Short films screened at MicroCineFest, Baltimore, MD

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MCF2001 Press Release html

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MICROCINEFEST
2001 LINE-UP

MicroCineFest 2001 wraps, award winners announced.

The 2001 edition of MicroCineFest, Baltimore’s underground film festival,
took place Wednesday, October 31st through Sunday, November 4th. For the fifth
year in a row, MicroCineFest has turned on audiences to off-beat, D.I.Y., psychotronic,
substream films and videos from all over the world. This year’s festival
was the most successful one yet, with high attendance, plenty of positive audience
response, and better November weather than anyone could have hoped for.

Opening night (Wednesday, October 31st) consisted of a Halloween party at Frazier’s
On The Avenue, with live music from The Billroys, Precious, and Twin Six, plus
costume contests, film loops, and movie trailers.

Thurday, November 1st through Sunday, November 4th, the festival unspooled at
The G-Spot, an “audio-visual playground”in Baltimore’s Hampden
neighborhood. Running concurrent to MicroCineFest, the G-Spot hosted an art
exhibit of Greg Houston’s illustrations.

Roughly one-third of the filmmakers were on hand to represent their work, including:
Gorman Bechard (HOT ROD CIRCUIT’S “FLIGHT 89”); Joseph
Christopher Schaub (TANGERINE CROWS); Todd Rohal (HILLBILLY ROBOT);
Patrick Martz & Frank Siaca (MOMMA’S GIRLS); Ben Scholle
(POTTERSVILLE); Bump (ABSENCE OF LIMBS); Jack Beck (JON’S
POINT, LA); Kevin Walsh (A CODE OF COURAGE and KARMA); Walker Allen
(THE PERITONEAL SURFACES ARE SMOOTH AND GLISTENING); Aaron Thedford (THE
CRAB BOY); Rachel Max (I WAS A STRIP CLUB VIRGIN); James Dean Conklin
(THE MONKEYMAN RULES and WONDERMAN); Jay Barba & Brian Farrelly (WELCOME
TO PURGATORY and LOSING YOUR CHERRY); Bradley Wind & Eric Prykowski
(JUNGLE MONKEY); Nathan Bramble (GHOST HUNTERS); Cash Flagg Jr.
(Alvin Ecarma’s LETHAL FORCE); Matthew Silver (BEWARE OF THE HOT
DOG PEOPLE and GODS OF PORCELAIN AND PLUMBING); Luis Esteban Caffesse &
Clifford Dean Wildman (DOMESTIC WORMHOLES: NATURE’S SILENT KILLER);
Jonathan Schultz & Kyle Hurley (Cooper Black’s THE INFERNAL
LOOP); Alex Roper (REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE and THE PENIS GRADUATION SONG);
Matt Sesow (A SHORT BY MATT SESOW); Lucy Weismann (IN THE RED);
and Jay Edwards (ESTA NOCHE WE RIDE!). Also seen among the crowd were
the New York Underground Film Festival’s Ann Marie Spina; Academy
Award winner Dan Keplinger (KING GIMP); and returning out-of-town filmmakers
Mike Z and Jason Woliner.

In the off-hours of the festival, participating filmmakers, judges, and staff
were treated to complimentary visits to The American Visionary Art Museum, a
duckpin bowling party, The American Dime Museum, and a sneak preview of the
film, NOVACAINE, courtesy of Cinema Sundays At The Charles.

After a Closing Night double feature of Arch Hall Jr. films from the early 60’s,
MicroCineFest 2001 wrapped on Sunday, November 4, with an informal awards ceremony.
Festival director, Skizz Cyzyk, announced the Audience Awards, of which the
1st Place winners receive screenwriting software prizes courtesy of MicroCineFest’s
Awards Sponsor, Final Draft. The rest
of the awards were announced by this year’s jury, consisting of: BURY THE
EVIDENCE director J. Greg DeFelice; Big Mama (Cine)fest creator/curator
Shayna Nickel; zine writer and film buff Jed Orndorff; all-purpose
film provocateur Gabe Wardell; Cashiers Du Cinemart editor Mike White;
and John Waters’ documentarian Steve Yeager. The jury was given
free reign to award any film, filmmaker or category they deemed worthy. The
awards are as follows:

GRAND JURY AWARDS:

Grand Jury Best Feature Film: Alvin Ecarma’s LETHAL FORCE

Grand Jury Best Feature Video: Gabe Weisert’s COW MONKEY

Grand Jury Best Short: Johannes Kassenberg & Klaus Reinelt’s KANN ICH
WAS ABHABEN? (WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?)

