Coming off an extremely successful fall Film Festival, the Virginia Film Society has unleashed its spring season. With a theme of "Artists on Film," the Film Society will feature works on and by contemporary artists, many of whom are pushing the limit of the medium of film in innovative ways.
"We're featuring biographical portraits of artists who have been rebellious pioneers, a step ahead of their times," Virginia Film Festival Director Richard Herskowitz said. "In addition, we are showing works by experimental artists who are pushing cinema in new directions."
While past seasons have focused on narrative films such as Hollywoodland, this season branches out by emphasizing films that convey the sense that art and film are essentially linked.
"The theme of the season was chosen in order to look at how film itself is an art form," development intern Myles King said. "Some are documentaries about artists, others are performances that show how the actual film itself is the art and how it displays art. It's a different look for the season."
Working in collaboration with several University departments, including the art department, the U.Va. Art Museum, OFFScreen, Brown College and the media studies department, the Film Society hopes to bring several well-known and highly acclaimed films to the University community.
"We're trying to show how the Film Festival is very much a part of the U.Va. community and get other students involved in it," King said. "The Charlottesville community is also very supportive of the Film Society."
While the fall Film Festival is a weeklong affair, showing works from a larger scale and inviting prominent actors and directors, the Film Society shows eight films over four months, concluding in June. This season features several smaller, yet profound works.
"We're focusing on progressive, avant-garde artists," King said. "Richard [Herskowitz] chooses films that are well-known, or will become well-known, in the film community. Many of the films are tailored to specific interests, and the [spring season] is more personal, where the director or producer can interact with audience. These are smaller films you wouldn't be able to see otherwise."
The season's kick-off film, Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, is a documentary about the legendary artist Jack Smith and was a hit during its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
In addition to showing films, the spring season will feature collaboration between the Film Society and the U.Va. Art Museum's new media gallery. The gallery, which is opening in conjunction with the Film Society's second film, Per.Form, will allow the Film Society to expand the season's offerings.
"This new venue will allow us to show more works by artists who come to our film society and explore their careers in greater depth, including displays of their visual art," Herskowitz said.
Per.Form, performed by experimental artists Sandra Gibson and Luis Recorder, is an unprecedented look at film as an art itself. The three-part show uses manipulations of projector light to make the film itself a performance. The media gallery will feature the society's piece, Light Works, which includes five individual works and will run continuously throughout the day.
With a new look about it, the Film Society's spring season promises to entertain and educate. Hoping to draw the interest of University students, the Film Society and its sponsors look to expand the outlook of their audience.
"The Film Society is very committed to not becoming too marketed or about money," King said. "It was founded as an educational festival and we've kept up with that. The films are entertaining and yet are breaking the boundaries of what we consider 'going to the movies.'"
The Virginia Film Society's spring 2007 season runs Feb. 13 through June 9.
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