Wednesday, September 21
TOUCHING GOD
Curated by Lili White

THUNDERBOLT; Heidi Phillips; Canada; 16MM to digi; 3:30
Light explodes out of the darkness engulfing a young woman as she tries to find her way through the storm.

OLD WEST LODGE; Heidi Phillips; CANADA; 16.00
DOP: Charles Venzon; Art Director: Chad Geisbrecht; Producer: Shelly Anthis; WNDX JURY PRIZE: BEST PRAIRIE WORK; Festival Nouveau Cinema MONTREAL
Set amidst drifts of snow in a desolate prairie winter, a weather-beaten lodge provides refuge for a disparate group of locals and travelers. Unlikely bonds form as each individual finds a way to move past isolation – freeing the lodge, and themselves, of the memories that haunt them.

THE GLASS THRESHOLD (El umbral de cristal); Ana Rodríguez León; Music: David Crespo; Sound: Carlos Padilla; Spain; digi; 25.00
In the city, people live together with the characters of the advertisement images universe. But, this apparently peaceful coexistence, starts to get disrupted when people and characters, start rivalry for the control of reality and of its fictions.

MERRY GO ROUND; Yuko Takebe; Japan/USA; Choreographed & videographed by Kristin Hatleberg and Joel Fritzon; 5.02
Merry Go Round Go Round Go Round…
We are born from nothing and nothing is our end.
Physicality is brief, painful.
Appearances may come and go, but our soul is unchanging.
Always jumping, searching, jumping, searching, in a circle.

FRIDAY MOSQUE; Azadeh Navai; BW/ Silent; Iran/USA; 7:43 |
A silent meditation on the Islamic prayer ritual, Namaaz, through motion–water is the core, but light is the cause. Shot on high-contrast black and white 16mm film, Azadeh Navai hand processes the negative and painstakingly contact-prints numerous foot-long strips of celluloid. The resulting image quivers and pulses. Enlarged film grain nearly obliterates the already abstracted image. There exists both a tension and serenity in the flickering frame. Every element is preparing for and anticipating the faithful soul that is summoned to the everyday practice. The silent tune of the calling, Azan, has overtaken.