Grand Jury Best Documentary Feature: Marjorie Chodorov’s EL REY DE ROCK
‘N’ ROLL

Grand Jury Best Documentary Short Video: Matt McCormick’s THE SUBCONSCIOUS
ART OF GRAFFITI REMOVAL

Grand Jury Best Documentary Short Film: Anthony Howard’s OUI WE

Grand Jury Best Animated Short Film: Ali Ashdown’s SNACK

Grand Jury Best Animated Short Video: James Dean Conklin’s WONDERMAN

Grand Jury Best Experimental Film: Robert Todd’s CLIP (4000f.)

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS:

2nd Place Audience Choice Best Short: Jay Barba & Brian Farrelly’s
LOSING YOUR CHERRY

1st Place Audience Choice Best Short: Johannes Kassenberg & Klaus Reinelt’s
KANN ICH WAS ABHABEN? (WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?)

2nd Place Audience Choice Best Feature: Daniel Bitton’s WESLEY WILLIS:
THE DADDY OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

1st Place Audience Choice Best Feature: Alvin Ecarma’s LETHAL FORCE

THE LOW BUDGET AWARDS (given to the coolest film made for under
$1,000, and the coolest video made for under $100):

The Low-Budget Film Award: Jerome Gariepy’s CAT NUMBER SIX IS A COWARD

The Low-Budget Video Award: Jay Barba & Brian Farrelly’s LOSING YOUR
CHERRY

THE JUDGES SPECIAL RECOGNITION / “WAY COOL” AWARDS:

Best Cinematography: Francois Miron’s RESOVLING POWER

Best Sound Design: Walker Allen’s THE PERITONEAL SURFACES ARE SMOOTH &
GLISTENING

Best Puppetry: Jenny McCracken’s WATER FROM THE MOON

Best Choreography: Matthew Silver’s BEWARE OF THE HOT DOG PEOPLE

Best Fairy Tale: David Lilley’s THE PRINCE AND THE PEE

Best Western: Jay Edwards’ ESTA NOCHE WE RIDE!

Best Original Score: Michael Goodwin’s SMASHIN’ IT UP

Way Cool Super 8 Film: Roger Beebe’s THE STRIP MALL TRILOGY

Way Cool Infomercial: Rick Delaup’s THE DRUM BUDDY SHOW

Way Cool Objectivity: Nathan Bramble’s GHOST HUNTERS

Way Cool Documentary Short: Geoff Adams’ NOISE IN MY BACKYARD

Way Cool Way Cool Way Cool Experimental: Cooper Black’s THE INFERNAL LOOP

Way Cool Special Guest Appearance: Miss Pussycat in Rick Delaup’s THE DRUM
BUDDY SHOW

Special Jury Award: Thorsten Fleisch’s BLUTRAUSCH – BLOODLUST and
Lucy Weismann’s IN THE RED

LETHAL FORCE producer, Kent Bye accepted the film’s two awards on director
Alvin Ecarma’s behalf, stating that the film had been rejected by every
festival with “underground” in it’s title. Ecarma emailed the
following prepared statement from his hospital bed: “On behalf of the LETHAL
FORCE cast and crew I would like to thank the MCF jurors and the Baltimore audiences
for their kindness and recognition. MCF continues to be "thee underground
film festival" not only in Baltimore, but on the whole of the Eastern Seaboard
and all of us involved will do our best to live up to the expectations that
have been placed upon us, now and in the future. We hope to continue to produce
films worthy not only of your accolades but also of the Charm City Audiences
that have embraced the movie. LETHAL FORCE has played in a number of venues
and cities all over this great big world, but Baltimore will always be our favorite
city with the coolest people, keenest film festivals and, of course, the best
crabs in town. Thank you MicroCineFest and thank you Baltimore. We love you,
dammit.“ -Alvin Ecarma, Divergent Thinking Productions.

