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Tuning Up: Black History event in Anderson, call for short films, etc.

Good morning! "Tuning Up" is a morning post series where The Hub delivers quick-hit arts stories of interest to readers. Sometimes there will be one story, sometimes there will be several. Get in tune now, and have a masterpiece of a day. And now, in no particular order...

  • Tonight at 6 p.m., the Anderson County Library begins the county's Black History Month celebration with an event highlighting our state's role in the civil rights movement. To wit: did you know Rosa Parks received training in Columbia? More information here. (The event is sponsored by the Arts Commission.)
  • Are you more Halloween than Valentine's Day? An Arts Commission AVI grantee has a "ghoul" project in the works that you'll be "goblin" up. (Okay, we'll stop.) Filmmakers and screenplay writers are invited to help Deathcat Entertainment with "Grave Intentions" – their pun, not ours. Go here for more information.
  • More on films: Indie Grits Festival Director Seth Gadsden chatted Indie Grits Labs on the National Endowment for the Arts' "Art Works" podcast!
  • Call for art! Visual Arts Exchange in Raleigh is calling for art from installation artists. Check out The Cube and The Lab for more. Deadline for both spaces appears to be Feb. 15.
  • And finally... why we advocate: because through public support of the arts, the S.C. Arts Commission was able to award 342 grants totaling $3.3 million in 42 counties in FY 2017. That's 73% of our state funding – more than the legislative mandate of 70%.
 

Nickelodeon Theatre hires new director

From The Free Times Article by Jordan Lawrence

[caption id="attachment_30980" align="alignright" width="225"]Alison Kozberg Alison Kozberg[/caption] The Nickelodeon Theatre, Main Street’s nonprofit arthouse cinema, has a new leader. Alison Kozberg — who most recently worked as program manager of the moving image for the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, shaping all aspects of the contemporary art museum’s film programming — will serve as the theater’s director. In December, Andy Smith and Seth Gadsden — then the Nick’s executive director and managing director, respectively — moved into new positions. Smith became CEO of the Columbia Film Society, which oversees both the Nick and its annual Indie Grits festival, a far-reaching media celebration that touches on visual art, video games and more in addition to film. Gadsden became the director of the newly formed Indie Grits Labs, an effort to extend both the Nick’s educational programs and the art projects and residencies offered by the festival. With its two main leaders turning their attention to matters other than the theater’s day-to-day operation, the hunt began for a new director. The search committee — three members of the Nick’s board of directors and three staffers — selected Kozberg. Before her work at the Walker Art Center, she held positions in Los Angeles — at the Getty Research Institute and the University of Southern California — and in Massachusetts — at the Brattle Film Foundation/Brattle Theater. “With Alison’s experience in film programming and in a range of really top, world-class arts organizations, bringing that experience to the Nick is going to make the customer experience better, it’s going to make the programming better,” Smith posits. “It’s a way for us to grow on both sides of the organization simultaneously.” “She was a film programmer at an art museum,” Gadsden offers. “And we do art around a film theater. So it seemed like a very fortuitous marriage that way.” For Kozberg, who was excited by the idea of taking over programming for a cinema as opposed to a museum, the Nick was a good fit. “I really felt that the institution’s values and missions very much lined up with my own,” she says. “[I’m] interested in the way the cinema functions for the public. [The Nick is] deeply committed to civic engagement, to community involvement and to creating opportunities for media makers at all stages of their careers to be creatively engaged, to hold space, to speak for themselves about the creative process. [It’s] also really committed to creating opportunities for community members to engage, both in creating conversations and to really find space for them as presenters. And that was something I was really, really passionate about.” “It was exciting to me that Columbia is the capital,” Kozberg adds. “A lot of my research and my work before has really focused on the relationship between arts institutions and civic engagement in local politics, so being right on Main Street by the capital at this organization is a really good fit for my personality.” It will likely take a bit for visitors to truly feel her impact on the Nick’s programming. The theater hosts between six and eight curated series throughout the year, and the next 12 months are largely planned out. But Kozberg is raring to go. One idea she seems most excited about is pairing experimental filmmakers with purveyors of more traditional narrative features. She’ll do just that at a members-only event meant to introduce her to the Nick’s core audience, presenting Nicholas Ray’s 1956 movie Bigger Than Life and a more avant-garde piece from Mark Toscano that manipulates footage of “China Girls” — the images of women at the start of a reel once used for calibration when processing film.
“[Ray’s] a really interesting filmmaker of kind of classic Hollywood, so to speak,” Kozberg says. “I think it could be so incredibly contemporary and relevant at this moment to screen an emotionally and intellectually sophisticated film about masculinity, both as a culture of the 1950s, but also the perils of machismo.” She reasons that pairing Ray’s film with an experimental short culled from antiquated footage that also pricks notions of gender should tease out these themes even further. As for the Nick’s other aspirations — broadening its educational programs, expanding Indie Grits artist residencies into a year-round initiative — those efforts will also take more time. With Kozberg on board, the hope is to have Gadsden completely transitioned out of his managing director responsibilities by June or July. He’ll then continue working with the cohort of commissioned artists producing work for next year’s Indie Grits and begin planning new educational endeavors. “A big reason why the board approved this restructuring was so that the Nick ... could have space to really deepen and refine the Indie Grits Labs concept,” Smith says, “and start to realize that bigger vision without harming the theater in any way.”

