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WEEK of April 7, 2008
@BFS! archives

The Bridge Film Festival at Brooklyn Friends School Is Ready to Roll on April 12

Film aficionados and aspiring filmmakers of all ages are invited to attend the 9th Annual Bridge Film Festival at Brooklyn Friends School on Saturday, April 12, 2008. A celebration of Quaker ideals in action, the all-day Festival will screen short films (10 minutes or under) and public service announcements created by students in grades 5-12 at Quaker schools and Friends Meetings worldwide. The Festival’s “Featured Filmmaker” this year is actress S. Epatha Merkerson (right), who gained fame as Lt. Anita Van Buren on the television series “Law and Order” and most recently starred in the Broadway drama, “Come Back Little Sheba.”

Workshops for students begin at 12 noon and the finalist film screenings begin at 6:30 pm.

“The goal of the Festival is to promote values-based filmmaking and to broaden dialogue on topics such as integrity, equality, non-violence, and social justice,” said Andy Cohen, BFS media teacher and founder/director of the Festival. “Participants at the Festival should expect to see a wide range of genres including animations, documentaries, narrative film, music videos, and public service shorts.”

Among the schools represented in the 2008 Festival are Brooklyn Friends School, George School (Newtown, PA) Cambridge Friends School (Cambridge, MA), Delaware Valley Friends School (Paoli, PA), Friends Central School (Philadelphia, PA), Tandem Friends School (Charlottesville, VA), Oakwood Friends School (Poughkeepsie, NY) and Friends schools in Canada, England, and Lebanon.

Students who attend the all-day festival may choose to register for four workshops during the day—Digital Media Challenge, Cell Animation, Video Blogging, and Flash with Animation. A Brooklyn-themed buffet dinner, with jazz performed by Brooklyn Friends students, follows at 4:30 pm., with the main event—the finalist film screenings—beginning at 6:30 pm.

A panel of three judges will provide an immediate and constructive critique of the finalist films screened at the Festival. This year’s judges are (pictured below, from left) photojournalist Robert Baldridge, filmmaker and human rights activist Chris Plutte, and film teacher Wayne Lee. The screenings are followed by a brief intermission and then a talk with “Featured Filmmaker” S. Epatha Merkerson.

With advance registration, admission to the workshops and festival film screening is $30 per person; Admission to the screening alone is $10 per person for adults and $5 for students. Dinner is $15 per person. Advance registration is encouraged due to space limitations. For more information, call 718-852-1029 ext. 536.

2008 BRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL FEATURED FILMMAKER: S. EPATHA MERKERSON

An Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award winner, S. Epatha Merkerson has won critical acclaim for her brilliant work in theatre, television and film. She gained fame for her outstanding portrayal of Liutenenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC-TV show "Law and Order" for the past 15 years and more recently starred in the Broadway production of William Inge's "Come Back Little Sheba."Starring in the HBO film "Lackawanna Blues" as Rachel "Nanny" Crosby, Merkerson also garnered a 2006 NAACP Image Award, a Gracie Allen Award and an IFP Spirit nomination. Other film credits include: "The Rising Place," "Radio" (Cammie Award), "Jersey Girl," "Random Hearts," "Terminator II: Judgment Day," "Jacob's Ladder," "Navy Seals" and "Loose Cannons." She will next be seen in the independent film "Slipstream" written and directed by Anthony Hopkins. Merkerson has co-starred in numerous television movies including "A Mother's Prayer" with Linda Hamilton, "An Unexpected Life" and "It's A Girl Thing" with Stockard Channing, and "A Place for Annie" with Mary-Louise Parker and Sissy Spacek. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Merkerson received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Wayne State University. She lives in New York City. (source: NBC-TV)

STUDENTS ENCOURAGED TO SIGN UP FOR FILM WORKSHOPS AT BRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL

Prior to the evening screening of films, students who attend the Bridge Film Festival on April 12, 2008, may sign up to attend workshops with film professionals. All workshops are two hours long, with the exception of “Digital Media Challenge,” which is four hours. Following are the workshop descriptions and instructor biographies:

Digital Media Challenge with Lesley Yeo

Ready, set, film! Ever wanted to film on location in New York City? This is your chance with an exciting and fast-moving hands-on workshop in digital filmmaking. Teams will be formed and given the first line and last line of the script. Then a 6-member production team has 3-1/2 hours to write, direct, film, act, and edit a short film. Films will be screened at the evening screening. This workshop is from 12 noon to 4 pm.

Lesley Yeo is currently the Preschool and Lower School Technology Integrator at Brooklyn Friends School. She developed and taught digital and pinhole photography, stop-motion animation, and video production classes in her native Singapore and at The School at Columbia University (where she also taught 2nd and 3rd grade). Before teaching full-time, Lesley spent several years working in prime-time and children's television production in New York and Singapore.

Cel Animation with Don Duga

Learn the art of cel animation from a master, Don Duga, who created “Frosty the Snowman.” Students draw an image of something they like to draw—like their pet cat or a dancer—then learn how to animate it. This series of images is imported into a computer, a sound track is added, and the group’s animated film is shown at the Festival’s evening presentation. This workshop will be held from 12 noon to 2:15 pm and will be repeated from 2:15 to 4:15 pm.

Don Duga has been at the forefront of American Animation for more than 40 years, having worked with some of the most prestigious Animation Studios in the world. He is a versatile animator, director and producer, whose work has ranged from “Sesame Street” to feature films. Don has storyboarded such classic characters as Mr. Magoo and Underdog, and, of course, Frosty the Snowman, which he created.

Animation Using Flash with Al Doyle

In this workshop, students will learn how to use Adobe Flash to make motion graphics and animation. Using “shape tweens,” students will create unique computer animations that will be shown at the Festival’s evening presentation. This workshop will be held from 12 noon to 2:15 pm and will be repeated from 2:15 to 4:15 pm.

Al Doyle is the Director of Instructional Technology at The Town School in New York City. Al also teaches “Learning Photoshop Through Art” at the Guggenheim Museum. Last summer, Al created a digital arts and animation studio at the Med-O-Lark camp in Washington, Maine where Al will be working again this summer with campers aged 10-15 on digital animation, claymation and traditional cel animation techniques.

Video Blogging with Heather Johnston and Gordon Eriksen

Heather and Gordon, creators of the food and wine videoblog SoGood.tv will lead a workshop about blogging, writing, video shoots, YouTube and more. Come learn about what it means to create for this innovative format. This workshop will be held from 12 noon to 2:15 pm and will be repeated from 2:15 to 4:15 pm.

After making three films in the 1990s Heather became a chef, while Gordon headed into cyberspace as a interactive marketing and software designer. With blogging they’ve been able to combine all their talents into one effort, with satisfying results, as the combination of new media and traditional skills has made for a successful blog with 600,000 views in the first year.

Download a Registration Form for the Workshops.