The jury made a judgment call on another work they felt deserved recognition,
Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland’s GRAMAGLIA, which was awarded "Best
Mockumentary". Botko's revenge-documentaries have been a favorite of MicroCineFest
audiences for many years, leaving many viewers wondering how he is able to legally
get away with the pranks pulled in his films. Like Botko's previous works, GRAMAGLIA
stunned and thrilled the audience, resulting in much discussion about it's authenticity.
When told of their award, Botko and Gurland responded with the following written
statement: "We appreciate the award for Best Mockumentary. Regretfully,
we cannot accept the award, due to the fact that we do not consider our movie
to be fake. Sincerely, Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland"

link
to the Baltimore Sun article

link to the City Paper
article

(if you took any photos, please share them)

Gorman Bechard (Hot Rod Circuit's "Flight 89") and Joseph
Christoher Schaub (Tangerine Crows).

Bradley Wind and Eric Prykowski (Jungle Monkey).

Kyle Hurley & Jonathan Schultz (The Infernal Loop), Matt Sesow
(A Short By Mat Sesow) and Clifford Dean Wildman (Domestic Wormholes).

Aaron Thedford (The Crab Boy), James Dean Conklin (Monkeyman Rules
and Wonderman) and Rachel Max (I Was A Strip Club Virgin).

"Pull our fingers" Jay Edwards (Esta Noche We Ride!), Brian
Farrelly & Jay Barba (Welcome To Purgatory and Losing Your
Cherry).

Nathan Bramble (Ghost Hunters).

Alex Roper (Revolutions Per Minute and The Penis Graduation Song)
and his crew, Dave Cannon (lyrics) and Virat Shukla (guitar solo).

Todd Rohal (Hillbilly Robot), Frank Siaca & Patrick Martz (Momma's
Girls).

Walker Allen (The Peritoneal Surfaces Are Smooth & Glistening)
and Jack Beck (Jon's Point LA).

Clifford Dean Wildman & Luis Esteban Caffesse (Domestic Wormholes)
and Matthew Silver (Beware Of The Hot Dog People and Gods Of Porcelain
& Plumbing).

Lucy Weismann (In The Red).

Ben Scholle (Pottersville).

J.R. Fritsch, Gwen Pfeiffer, Scott Brown, Walker Allen and Frank Siaca at
the duckpin bowling party.

Jack Beck, Jay Barba, Brian Farrelly and Matthew Silver.

Frank Siaca almost knocked all those little white things down.

The Maryland Film Festival's Dan Krovich with Todd Rohal at the duckpin
bowling party.

Jay Edwards and J.R. Fritsch at the duckpin bowling party.

Housing Coordinator Katie Brennan and Assistant Festival Director Jen Talbert.

Outside the American Visionary Art Museum:

Jen Talbert, Shayna Nickel, J. Greg DeFelice,

J.R. Fritsch, Andrea White and Mike White.

Frank Siaca and Patrick Martz.

The Jury: J. Greg DeFelice, Jed Orndorff, Shayna Nickel, Steve Yeager, Gabe
Wardell, Mike White.

Outside The American Dime Museum: J. Greg DeFelice, Skizz Cyzyk, Frank Siaca,
Patrick Martz, Erik Boring and Mike White.

Inside The American Dime Museum: MCF projection team Skizz Cyzyk and J.R.
Fritsch look at some freaky stuff.

At the American Dime Museum - it's those funny card-playing squirrels. WATCH
OUT!- the one on the right cheats, and the one on the left is NUTS!

Action man Eric Thornett, producer Kent Bye, and star Cash Flagg Jr. - One
minute they're introducing Alvin Ecarma's Lethal Force...

...the next minute Thornett's kicking the crap out of Bye!

Kent Bye and Eric Thornett: still friends.

Scott Brown poses as a Lethal Force action figure.

Sculptor Dana Ellyn Miller, Matt Sesow,
Pete Cibor, and writer Nick Kujawa.

