In an era where the line between science fiction and reality is at times ambiguous, it is no surprise that this year's Virginia Film Festival theme is titled "TechnoVisions."
In addition to several other technology-related events that will take place at the University, the 12th Annual Virginia Film Festival will offer an artistic glimpse into different perceptions of all that is high tech.
Richard Herskowitz, the Festival's director, said he believes that this year's theme will not only reveal technology's role in our society, but also will document the different ways in which technology influences the film industry.
Like last year's theme, "Cool," which brought together elements from visual art forms of the Bayly Art Museum as well as music groups, "TechnoVisions" will follow the trend of what Herskowitz describes as "a multi-arts celebration."
The Festival is an attempt to showcase "the explosion of new technologies that have been affecting all the arts," Herskowitz said.
Some of these additional events include Daniel Reeve's installation at the Bayly and an exhibit of 70 CD-ROMs at Clemons Library's Robertson Media Center. One of the most anticipated guests of the festival, University-alumnus Stan Winston, also will be featured as one of the artists in the Bayly.
Winston's exhibit will appeal to our "endless fascination with special effects," Herskowitz said. "Stan Winston is one of the most significant U.Va. alumni in terms of impact in film making."
Herskowitz described Winston as an artist who "fits our theme perfectly because he draws from all traditions of classic creature filmmaking. He's prolific - his creatures are as good as they get."
As part of the collaborative effort that will expose Festival audiences to different art forms, "TechnoVisions" also features smaller, independent films that ordinarily would not be seen by mainstream viewers. Herskowitz said films such as "Circle's Short Circuit" embody the theme as it "uses all filmmaking techniques to tell a story" and is a "juxtaposition of silent film styles with digital editing techniques."
He described the film as one of many "independent films that will probably be better known later."
"TechnoVisions" will feature a variety of different movies ranging from older classics such as the Marilyn Monroe vehicle "How to Marry a Millionaire" and Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" to the more recent "Aliens," which will bring guest speaker Sigourney Weaver to the festival. Each of these films has its own significance to the theme - "How to Marry a Millionaire" was the first film shot in Cinemascope and "Dial M for Murder" is in 3-D.
The main sub-themes of the Festival focus on "the two aspects of technological innovation in the movies," Herskowitz said.
He described these two aspects as "the perpetual quest for a virtual reality immersive experience of total cinema from the earliest films to contemporary IMAX and simulation rides" and the other as "an alternative promise that new technologies will make movies cheaper and democratically more accessible to more people."
He added that the Festival is significant to University students because they are "living in a transitional period where film is in the process of disappearing and digital media is taking over."
"We're observing change, giving people a chance to reflect on where we're going," Herskowitz said.
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