Underground Film Festival Wants to "Change the World"
Cincinnati, OH, April 01, 2005 --(PR.com)-- In a sea of film festivals, many may wonder, "So what? Another film festival?" which is why Undercurrents founders Sasha Sceniak and Max Krueger decided from the beginning to make this festival unique. "It is about the future of film, and the future of the world, " comments Max. Sasha adds, "Because along with the birth of mass art came the birth of mass war. We developed the potential to communicate with each other like never before, while at the same time we learned to destroy ourselves like never before. Mass art, war, and the future of the world have been connected from the beginning."
Undercurrents Film Festival is about challenging the status quo, whether that be in form, content, or expression; it does not limit itself to narrative or non-narrative, or elitist format standards that keep filmmakers who can only afford to shoot on DV out of competition. Undercurrents accepts any genre, non-genre, anti-genre, animation, documentary, experimental, or underground film or video regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or any attempt to deconstruct the previous constructions.
The ideas behind Undercurrents were born one night as life-long feminist, Sasha, became indignant about the sexist portrayal of women in yet another Hollywood blockbuster. "Every time a film portrays a female as a mindless stereotype it is not a simple harmless act that has comedic value. Similarly, we feel that by denying and refusing to explore the fact that not everyone lives the same life and makes the same choices, is a denial of reality and truth. Opening one's eyes to experiences and attitudes that are new to you is one of the most amazing things film offers. And for those too squeamish to try to step outside into the world and be open-minded to others, what can you possibly lose by being open to new ideas put forth in film?" Not satisfied just to criticize, Sasha wanted to do something about it.
"We began talking about a new film festival to reward filmmakers who make different choices - choices that are rejected by the Hollywood elite," continues anarcho-socialist Max Krueger. "I had just finished the first season directing the International Festival of Horror, and I wanted to do something broader conceptually. " Sasha adds, "We quickly decided we didn't want to focus on one subject like feminism or racism, because there are already great festivals out there doing that. We also didn't want to limit the festival in any way - we want everyone to feel welcome. Artists are often swept away by the history of the moment, and while they made no conscious attempt to make a social comment, they do whether they want to or not."
To make this dream a reality, Undercurrents looks for innovation not just in subject matter or character development, but in the structure of the movie itself. While Hollywood's focus is the 3-act structure where all problems can be solved and are in ways that always re-enforce the status-quo, Undercurrents realizes that not everyone experiences the world that way. "The Hollywood 3-act structure is an ideology that all problems can be solved within our system, that we all live in happy endings," critiques Max. Sasha adds, "Half the world is oppressed because of their gender, another 3/4 because of their race, and 90% because they were born poor. Clearly, happy endings only exist for a very small portion of society. Undercurrents is a film festival for the masses."
You can learn more about Undercurrents film festival and download the submission forms at their website, www.under-currents.com.
Undercurrents Film Festival is about challenging the status quo, whether that be in form, content, or expression; it does not limit itself to narrative or non-narrative, or elitist format standards that keep filmmakers who can only afford to shoot on DV out of competition. Undercurrents accepts any genre, non-genre, anti-genre, animation, documentary, experimental, or underground film or video regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or any attempt to deconstruct the previous constructions.
The ideas behind Undercurrents were born one night as life-long feminist, Sasha, became indignant about the sexist portrayal of women in yet another Hollywood blockbuster. "Every time a film portrays a female as a mindless stereotype it is not a simple harmless act that has comedic value. Similarly, we feel that by denying and refusing to explore the fact that not everyone lives the same life and makes the same choices, is a denial of reality and truth. Opening one's eyes to experiences and attitudes that are new to you is one of the most amazing things film offers. And for those too squeamish to try to step outside into the world and be open-minded to others, what can you possibly lose by being open to new ideas put forth in film?" Not satisfied just to criticize, Sasha wanted to do something about it.
"We began talking about a new film festival to reward filmmakers who make different choices - choices that are rejected by the Hollywood elite," continues anarcho-socialist Max Krueger. "I had just finished the first season directing the International Festival of Horror, and I wanted to do something broader conceptually. " Sasha adds, "We quickly decided we didn't want to focus on one subject like feminism or racism, because there are already great festivals out there doing that. We also didn't want to limit the festival in any way - we want everyone to feel welcome. Artists are often swept away by the history of the moment, and while they made no conscious attempt to make a social comment, they do whether they want to or not."
To make this dream a reality, Undercurrents looks for innovation not just in subject matter or character development, but in the structure of the movie itself. While Hollywood's focus is the 3-act structure where all problems can be solved and are in ways that always re-enforce the status-quo, Undercurrents realizes that not everyone experiences the world that way. "The Hollywood 3-act structure is an ideology that all problems can be solved within our system, that we all live in happy endings," critiques Max. Sasha adds, "Half the world is oppressed because of their gender, another 3/4 because of their race, and 90% because they were born poor. Clearly, happy endings only exist for a very small portion of society. Undercurrents is a film festival for the masses."
You can learn more about Undercurrents film festival and download the submission forms at their website, www.under-currents.com.
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