The Nick has become a cultural powerhouse in state capital

The Nickelodeon's 2017 Indie Grits festival will kick off with a keynote address by Favianna Rodriguez, a transnational interdisciplinary artist and cultural organizer, who will share a message about the power of art to inspire social change. Rodriguez will speak April 19 at the Nickelodeon Theatre, 1607 Main St., Columbia. A reception will take place at 6 p.m., followed by Rodriguez’s talk and the premier of an Indie Grits film block, “El Sur.” Find the complete Indie Grits schedule online. From The Post and Courier Article and photos by Adam Parker

Nickelodeon2AdamParkerWhen the theater opened in 1936, it was one of five on Main Street in downtown Columbia between Blanding and Gervais streets. Now the old Fox Theater is all that’s left, a reminder of the days when Hollywood made escapist entertainments for those enduring the Great Depression and, soon after, World War II. It lay dormant beginning in 1987. Then in 2012, the Nickelodeon moved in after a big renovation project was partially completed. It was a momentous occasion. In April 2015, the renovation was finished, resulting in a second theater for screenings and other events, such as music and variety shows. The team had succeeded in raising $5 million to fund the makeover. The Nickelodeon, or The Nick as locals call it, had been located in a bank building just south of the Statehouse, but now it was in the heart of things. It harks to a time in the city mostly forgotten, and it symbolizes the new Columbia. In an unlikely turn of events it has become a cultural cornerstone of the city, one that has contributed to the revitalization of Main Street as a primary commercial and civic corridor and site of cultural activities. "It's the most adventurous venture in Columbia now," said Ken May, director of the South Carolina Arts Commission. The Nick was founded in 1979 by Carl Davis and Linda O’Connor. It started out as an art house for film lovers, a bohemian space for the alternative and academic crowd. Over the course of 30 years a lot changed: The movie business went digital, its commercial aspirations grew, distributors changed their practices. It was no longer sufficient just to screen indie and foreign films, not if The Nick was to become a vital force in the community. So, in 2007 Andy Smith was hired to start a festival. The Indie Grits Festival was an experiment in multidiscipline programming, an event that combined cinema, visual art exhibitions, live music and creative technology. The experiment has been working. It has drawn increasingly large crowds and expanded its offerings. In the past couple of years, organizers have assigned a theme to the festival. In 2015, the festival explored how technology influenced art-making and culture, naming the event “Future Perfect.” Last year, the theme was water, apropos after the historic 2015 Midlands flooding. The title was “Waterlines.” This year, the theme is Latin American culture, and the title is “Visiones.” The idea first was broached in the fall of 2015, with the intention of organizing a weekend event. But some grant money, input from artists, the powerful “Waterlines” experience and, finally, the myriad ways the theme resonates politically and culturally today convinced The Nick team to go big with “Visiones.” The festival runs April 20-23.

