On the cutting edge

DVAA holds third annual DIGit media expo

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG, NY — With the digital age in full swing, “film festivals” have become a thing of the past. The new phenomenon has become the “Media Arts Festival.” Narrowsburg’s Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA), with the holding of its third media arts festival, is an established veteran in the field.

This year, as in past years, media artists from around the country and the world have submitted entries to the seven-category contest. The contest judges have chosen the winners, and their entries will be highlighted during the week-long celebration, which will be held from August 19 through 27.

“The Delaware Valley Arts Alliance created and produced the DIGit Media Arts Exposition in 2004 and 2005 to give artists an innovative context to produce and present their work, and to provide audiences with valuable and challenging content not otherwise available to them,” said Elaine Giguere, DVAA executive director.

This year, DIGit 2006 is scheduled for seven Sullivan County locations.

The majority of the events will be held at the Tusten Theatre in Narrowsburg. The historic Roebling Bridge over the Delaware River will be the site of a unique event, Kazzrie Jaxen’s “Roebling Resonance,” winner in the “Best Musical Work” category. Other venues will be the NACL Theatre in Highland Lake, the Callicoon Theatre in Callicoon, Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, the DVAA center in Narrowsburg and at the Sidedoor Gallery in Callicoon.

In addition to displays of multi-media work, the event will feature a talk and video presentation by the renowned filmmaker and media activist DeeDee Halleck on Friday, August 25 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Sullivan County Community College’s Seelig Theatre, 112 College Road, Loch Sheldrake.

Halleck has received three life-time achievement awards: the George Stoney Award from the Alliance for Community Media; the Life Time Achievement Award of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture and the Henry Schiller Award from the 2003 Schmio Awards. She began making films in the early 1960’s, one of which, “Mural on Our Street,” was nominated for an Academy Award in 1965.

A wide spectrum of winners

The winners of the 2006 DIGit Media Exposition are listed in seven “best” categories: narrative, experimental, documentary, animation, student work and best of show. The winners were chosen from an open call that attracted dozens of entries from all over the world.

The winning entries cover a wide range of styles, perspectives and insights, from a uniquely creative and artistic rendition of President George W. Bush’s now infamous State of the Union address (Jorge Aguirre Jr.’s “Restate of the Union), to an unusual subway ride in Brooklyn at 1:00 in the morning (Nurit Bar-shai and Kleoni Manoussakis’s “The Subway Show.”) There is a documentary on a local community’s efforts to keep a “big box” stores out (“Don’t Box Me In,” by Richard Fendelman), and a study of the circle of abuse women often experience from their once-loved male relatives (“Dress Up”). Area students make a sometimes edgy but creative statement in “Wal-Mart Comes to Town,” a mockumentary written, shot and produced by students from the Eldred High School in Eldred.

Schedule of productions and presentations

On Saturday, August 19 at 10:00 a.m. to noon, a reception at the DVAA center at 37 Main Street in Narrowsburg will feature an interactive media installation created by Perpetual Art Machine (PAM), a living archive of 21st century international video art featuring over 500 videos and over 300 artists from over 50 countries. The PAM display will be available throughout the week.

On Saturday evening, at 8:00 p.m., the NACL Theatre in Highland Lake will host an hour-long video created by Skip Blumberg.

DIGit’s second weekend begins on Thursday, August 24 with Jaxon’s work. At the singular outdoor event at the Roebling Bridge near Minisink Ford, the sound will echo off the ridge tops and will be broadcast and cybercast on WJFF Radio. The work will be presented at the bridge along with performance and projections by Bridge Arts, a sound piece, “Call Me River!,” by the Upper Delaware Writers Collective, “Pattern Woman” by Daria Dorosh and audio art by Locus Sonus from the d’Aix-en-Provence region of France.

DIGit events continue on Friday, August 25 at 7:00 p.m. with the presentation by Deep Dish Television’s co-founder DeeDee Halleck at the Seelig Theatre.

On Saturday, August 26 there will be a screening and an evening DIGit award to winners, presented at the Tusten Theatre. “Restate of the Union,” winner of “Best in Show,” will be shown at the Callicoon Theatre on August 27.

Those who cannot attend the event can see many of the entries at the DVAA website at www.artsalliancesite.org.

For more information on DIGit events, or to purchase a pass, call 845/252-7576.