News

Three Film Fests Call for Entries

Deadlines are approaching for a variety of film festivals, including The Wallabout Film Festival, the Aesthetica International Short Film Competition and the Woodstock Film Festival.

First up is The Wallabout Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York on April 11, 2010, with a submission deadline of March 19. Students and young emerging filmmakers are encouraged to submit their latest film, including work in any genre, theme, or category; however nothing over fifteen minutes can be showcased in the festival. There is no fee to enter. Selected films will be screened and critiqued by students, artists, and industry professionals at the annual award ceremony in April.

Aesthetica Magazine, a UK-based arts and culture publication that engages with critical debate and contemporary artistic trends, has launched the Aesthetica International Short Film Competition. Organizers are keen to see filmmakers from the U.S. represented, and all genres of film are being accepted. Winners and runners-up receive a prize package including film screenings at The National Media Museum (Bradford), Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival (London), Glasgow Film Festival, Kerry Film Festival (Ireland), and Project Space Leeds. Films can be up to 25 minutes long. For detailed guidelines and entry, visit Aesthetica Magazine. The entry deadline is April 30.

The 11th annual Woodstock Film Festival is a uniquely intimate, casual and friendly event, where highly-respected industry "movers and shakers" mingle freely with emerging filmmakers, providing excellent networking opportunities in a fun and stimulating environment. Honoring quality, the Maverick Awards are presented for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Student Film, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Animation. Cash, prizes and/or services valued at $50,000 are given out. Audience Awards are presented for Best Feature and Best Documentary. Entries may be submitted through June 21.

Please share news about additional calls for entry via our Facebook Fan page.   

Film, Photo Faculty Collaborate on Uganda: “A River Blue”

MMW photography instructor David Wright traveled to Uganda last year, inspired by the work of filmmaker and fellow MMW faculty, Chandler Griffin's A River Blue NGO.

Founder of the Barefoot Workshops, Chandler launched A River Blue Arts Festival in 2008 as an arts empowerment project for the children of internally-displaced persons camps in northern Uganda.


photo by David WrightThe festival was a great success, prompting Barefoot Workshops to continue its support through a community development project called A River Blue Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Center.

In January and February of last year David spent two months in northern Uganda photographing for A River Blue, where psychosocial counseling and intense vocational training in topics like tailoring, agriculture, and arts are provided to vulnerable youth. He also spent time photographing the citizens and landscapes of the surrounding village of Alebtong.

His series Alebtong, Uganda, 2009 was recently selected as 1 of 3 winners in the 2009 Conscientious Portfolio Competition. David's work is on exhibit at Anastasia Photo in New York February through March 31.

In conjunction with the exhibition, a beautiful A River Blue booklet designed by Josh Gomby and printed by Booksmart Studio in an edition of 250 is available for purchase through donation. 100% of the proceeds go to A River Blue.

Women in Photography Event at B&H Features MMC Grads


photo by Cig HarveyMaine Media College alums Cig Harvey and Jackie King are featured photographers in an event at the B&H superstore in Manhattan on Sunday, March 21 – Women in Photography: a Panel Discussion & Slideshow.

In celebration of International Women's Day on March 8th, the B&H Event Space brings together an eclectic group of accomplished photographers, all women, to speak about their work and their journey towards success within their role as a female artist. In addition to a panel discussion covering topics from methods to subject matter to personal vision, each photographer will give a slide presentation of her work.

The five-member panel includes Maine Media College MFA graduate Cig Harvey and is moderated by Professional Certificate graduate Jackie King. Jackie also holds an MA in Fashion Photography from the London College of Fashion, and was named British Photographer of the Year and Portrait Photographer of the Year in 2005.
photo by Jackie KingCig Harvey is a working fine-art photographer and educator and teaches full-time at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. Her images are held in numerous collections worldwide, including The International Museum of Photography, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY. Cig leads her popular Maine workshop The Personal Story June 20 – 26.

Please note: at e-press time this event has been booked to capacity. Space may become available due to cancellations or no-shows on the day of the event, in which case we will be seating people on a first-come, first-served basis.

MMW Summer Job Fair Set for March 26-27

The Maine Media Workshops annual Job Fair is coming up Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27.  Each year, MMW hires staff to join the summer team as teaching assistants, film technical staff, editors, photography studio and lab staff, darkroom interns, teen program counselors, drivers, and kitchen staff. These summer staffers gain industry experience, professional contacts, and often lifelong friends during their time here.
photo by Tim Broekema

Almost all of our summer hiring is done through the Job Fair, which provides applicants the opportunity to get a sense of the creative environment here in Maine, and for Workshops department heads to meet in person with prospective staffers. From now through March 27, applications and resumes for all positions are being accepted online and through the mail. Interviews begin on the Camden Street campus in Rockport on Friday, March 26 at 10 AM and continue through Saturday afternoon at 3 PM.

Details about the Job Fair, as well as complete listings of summer positions in photography, film, multimedia, book arts, and administration can be found by visiting our Job Fair webpage. You can share this information with friends by forwarding this email or by directing them to the Job Fair event on our Facebook page.

