2003, 36TH ANNUAL HUMBOLDT INT’L FILM FESTIVAL
Greetings and Salutations
The festival directors would like to extend a warm welcome to all to the 36th Humboldt International Short Film Festival. We are thoroughly excited to bring you a week of fantastic events that celebrate innovative and independent films and filmmakers. We have all worked very hard, had fun, met some interesting people, seen some amazing films, and learned more than we could ever have imagined.
A brief look back at the Humboldt International Short Film Festival reveals an intense dedication to celebrating the University of films from around the world. We are the oldest student-run film festival in the world, with screenings at the longest continuously running film house in the United States, The Minor Theater. Thirty-six years ago, a group of students wanted to bring independent short cinema to the North Coast. That desire has blossomed into a weeklong festival including three days of screenings featuring festival entries entertaining and educational workshops and film presentations from guest filmmakers, and this year, a recognition of the power of film with our screening of the Argentine classic Hour of the Furnaces (La hora de los hornos).
We have received some spectacular films in each category, which were presented to our student pre-screening committee for advancement consideration. We have assembled a panel of professional filmmakers to serve on our juror committee, which is responsible for selecting the winning films, to be screened on Saturday, April 5 at the Best of the Festival. The students have selected some of their favorites to be presented on Friday, April 4 at People’s Choice Night. We have all enjoyed working to bring you this opportunity to see some of the rising stars in independent filmmaking. We appreciate your support and we hope you enjoy the festival.
FILM FESTIVAL CO-DIRECTORS
DENISE SULLIVAN
Denise is a senior in the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance and has been involved with the festival for over three years. Denise enjoys working in film as an art form and hopes to continue making experimental films long after her time at HSU.
HEATHER BASH
Heather is a graduate student at Humboldt State University. She recently returned from Africa where she shot her thesis film documenting the effects of westernized education on the tribal culture of the Maasai. This is Heather’s second year as a student co-director.
SHELDON HEATH
Sheldon is a first-time co-director but a longtime fan of independent film. He is currently an undergraduate pursuing a BS in Political Science. Sheldon looks at his endeavor of being a festival co-director as his first step towards world domination.
FILM FESTIVAL JUDGES
Andrew Garrison
Award winning independent filmmaker Andrew Garrison began his career co-founding a political media production and distribution group. Later he moved on to Eastern Kentucky to work with the internationally renowned media arts organization Appalshop. There he was Director of Photography on 39 of the 93 films in Appalshop’s catalog. His own work has earned him fellowships from The American Film Institute, The National Endowment for the Arts and the J. Simon Guggenheim Foundation. For his fiction film, The Wilgus Stories, The Council on Foundations presented him the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media. Currently Andrew Garrison is teaching film and video production at the University of Texas at Austin where he is also the head of Film and Audio Production.
BARBARA KLUTINIS
Guest filmmaker Barbara Kluntinis graduated with a Master’s in Film Production from San Francisco State University (SFSU) in 1986. Since then she has created a body of experimental work using a process that she describes as “a blend of optical printing, hand coloring and hand processing.” Her films, including, Wind/Water/Wings (1995), and Journey, Swiftly Passing (2000), have been screened at a wide selection of film festivals, and have won such awards as Best Experimental Film (Philadelphia Film Festival), and Best in Festival (California Independent Film and Video Festival) respectively. Barbara Klutinis now teaches at Skyline College and SFSU while living with her husband and sons in San Francisco.
ROGER BLONDER
While suffering from the study of quantitative economics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Roger Blonder became interested in the art of independent animation and poetry. After completing an undergraduate degree in Management Science from UCSD and a Master’s in Fine Arts from the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television, Animation Workshop, Blonder went to develop an interactive museum installation for the Skirball Cultural Center. He also worked in the start-up art department of DreamWorks Interactive. Roger Blonder then focused his full time efforts on his short animated film The Common Sense of the Wisdom Tree,which has screened in over 25 festivals and won six major awards. He is currently teaching the animation and new media courses at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.