WAKING LIFE GETS A THEATRICAL LIFE

"Waking Life"

Last week, Fox Searchlight announced their acquisition of "Waking Life," the animated digital feature film by Rick Linklater, Tommy Pallotta and Bob Sabiston. The company is planning a fall release, so look out for the film later this year. To learn more about the artists who contributed to the animation on "Waking Life," check the site below.
http://www.natespace.com/wakinglife/

RIDERS AT LAFF

"Riders"

"We see courage portrayed so often as something having to do with bold men in gladiator outfits," claims writer/director Doug Sadler. "I'm much more interested in the heroism that comes from flawed characters." Sadler, whose debut feature "Riders" is screening this week at the Los Angeles Film Festival, counts among his heroes the teenage Alex, who in his film tries to rescue her younger sister from an unsavory household after their mother hooks up with a violent guy named Ned. "I had been reading Susan Faludi's 'Stiffed,'" he says, "and was interested in the themes about masculinity and how the male role has both changed and been challenged. That played into the relationship between Ned and Alex, and explains why Ned is confused." Sadler, who shot handheld using a PD150, says he opted to keep the point of view tight and close up, limiting our perspective to that of Alex. This strategy helps replicate the typical teenager's sense that he or she is the center of the world, and adds to our tension as we empathize with her seemingly overwhelming experience. Check the LAFF Web site for a full festival schedule.
http://www.lafilmfest.com

REPORT FROM INDIA

Who would dare bring hardcore indie directors Rob Nilsson, Todd Verow and Jon Jost together in the same room? Don't worry -- it happened in India at the recent "Digital Talkies" festival. Organized by Shekhar Kapur (director of "Elizabeth"), the festival was attended by young Indian filmmakers interested in digital filmmaking. "I talked to a classroom of 40 Catholic school kids in the 15- to 16-year-old range," reports Nilsson. " About four of them had heard of Satyajit Ray and one very shy girl in the front row had seen one of his films. When I asked her what she thought the difference was between Hollywood, Bollywood and Ray, she said, 'I think Ray is more real.' I felt like I'd been hit with blessed lightning." Check the festival site -- the organization has an online filmmaking magazine, too.
http://www.digitaltalkies.com/

USED CAMERAS?

While you can easily snag a great 16mm camera or projector these days, finding used miniDV cameras is a bit more challenging. In response to a rash of letters from readers looking for used equipment, we've suggested the Classified forum of indieWIRE.com, and Christy's Editorial in Burbank, California, which distributes a free publication called In-Sync with listings of equipment. (Order one through insyncpubs@aol.com.) But we'd like to expand this paltry list -- tell us about used equipment resources that you know about and we'll include your information in an upcoming RES ALERT. Send suggestions to: holly@res.com.

CENTER OF THE WORLD

Every era has its sex movie -- and now the dot.com era can claim its own, one that epitomizes the emptiness of the domain it represents: Wayne Wang's "Center of the World." Peter Saarsgard plays Richard, a computer geek whose company is ready to go public. He works too hard, and gets off by logging on. Molly Parker plays Florence, a drummer by day and stripper by night. Richard hires her for a weekend in Vegas, but she insists on certain conditions (no kissing, no emotions, etc.). But you can't keep emotions down, and soon they're wreaking havoc. This is certainly not new territory, but -- for better or worse -- Wang perfectly depicts a pervasive sense of isolation and distracted voyeurism that mark the new millennium. The director has said that he used video for just this reason -- he wanted to capture a grittier sensibility, one that characterizes not just the porn world but Web-based and surveillance imagery as well. And he succeeds, but the resulting sense of vacuity is disheartening. If this is indeed our era's sex film, we're all in trouble. Check the film's Web site -- it was designed by RES 10 nominee Hi-Res!
http://www.center-of-the-world.com

MOGRA: THE FESTIVAL OF AFTER EFFECTS ART AND DESIGN

Arguing that After Effects has become the "flash point for what may be the single largest artists' movement in recent times," Mogra hosts 25 animations and motion graphics pieces made with After Effects over the last 18 months.
http://www.pitchtv.com/mogra/main.html

"Mary Shelley's Daughter"