Rwanda to Rotterdam: A Postcard from the Film Fest

In August 2009 I was the director of photography for a documentary film called Rwanda: Take Two. The film was shot in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and was about two local filmmakers working through the ranks of the country’s growing film scene.


Tim McLaughlin (right) with Fred Muvunyi, field producer for Rwanda: Take Two.
The director and editor, Pia Sawhney, spent five months editing the film and we were both thrilled to find out that it had been accepted to the International Film Festival in Rotterdam.

Earlier this month I flew to the Netherlands to be a part of the 39-year-old festival. While I saw my fair share of films, I was most excited about the opportunity to spend time with five good friends from Rwanda who had made the trip to Holland. As ‘Team Rwanda’ we went en masse to the public screenings of our film and enjoyed some spirited Q&A sessions about the state of filmmaking in Africa.

It was an overwhelming and wonderful experience, and I was extremely thankful for the opportunity to show the film. The film festival circuit can be a challenge, but it’s something all filmmakers and multimedia documentarians should consider.

– Tim McLaughlin, Multimedia Program Director, Maine Media Workshops & College

Maine Media Seminar at SPE March 4

The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) 47th National Conference in Philadelphia, Facing Diversity: Leveling the Playing Field in the Photographic Arts, examines how photographers of diverse backgrounds participate in the art world today and how these artists are being received.

Maine Media’s Multimedia Program Director, Tim McLaughlin, leads a Thursday Industry Seminar: Multimedia Crash Course for Photography Educators March 4 from 1:30 – 2:45PM.

This introduction to the art and craft of incorporating video and audio into a documentary photography curriculum guides photography faculty through the essential components of multimedia storytelling, production, and content publication. Tim also reviews a variety of “cheap or free” resources for educators to keep abreast of the latest advances in multimedia technologies and industry applications.

Tim and Maine Media Photography Program Director Kate Izor will hold interviews for 2010 MMW summer staff positions during the conference. Applicants should stop by the SPE store to sign up for interview times.

Visit SPE National for complete conference information.

Film Faculty Receive Oscar Nods

On March 7, three Workshops film faculty will hear their names announced at the Oscar awards ceremony.

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant by Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar is nominated for best Documentary Short. The filmmakers tell the story of the employees at the GM factory in Moraine, Ohio as they prepare for the plant to close its doors.

2010 Oscar Nominee Mark Ulano working with a class at Maine Media
photo by Ben StumpfMark Ulano’s work on Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is recognized with a nomination for Sound Mixing. The film follows Shosanna, a resourceful young movie theater owner fighting to stay one step ahead of the Nazis in occupied France, as she plots her revenge on the man responsible for her family's death.

Mark is scheduled to teach his Sound Production & Mixing August 8 – 14. Julia and Steve hope to be in Maine to lead a Producing the Documentary workshop October 10 – 16.

Good luck to all three – the Workshops family will be cheering you on come Oscar night!

Photo Faculty Shows Afoot in February

Looking for ways to shake the frosty February doldrums? If you’re in New England or New York, MMW photo faculty have the solution – take in one of their unparalleled exhibitions!

John Goodman's work is part of Boston Combat Zone: 1969 - 1978John Goodman’s work is part of Boston Combat Zone: 1969 – 1978 opening Friday 12 February at the Howard Yezerski Gallery.
Deriving its name from the brawling sailors and soldiers that frequented the number of movie theaters, bars, restaurants and lounges during the 1950's and 1960's, Boston’s “Combat Zone,” was a largely unrestricted public sphere teeming with all kinds of activity and human behavior legal and otherwise.

The black and white works of Goodman, Roswell Angier, and Jerry Berndt depict the Combat Zone during the pinnacle of its transformation, and provides a view into the complex world of adult entertainment, still today a lightning rod for cultural conflict in American society.

Photographs by Anne Day and John Isaac, at The Hotchkiss School's Tremaine Gallery
photos by Anne Day (left) and John Isaac.Photographs by Anne Day and John Isaac runs February 10  – Mar 6 at The Hotchkiss School’s Tremaine Gallery in Lakeville, Connecticut, featuring work by these two photojournalists, each of whom has spent a lifetime documenting important social and human issues around the globe and in this country. For Day, February marks the 20 year anniversary of her work covering the events surrounding the release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison. The collection of works Isaac has selected for this exhibit is of Kashmir and its people. He calls it the “Vale of Kashmir” after his most recently published book.

Four Visions in a Different Light: Infrared Photography at Umbrella Arts in New York, brings together the works of Jill Enfield, Elizabeth Opalenik, Susan Rudick Bloom, and Theresa Airey, all known for their creative work in digital manipulation, hand coloring, and collage. The show runs in New York through February 27, and travels to the Maine Media Gallery in July.

All of the MMW faculty highlighted above are teaching workshops in Maine this summer. You can read their complete instructor bios, get information about their classes, and view student galleries from past classes by simply clicking on their names above. Visit www.mainemedia.edu for complete listings of 2010 classes and faculty.

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