March 28, 2024

Rockland in Motion 2021: Program 1

Showing: 9/17 - 9/26
Title: Rockland in Motion 2021: Program 1
Year: 2021
Country: USA
Genre:
Director:


Rivertown Film proudly presents Rockland in Motion 2021, an annual virtual gallery of short films that are hand made by our county’s filmmakers.  This year their work includes music, drama, comedy, poetry, and documentary, and like last year, quite a few incorporate dance, which, like film, is an art of movement. Some of these filmmakers are professionals who earn a living by making films or working on the films of others. Some are artists who primarily work in other artforms, sometimes many of them. Some have just begun to experiment with their creative careers. Our goal in presenting their work in Rockland in Motion is to show off the variety of filmmakers and stories that add to the culture of our community.

The films in Program 1, including introductions from many of the filmmakers, can be viewed from Friday, September 17 through Sunday, September 26. Read the text below the viewing window to link directly to each film withing the program.
View Program 1 HERE https://vimeo.com/604394933/0ed7fd3d6c.

Please consider using the link in the text below the viewing window or below on this page, to make a donation to Rivertown Film to help pay for this program.

Please join us on Zoom for a discussion with the Rockland in Motion 2021: Program 1 filmmakers on Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00 PM. Our moderator will be 202o Summer Olympics athlete Charlotte Buck . Please register in advance for this Zoom conversation, here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIocuyoqTMqE9G4S9zM-xf4iXf0e1QnQEPS
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Rockland in Motion 2021: Program 1

A Time of Two Joys (8:52, fiction), by Josh Helaughstra
The Elders Have Fallen (1:16, poetry), by Marta Renzi and Dan Wolff
Welcome to Forever (9:09, fiction), by John Gray
Deceipt (2:30, fiction), by Josh Atesh Litle
Moon Nymph (7:38, fiction), by Frank Vitale
Ariel (Proof of Concept) (1:41, animation), by Conor Macfinn
See Me (6:56, dance), by Katherine Matheson
Wait a Minute (3:38, dance), by Marta Renzi
Wisteria (6:46, dance), by Lucas Ruderman
Duane Eubanks (2:53, documentary), by Kal Toth
Rockland Pride 2021 (4:09, documentary), by Elliott Forrest

Jump to the films and filmmakers in Program 2.


Thank you for helping pay for Rockland in Motion.

 

THE SEPTEMBER 22 MODERATOR
Charlotte Buck

The September 22 discussion moderator, Charlotte Buck, is an American rower. A native of Nyack, Charlotte Buck rowed in the 2020 Olympics in the US Women’s 8+. Charlotte graduated from Nyack High School before attending Columbia University.

 

THE PROGRAM 1 FILMMAKERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Josh Helaughstra
A TIME OF TWO JOYS

 

 

 

Marta Renzi & Daneil Wolff
THE ELDERS HAVE FALLEN

Marta Renzi has directed over 2 dozen short films, completing her debut feature film Her Magnum Opus in 2017.  Twice in the 80’s Renzi was commissioned to direct half-hour videodances which were broadcast on PBS. Her most recent pre-virus premiere was Skybridge at Hunter College, her 6th commissioned dance film for a university dance company. She has received 7 NEA Choreographic Fellowships, and a New York Dance & Performance Award (a “Bessie”), and funding from Metropolitan Life, the Jerome Foundation and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. More on the filmmaker here.

Daniel Wolff continues to work on the former’s New Orleans project, RIGHT TO RETURN. He also writes books. More on the filmmaker here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Gray
WELCOME TO FOREVER

John Gray is a New York based writer-director. He created the long running hit CBS series GHOST WHISPERER, as well as writing and directing many award winning and critically acclaimed movies for television, such as MARTIN AND LEWIS, starring Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam, A PLACE FOR ANNIE with Sissy Spacek, HAVEN with Natasha Richardson and Anne Bancroft, and many others. He has also written and directed several studio and independent features, including the award winning WHITE IRISH DRINKERS, starring Stephen Lang and Karren Allen, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. His other award winning short films, FRENCH KISS, THE DESECRATED, EXTRA INNINGS and EXIT PACKAGE have played and are playing at film festivals all over the world. FRENCH KISS has notched 6.3 million views to date on YouTube.

 

 

 

Joshua Atesh Litle
DECEIPT

Joshua is a Turkish-American filmmaker originally from San Francisco with stints in NYC before settling in Nyack, NY. His first feature, the Dogma-inspired, improvised film Ever Since the World Ended was awarded Best Feature Narrative at both the San Francisco Indiefest (SFIndiefest) and Sci-Fi London film festivals and was selected as a New York Times Critics’ Pick.

His second feature film was the documentary The Furious Force of Rhymes (Arte France/Germany and the Smithsonian Channel) premiered at Locarno winning a special jury prize before racking up awards and screenings at over 30 film festivals worldwide. The film was an exploration of hip-hop as protest music in Africa, The Middle East, Europe and the USA.

He regularly works and collaborates with fellow Rockland filmmakers Frank Vitale, Rick Apicella, Susan Stava and Jody Atkinson to name a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank Vitale
MOON NYMPH

Vitale has been making films for thirty years. He produced and directed over 150 shorts, documentaries, PSAs, television specials and features that were honored with 75 awards. His feature film, Montreal Main, played major festivals: Locarno, London, Mannheim, Edinburgh, AFI, MoMA and the Whitney. His recent feature, The Erotic Fire of the Unattainable, has screened at the 2020 Sarasota and Brooklyn film festivals. More on the filmmaker here.

