Hey, Weekend!

Hey Everybody!

This week's installment of Hey, Weekend features a fun mix of photography, film, music, and NYC Pride. We're excited about this heat, and if you aren't just headed to the beach--we got you covered.

We'll see you next week!

Love,

3rd Ward

#1

FRIDAY, 6/22 // PHOTOVILLE

June 22 to July 1, 2012

Why call it a festival, when you've got a town? This pop up photography village is made of freight containers transformed into temporary exhibition spaces in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The scope is huge: exhibitions, lectures, hands-on workshops, nighttime projections, a photo dog run, a camera greenhouse, and a summer beer garden amid food trucks.

image courtesy of Photoville

#2

THROUGH 7/11 // BAMCINEMAFEST

 We're lucky that all the celebrated films from Cannes, Sundance, SXSW (and more) come to us here in NY first. Even better that it's in Brooklyn! Besides the motley of flicks we want to check out, we want to see Jon Krasinski (Jim from The Office!) play half of an LA couple, whose lives are stirred up when a woman moves in with them.

photo courtesy of BAMcinemaFest

 #3

SATURDAY, 6/23 // GHOSTFACE KILLAH HEADLINES LYRICIST LOUNGE 20TH ANNIVERSARY 

Doors Open @ 6:30. Def Jam core artist GHOSTFACE KILLAH, hailing from the Wu-Tang Clan pantheon, headlines this birthday celebration for the legendary Lyricist Lounge.  Special guests include: CAMP LO, ASTRO,  FARAH BURNS, RAH DIGGA, KID CAPRI, and more!

photo courtesy of Celebrate Brooklyn!

#4

SATURDAY, 6/23 // I LOVE VINYL @ LE POISSON ROUGE 

Keep listening to Hiphop after the Ghostface show is over. This party features NYC DJ heavy-hitters who know how to play the classics we wanna hear. If listening to 90s music does you right, or you prefer traveling even farther back into the funk and soul era, then this is where you need to be. 

photo courtesy of ilovevinyl.org 

#5

SUNDAY, 6/24 //  NYC PRIDE MARCH 

March begins at Fifth Ave and 36th St and proceeds south to the reviewing stand at Fifth Ave and 8th St before turning west down Christopher St to Greenwich St.  

Grand Marshals of this year's pride: Cyndi Lauper, Kiehl's president Chris Salgardo, the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York, Phyllis Siegel and Connie Kopelov! 

Pride // NYC courtesy of bestofnewyork.com

This Friday: See 7 Award Winning Short Films at The New York Japan CineFest

'Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins.' (Dolphin Dance Project)

Whether you're seeking inspiration for work in one of our filmmaking classes or just looking for a great way to kick off your weekend, Friday's New York Japan CineFest program at the Asia Society is an excellence opportunity to catch seven acclaimed short films, and maybe even meet their directors, who will also be in attendance.

One of the program's most decorated films is Justin Ambrosino's The 8th Samurai, which imagines the fate of an additional actor cut from Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. The "wildly humorous" tribute even toured with Kurosawa's films for his 100th anniversary back in 2010. Equally acclaimed is Ken Ochiai's Frog in the Well, which follows a man's "meditative and transformative" trek across Japan to scatter his mother's ashes.

Kosuke Furukawa's Uguisu portrays a waitress who "comes across two mysterious customers" while working at a Brooklyn diner, which you might recognize as Williamsburg's Cafe de la Esquina (previously home to the Wythe Diner). We're also quite intrigued by Chisa Hidaka's Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins, in which "a human dancer and wild Spinner dolphins forge a tender relationship through the language of dance."

Rounding out the lineup are Yasu Suzuki's Radius Squared Times Heart, which snagged Best Comedic Short Film at the Manhattan Film Festival, Haruhito Naka's Into The New World, in which a woman's search for her missing boyfriend leads her into an "unexpectedly hallucinatory world," and Yoriko Murakami's Corazon en Fuego / Heart on Fire, a stop-motion animation about a lonely woman who is "visited by an unexpected guest who will change her life forever."