Expanding ideas

The thematic approach was adopted when Seth Gadsden joined The Nick team four years ago. Gadsden, who was an art major at the College of Charleston and co-founded Redux Contemporary Art Center in downtown Charleston in 2003, brought a new dimension to the Columbia enterprise. He helped further integrate the visual arts, and he took the lead in educational outreach. Late last year, The Nick announced that it was expanding its media education programming. Already it was providing resources to media artists, running a filmmaker-in-residence program and working with students in Richland School District One on an art project called “Come Around My Way” that delved into social justice issues. Now it would launch Indie Grits Labs, introduce the new initiative “TakeBreakMake” that provides a safe space for up to 15 young LGBT artists, and contribute to the festival. Indie Grits Labs is no small venture. It signifies a moment of exponential growth, one that acknowledges formally that The Nick is about much more than movies. It is part of a larger reorganization. Smith was promoted to chief executive officer of the Columbia Film Society, the umbrella organization under which The Nick and Indie Grits Labs operate. A new Nick director will oversee the cinema side of things. As a result of the change, Smith, Gadsden and their colleagues, all of whom have many interests, are better able to spread their wings. “Everyone is connected to more than film,” Gadsden said. Smith said the emergence of The Nick as an arts generator and incubator coincided with market and technology forces. “At the same time as our move (to Main Street), Netflix is exploding,” he said. “We saw more interest in media education, we saw it as a way to deepen our involvement with the community. It was our chance to get into the creation of work, to help develop critical viewing skills.” Gadsden pointed out that the school-age kids enrolled in “TakeBreakMake” or “Come Around My Way” might not have normally stepped foot inside an independent theater. Now some of them are volunteers. “Kids would just show up,” he said. So the staff found them something to do. “It’s a safe place for people in a fairly conservative part of the country, where people could come together and explore ideas.”

Having 'Visiones'

If the “Future Perfect” Indie Grits theme demonstrated the great promise of the festival, it was “Waterlines” that brought The Nick to a new level. Before the terrible flooding of October 2015, the team was thinking about adopting a “river” theme. It troubled them and others in Columbia that the Congaree River was so underutilized and underappreciated. Other cities such as San Antonio, Pittsburgh and Brooklyn had redeveloped their waterfronts for public use. But not much was happening along the banks of the Congaree. After the flood, water became the inevitable theme, but now with a large dose of urgency. “How do we respond to what just happened?” the Indie Grits team asked itself. A $50,000 grant from the Central Carolina Community Foundation helped them decide. A cohort of local artists was invited to a brainstorming session. “It became a group-think, collaborative project,” Gadsden said. “I learned a lot about what you can do with a group of artists if you support them and put them in a situation where (they can thrive).” “Waterlines” became a model that Amada Torruella, curator of “Visiones,” happily adopted. She identified artists in South Carolina to form the 2017 cohort, seeking not just artists, but artists who are teachers and innovators and community organizers, 11 Latinos of various backgrounds who met monthly to formulate the festival. The process began with optimism in the air: How was the Latino community changing the Southeast? After the presidential election, though, the tone darkened, for now Latinos were perceived by many as a threat, Torruella said. “We had to channel the negative energy,” she said. The cohort of artists includes a few Mexicans, two Colombians, two Ecuadorians, a Chilean and a Puerto Rican. Disciplines include photojournalism, music, filmmaking and more. “Since the project is pretty heavy on identity, one filmmaker is making an 'Identity Map' for people to follow,” Torruella said. The map will lead patrons through the outdoor showcase from one video installation to another. Screen printing workshops will be open to all in the Latino community, because “art should be as accessible as possible,” Torruella said. A puppet troupe from Mexico will perform. Food trucks will be strategically positioned downtown. And the musical headliners Lambchop and Curtis Harding will perform. For the film component of the festival, 80 movies are scheduled (from 400 entries received). About one-third of them are by Latino filmmakers or have Latino themes. The goal is to create a public space where people can share stories that humanize them.

'Very communitarian'

The Nick’s staff constantly is thinking strategically about artistic and community purpose and direction. They team up with nonprofits such as the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, which serves the Latino population, schools and government. “They’ve just become this real groundbreaking organization, not just in the city, but in the state,” said May, of the Arts Commission. “It’s quirky, interesting.” Ambitious, too, able to secure significant funding from groups like the Ford Foundation, he said. “Andy’s a very thoughtful, smart young guy who makes an impression on people like that,” he said “They’re very communitarian, but also committed to adventurous art. When you see something like that coming out of a place like South Carolina, I think it gets extra points. ... They just keep doing new things. And they’re restless.” This probably accounts for the growing popularity of The Nick and its eclectic programming. Smith said he and his colleagues always are asking questions, challenging themselves: “How can we strategically use the arts to make our community stronger, to make Columbia, to make South Carolina, a better place to live?” It’s an important consideration, especially in light of current trends. “The support structures (for the arts) in our state have really eroded,” Smith noted. Funding is always uncertain. The Richland-Lexington Cultural Council shut down a couple years ago. So the Columbia Film Society is positioning itself as a granting organization. And The Nick provides an opportunity to bring festival artists back into the fold after Indie Grits events are finished. Today, The Nick has an annual budget of $1.3 million, half of which is derived from earned income. Its membership, now at more than 3,000 individuals, keeps setting records. “We’re still scratching the surface of who we serve in the community,” Smith said. Image above: Amada Torrulla (left) is curator of "Visiones," this year's Indie Grits Festival. Seth Gadsden (center), is co-organizer of the festival and in charge of The Nickelodeon's education program. Andy Smith (right) is executive director and CEO of the Columbia Film Society, which oversees the Nick.

