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SURGE
SURGE Schedule in San Marcos, Texas.
Located in Between Austin, Texas and San Antonio, Texas.
Date: February 19th and 20th, 2013
Time: The Festivities start at 1pm and last until 7pm each day!
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
QUESTION: I am coming to SURGE from outside of the area. Can you tell me about the Site of SURGE, Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms, (known as Heirloom Blooms)?
Yes. In an effort to support and foster a healthier happier community, Heirloom Bloom's mission is to conserve sustainable resources and promote stewardship of nature by providing heirloom garden products, garden services, educational programming and events.
What is an Heirloom? An heirloom is traditionally something special that can be passed on through the years. Heirloom Bloom offers seeds, hand crafted products and educational outreach created with and inspired by their natural resources and rich cultural heritage. Their plants, seeds and produce are naturally grown and treated in organic soil. Their pure heirloom seeds are non GMO, open pollinated, non patented and will reproduce viable offspring and seeds that can be saved and shared.
SURGE Film Festival is happy to take place at Heirloom Blooms in 2013! To see the SURGE Film Festival Community & Nature Music Video, please click here.
Question: Why is Austin such an Exciting City for Filmmakers and Screenwriters?
Austin, Texas is also currently standing prominently at No. 2 on the MovieMaker2012 list of top 10 U.S. cities for independent filmmakers. Austin, Texas has appeared on this notable list since it began more than 12 years ago; last year, Austin was ranked No. 4. Our event is also conveniently close to San Antonio, which in the most recent US census, was ranked the seventh most populous city in the United States of America and the second most populous city in the state of Texas, with a population of 1.3 million. It is the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States as has been so for over ten years! Austin, Texas is currently the 14th fastest growing city in the USA. The variety of actors that our casting fairs offer is outstanding! To read a full list of why Austin, was named the #2 spot for independent filmmakers please visit here.
Austin, Texas is also currently standing prominently at No. 2 on the MovieMaker2012 list of top 10 U.S. cities for independent filmmakers. Austin, Texas has appeared on this notable list since it began more than 12 years ago; last year, Austin was ranked No. 4. Our event is also conveniently close to San Antonio, which in the most recent US census, was ranked the seventh most populous city in the United States of America and the second most populous city in the state of Texas, with a population of 1.3 million. It is the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States as has been so for over ten years! Austin, Texas is currently the 14th fastest growing city in the USA. The variety of actors that our casting fairs offer is outstanding! To read a full list of why Austin, was named the #2 spot for independent filmmakers please visit here.
From Austin (via San Marcos)
Take I-35 South to Exit 202 towards Wimberley (Wonder World Drive/FM 3407).
Continue on I-35 frontage road for 0.9 miles.
Turn right onto Wonder World Drive/FM 3407/RM 12.
Continue on RM 12 for approximately 10.9 miles.
At stoplight, turn left onto FM 32 towards Blanco.
Continue on FM 32 for 0.6 miles.
Turn right into driveway: look for Highpoint Manor sign and American flag.
Make first right into Acres Wild Hall parking lot.
From San Antonio (via New Braunfels)
Take I-35 North to Exit 191 towards Canyon Lake (FM 306/FM 483).
Continue on I-35 frontage road for 0.4 miles.
Turn left onto FM 306.
Continue on FM 306 for 9.1 miles.
At stoplight (just before Exxon station), turn right onto Purgatory Road
Continue of Purgatory Road for 6.7 miles.
Turn right on FM 32.
Continue on FM 32 for 1.6 miles.
Turn left into driveway: look for Highpoint Manor sign and American flag.
Make first right into Acres Wild Hall parking lot.
Take I-35 South to Exit 202 towards Wimberley (Wonder World Drive/FM 3407).
Continue on I-35 frontage road for 0.9 miles.
Turn right onto Wonder World Drive/FM 3407/RM 12.
Continue on RM 12 for approximately 10.9 miles.
At stoplight, turn left onto FM 32 towards Blanco.
Continue on FM 32 for 0.6 miles.
Turn right into driveway: look for Highpoint Manor sign and American flag.
Make first right into Acres Wild Hall parking lot.
From San Antonio (via New Braunfels)
Take I-35 North to Exit 191 towards Canyon Lake (FM 306/FM 483).
Continue on I-35 frontage road for 0.4 miles.
Turn left onto FM 306.
Continue on FM 306 for 9.1 miles.
At stoplight (just before Exxon station), turn right onto Purgatory Road
Continue of Purgatory Road for 6.7 miles.