Sounds like there's something for everyone! Watch the New York Japan CineFest trailer below and grab your tickets for Friday's program here.

-- John Ruscher

Kickstarter Pick: Lisa Cifuentes Teams Up With Her Sisters For Feature Film, "After The Wedding"

You've seen her working the front desk and soon you could be seeing her producing her first feature film. 3rd Ward Member Associate Lisa Cifuentes mentioned this "little project" when we spoke with her back in March, but she was obviously being modest, as it sounds like an amazing endeavor. 

Teaming up with her sisters Claudia and Karina, Lisa is raising money via Kickstarter to begin production on After The Wedding this summer. The film, which is written and directed by Claudia and co-produced by Lisa and Karina, "follows newlywed Diego Diaz (Nick Puga) as he heads down to Miami Beach for a few weeks to finish his latest novel, but when he becomes emotionally intimate with a sexy bartender, he and his wife are left to examine the true state of their young marriage."

By pledging to the After The Wedding Kickstarter you will not only be supporting an ambitious project from a 3rd Ward staffer, but also a couple of underrepresented segments in entertainment world. As the Cifuentes sisters point out in their Kickstarter pitch, the United States' Latino population has grown significantly, but the same can't be said of the film industry. They also highlight the fact that only 5% of directors are female and only 18% of behind-the-scene film roles are held by women. With After The Wedding's Latina writer and director, producers, and a largely Latino cast, those statistics are another great reason to get behind the film.

And if you still need a little extra nudge, the Cifuentes sisters are also offering tons of enticing rewards for pledges. Lisa herself will be baking some "delicious Latin sweets" as part of a $100 "Cafe con Leche" pledge package and leading a 4-hour driving tour of Miami's best spots for a $300 "Ocean Drive" package. On top of such great Kickstarter rewards, the sisters have also started "Our Secrets to a Happy Marriage," a blog series in which they ask couples to share their marriage secrets.

For more check out the After The Wedding website and Facebook page and keep up with the Cifuentes sisters via their Dreaming of Palm Trees blog and Pink Forest Films Twitter. And, of course, hit up their Kickstarter page to help make After The Wedding a reality.

-- John Ruscher

Philly Field Trip: Stefan Sagmeister's "The Happy Show"

Sagmeister at work 

"I am usually rather bored with definitions. Happiness, however, is such a big subject that it might be worth a try to pin it down." 

Renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister has spent the last year working hard at being happy (and filming his attempts.) What's emerged is The Happy Film, a documentary about Sagmeister's three-pronged approach to finding the path to true happiness via meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and prescription drugs. Through experiments and explorations “from the sublime to the ridiculous” loosely based on his pivotal book “Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far,” Sagmeister tests “once and for all if it’s possible for a person to have a meaningful impact on their own happiness.”

Now he's taking his show on the road with "The Happy Show," at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, running now through August 12, 2012. The exhibition, which spans the entire second floor gallery and ramp, includes a 12-minute sneak peak of the documentary as well as work from his 10-year investigation into the relationship between typography and happiness.

"To contextualize the maxims that appear throughout the exhibition, Sagmeister has gathered the social data of Harvard psychologists Daniel Gilbert and Steven Pinker, psychologist Jonathan Haidt, anthropologist Donald Symons, and several prominent historians."

Check out a quick preview of the the film's opening titles followed by glimpses of the show invitations being laser-cut from bologna (!!!)

Meanwhile: Want to see if design does in fact make you happier, enroll in one of 3rd Ward's many Design classes to find out.

Decide Who Wins the Vimeo Festival + Awards

Because "online video and creativity are transitioning from an age of watching to an age of creating," Vimeo chose "The End of the Beginning" for the theme of their upcoming Festival + Awards (which is exactly vague enough to not discriminate against any would-be contenders.). As someone who uses the "world wide web," you know it's tough to sift through the huge amount of deritus available to watch at any time of day. And we're not just referring to "oh my god that cat just spoke English" videos, but now every aspiring filmmaker who gets their hands on a camera has a short film (or 10) they want you to stream.