Columbia’s Nickelodeon Theatre seeks theatre director

nickelodeon-header-300Application deadline: December 12 The Columbia Film Society is looking for a dynamic, forward-thinking leader to join one of the most creative and hard working teams in the art house cinema sector. Created in response to the organization’s rapid growth, the Nickelodeon theatre director position will oversee the programming, marketing, operations and staff of the Nickelodeon Theatre. The primary artistic leader for the exhibition arm of the Columbia Film Society, the Nickelodeon director serves as the public face for the Nick’s retail organization. The Nickelodeon director reports to the CEO of the Columbia Film Society and serves on the senior leadership team along with the Indie Grits Labs director, the development manager and the CEO. Primary Responsibilities Programming: Shaping the artistic vision for the Nickelodeon Theatre, the Nickelodeon theatre director works with the programming staff, film buyer, and community members to program both screens of the Nick throughout the year, including:

  • Managing programming coordinators
  • With programming team, developing and maintaining five-year programming plan for special series and festivals
  • Overseeing the development of six to eight curated film series each fiscal year
  • Maintaining regular contact with film buyer to ensure high-quality first-run programming
  • With programming and marketing teams, establishing and communicating weekly screening times
  • Seeking out opportunities for special screenings of particular interest to our community
  • Ensuring programming calendar is regularly shared and understood throughout the organization
  • Staying abreast of trends in the independent cinema sector
Marketing: With two screens operating 365 days a year, the Nickelodeon theatre director will oversee efforts to effectively communicate the richness of the Nick’s programming to local, regional and national audiences, by:
  • Developing and implementing innovative and effective strategies for promoting the Nickelodeon’s programming – including first-run independent films, special series and screenings
  • Managing designer/interactive coordinator, marketing manager and other marketing support staff
  • Maintaining a yearly marketing calendar for special series, Nick Mags and special events
  • Working with the senior leadership team to implement innovative institutional marketing spikes that raise general awareness of the organization
  • Ensuring Nickelodeon messaging is effectively communicated through excellent customer service experiences online, over the phone, in-person, and in the lobby
  • Measuring and reporting outcomes of marketing efforts
Finance and Operations: Protecting and managing the physical and fiscal assets of the Nickelodeon is essential to ensuring the organization fulfills its mission. The Nickelodeon Theatre director will oversee the finances and operations of the organization, including:
  • Managing the operations manager and bookkeeper
  • Developing and managing the annual operating budget for the Nickelodeon Theatre, in coordination with the senior leadership team
  • Managing the day-to-day and long term finances of the Nickelodeon Theatre
  • Overseeing and approving quarterly finance reports for board meetings
  • Overseeing annual audit process
  • Overseeing the upkeep and maintenance of theater facilities and equipment, including work done by third party contractors
  • Ensuring the Nickelodeon is in compliance with necessary state and local licenses, taxes, and other government filings
  • Annually reviewing organization’s insurance policies to ensure sufficient coverage
Find a complete list of duties, qualifications and application instructions online. The application deadline is December 12 at 5 p.m. EST. About the organization The Columbia Film Society’s Nickelodeon Theatre serves Columbia, South Carolina, as a center for critical dialogue, anchored by the presentation of films that showcase the diversity, challenges, joy and aspiration of its community. A destination for enjoyment, enrichment, and education, the Nick provides the tools to make, interpret, appreciate, and teach the moving image in all its variety. Founded in 1979, the Nickelodeon is South Carolina’s only non-profit arthouse cinema.