Turn right on FM 32.
Continue on FM 32 for 1.6 miles.
Turn left into driveway: look for Highpoint Manor sign and American flag.
Make first right into Acres Wild Hall parking lot.
State Premier
Title: Viva Viva
February 19th, 2013. 1:15pm-3:00pm - Viva Viva
Country of Production: Brazil
Q+A with Director after the film! (In person or by Phone) 3pm-3:15pm
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
vivavivamovie.com
Steeped in the rioutous music of urban chaos, meet two generations shaping a global culture of dissent. From the slums to the city center of São Paulo, Brasil, the punks invite us to open our eyes. Viva Viva!
February 19th, 2013. 1:15pm-3:00pm - Viva Viva
Country of Production: Brazil
Q+A with Director after the film! (In person or by Phone) 3pm-3:15pm
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
vivavivamovie.com
Steeped in the rioutous music of urban chaos, meet two generations shaping a global culture of dissent. From the slums to the city center of São Paulo, Brasil, the punks invite us to open our eyes. Viva Viva!
3-Line Synopsis
Steeped in the riotous music of urban chaos, meet two generations shaping a global culture of dissent. From the slums to the city center of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the punks invite our eyes to open. Viva Viva!
3-Line Synopsis (French)
Impregnées dans la musique déchainée du chaos urbain, on rencontre deux générations qui créent une culture dissidente.Des taudis au centre de la ville de São Paulo, Brésil, les punks invitent nos yeux à s’ouvrir. Viva Viva!
Programming Descriptors
FORMS:Documentary, Experimental, Feature
GENRES:Alternative, Underground, Avant-garde, Cult, Independent, Rejected, Urban, Reality, Culture, Hip Hop, Personal Narrative, Social Issue, Music
NICHES:Black, Gay/Lesbian, Latino, Third World, Women, Youth/Teen
Foreign Titles
ENGLISH
Viva Viva Medium Synopsis
Experience the lives and surroundings of a few São Paulo punks, the fierce Brazilian birthplace of this global culture of dissent. In a country with a well-known non-rock musical tradition, where corruption is cultural and violence is routine - Punk brought a cathartic expression more akin to urban realities. As a working class movement that started under the violent grip of Brazilian dictatorship, this is do-it-yourself at its most creative, and a celebratory means of resistance.
Viva Viva is also a portrait of São Paulo, the fierce birthplace of Brazilian punk. A city of high-rise buildings as far as the eyes can see, surrounded by shantytowns hours from the city center. Perhaps the impossible number of bodies, combined with the street art, and a tangled geography of little urban planning (or a lot of corruption), all make São Paulo a wild and mesmerizing place.
Viva Viva is chaos symphony and punk is the tune.
Steeped in the riotous music of urban chaos, meet two generations shaping a global culture of dissent. From the slums to the city center of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the punks invite our eyes to open. Viva Viva!
3-Line Synopsis (French)
Impregnées dans la musique déchainée du chaos urbain, on rencontre deux générations qui créent une culture dissidente.Des taudis au centre de la ville de São Paulo, Brésil, les punks invitent nos yeux à s’ouvrir. Viva Viva!
Programming Descriptors
FORMS:Documentary, Experimental, Feature
GENRES:Alternative, Underground, Avant-garde, Cult, Independent, Rejected, Urban, Reality, Culture, Hip Hop, Personal Narrative, Social Issue, Music
NICHES:Black, Gay/Lesbian, Latino, Third World, Women, Youth/Teen
Foreign Titles
ENGLISH
Viva Viva Medium Synopsis
Experience the lives and surroundings of a few São Paulo punks, the fierce Brazilian birthplace of this global culture of dissent. In a country with a well-known non-rock musical tradition, where corruption is cultural and violence is routine - Punk brought a cathartic expression more akin to urban realities. As a working class movement that started under the violent grip of Brazilian dictatorship, this is do-it-yourself at its most creative, and a celebratory means of resistance.
Viva Viva is also a portrait of São Paulo, the fierce birthplace of Brazilian punk. A city of high-rise buildings as far as the eyes can see, surrounded by shantytowns hours from the city center. Perhaps the impossible number of bodies, combined with the street art, and a tangled geography of little urban planning (or a lot of corruption), all make São Paulo a wild and mesmerizing place.
Viva Viva is chaos symphony and punk is the tune.