We feel Vimeo does a pretty good job of weeding out the good from the oh-so-bad, and now they're hosting an event to applaud those who do it the best. The three-day celebration begins at the NYU Skirball Center on June 7, when the awards will be handed out. The following two days will feature "educational workshops, riveting conversations and raging parties."  Well those three things are our middle name, sooooo, count us in.

Tickets go on sale April 17, which is the same day Vimeo opens up public voting for each of the festival's 13 categories. Meet the judges, watch the videos and vote for your favorites.

-- Perrin Drumm

2012 Vimeo Festival + Awards: One Week Left to Submit!

We know. First we tell you to get your cinematic brain in check for the Northside DIY Film Fest. And then along comes the Greenpoint Film Festival. What can we say? People like to watch. So why not add one more submission to your filmic laundry list and enter the 2012 Vimeo Festival?

Here's the catch:

You have exactly one week until the February 20th deadline to submit your short film, advertisement, animation or any kind of video experiment. But what is the 2012 Vimeo Festival + Awards ceremony? It's a web video competition doling out $5,000 prizes--and one $25,000 grand prize(!)--in thirteen glorious categories: Documentary, Narrative, Music Video, Captured, Experimental, Remix, Series, Motion Graphics, Animation, Lyrical, Action Sports, Fashion and Advertising. The panel of stellar judges for each category was just announced. Here are some of the names we're jazzed about:

Narrative: James Franco

Series: Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) and Edgar Wright (director of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)

Documentary: Lucy Walker (nominated for an Oscar this year for the documentary short The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.)

Music Video: Colin Greenwood (of Radiohead)

Action Sports: Stacey Peralta (Skateboarder) and Travis Rice (snowboarder)

Fashion: Nick Knight, Thierry Mugler and Nicola Formichetti (UNIQLO creative director)

Animation: Geoff McFetridge (Where the Wild Things Are) and Shelley Page (Dreamworks)

Captured: Barbara London (MoMA)

Lyrical: Maria Popova, Blake Whitman, Philip Bloom

The entry fee is only $5 for Vimeo Plus or PRO users (which is just $5/month when you sign up for the year). The two-day festival will take place in New York, from June 7-9, 2012. You can watch the entire 2010 awards show here to get a sense of what the competition is like.

Get thee submitting!

-- Perrin Drumm

Call for Entries // The Tribeca Film Institute New Media Fund Supports Innovative Cross-Platform Storytelling

18 Days in Egypt, which launched this week on the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Egyptian uprising, captures that historic moment throught an interactive collaboration that brings together citizen journalism and multimedia. This is the kind of innovative project that the Tribeca Film Institute is supporting with its newest program, the TFI New Media Fund.

"The ultimate goal of the New Media Fund is to push the boundaries of storytelling and take the audience beyond traditional screens," says 3rd Ward member Opeyemi Olukemi, who is part of TFI's Digital Initiatives team. 18 Days in Egypt was one of the first six projects funded through the program last year, along with others such as Map Your World, which encourages children to help improve their communities by mapping, tracking and sharing the changes that they are making. There's also an interactive online companion to the documentary film The Tillman Story.

"The Fund aims to support non-fictional, social issue media projects that engage audiences and challenge them to explore these stories in an innovative approach," Olukemi adds. Think you've got a project that fits those criteria? TFI will be accepting submissions for the fund through March 6, and this summer four to eight projects will be awarded between $50,000 and $100,000.

Olukemi recommends starting with an idea that inspires you. "I would advise each applicant to find an issue that is important to them—whether it be human engagement with wildlife (NFB's BEAR 71), black male identity in America (Question Bridge), or city life in dense spaces (NFB's Out My Window)—and think of how their community can explore it through a different fashion," she says. "Think beyond the film screen and start creating what you wish was being done!"