SC high school students invited to enter short film competition

Submission deadline is Oct. 1. The Columbia Jewish Film Festival invites South Carolina high school students (grades 9-12) to compete in a short film competition. The film festival is seeking student filmmakers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Filmmakers do not have to be Jewish to submit an entry. Films in any genre will be accepted, (e.g., fictional, documentary, news story format), using the theme Identity: It’s All About Me! Students are invited to explore this theme as a way to promote dialogue while addressing issues that are at the forefront of today’s headlines. A panel of judges will chose the winning films based on creativity, overall quality and production, and execution of the film based on the theme. Presentation of awards and screening of the winning films will be held at the Nickelodeon Theater in Columbia on November 6 at 3 p.m. Prizes of $500, $300 and $200 will be awarded. The submission deadline is Oct. 1. Complete guidelines and the application form are available online. For more information, contact Patty Tucker, cjfilmfestival@gmail.com.

Catawba Indians and ‘Pocahontas’ star announce film production partnership

From The Rock Hill Herald Article by Tracy Kimball

[caption id="attachment_26346" align="alignright" width="300"]Catawba Indian Nation film agreement Irene Bedard and Bill Harris[/caption] Native American actress Irene Bedard is known for lending her voice to her craft. As an advocate and one of the most recognizable Native American actresses, Bedard lent her voice as ‘Pocahontas’ in the animated Disney films, and now hopes to lend her voice and influence to the York County-based Catawba Indian Nation. On Thursday, Bedard met with Catawba leaders to discuss a business partnership between her company, Sleeping Lady Films Waking Giants Productions, and the tribe’s production company, Red Heritage Media. The two companies hope to collaborate on television and film projects with Native American themes, as well as documentaries and short stories, said Bert Hesse of Studio South, a media production company that is partnering with the Catawbas. “It’s a great opportunity for not only the Catawba Nation, but for all of our storytelling capabilities, collectively – and then on top of that for the surrounding community as well, because it is going to bring a lot of revenue into the area,” Bedard told the Catawba leaders. The Catawbas purchased Red Heritage Media earlier this year and hope to build a $350 million movie studio project on 124 acres of tribal land in eastern York County with Studio South. The plans include multiple sound stages, a “five-star” hotel, a new Catawba Cultural Center, a school for film and music, retail and offices. “We are excited to hear of the future works of the Catawba studios and all the individuals involved,” Bedard said. “We are out here to endorse (the project) and to let people know that something like this in this area has the potential to create hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in revenue for this state and surrounding communities.” The Alaskan actress told Catawba leaders that Native Americans need to “take charge of our voice” and tell the “many amazing stories, inspiring stories and stories of resilience.” Bedard said for the most part Native Americans in films have been invisible. “I have realized just how we’ve had this great stage to be able to tell some incredible stories and go into this little fire, this little television, or this big screen and see something through the eyes of somebody else,” she said. “It’s amazing and it’s powerful.” Catawba Indian Chief Bill Harris and Bedard shared stories of non-Native Americans expressing interest in Indian cultures, but who are uneducated. “I do believe people around the world will want to come and learn more about the Catawbas,” Bedard said. “People around the world, they love us (Native Americans).” At the meeting Thursday, Harris spoke warmly with the actress once included among People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. For Harris, Bedard’s influence is not about her fame or beauty, but as a spokesperson for Native American issues. “I think what’s far more important than the fact that Irene is an actress is Irene’s voice,” Harris said. “It’s what she brings to the world when she speaks about native country.”

Florence Film Society aims to cultivate community through new film series

From SCnow.com

Article and photo by Deborah Swearingen

[caption id="attachment_25799" align="alignright" width="250"]Florence Film Society Tim Streit, left, and Andrew Bates began the Florence Film Society in 2013 as a way to connect with other area film lovers and promote art.[/caption]

FLORENCE, S.C. – Nearly three years ago, Tim Streit and Andrew Bates set out on a mission to cultivate an artistic community for film lovers through the Florence Film Society.

“We see a big opportunity to fill a void here in this city. You’ve got to travel 60 miles in any direction to find an art house cinema. We want to create that environment and culture here, places like the Nickelodeon (in Columbia), places like the Terrace Theater in Charleston,” Bates said.

To further its mission, the Florence Film Society is now hosting a quarterly art house film series in conjunction with the Florence County Museum and the Florence Regional Arts Alliance.

The first screening will be held March 26 in the Waters Building in downtown Florence.

Called “The Other Brother,” the documentary was directed by Kristy Higby and produced by Mark E. Flowers, both North Carolinians. It tells the story of two estranged brothers at very different spectrums in the art world.

“It’s really a wonderful look at sibling estrangement and what’s really beneath all of that. (It’s) a really well-told story,” Bates said.

