FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Melissa Fowler, Festival
Director
212/714-8375
reelvenus_press@reelvenus.com
New
York, NY (July 21, 2006) – Reel Venus Film Festival is
proud to announce it’s return to Symphony Space in the Leonard Nimoy Thalia
Theater in Manhattan, on July 26th and 27th for it’s 4th
consecutive year to showcase the outstanding achievements of emerging and
established women filmmakers and video artists from the USA and abroad. This
year’s festival will showcase 23 films and will premiere the work of 11 first
time directors, 6 of whom are from New York.
There
will be 3 screening programs: Wednesday,
July 26th at 7:00 PM,
Thursday, at 6:30 PM and 8:15 PM
Reel
Venus Film Festival was conceived and launched in July 2003 and is curated by
aspiring local filmmaker, Melissa Fowler. The festival’s main objective is to
celebrate the art of short filmmaking by showcasing contemporary works, 30
minutes or less in length, which have been conceived, directed and written by
women filmmakers and video artists. All genres, topics and themes are
considered for inclusion in the festival. Criteria for final selection are
based on: compelling, up to date subject matter, originality in storytelling,
overall production quality and level of sophistication in use of media and
technology. Most importantly, the showcase aims to promote and expose an
eclectic body of work and topics to untapped audiences who may not otherwise
have an opportunity to view these films in typical Cineplex settings.
This year’s festival highlights include and explore
topics of triumph, resilience, healing, humor, magic and childhood
memories:
Tumaini Letu, Natalie Halpern -
In the villages of
western Kenya, AIDS has robbed hundreds of thousands of children of their
parents. Tumaini Letu follows the
lives, struggles, and indomitable spirit of three women left to care for these
orphans. Rasoa Kivairu is raising ten
grandchildren. Anna Khautu is a single
mother of five. And Anna Aredo has taken
in four nephews. With
limited resources but great resolve, they must overcome many challenges to
ensure these children grow up healthy and have a chance at a better
future.
Sticks & Stones,
Rehema Imani Trimiew - Sticks & Stones addresses the
psychological repercussions of racial disparity in the American public educational
system. Based on the filmmaker’s own experiences, this short exposes the
influence a teacher can bear on her student’s abilities and the role parents
can play in their child’s education.
Beauty Marks,
Catherine Young – Beauty Marks explores the incidence of self-mutilation
in the life of a young woman who is misunderstood by her father and is forced
to move in with her older sister, niece
and
nephew.
Red Phoenix,
Sarah Duran – Red Phoenix is the story of Luz Delgado’s struggle
to overcome tragedy
and keep her dream of
dancing alive.
Other Tongue,
Win-Sie Tow - Other Tongue
is a dramedy about a Chinese mother and her Americanized daughter, whose
Caucasian boyfriend challenges their perceptions of what it means to be
“Chinese” and “American”.
Carla Cope,
Aileen Mccormack - Carla Cope is the story of a woman who wanders through
a devastated city searching for what remains of her life and loss of love
during the 9/11 tragedy in New York City.
Chew, Sara
Steigerwald – Chew is an absurd
comedy about Audrey, a young woman who is trying to survive a date from hell.
While her date, the dashing and handsome Vince, finds every way to ignore and
disrespect her, Audrey is thrown for a loop as the customs and practices of
eating a meal at a fancy Manhattan restaurant are chewed up and spit all over
her…literally!
Divided Into One, Nicole
Esquibel - Divided
Into One is a series of beat
poems and letters to Boy George, which examine the long spiritual journey of a
male-to-female transsexual from young boy to street prostitute and heroin
junkie through her sex-reassignment surgery and final acceptance of herself and
the larger transgender community.
Just a Girl, Lilly Scourtis - Set in the perennially sunny San Fernando
Valley, California, Just a Girl offers a searing look into the insidious
and underexposed topic of acquaintance rape.
A
Happy Hour Cocktail Kick-Off Reception to welcome the
participating filmmakers will take place on
Tuesday July 25th, 2006 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at CIRCUS on 9th
Ave located near Times Square at 611 9th Ave. Complimentary drinks,
Cash Bar and light hors d’oeuvres will be available for filmmakers and invited
guests.
Tickets
are now available and can be purchased at Symphony Space online, over the phone
or in person at the box office located in Manhattan at 95th and
Broadway: 212-864-5400. www.symphonyspace.org
Full
Synopsis’s and Director Bios can be found at:
www.reelvenus.com For
more info: 212-714-8375