Director Statement
Before I moved to the US, São Paulo gave me punk and the beauty of urban chaos. When sunsets turn that ominous shade of deep crimson that only appalling levels of pollution can provide. A city of high-rise buildings as far as the eyes can see, surrounded by shantytowns hours from the city center. Perhaps it is the impossible number of bodies, combined with the street art, and a tangled geography of little urban planning (or a lot of corruption) that all make São Paulo a wild and mesmerizing place.
Punk planted some good seeds in my life, in the anger there was pleasure, and eyes were opened. Mine certainly were. I’ve always been interested in outsiders, especially in those who find it difficult to reconcile the injustice of it all with their day-to-day lives. Punk is but one community that harbors such deviants, but it’s one I know well. After moving to the USA I wanted to document something of the urban South American experience that so few seemed to know about here. And Viva Viva was born.
The movie is about being punk in São Paulo, Brazil - focusing on what that choice brings to their lives in general and in the context of São Paulo. It has the outline of the movement’s history in Brazil but mostly focuses on the lives of a few characters, from the slums to the city center – so it’s also inevitably about class - a topic impossible to avoid in South America.
I feel honored to have glued these pieces together to tell a punk tale, in a bigger sense, and yet often in that very unique moment of life exploding. It feels as urgent as it always has, the need to express opposition to such an unjust world, and this love for an independent and feral culture.
Production Notes
"Do It Yourself"
My name is Carolina Pfister and I shot, produced, directed, and edited the movie Viva Viva, a documentary about punks from the slums to the city center of São Paulo, Brazil.
This particular filmmaking journey starts after shooting the movie between 2003 and 2005, a self-funded enterprise through video free-lance work. Then a detour of 6 years in the non-profit world followed, and the almost loss of my tapes to Hurricane Katrina, amongst other typical independent cinema incidents. In 2011 I was able to recommit to the film and have worked on it every day since, finally finishing the saga that was to make my first feature length film.
Viva Viva is a direct result of the "do-it-yourself" (DIY) ethic which is at the core of punk ideology. DIY as a subculture began with punk in the 70's, first as a means to organize shows and book tours, and later referring to a self-sufficiency life-style. The DIY ethic is an anti-consumerist and empowering response to these increasingly fragmented and despondent times, and one that informed the making of this film at every single stage.
Before I moved to the US, São Paulo gave me punk and the beauty of urban chaos. When sunsets turn that ominous shade of deep crimson that only appalling levels of pollution can provide. A city of high-rise buildings as far as the eyes can see, surrounded by shantytowns hours from the city center. Perhaps it is the impossible number of bodies, combined with the street art, and a tangled geography of little urban planning (or a lot of corruption) that all make São Paulo a wild and mesmerizing place.
Punk planted some good seeds in my life, in the anger there was pleasure, and eyes were opened. Mine certainly were. I’ve always been interested in outsiders, especially in those who find it difficult to reconcile the injustice of it all with their day-to-day lives. Punk is but one community that harbors such deviants, but it’s one I know well. After moving to the USA I wanted to document something of the urban South American experience that so few seemed to know about here. And Viva Viva was born.
The movie is about being punk in São Paulo, Brazil - focusing on what that choice brings to their lives in general and in the context of São Paulo. It has the outline of the movement’s history in Brazil but mostly focuses on the lives of a few characters, from the slums to the city center – so it’s also inevitably about class - a topic impossible to avoid in South America.
I feel honored to have glued these pieces together to tell a punk tale, in a bigger sense, and yet often in that very unique moment of life exploding. It feels as urgent as it always has, the need to express opposition to such an unjust world, and this love for an independent and feral culture.
Production Notes
"Do It Yourself"
My name is Carolina Pfister and I shot, produced, directed, and edited the movie Viva Viva, a documentary about punks from the slums to the city center of São Paulo, Brazil.
This particular filmmaking journey starts after shooting the movie between 2003 and 2005, a self-funded enterprise through video free-lance work. Then a detour of 6 years in the non-profit world followed, and the almost loss of my tapes to Hurricane Katrina, amongst other typical independent cinema incidents. In 2011 I was able to recommit to the film and have worked on it every day since, finally finishing the saga that was to make my first feature length film.
Viva Viva is a direct result of the "do-it-yourself" (DIY) ethic which is at the core of punk ideology. DIY as a subculture began with punk in the 70's, first as a means to organize shows and book tours, and later referring to a self-sufficiency life-style. The DIY ethic is an anti-consumerist and empowering response to these increasingly fragmented and despondent times, and one that informed the making of this film at every single stage.