The documentary has a run time of 71 minutes and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with both the director and the producer of the film.

The society previously held monthly screenings at Lula’s Coffee Co. in Florence, and Bates and Streit agreed that they could not have done it without the guidance and support from the coffee shop.

“It just developed into this very symbiotic relationship where they spent so much time pouring into us and cheering us on, helping us, to succeed in this town,” Bates said. “We kind of feel really extreme gratitude to Lula’s and their staff for being so generous with their resources.”

But Bates and Streit see the new partnership with downtown organizations as a way to connect with the greater Florence artistic community.

“We’re kind of trying to look for those sources where we can plug in and get involved with like-minded people and extend that influence,” Streit said.

The society’s co-founders agreed that they hope to build a community and foster education about film and art house cinema.

And ultimately, they would love to open an art house cinema in Florence.

When Streit discovered that the Nickelodeon Theatre in Columbia began as the Columbia Film Society, he said he felt hopeful that something similar could one day flourish in Florence.

Both Bates and Streit lived elsewhere for college but felt called to come back to Florence to enhance the city they grew up in and play an active role in its revitalization.

“It is what you make it, so we took that philosophy with the film society,” Bates said. “Like, we could keep going to Columbia and experiencing what’s already there or we could build something here.”

Most important, though, they want to encourage open-mindedness because independently produced films are not going to attract everyone.

But, Streit said, it’s important to give it a chance and remember that there’s always something new to discover.

“Even if you’re not a film buff or a film nerd, I always find that if you pay attention, there’s something in the movie that might strike you,” he said. “And it might not even be what the filmmaker intended, which, I guess, is the beauty of art, you know.”

Thinking about films opens up different conversation doors than other art forms, Bates said.

“It forces you to think, and I think in our culture and society today it’s so important to think for yourself,” he said. “And if you’re influenced by film that makes you think in a different way than you did before, maybe, it opens your mind to a different way of living.”

Saturday’s screening begins at 7:30 p.m. in the main room of the Waters Building on South Dargan Street. Admission is free and open to the public.

The other films being screened in the series are “Slow West,” “The Seventh Seal” and “The Great Dictator.”

For more information, email flofilmsociety@gmail.com, visit www.florencefilmsociety.com or search for the Florence Film Society on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Screen your film, tour the South, get paid

South Arts is now accepting film submissions for consideration for the 2016-17 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. Up to 18 films and filmmakers will tour the South for 10-12 days, screening their work and interacting with audiences. As the nation’s first regional tour of independent filmmakers, Southern Circuit provides filmmakers with the paid opportunity to participate in a multi-venue tour of the American South, screen their films for new audiences, and engage audiences in discussions about the content and production of their films. Southern Circuit works with screening partners to develop independent film audiences throughout the South. (Related: organizations can apply to be screening partners.) Southern Circuit is composed of three separate Circuits, each with six filmmakers (for a total of 18 filmmakers) who travel (by air and auto) to an estimated six to eight communities each throughout the Southeastern United States. The Circuit occurs September, October, November, February, March, and April. Filmmakers tour an estimated 10-12 days in one of those months. Selected as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s ’50 Film Festivals worth the Entry Fee, 2015,’ Southern Circuit brings the best of independent film to communities across the South. Audiences have viewed over 300 films and have engaged filmmakers in post-screening discussions in more than 100 Southern communities. The tour takes the audience away from their televisions, computers, tablets and phones and connects them with independent filmmakers – live! Southern Circuit transforms watching independent films from a solitary experience into a communal one. Early bird application deadline is Jan. 14; regular deadline is Feb. 29. Don't miss out on the opportunity to join the nation's original regional tour of indie films and filmmakers! Find the details online. Via: South Arts

Why filmmaking is on the rise in the Upstate

From The Greenville News Article by Donna Isbell Walker; photo by Heidi Heilbrunn