 

 

 

 

 

Conor MacFinn
ARIEL

Conor MacFinn (animator, writer, director) is an animator & filmmaker whose animated “short shorts” hve won awards, been nominated and screened at over 35 festivals internationally and distributed by Tribal TV on Hulu, Amazon and AOL. His 3D animated storytelling mobile media were twice selected for SIGGRAPH’s Appy Hour showcase of creativity and innovation, and distributed through iTunes. Other 3D character animation credits include The Museum of the Dog in New York City, Pearson and Behrmann House. A 2019 New York State Council on the Arts Arts Alive grantee to support the storyboarding of his animated series in development, he also received a 2020 Artist’s Support Fund grant from the Arts Council of Rockland.

A special honor was having his trilogy of shorts inspired by his Native heritage invited to show at Mni Wichoni Nakicizin Owayawa (Defenders of the Sacred Water School) at The Water Protector’s Camp in Standing Rock, North Dakota.

Currently, Conor is excited to draw inspirataion from other parts of his families inheritance, developing an animated series for families, Ariel, the story of a young boy and his mother fighting to save their family and their trade routes against the cultural tapestry of the 19th century Ottoman Empire.

 

Judith Rose – Igor Sharapanuk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katherine Matheson
SEE ME

“See Me” is a darkly haunting tone poem that holds a dramatic mirror to the fraught year of 2020. A mysterious man and woman wrestle with the terror, trauma, dislocation, and ultimate losses of this sad and complex moment in our history. They speak only with their bodies and move to the strains of the cello within the shadowed walls of their existence.Katherine

Katherine Matheson is a psychotherapist in New York and a documentary filmmaker specializing in portraits of performers and artists. She has received grants from New York State Council on the Arts and The American Film Institute. She directed the feature documentary COMEDIENNE.

Sunyoung Park (score) was born and raised in South Korea. She started learning how to play a piano at 5 years old and continued to enjoy and pursue music personally as well as professionally ever since. Later, she came to NY and studied music therapy where she learned to connect her soul with music even in a deeper level through improvisation. This OST for the film is an improvisational composition inspired purely by the film.

Igor S, (dancer/choreographer) the director of NY DanceSport, is a former competitive champion dancer, an award-winning performer and choreographer. He brings a determined, but joyful and encouraging energy to all his clients and classes. He offers movement instruction to individuals challenged with emotional and developmental disabilities and produces showcase fundraisers for local charitable institutions.

Judith Rose (dancer) remains curious. She writes, she teaches, she creates, she choreographs, she dances, she listens, she learns. She is the director of Vital Movement™, the wellness practice she founded, which is based in Nyack, NY. Her belief in the healing power of the arts continues to inspire her work as does her ever-deepening reverence for the mystery of life.

 

 

 

Marta Renzi
WAIT A MINUTE

Marta has directed over 2 dozen short films, completing her debut feature film Her Magnum Opus in 2017.  Twice in the 80’s Renzi was commissioned to direct half-hour videodances which were broadcast on PBS. Her most recent pre-virus premiere was Skybridge at Hunter College, her 6th commissioned dance film for a university dance company. She has received 7 NEA Choreographic Fellowships, and a New York Dance & Performance Award (a “Bessie”), and funding from Metropolitan Life, the Jerome Foundation and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. More on the filmmaker here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucas Ruderman
WISTERIA

Lucas is a professional filmmaker typically creating short-form narrative films and music videos. His latest work has consisted of many movement and dance pieces, and he is working on post-production for his documentary regarding the small businesses of Nyack during the Covid-19 pandemic. When he is not working on his own projects, he is mainly in camera and lighting positions on commercials, narrative films, documentaries, music videos, etc. He has worked for many brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, Peloton, Converse, Arm and Hammer, and several Bell and Howell products. He has also worked on big Hollywood productions such as Marshall (2017), Unsolved Mysteries (2020) and Black is King (2020). When he is not on set, he is often working as a freelance editor and motion graphic artist to create sponsored content for companies such as Den of Geek, New York Medical College, and the Arts Council of Rockland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kal Toth
DUANE EUBANKS

Kal is an award-winning American director and cinematographer. His short documentary BUILDING MAGIC debuted at Lincoln Center in 2013 and inspired the feature length documentary of the same name in 2015. BUILDING MAGIC was mentioned by The New York Times, received a shout-out from documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, and won “Best In Fest” at Virginia’s Alexandria Film Festival. Kal was lead cinematographer for the Marta Renzi’s feature film, HER MAGNUM OPUS, which was presented by Jonathan Demme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elliott Forrest
ROCKLAND PRIDE

Elliott Forrest is a Peabody Award winning broadcaster and producer. He is currently heard on Classical 105.9FM WQXR and guest-hosts for Leonard Lopate and John Schaefer and on WNYC. He is the Artistic Director of ArtsRock. He’s produced at The Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center and scores of concerts, events and shows. He is the host and producer of the national radio concerts of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; and hosts and produces regular podcasts for the New York Philharmonic; has been the ‘voice’ of CNN and LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER on PBS. For more than 12 years he was with the A&E Television Network as host of Breakfast with the Arts and Biography. www.ElliottForrest.com