Fast, Fun, Free Film Festival Panel

Not Exactly Dave Marr but Close...

6X6 is changing the program up in November -- instead of experiencing media work from around town, state, and globe, we'll be hanging out with with our friends in the other Athens film interest groups for a fast, fun, free film festival panel. "Meet the Festival Organizers: The Inside Scoop on Film Festivals and Film Festival Programming" will take place during the usual 6X6 scheduled time of 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 1 at the Ciné lab.

We are delighted that we've been included in this entertaining and educational event, which represents an exciting new direction for 6X6, in which we will join co-presenters EcoFocus Film Festival, UGA Filmmaking Union, Film Athens, and Ciné. Not only will we hear from top-notch panelists such as Charles Judson from the award-winning Atlanta film festival, Harry Musselwhite, executive director of the Rome International Film Festival, and our own Sara Beresford, director and lead programmer of the EcoFocus Film Festival in Athens, we'll also be enjoying the chance to see our longtime pal Dave Marr (singer, film critic, Flagpole city editor, Ciné programming committee member, and raconteur) attempt to keep this highly qualified panel in line and help us get the inside scoop on how festivals work, from planning, to programming, to getting your work selected.

Panel dicussion participants include:

• Sara Beresford, Director/Programmer, EcoFocus Film Festival, Athens GA
• Charles Judson, Programmer & Industry Outreach, Atlanta Film Festival
• Pam Kohn, Former Director, Robert Osborne Classic Film Festival, Athens GA
• Harry Musselwhite, Executive Director, Rome International Film Festival
• Terrell Sandfur, Festival Organizer, Macon Film Festival
• Ken Sherman, President, Athens Jewish Film Festival
• Justin Carter, Festival Producer, Dixie Film Fest, Athens GA
  

Arrive early and enter to win the door prize provided by 6X6 -- it's extra special just like this event...

Co-presented by:
EcoFocus Film Festival, UGA Filmmaking Union, Film Athens, Ciné and 6X6.

Find 6X6 at Ciné Wednesday October 5

From "Love Doug & Muriel," a sound and media work by 6X6 resident Lauren Fancher

Come to the Ciné lab on Wednesday night, October 5th from 7-8pm for the latest chapter in the media arts experiment known as 6X6. A cross between an art show, a film festival, and a group of friends having a beer, 6X6 brings experimental video, sound, and performance to Athens from all over the world as well as close to home. Always fast, fun, and free. This week's event Tresor Trové: Lost and Found, Flotsom and Jetsam includes works which repurpose, reshape, recombine, or are derived from found materials, including photographs, film, video, and sound. Artists from Athens to Walla Walla and beyond are brought together in this collective meditation on our collective culture. Float in and be a part of it...

6X6 is Back and Looking for Trové

Oh yes, just when you thought it was safe to go back to your normal life without the challenge to submit to 6X6, we're back and more insistent than ever. But don't be fooled into thinking that submission is difficult or that you have to be in a state of completion to participate. In fact, the first event of the third 6X6 series is perfect for those of you that hunt, gather, mull, collage, rearrange, and play with stuff without ever really needing to stop. Tresor Trové: Lost and Found, Flotsom and Jetsam will take your original found materials or works that you have repurposed, reshaped, recombined, or derived from found materials, including photographs, film, video, sound, and live performance. Fragments are fine, especially sound and video. Submissions may be shown as stand-alone works or recombined with other submissions and live performance. This is your chance to show off your collection and meet up with new friends in unexpected ways. Submit by September 20 -- the event will take place Wednesday, October 5 from 7-8 pm at Ciné.

The Way Things Go With 6X6: Special Collaborative Event with Athica

Things will be going our way at 6X6 next Wednesday, May 4 from 7-8 pm at Ciné Lab when we team up with Athica to show a program of videos selected in collaboration with their current exhibit "The Way Things Work," a colorful and spectacular exhibit about our cultural systems, which features large-scale installation, indoor and outdoor sculpture, drawings, videos and sound art by 11 national and international artists.

Co-curated by exhibit curator Didi Dunphy and 6X6 coordinator Lauren Fancher, the video program includes works by Robert Ladislas Derr, Julia Oldham, Eve Bailey, Christian Croft and Andrew Schneider, Celeste Fichter, Maud Haya-Baviera, Gareth Hudson, Plan b, and Katharine Tolladay.

Faithful followers of 6X6 will enjoy this departure from form: no longer will we be constrained by 6 pieces, 6 minutes, or 6 anything (unless we feel like it). Come be a part of it; as always, 6X6 is fast, fun, and free.