Jen Talbert and Big Dave Cawley, King Of Men,

Mike Z and Greg Houston's "Black Dahlia" portrait.

Matthew Silver chats it up with NYUFF's Ann Marie Spina.

Frank Siaca and Patrick Martz.

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2001line-up

We thank our sponsors:

Premier Sponsor:

MARYLAND

FILM

FESTIVAL

Awards Sponsor:

The
Coffee Mill
C.
Rayburn Production & Post

American
Visionary Art Museum

American
Dime Museum

MicroCineFest 2001 schedule

All screenings will be held at
The G-Spot* for $3 a ticket, unless otherwise noted.

* (2980 Falls Road, near Chestnut Avenue in Hampden)

click
here for a map to The G-Spot

Festival Passes available for $30.

Box office opens 1 hour before the first screening each day.

THE FILMS & VIDEOS IN THE
FESTIVAL HAVE NOT BEEN RATED.

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Films & videos are listed
in alphabetical order, NOT in the order they will be shown.

WED, OCT 31:

THE MOBTOWN SHANK PRESENTS A BILLROYS
HALLOWEEN:

Celebrate Halloween and help us kick-off
MicroCineFest 2001, at this party brought to you by Baltimore's
free weekly interactive e-zine, The
Mobtown Shank.

Live music by THE BILLROYS, TWIN SIX and PRECIOUS.

Costume contests for women & men (no costume gets you spanked by Bud).

$5, Fraziers On The Avenue (919 W. 36th St.)

THUR, NOV 1:

click here for details

5:00
- An Incredible Simulation

...An Incredible Simulation - Jeff Economy & Darren Hacker, 60:00

6:00 -
"Pre/Post-Apocalypse" shorts

Minutemen - Mark Whittington Jones, 27:00

Nowhereland - Ted Mills, 32:00

Resolving Power - Francois Miron, 18:00

8:00 - "New
Ways Of Looking At Things" shorts

Airplane Glue - Evan Mather, 12:00

Hot Rod Circuit's "Flight 89" - Gorman Bechard, 2:40

John's Voice - Bob Kaputof, 4:16

Left Sideways - Jesse Miller, 2:51

Noise In My Backyard - Geoff Adams, 22:00

Solex: That's What You Get With People Like These On Cruises Like This
- Birgit Rathsmann, 3:05

The Subconcious Art Of Grafitti Removal - Matt McCormick, 16:00

Tangerine Crows - Joseph Christopher Schaub, 3:00

Kann ic was abhaben? (What's In It For Me?) - Johannes Kassenberg &
Klaus Reinelt, 22:00

10:00 - Narrative
Shorts

The Bootlegger - Bo Price, 13:00

Deli Very - Thomas A. Griffin, 3:45

Hillbilly Robot - Todd Rohal, 25:00

Momma's Girls - Patrick Martz & Frank Siaca, 14:00

Pottersville - Ben Scholle, 22:00

The Prince And The Pee - David Lilley, 3:30

Water From The Moon - Jenny McCracken, 8:30

FRI, NOV 2:

click here for details

5:00 -
The Drum Buddy Show

The Drum Buddy Show - Rick Delaup, 50:00

6:00 -
Cow Monkey

Cow Monkey - Gabe Weisert, 70:00

8:00 - "Experimiscellaneous"
shorts

Absence Of Limbs - Bump, 5:00

Blutrausch - Bloodlust - Thorsten Fleisch, 4:15

Canine - Amie Robinson, 4:00

Clip (4000f.) - Robert Todd, 3:10

A Code Of Courage - Kevin Walsh, 5:00

Deadpan - Rick Raxlen, 6:00

Fightloop - Daniel Martinico, 2:00

In Her Room - Francis Thberge, 1:38

Jon's Point, LA - Jack Beck & Nick Scherzinger, 3:30

The Last, The Rest - Johanna Dery, 4:30

Logarithm - Clancy Dennehy, 3:00

The Peritoneal Surfaces Are Smooth And Glistening - Walker Allen, 11:00

Somewhere I Was Born - Tony Gault, 8:00

The Strip Mall Trilogy - Roger Beebe, 9:00

Symphony Of A Great Actor - Michael Gersten, 3:00

Transmigration - Jeremy Parr, 3:05

10:00 - "Animation"
shorts

The Box - Stefan Gronsky, 4:30

A Christmas Trilogy (In Four Parts) - Nikhil Adnani, 8:30

The Crab Boy - Aaron Thedford, 6:30

Extreme Man & Insane Boy - Webster Colcord, 6:00

High Tide - Lori Samsel, 3:45

Horse-Play - Lena Podesta, 2:00

I Was A Strip Club Virgin - Rachel Max, 2:40

Karma - Kevin Walsh & Kevin Hoppe, 2:10

Luke Boggia Lord Of The Animation Presents The Gospel According To Luke
- Luke Boggia, 10:00

The Monkeyman Rules 1, 2, and 3 - James Dean Conklin, 3:00

The Probing Orb - Mark D'Amico, 6:00

Silhouette - Ya-Nan Chou, 4:00

Snack - Ali Ashdown, 2:00

Snip - Sarah Brown, 3:00

Tour Tips: Lesson #14 - Danny Plotnick, 2:00

Welcome To Purgatory - Jay Barba & Brian Farrelly, 5:30

Wonderman - James Dean Conklin, 2:10

midnight - "Midnight"
shorts

Boiled Chicken - Laurie King, 7:00

Jungle Monkey - Bradley Wind & Eric Prykowski, 30:00

Oui We - Anthony Howard, 34:00

SAT, NOV 3:

click
here for details

4:00 - Documentary
shorts

Ghost Hunters - Nathan Bramble, 21:00

Gramaglia - Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland, 19:00

Mountain - Daniel Martinico, 31:00

6:00 - Lethal
Force

Lethal Force - Alvin Ecarma, 70:00

8:00 - "Simplicity,
Brilliance & Confusion" shorts

Beware Of The Hot Dog People - Matthew Silver, 5:00

Domestic Wormholes: Nature's Silent Killer - Luis Esteban Caffesse &
Clifferd Dean Wildman, 4:08

Gods Of Porcelain And Plumbing - Matthew Silver & Jackson Evans,
14:35

Guidelines For Public Speaking - Jim Jacob, 5:00

Illustrious Dan - Peter R. Wareing, 9:24

The Infernal Loop - Cooper Black, 3:00

The Penis Graduation Song - Alex Roper, 5:00

Revolutions Per Minute - Alex Roper, 3:00

A Short By Matt Sesow - Matt Sesow, 3:00

Smashin' It Up - Michael Goodwin, 7:00

The Thief Of Souls - Clancy Dennehy, 5:00

Three Legged - John Wood, 3:00

Wavelength - Daniel Martinico, :15

10:00 - "Fun"
shorts

The Ballad Of Little Roger Mead - Mark Carter, 8:30

Cat Number Six Is A Coward - Jerome Gariepy, 8:00

The Creepees Vs. Robot No. 2 - Nick Adams, Jr.

Employee Orientation - Gregory McDonald, 3:39

Esta Noche We Ride! - Jay Edwards, 12:00

In The Red - Lucy Weismann, 4:00

Karate Ruler - Anthony DiSalvo, 15:00

Losing Your Cherry - Jay Barba & Brian Farrelly, 10:00

State Of The Union - Bryan Boyce, 2:00

Terror Of The Invisible Man - Adam Roffman & Wayne Kimball

midnight - Cornman

Cornman: American Vegtable Hero - Barak Epstein, 68:00

SUN, NOV 4:

click
here for details

3:00 -
Wesley Willis

Wesley Willis: The Daddy Of Rock & Roll - Daniel Bitton, 57:00

4:00 - El
Vez

El Rey de Rock 'n' Roll - Marjorie Chodorov, 57:00

5:00 - Nihilist
Spasm Band

What About Me: The Rise of the Nihilist Spasm Band - Zev Asher, 79:00

7:00 - ARCH
HALL, JR. Double Feature

7:00 - The Sadist - James Landis, 95:00,
1963

8:45 - Wild Guitar - Ray Dennis Steckler, 92:00, 1962

10:30 - MicroCineFest
2001 Awards Ceremony

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