Screenwriter Geoffrey Gunn doesn’t need the bright lights of Hollywood, or even his native Toronto, to make movies. Gunn can write scripts from his house near downtown Greenville, shoot the films around the Upstate with a South Carolina crew, and edit the movies on a laptop at his favorite coffee shop. In mid-October, one of Gunn’s films will be screened at Greenville’s new Reedy Reels Film Festival. His is among 45 films that will be spotlighted, selected from hundreds of submissions from around the world. Filmmaking is no longer an elusive dream that beckons aspiring writers and directors to the movie studios of Los Angeles. These days, filmmakers can create their art right here in places like South Carolina’s Upstate and have it resonate with movie buffs and other filmmakers around the world. “I think Greenville is a hidden gem for people who are really in the know and want more interesting cultural experiences,” said Gunn, whose short film “Last Night at the Ellington” will be shown Oct. 16, opening night of the two-day Reedy Reels festival. The S.C. Film Commission recognized several years ago that South Carolina filmmakers had the potential to make an impression on the film industry far beyond the state line. That was the impetus behind the Indie Grants program, which offers financial help and practical support to aspiring filmmakers from South Carolina. Gunn received one of those grants to make “Last Night at the Ellington,” based on a short story he wrote about a robbery at a movie theater. The Indie Grants program “is a great launch pad for South Carolina filmmakers,” said Gunn, who also co-wrote the horror film “Siren,” currently being shown on HBO. Gunn, who moved to the Upstate seven years ago with his wife, a professor at Furman University, found that continuing a film career in Upstate South Carolina after working in Toronto was easier than he expected. “South Carolina, like Canada, does a lot of traveling production,” Gunn said. “And what I mean by that is, South Carolina has fantastic crews, and there’s a terrific crew base in the Southeast. To actually make your movie, you have many, many qualified people to work with.” Greenville’s Joe Worthen found that to be the case after he received a $23,000 Indie Grant. He’s using that assistance to make a short comedy called “Isle of Palms.” Worthen, who also helped create and produce the Greenville-shot web series “The Girl From Carolina,” said the grant has provided him with a producer, as well as the financial resources to hire an editor and production team, and it even pays for some of the post-production work. Because of the grant, “it’s been pretty great because I haven’t had to struggle or flounder,” Worthen said. “As part of the grant, they really help you out and take some ownership of the script all the way through production.” “Isle of Palms” will begin shooting later this year, but Worthen’s work will be represented at Reedy Reels when the first episode of “The Girl From Carolina” is screened on Oct. 17. Boosting homegrown talent The way Tom Clark, director of the S.C. Film Commission, sees it, the challenge for filmmakers here has been finding financial support and an audience for their work. “We’ve always had talent here. … It’s just that it’s so difficult for independent filmmakers to get a leg up,” Clark said. In 2004, the South Carolina Motion Picture Incentive Act was passed, and the state began looking at starting a training program for existing film crews working in the state, and for people who aspired to work in the entertainment industry here, Clark said. A few years later, the Indie Grants program was created. The film office works with film production students from Clemson, University of South Carolina and Trident Technical College in Charleston to provide crew support for grant-winners, Clark said. Over the years, the number of applicants has increased from 15 to about 45, he said. “We allow a producer or a writer or a director, local people, an opportunity to do a short film, and they need to involve college students, and they need to involve other local people, as well as allowing us to help them by bringing in Hollywood professionals,” Clark said. “In other words, if there’s a director of photography who doesn’t have a lot of experience, perhaps we’d bring in a director of photography.” For one film, the forthcoming “The Final Adventure of John and Eleanor Greene,” the film commission was able to bring in Oscar-winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter, who received the Academy Award for his work on “Titanic.” And some of those films have made an impression in Hollywood. One of the first films funded by the Indie Grants program, “The Debutante Hunters,” won the People’s Choice Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012, Clark said. “We felt like we had a pretty good success there, and most of these films are featuring South Carolina people. They’re featuring South Carolina themes, many of them. And so part of it’s about exposure of our filmmakers, but it’s also about exposure of our state as well,” he said. Gunn’s film “Last Night at the Ellington,” made with Indie Grants support, won the Regional Spotlight Award for Best Film From the Southeast from the Charleston Film Festival. He describes it as his “calling card,” a way to introduce himself and his work to audiences and other filmmakers. A long history The Upstate has a long history with filmmaking, starting in 1950 with Bob Jones University’s Unusual Films production company. A few years later, the university added a cinema production bachelor’s degree program. It’s an intensive program, in which the senior project is a short film, written, directed and edited by the student and screened at the university. About 45 to 50 students participate in the program each semester, with about eight bachelor’s degree grads per year, said Sharyn Robertson, head of the cinema department. Graduates have gone on to work for video production companies, on the mission field, and in the media departments of churches. One BJU graduate now works in television in New York, and he credits his BJU education – “the discipline and perfection” – with helping him hone his skills, Robertson said. At Clemson, where animation and special effects are the focus, students can earn a master of fine arts in Digital Production Arts. Clemson graduates and faculty have worked on films such as “Happy Feet,” “Superman Returns” and “Frozen.” A strong community Chris and Emily White have been making films in Greenville for several years. Their latest, “Cinema Purgatorio,” a semi-autobiographical take on the Whites’ pursuit of their filmmaking dreams, was chosen as one of three feature films in competition at Reedy Reels. It will be the final entry, screened just before the awards ceremony on Oct. 17. There’s no shortage of filmmaking talent in the Upstate, and the region also benefits from the strength of Georgia’s film industry, Chris White said. “Our experience has been, living in Greenville, is that there is a lot of indigenous talent coming out of Greenville. We have collaborated on projects that are at least major and big to us, that we were able to support crew talent and acting talent from the Upstate,” he said. Reedy Reels will screen 45 films in the categories of documentary, short film, student film, animation and feature presentation. South Carolina-themed films will be spotlighted on the second day of the festival. More than 780 films from around the world were submitted, said Matt Foster, one of the organizers. Inspiration came from the Beaufort Film Festival, but Reedy Reels organizers wanted to add another component: the chance to meet the filmmakers and ask questions. Many of the filmmakers will be in attendance, including one who is traveling from the United Kingdom, Foster said. The top feature film will receive a $1,000 prize, while other categories will award $500 and $250 prizes. “Our hope is to make this a destination event,” Foster said. “I’d like to see it become a large international film festival.” Gunn is hopeful that the film festival will inspire Greenville cinephiles to seek out films that don’t make it to the multiplex. Chris White also hopes that it will be a way for filmmakers to meet kindred spirits, in hopes of creating more art in the future. It’s not always easy for filmmakers to connect when they’re so focused on work, he said. “I think something like Reedy Reels is … a great opportunity for local filmmakers. If we’re not meeting on the steps somewhere, this is a place where we will meet, and we will be able to see each other’s work, and we will be able to hopefully inspire future collaborations together.”

