Anthology about Micro-Cinemas

Introduction

The original title for this anthology was going to be “I Piss On Your Red Carpet.” However, I am happy to report no longer feeling the need for such “young, loud snotty-ness.” As my mother used to tell me, “If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.”

After many years of participating in un-dependent film festivals, I challenged myself, and Basement Films, to craft an event that was mindful of the good, the bad and the ugly of those experiences. I imagined an international festival that was non-competitive, inclusive, inviting and always filmmaker-friendly. More than anything I hoped to create a micro-community of like-minded media artists (and enthusiasts) who might come together in dialogue around their particular perspectives of “the state of the art.” Ten years later, “Experiments in Cinema” is happily celebrating its milestone 10th anniversary.

I believe it is our responsibility, as modern day traveling media troubadours, to share with others our sense of the human condition from our individual corners of the world. This sharing necessitates thoughtful and protracted conversations, not industry-obsessed Q&A sessions. “Sharing” is an integral condition of being un-dependent.

Film artist Scott Stark once stated, “The art world doesn’t understand us [un-dependents] and the film industry has no interest in us.” Hence, we are free to live in an ecstatic state of “in-betweenness,” knowing that for us fulfillment will manifest itself beyond the contemptuous and divisive trappings of capitalism run amok. When the ills of competition and aesthetic ambulance chasing fall away, what emerges is an exhilarating sense of altruism, inventiveness and community.

So gentle reader, drink deep as you travel through this anthology and consider the generosity of these authors regarding their thoughts and ideas about living a creative life in the context of the micro-communities we call film festivals. By the end of your journey, you might discover that you have been transformed or perhaps radicalized. My hope is that you will recognize the value of your media voice and participate in shaping future trends of cultural representation.