More about: Didi Dunphy, Lauren Fancher, Athica

Escape to 6X6 Wednesday April 6th

Escape to the final episode of the second 6X6 series on Wednesday, April 6th at the Ciné Lab from 7-8 pm. Escape will feature a special 36+ (6X6) person worldwide collaborative video/image/sound/performance, "Escape from Destiny," including Athens' own musicians Dale Wechsler on violin and George Davidson on saxophone. A summation of the 6X6 raison d'etre, "Escape from Destiny" uses digital collaboration on a grand scale to create a fast, fun, free, real-time experience, engaging the audience as collaborators as the performance unfolds.

Each digital collaborator received a "blind" assignment, and will not discover the shape of the whole piece until it is performed live at the event. Other local contributors to "Escape from Destiny" include Jennifer Hartley, Mike Landers, Michael Lachowski, Lamar Wood, Mary Willoughby, Caroline Barratt, Christina Cotter, David Noah, Peter Fancher, Kate Schoenke, Ian Darken, Michael Meindl, Jeanne Ann Davidson, Christopher Childs, Ray Lee, and Gwenn Carter. They are united with contributors from Italy, England, the Netherlands, Ireland, New York, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, and Tennessee.

The program also includes five other video/sound/performance works in the theme of Escape, curated by Lauren Fancher, who is also the 6x6 Program Coordinator and the instigator of "Escape from Destiny."

About the Curator
Lauren Fancher has a background in studio art (BFA, UGA) and instructional technology (MEd, UGA), and currently has a focus on interactive design and digital media. She is active in the instructional technology, library, and digital arts communities as a writer, presenter, and artist, as well as serving as the coordinator of the 6X6 Media Arts Events series held at the Ciné Lab in Athens.

More about the curator: http://laurenfancher.com

60 Minutes or Less: Participate in 6X6 Escape

One and all are needed to participate in a special collaborative work planned for the 6X6 Escape event on April 6, 2011, in which participants will receive an assignment to contribute exquisite corpse-style (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse) to the completed work. Complete the form to sign up and indicate which type of activity you'd prefer: photograph or other image, video, sound, or performance. You will receive an assignment that will take no more than one hour to complete, with the instructions on how to return your completed assignment by March 21. Your contribution will be incorporated into a collaborative piece coordinated by curator Lauren Fancher for performance at the April 6th event. Our goal is 60 participants -- please forward to others who may be interested. You may also sign up for more than one assignment by completing the form more than once.

Be a part of it; sign up now!

Is That All There is to 6X6?

6X6 really left no stone unturned in its exploration of the theme Sentiment last Wednesday. Curator Matthew Buzzell brought together a diverse and thoughtful program of music, experimental sound and video, a touching short film, and the highlight of the evening, his friend the writer and poet Starkey Flythe, Jr., who read several poems with such southern emotion, wit and flair that he had the audience asking for more.

Curator Introduction: Theme from the Summer of '42
1. Amber Boardman, Classical Translation, Brooklyn, NY
2. Chris White, Good Life, Greenville, SC
3. Ron Lambert, Lesson Plans: Understanding Love, Nashville, TN
4. Heather D. Freeman, The Bat, Charlotte, NC
5. Charlie Murphy, 6' of 'kiss,London, UK
6. Starkey Flythe, Jr., Reading, Augusta, GA
Curator Finale: Peggy Lee Sings "Is That All There Is?"

Next up: 6X6 Escape, curated by Lauren Fancher. Submit by March 21; be there April 6th.

6X6 Gets Misty with Matthew on March 2

Still from "The Good Life" by Chris White

Music, flowers, children, and the inevitable decay: how much more sentimental can you get? Come see the work of artists Amber Boardman (Brooklyn, New York); Chris White (Greenville, South Carolina); Ron Lambert (Nashville, Tennessee); Charlie Murphy (London, England); and Heather Freeman (Charlotte, North Carolina), who is currently featured at the Athica exhibit "Taking Part." In addition, a special guest appearance by the well-known Georgia poet and writer Starkey Flythe, Jr. will round out the events that curator Matthew Buzzell has planned. Expect a few surprises, as Buzzell is a multi-talented performer, filmmaker, and musician whose sentimentality can bring out the beauty and the beast in him. Bring your tissues to Ciné Lab on March 2nd from 7-8 pm. It's fast, free, and sentimental!