Digital production arts degree to be offered at new Zucker Family Graduate Education Center

From Charleston Regional Business Journal Article by Ashely Heffernan

The first two of several degree programs that will be offered at the new Zucker Family Graduate Education Center in North Charleston have been announced. Clemson University will offer a doctorate in computer science and a master’s degree in digital production arts at the $21.5 million facility when it opens in the fall of 2016. Eileen Kraemer, director of Clemson’s School of Computing, said the first two degree programs are just the beginning. “The digital production arts (degree) will probably be the first out of the gate, but by the fall of 2016, we hope to have a presence for all of the programs,” Kraemer said, referring to all of Clemson’s graduate-level engineering programs. Students can begin applying for the Lowcountry programs beginning this fall, and Kraemer said the goal is to have a 10-student starting class for the digital production arts degree, which would eventually scale up to about 70. An additional 200 students are expected over time for the graduate engineering programs. Two professors are already scheduled to move from the Clemson area to Charleston to teach classes for the degrees, including Robert Geist, who is the interim director of the digital production arts program. Geist has taught at Clemson for more than 30 years and was credited in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for his visual effects work. He also co-founded the digital production arts program at Clemson, which prepares students to do animation, visual effects and electronic gaming work. “Our graduates go to lots of the studios, of course, and gaming companies,” he said. “They go to DreamWorks, and they go to Pixar and Disney. They go to Industrial Light & Magic, which is Lucasfilms, as well.” Since the program started in 1999, more than 150 alumni of the program have garnered film credits in movies including Frozen, The Croods and How to Train Your Dragon 2, according to the university. Creating “everything that’s fake” in a movie — most of the water in James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic was created by a university alumnus, for example — doesn’t come cheap for studios, according to Geist. “I’m sure those who are out there for a few years are making over $100,000. I would imagine the starting salaries are in the 80s somewhere,” he said. The new center, which is expected to be 70,000 square feet, is under construction near the Clemson University Restoration Institute on the former naval shipyard in North Charleston. On top of the $21.5 million building price tag, Nikolaos Rigas, executive director of the institute, said it will take several million dollars more to get the programs up and running. “I think there will probably be in the order of another $5 million to $10 million invested in equipment, startup packages to get professors here, hiring and things like that invested just in the educational programs themselves,” Rigas said. “Obviously those professors then bring in more money to set up their labs.” Students can expect to pay the same tuition at the North Charleston campus as they would if they were pursuing the same program at the Clemson campus, Rigas said.
Image: rendering of Zucker Family Graduate Education Center

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