from its origins in China to its reincarnation in the U.S. Beautifully photographed, the film offers a unique perspective on a growing cross-cultural phenomenon. Available through Winstar Television and Video. Premiered at New York's Asia Society November 16, 2001.

DactylFoundation and New York Women in Film and Television present:

Putting It All Together: The Art of Editing Non-Fiction

Tuesday, February 26th • 6:30 p.m.

Although editing is the final step of filmmaking’s creative process, it is the critical storytelling moment—particularly in non-fiction, when there is no script. Each film editor has a distinct perspective and diverse working methods. We’ve invited a group of editors to discuss the way they approach the editing process—the panelists will explain how they organize and structure material, and the ways in which their personal styles are reflected in the treatment of the material. Each editor will deconstruct excerpts of a piece to demonstrate how editing can build a moment, a character, an image, and enhance overall storytelling. The discussion will cover working with varied material, directors and producers in television and film. It will also address the evolution of the editing process over the past forty years, how technology has influenced those changes and the practical side of choosing an editor.

Nina Diaz is a supervising producer for MTV News & Docs. Diaz joined MTV in 1995, as an associate producer. Prior to her move to MTV, she worked on shows at PBS’ Thirteen/WNET Television, Fox Television, TBS and ABC News. At MTV, Diaz has produced, directed and edited music and documentary programming including the Ultra Sound and True Life series. Her latest achievement is the creation of MTV’s highly successful Cribs series. Lora Hays began as a features editor, then moved into non-fiction and classic documentaries in the 1960’s, including the CBS documentary 16 in Webster Groves, a study of middle-class teenage Americans. Now in her 90s, she continues to edit documentaries for HBO, Discovery and the Learning Channel. She has taught editing at NYU since 1981.

Susie Korda has edited many independent documentaries including the award-winning film, Trembling Before G-d, which received awards at Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. She also wrote, produced and edited a personal documentary, One of Us.

Emily Paine is an editor at ABC News Productions and has edited many programs for the History Channel, Discovery, and the Travel Channel. For the History Channel, she cut programs about Pan Am 103, the flight that crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. She recently edited an independent documentary on a musician in Central Park called Thoth. Paine worked as a music editor earlier in her career.

Moderator Fernanda Rossi is an award-winning filmmaker and “documentary doctor,” as her colleauges call her. She teaches and consults privately on narrative structure for both fiction and non-fiction films. Her latest documentary Inventing a Girl: An Experience in Homeschooling premiered in New York last fall.

Event co-sponsored by AIVF, DocuClub and Women Make Movies. Produced by Karen A. Frenkel and Marcia Rock from the Documentary Subcommittee.

Dactyl Foundation for the Arts & Humanities 64 Grand Street (between Wooster & West Broadway), Ground Floor

The RSVP list through Dactyl Foundation is now closed. To register please visit nywift.org and click on the black star icon.

Thursday, June 7th & Friday, June 8th, 2001, 7:00pm
Metropolis, Fritz Lang's landmark silent sci-fi film (1926)
with a new soundtrack by electronic musician Jeff Mills
*US Premier*

Discussion with Jeff Mills to follow
Moderators:Anuj Desai, Editor in Chief, Black Book Magazine
Tara Anderson, Dactyl Foundation

presented by Black Book Magazine and Dactyl Foundation

Jeff Mills' version of Metropolis has been shown previously at:
Centre de Pompidou/ Paris, France Sept. 2000
Cay/ Tokyo, Japan Sept. 2000
Fnac/ Nante, France Jan. 2001
CCCB/ Barcelona, Spain Feb. 2001
Bauhaus Archive/ Berlin, Germany (reception for Berlin Film Festival) Feb. 2001

Introductions by Anuj Desai and Tara Anderson

Thursday, March 15th, 2001, 7:00pm
The Gods of Times Square, a documentary by Richard Sandler
Introduction by Tara Anderson, discussion with the artist to follow

Before the Disneyfication of the melting-pot mecca, Times Square was home to religious zealots offering every kind of strident redemption. Street journalist and documentarian Richard Sandler has created a cinema verite film on the rich characters of New York's secular cathedral of skyscrapers.

An encore presentation of the critically acclaimed documentary

Re-edited with new footage

Winner 1999, Best Documentary, Chicago Underground Film Festival
Winner 1999, Audience Award, Popcorn International Film Festival

First Screening at Dactyl: February 28th, 2000

Thursday, February 22nd, 2001, 7:00pm

Arise! Walk Dog Eat Donut, a video by Ken Kobland
Introduction by Tara Anderson, disscussion with the artist to follow

"Arise! Walk Dog Eat Donut" is a video for "transit riders of the earth." With footage from Berlin and New York City shot intermittently over more than two decades, the video is a reflection on monotony, dislocation, and the moments of happiness that inexplicably break through the haze of the everyday.

"Arise! Walk Dog Eat Donut" was invited to the Berlin International Film Festival 2000 and has also been screened at the New York Video Festival, Lucarno Video Art, World Wide Video Fest-Amsterdam, Rotterdam Film Festival. It has won awards at the San Francisco International Film Festival 2000, 8th Biennale of Moving Images-Geneva, and at Film und Architektur Biennale-Graz in 1999. Since the 1970's Ken Kobland has been producing independent film and video works, including collaborative projects with the experimental theater company, The Wooster Group. Kobland's works have been exhibited internationally. In 1986-87 he received a DAAD Fellowship in Berlin, and in 1992 a residency from the International Centre for Video Creation in Montbeliard, France.

Thursday, February 15th, 2001, 7:00pm

Dream Machine, a short film by Brett Vapnek starring Mary Timony
Tara Anderson will host a disscussion with Vapnek and Timony

An awkward young woman searches for "sonic redemption" in a karaoke bar, sparking the interest of a young Japanese man. When their fantasies overlap, an unlikely connection is made.

 

Brett Vapnek was one of three recipients nationwide of a Grand Marnier Film Fellowship. Vapnek received the award, which was presented on stage at Avery Fisher Hall during the closing night ceremonies of the 38th New York Film Festival, for her film "Dream Machine."

Songstress and frontwoman of the band Helium, Mary Timony released her first solo album, "Mountains," in 2000.

Norman Jewison's films have earned 46 Academy Award nominations and won 12 awards. Works include Dinner with Friends (2001), The Hurricane, Bogus, Only You, Other People's Money, In Country, Moonstruck, Agnes of God, A Soldier's Story, Best Friends, And Justice for All, F.I.S.T., Rollerball (1975), Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Gaily, Gaily, The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), In the Heat of the Night, The Russians Are Coming, The Cincinnati Kid, The Art of Love, Send Me No Flowers, The Thrill of It All, and 40 Pounds of Trouble. Jewison founded the Canadian Film Centre in 1988 which is dedicated to providing the highest quality learning experience to filmmakers.

Thursday, October 19, 2000 7:30 pm
Gad Hollander & Andrew Bick's
The palaver, poetry screening with text, images, and ambient sound

Shirtsleeves, a short film by Bruce Bennett

Ode, a film by Kelly Reichardt Original score by Will Oldham. Theme song performed by Yo La Tengo. Official Selection, Venice Film Festival; Official Selection, Rotterdam Film Festival

May 15th, 2000, Monday 6:30-8pm
Rebecca Faulkner hosts a disscussion with the directors.

The Gods of Times Square, a documentary by Richard Sandler
Winner 1999, Best Documentary Chicago Underground Film Festival
Winner 1999, Audience Award, Popcorn International Film Festival

February 28th, 2000, Monday 6-8pm
Kate Valk, member of the Wooster Group, will host a disscussion with the director during intermission.

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