About The Curator: Buzzell holds a BFA in Drama from The North Carolina School of the Arts and an MFA in Directing from The American Film Institute. A number of his films have been broadcast nationally on PBS television and have screened at film festivals the world over. He has worked with Sacha Baron Cohen, Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, Daniel Johnston, Jimmy Scott, Bad Religion, Luna, and Billy Preston. His most recent project is a documentary celebrating the collaborations of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, a creative marriage of prodigious output and longevity. Buzzell is currently an adjunct professor in the department of Communications and Professional Writing at Augusta State University. See more about Matthew Buzzell on IMDb.

6X6 Loves You For Sentimental Reasons

What is it about sentimentality that is so Hallmark-card, big-eyed-child-painting, Lifetime-movie? Why is it that culture snobs don't embrace the swoony, swampy, simpering tissue box of real feelings, with real highlighting by Thomas Kinkaid? One man stands prepared to tenderly take the topic to the table: Matthew Buzzell. A self-proclaimed Sentimentalist, Buzzell is a former Athenian and filmmaker, musician, and educator who has returned to the realm to remind us that feelings are good for your brain. Submit by February 21; come see March 2 at Ciné Lab from 7-8 pm. It's fast, free, and sentimental!

More about the Curator:
Buzzell holds a BFA in Drama from The North Carolina School of the Arts and an MFA in Directing from The American Film Institute. A number of his films have been broadcast nationally on PBS television and have screened at film festivals the world over. He has worked with Sacha Baron Cohen, Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, Daniel Johnston, Jimmy Scott, Bad Religion, Luna, and Billy Preston. His most recent project is a documentary celebrating the collaborations of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, a creative marriage of prodigious output and longevity. Buzzell is currently an adjunct professor in the department of Communications and Professional Writing at Augusta State University. See more about Matthew Buzzell on IMDb.

Time for 6X6

Still from Katie Armstrong's "Once More, Once More"

6X6 is oddly time sensitive when you think about it: six minutes, six works, 60 minutes. Curator Brian Hitselberger sorted through over 50 submissions, picking works from Leipzig, Germany; Oakland California; and Atlanta, Athens, and Newnan, Georgia. Hair ribbons, dancing, hand-drawn animation, stitchery, memories, and obsessive timing abound. A good time will be had by all, or at the very least, time will fly. Bring your stop watch and time the works by Patrick Triggs, Jonathan Bouknight, Jeffrey Whittle and Jori Berman, Ellen Lake, Sydney Nettles-Coates, and Katie Armstrong on Wednesday, February 2nd from 7-8 pm at the Ciné Lab in Athens, Georgia.

About the Curator:
Brian Hitselberger has a BFA in Printmaking from Tulane University in New Orleans, and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia. He has had residencies at the HUB-BUB Arts Initiative, in Spartanburg, South Carolina and at the Elsewhere Artist Collaborative in Greensboro, North Carolina. He maintains a multi-disciplinary practice of painting, assemblage, printmaking, sculptural installation, and writing. Recently his work has taken the form of books, paintings, and works on paper that investigate minor quotidian experiences as a site of both contemplative stillness and limitless potential for illumination. His work has been exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally, and can be found in the permanent collections of the Elsewhere Collaborative, the Hargrett Library of the University of Georgia, and the print collections of the New York Public Library and Yale University. He is a part-time instructor at the University of Georgia and Gainesville State College and is the co-publisher of the Marco Polo Literary Quarterly, an online literary magazine showcasing international writing in the genres of fiction, poetry and essay.

More about the curator: www.myinclementweather.com

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It is?

We never have enough of it unless we're in a meeting or waiting for school to get out for the summer. Whether it's your first time, Miller Time, quitting time, or it's for the good times, Father Time may come anytime and take you away, so submit to 6X6 Time before time runs out. Curated by Brian Hitselberger, the deadline is January 21st.

About the Curator:
Brian Hitselberger has a BFA in Printmaking from Tulane University in New Orleans, and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia. He has had residencies at the HUB-BUB Arts Initiative, in Spartanburg, South Carolina and at the Elsewhere Artist Collaborative in Greensboro, North Carolina. He maintains a multi-disciplinary practice of painting, assemblage, printmaking, sculptural installation, and writing. Recently his work has taken the form of books, paintings, and works on paper that investigate minor quotidian experiences as a site of both contemplative stillness and limitless potential for illumination. His work has been exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally, and can be found in the permanent collections of the Elsewhere Collaborative, the Hargrett Library of the University of Georgia, and the print collections of the New York Public Library and Yale University. He is a part-time instructor at the University of Georgia and Gainesville State College and is the co-publisher of the Marco Polo Literary Quarterly, an online literary magazine showcasing international writing in the genres of fiction, poetry and essay.

More about the curator: www.myinclementweather.com