Tonight was the second showing of the Knickerbocker Film Festival at the Spectrum Theater. Featured were shorts from area filmmakers as well as some from further afield. The entrants were:
- “A Heart, A Home” by James Strayer from Portland, Oregon
- “We Will Forget” by Garret Harkawik from Wilmington, Vermont
- “SMALLBANY: A Documentary” by Dana S. Owens from Albany
- “The Princess and The Dragon” by Mark Fiske from Albany
- “Prodigy” by Lisa Ford from Skaneteales, New York
- “Off Target” by Bruce Wemple from Troy
- “BIOLLANTE” by Patrick Stephenson from Troy
- “Reset” by Mike Feurstein and students from Schenectady
- “Gamer Girl” by Nina Salomons, London, UK
My personal favorites were “A Heart, A Home”, “Gamer Girl”, and “SMALLBANY”. I don’t want to spoil the entries for anyone, but most can be easily found with a simple youtube search.
Daniel Fickle did a great job directing the music video for “A Heart, A Home”, the accompanying music by the Alialujah Choir featuring the Portland Cello Project sets the mood sweetly, and the cinematography is well done and appropriately dreamlike. This entry was winner of several awards and the official selection of many festivals all over.
I really fancied the short “Gamer Girl” which discusses the over-sexualization of female characters in games and the lack of respect that girl gamers are paid. This short provides testimony from a variety of young women who represent this underserved portion of the gaming community and express their love for their interest and focus on the importance that game designers should be more receptive, and respectful, to all of their audience.
My favorite local flair was the short from Dana Owens entitled “SMALLBANY.” Named for the nickname we give our town that also encompasses the spirit of “everyone knows someone who knows someone,” a local artist creates cartoons that capture the essence of the Capital District. In it, he also interviews local business owners and bands who affirm the sense of community that we all share as residents of Albany.
It was a pleasure to see these up on the big screen, and many thanks to WAMC and The Spectrum for hosting them.
The awards ceremony takes places tomorrow at Elda’s at 7pm. $30 gets you entry and two hours of complimentary food and drinks. Tickets for the awards ceremony can be purchased through the Knickerbocker Film Festival website.