CYBORG MANIFESTO, OR THE JOY OF ARTIFICE

Through July 8
Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach, California
Borrowing theorist Donna Harroway's notion of the cyborg, this show looks at work by 24 artists interested in the intersections of technology and the body. Included among the pieces are "Mary Shelley's Daughter," a video installation by S.E. Barnet and "Come to Me" by Tony Oursler. Read the online catalog essay at:
http://www.cyborg-manifesto.com.
Info: 949-494-8971.
http://lagunaartmuseum.org

BOSTON CYBERARTS FESTIVAL

April 21 - May 6
The Boston Cyberarts Festival brings together art and technology across all media, including interactive video and telerobotics, throughout the entire city. See the Web site for complete (and extensive) event listings, or call 617-524-8495.
http://www.bostoncyberarts.org

LATIN AMERICAN VIDEO ART

Monday, April 30, 8:30PM
Ocularis at Galapagos Art & Performance Space
70 North 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The curators of this program note that for Latin American artists, significant themes include issues of gender, politics, sex and identity. Come see work by both emerging and established Latin American artists, including Ximena Cuevas and Juan Carlos Alom. Info: 718-388-8713.
http://www.ocularis.net

DJ SPooky

RACE IN DIGITAL SPACE

Friday, April 27 - Sunday, April 29
Building E-5, MIT Campus, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Presented by USC and MIT, "Race in Digital Space" looks at the contributions made by minority artists, activists and scholars within the context of new media technologies. Panelists include Paul Miller (DJ Spooky), Beth Coleman, Coco Fusco and many others. In conjunction with the conference, the List Visual Arts Center will showcase an exhibition of work by more than 30 artists through July 1. There will also be live webcasts. See the site for further details.
http://cms.mit.edu/race/

TUBE FILM FESTIVAL

ESPN and the Tube Film Festival have teamed up to present the second two-day film and video fest devoted to action sports. Held August 20-21 in Philadelphia to coincide with the 2001 X Games, the festival seeks works not longer than 90 minutes (with animations not to exceed 15 minutes). They're also looking for trailers (under two minutes). Last year's event included films like Don Hertzfeltdt's hilarious animation "Billy's Balloon," as well as "Seth: The Hard Way," a look at motocross icon Seth Enslow. Info: 408-266-0242 or e-mail Tube@expn.com. Deadline: June 1.
http://www.expn.com

SCRIPTAPALOOZA

Struggling filmmakers trying to finish their taxes and their scripts begged for a deadline extension, and got one! The new deadline for Scriptapalooza is Monday, April 30. First place prize is $25,000. See the Web site for full details.
http://www.scriptapalooza.com

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

Held in the ungodly desert heat of August, the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival is the largest US showcase for short films, and is regularly attended by acquisitions execs seeking shorts. Info: 760-322-2930. Deadline: June 1.
http://www.psfilmfest.org

VANCOUVER ISLAND INDEPENDENT FILM, VIDEO AND NEW MEDIA FESTIVAL

Now in its second year, this fest is for up-and-coming media artists and takes place in August at the Victoria Conference Centre's Plaza Level Theatre. Deadline is July 1.
http://www.victoriacomiccon.com/

RESFEST CALL FOR ENTRIES

At this year's Los Angeles Film Festival, a long line of fervent RESFEST attendees crowded around the RES booth to inquire about the next RESFEST. Don't let them down! Send in your digital features, live-action and animated shorts, music videos, interactive DVDs/CD-ROMS and Internet cinema. Join the Future of Filmmaking and submit to RESFEST. Early deadline is May 4th, 2001; late deadline is June 1.
http://www.resfest.com

DIGITAL HABITAT
"My studio is basically built around my working process, the essence of which is trying to make as spectacular a film as I can for the least money," explains Tim Hope, the subject for our Digital Habitat feature in the March/April issue. "My latest film, 'Future War,' uses badly composited characters placed into 3-D generated computer worlds. If I need a city full of people then I'll get three mates and dress them up in various types of clothing and repeat them 100 or even 1,000 times to create crowd scenes. It looks like someone has tried to make an episode of 'The Matrix' for $1,000." Read the rest of the story in the current issue, and subscribe now to the one and only publication dedicated to digital filmmaking. Special RES subscription offer: Save 33% off the newsstand price! Six issues of RES for $19.95 or 12 issues for just $34.95. Plus -- if you subscribe now, receive a RESFEST Sampler DVD for FREE!
http://www.res.com/ or email subinfo@res.com

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