For more information, check out the TFI New Media Fund Wiki or get in touch at newmediafund[at]tribecafilminstitute.org

-- John Ruscher

Call for Entries // Getty Images' Invites You To Remix Its Vast Video And Music Archive For Its Mishmash Competition

For creatives everywhere, Getty Images can be a crucial resource, but also a frustrating tease. It puts a giant treasure trove of high-quality images, video and music at your fingertips, but the price tags force you to take only what really need to get a project done, leaving behind a world of possibilities.

In Getty's annual Mishmash competition, though, you can explore this world and use its vast digital riches for free. On top of that, you'll have a chance for global recognition and some sweet cash!

Now in its third year, Mishmash invites anyone to take advantage of its archive of over 825,000 video clips and 140,000 music tracks—including material from the likes of Universal Studios and Warner Brothers Film—and create a video remix. An earthshaking music video, mind-blowing video art, moving short story, fascinating mini-doc, an amazing ad—the choice is yours.

Feeling like a kid in a candy shop who's been told you can take anything you want? If so, Mishmash is probably for you. Take a look at the competition you'll be up against and then register to get started.

The deadline for entering is February 29, but the sooner you submit your video, the more votes it can rack up for the Public Vote prize (a cool $1000). Your ultimate goal, of course, should be global domination ($5000 and international exposure), but being a regional winner ($2000) or country winner ($1000) wouldn't be too shabby either. All of those prizes will be selected by a jury of top creative professionals.

Now fire up Final Cut and show 'em what you got!

-- John Ruscher

Filmmaker Spotlight // Member Brian Goodwin Immortalizes a Legend(ary Sandwich)

One of peanut butter & jelly's countless charms is its total ease of assembly. But with the short film PB&J, filmmaker and 3rd Ward member Brian Goodwin wanted to see what would happen if it were actually a complicated industrial process.

To give you the pitch: "Petey Boyle" is the owner of PB&J, which is on its last legs when it gets a complicated order from a demanding client.

Meawnhile, Goodwin works as an art director which he tell us helped him craft the film's aesthetic of delightfully old-fashioned. "I'm a filmmaker, that's what I moved here to do," he explains. "Some people work on sets, as crew, but I've kind of worked my way up the art directing ladder." Evidence of his eye can be seen in the office set, shot right here at 3rd Ward; "We built a set," Goodwin says, "and we created a miniature for the factory."

While PB&J goes through the festival submission process, the entire short film's now available online. So get watching, spread the word--and try not to eat your computer monitor.

Check the teaser here:

"PB&J" TEASER from Fury Young on Vimeo.

--Layla Schlack

ESSENTIAL EVENT // This Weekend: The Red Hook International Film & Video Festival

 

This weekend the 4th annual Red Hook International Film And Video Festival is happening at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition. The festival will showcase over 20 short films, including many that focus on the culture and environs of NYC.

On Saturday you can see films such as "Lehigh Valley 79," a look at the man behind the 100-year-old barge that functions as Red Hook's Waterfront Museum, "Spirit Ship," a "haunting children's adventure" set in Red Hook, and  "George Trakas at the Waters Edge: Newtown Creek," a portrait of the artist and creek explorer who founded the Newtown Creek Nature Walk.

Sunday's showcase will include "Masstransiscope" and "Inspiring Spaces: 25 Years of Arts for Transit," two films about subway and transit art by Allison Prete, "To Be Seen," an exploration of NYC street art that features Swoon, Faile and The Wooster Collective, and "Nobody Can Predict The Moment of Revolution," a timely piece shot during the 5th and 6th days of Occupy Wall Street.

The festival runs from 1-6pm this Saturday, October 15, and Sunday, October 16. And get this: not only is it free, but there will also be free popcorn and Red Hook's own Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies!

Watch a few of the fest's films we're excited about after the jump.

"Lehigh Valley 79" - Directed by Flonia Telegrafi:

"Masstransiscope" - Directed by Allison Prete:

"George Trakas at the Water's Edge: Newtown Creek" - Produced by Urban Omnibus:

-- John Ruscher