Angles: Women Working in Film and Video (1994)

e@ FROM RUSSIA. While attending the Toronto International Festival of Festivals, Angles editor Elfrieda Abbe talked with Raissa Fomina, director general of Intercinema Agency Ltd., one of Russia’s first private film production and consulting firms. Here’s what Fomina said about the agency: “Russia is one of the world’s fastest growing markets for film. We offer co-production services, scouting locations, hiring crews, recruiting talent, translating and interpretive services, and consulting services related to Russian law. Our strength is in helping producers place quality foreign programs in cinemas and on television.” In addition, the company will make all visa, travel and accommodation arrangements for those wanting to explore different aspects of filmmaking in Russia. Fomina said the agency would like to hear from anyone who is interested in organizing a teaching or cultural exchange with Russian filmmakers, teachers and producers. For more information: 15 Druzhinnikovskaya, Moscow 123242, Russia. 7095/255-9052. Fax: 7095/9732029. The St. Petersburg International Film Festival, June 19 through 26, is in its fourth year. United States coordinator Anne Borin announced that the festival is accepting short and feature length documentary films under 100 minutes, and animation and short fiction under 60 minutes. Films submitted must have been completed after Jan. 1, 1992 on 35 or 16mm film with optical or magnetic sound. In addition to the main competition and the out-of-competition sections, this year’s event will include “Russia Through Friends’ Eyes,” films about Russia made by foreign filmmakers. The entry fee is $35. If the fee does not cover the shipping costs of full-length features, filmmakers may have to pay an additional amount. Film entries should be on 1/2” video cassette. Pre-screened cassettes will be sent to St. Petersburg for the final selection. The deadline is April 29. Filmmakers who are invited to the festival will receive room and two meals a day, but the festival is unable to pay airfare. Cash prizes from $1,000 to $2,500 will be given. For more information: Anne Borin, St. Petersburg Film Festival, c/o Marie Nesthus, Donnell Media Center, 20 W. 53rd St., New York, NY 10019. 212/362-3412. @ GUATEMALA STORY. Andrea E. Leland’s video, The Long Road Home, concerns Guatemalan refugees living in Chiapas, Mexico, the site of a recent uprising by the indigenous people of the region. Leland accompanied 19-year-old Ricardo Hernandez to the refugee camp in Chiapas, where he and his family lived for several years before moving to the United States. With Ricardo as guide, the viewer learns why the refugees had to leave Guatemala, what life in exile is like, and the efforts among the refugees to return home. According to Leland, refugees began returning to Guatemala last year. “A trend in Mexico that is being picked up by the news media is blaming the Mexican rebellion in Chiapas on Guatemalan and other Central American refugees,” writes Leland. “These accusations put Guatemalans in the precarious position of having to defend themselves on two fronts, at home and in Mexico.” Leland developed a study guide and organized a multi-media exhibition to go with the video. The latter includes Nicolas Esteban’s naive crayon drawings of village life and its violent dissolution; Kay Berkson and Bo Richards’ black and white photographs of Guatemalan refugees living in Chicago and southern Mexico; and Marta Hernandez’ traditional handbuilt terra-cotta pottery. The exhibition, which has been shown in Chicago, is currently part of the “Worlds at Risk” exhibit at the Cambridge Multi-Cultural Art Center in Cambridge, Mass. Two other sites are considering the exhibition for the fall of 1994, Leland is asking for donations to enable her to distribute the video to the educational market and to give copies to community groups who can use it as a tool for raising awareness and enlisting delegations to accompany refugees home. The Long Road Home has been shown at the Earth Peace International Film Festival, Chicago Latino Cinema Film Festival, the Big Muddy Film Festival and the Festival Cine Latino. For more information: Andrea E. Leland, 1200 Judson, Evanston, IL 60202. 708/864-7746. @ HOW TO ORGANIZE A FILM FESTIVAL. San Franciscobased arts administrator Lauri Tanner is writing a comprehensive resource book, How to Start and Operate Film & Video Festivals. Tanner’s guide, which will be published by the National Council for the Arts, will cover the following areas: organization, personnel, programming, fundraising, fiscal management, membership, sponsors, special events, premieres, marketing, public relations, audience development, publications and advertising, seminars, festival-filmmaker relationships, putting together touring packages and more. Tanner would like suggestions from those who have organized festivals. For more information: Lauri Tanner, 41-A Coleridge St., San Francisco, CA 94110. 415/550-9445. @ AFTERSHOCK. Alexis Krasilovsky, an associate professor at California State University, Northridge, reports that many of her students lost all their possessions in the L.A. earthquake, and classrooms and offices were severely damaged. As part of the coping and healing process, several of Krasilovsky’s students are making a documentary about the chaos they face. Volume 2 Number3 @ 3