| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| DATE: | May 16, 2008 |
| CONTACT: | Bill Huie 361.825.5750; Deborah Fullerton 361.825.3505; or Cassandra Hinojosa 361.825.2337 |
| Short Films by Local Independent Artists Take Spotlight as KEDT-TV Premiers 18th Season of ‘The Territory’ | |
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas –The works of local media artists Jim Forsythe and Omar Becerra will open the 18th season of “The Territory” Saturday, June 14, at 10 p.m. on KEDT-TV Channel 16.
“A Spotlight on Local Media Artists” will feature Forsythe’s works which use digital animation techniques to produce vibrant, mesmerizing abstractions. The screening will include Forsythe’s films “Bad Hair” (2004); a selection from “My House, My Home” (2005); “Bobwire, Chillin’ Crazy Bunny, and Poser” (2007); “Two New Pieces” (2008); and Becerra’s short documentary spoof, “Mason’s Midget.”
“The Territory,” which will run at 10 p.m. on four consecutive Saturdays through July 5, features short independent films and video works on a wide variety of subjects. The series is produced and hosted by Dr. Bill Huie, professor of communication and TV-film at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Dr. Ethan Thompson and Laszlo Fulop, assistant professors of communication at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; and Deborah Fullerton, associate curator for exhibitions and education at the Art Museum of South Texas. Series producer at KEDT-TV South Texas Public Television is Jeff Felts and program director and editor is Danny Conley. Works of media art are provided by Mary Lampe, executive director of the Southwest Alternate Media Project.
Other films to be aired and discussed include:
Saturday, June 21, “Kids, Families and In-Between” – A little girl chasing a red ball leads her to an animated world of magical sights in the Israeli film “Julot” (2005) by Maya Tiberman. In the Australian film “The Saviour” (2005) by Peter Templeman, a young door-to-door Bible salesman is invited inside by a young woman, and their encounter leads to an unexpected miracle. A child learns to listen to her instinct when things don’t add up in “Family Size Pizza” (2006) by South Korean filmmaker Gim Gyungmi. And in the English film “Does God Play Football?” by Michael Walker (2003), a fatherless boy is fine with speaking to God, but wants a real father to play soccer with him.
Saturday, June 28, “With a Bang or With a Whimper” – A tense post-9/11 taxi conversation takes place between a Muslim driver and a Wall Street passenger in “City” (2006) by Topaz Adizes. The often-humorous documentary “When the Light’s Red” (2007) by Texas filmmaker Keith Wilson explores responses to panhandlers with signs. Set in three different times and places, the Canadian film “Before the Wind Blows” (2006) by Samer Najari reveals similarities between a Japanese pilot, a Lebanese woman, and a Palestinian man, as each prepares for a suicide mission. In the dark comedy animation “Little Bird of Disaster” (2004) by Canadian filmmaker Nick Fox-Gieg, a little bird accurately predicts disasters. And in Francesca Talenti’s animated film “Legend of the End of the World” (2007), an old Lakota woman and her dog hold the fate of the world in their hands and paws.
Saturday, July 5, “Metamorphosis by Film” – The offbeat dance film “Flying Days” (2006) by Canadian Pablo Diconca shows a businessman’s intriguing transformation in an office building elevator. Filmed in Austin, Texas, the wry fable “Share the Wealth” (2006) by Bennie Klain depicts an encounter between a Native American woman and an IRS bureaucrat. In the film “Coffee and Milk” by Texas filmmakers Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand, flowing abstract patterns are created by combining coffee and milk. “McLaren’s Negatives” (2006), an animated documentary by filmmaker Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre, features an interview with innovative Canadian animator, Norman McLaren, and numerous clips from his work. Argentinean filmmaker Stephan Müller provides viewers with a witty, energetic exploration of Buenos Aires in “Matchcut” (2005). And in the hilarious Australian clay animation “Extreme Makeover” (2006) by Jonathan Daw, an average guy enters a factory-like cosmetic surgery clinic to improve his physique.
Major funding for “The Territory” is provided by the Texas Commission on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.