Medley of Mixed Media: Music Videos, Documentaries, Short Films from All Over the World!
February 19, 2013.
Time: 3:30pm-4:00pm
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
A mixed variety of some of the following films will be shown for this Medley of Mixed Media Section including several premiers!.
State Premier: Riding A Bike (9 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Emerson Smith
shorts
Miscellany XIII. (9 minutes, Slovakia)
dir. by Gabriel Hosovsky
short film
Pocket Full of Hope (4 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Jeff Wyatt Wilson
music videos
ARCANE (5 minutes, France)
dir. by Bastien BELVAUX
all shorts
"Let Your Light Shine" (3 minutes, U S A)
sub. by Bridge and Tunnel Communications
music videos
COMME TU VEUX (5 minutes, Ivory Coast)
dir. by BARO OUEDRAOGO
music videos
Alyssa From Nowhere (5 minutes, India)
dir. by Sidharth Dhanda
shorts
Occupy Rothschild (10 minutes, Israel)
dir. by Israel Winkler
shorts
A House, A Home (7 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Daniel Fickle
MultiMedia
The Art of Being One (14 minutes, Canada)
dir. by Shiva Kashi
shorts
GLORG (11 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Michael Benton,
shorts
Freak (18 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Eric Casaccio
shorts
Defending A Livable Future (16 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Tom Weistar
shorts
Slings and Arrows (3 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Steven Pierce
shorts
Location: Main Event Area
Film Title: Cartography of Loneliness (details here)
February 19, 2013. Time: 4:15pm-5:23pm Location: The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms 900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666 Find out more info and see photos and trailer here. Title: Finding Your Voice (4 minutes, U S A) dir. by Jim Sea February 19, 2013. Time: 5:30pm-5:34pm shorts Q+A with Director after the film! In person! 5:34pm-5:45pm Title: Delta 180: Changing Lives in the Mississippi Delta dir. by Anne Rayner February 19, 2013. Time: 5:45pm-6:08pm Q+A with Director after the film! In person! 6:08pm-6:20pm Produced by Cypress Bend Productions, LLC, Delta 180: Changing Lives in the Mississippi Delta is a short documentary film which tells the story of an after-school program in Greenville, Mississippi which is impacting the lives of youth and others in the community. Employing the philosophy and curriculum of the Salem, Oregon-based 180 Degrees Program, the Delta 180 program is making a difference in Greenville, Mississippi by reducing juvenile crime and improving school performance. This film tells Greenville's story and offers inspiration to others who may also wish to implement the 180 Degrees Program in their communities. The film concludes with an original song, "Turning My Life Around." composed and written by Greenville native Eden Brent for this film, and performed by Brent and the Greenville Weston High "Voices of Liberation" Choir. |
Location: Secondary Event Area
Event Title: The Edge of Imagination Station at SURGE
February 19, 2013. Time: 1pm-7pm All day long! Location: The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms 900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666 Have you ever thought about your drawings coming to life or your action figures really living out an adventure? Sure you have, but unless you've made a stop motion animation, the movie has only been in your head...until now! Stop motion is a type of animation where the illusion of motion is created as a result of taking a series of still pictures which are then played back as a movie. The Edge of Imagination Station has been created to streamline that process and bring the studio to you. At the station you can use our custom built work spaces and software along with chalk, dry erase markers, paper, clay, and 3D objects.Now the question is, what's your story? |
shorts
Q+A with Director after the film! In person! 5:34pm-5:45pm
7th Annual International S.U.R.G.E.! 'Semi-Spontaneous' Guerrilla Film Screening of Short-Short-Short Films!
February 19, 2013.
Time: 6:20pm-6:30pm
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Our 'semi-spontaneous' short-short-short film section by hosted by filmmakers who show up from all over the world and give a short Q+A afterwards about their film has become such a popular part of the S.U.R.G.E.! method of operation that we have now placed it on the schedule! If your film was selected by S.U.R.G.E.!, simply show up on Feb 19th and your film might (no promises) screen! It is chaotic, unorganized, non-institutional and just the way we like it at S.U.R.G.E. in order to try to facilitate and promote people-to-people connections rather than simply people-to-film!
Time: 6:20pm-6:30pm
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Our 'semi-spontaneous' short-short-short film section by hosted by filmmakers who show up from all over the world and give a short Q+A afterwards about their film has become such a popular part of the S.U.R.G.E.! method of operation that we have now placed it on the schedule! If your film was selected by S.U.R.G.E.!, simply show up on Feb 19th and your film might (no promises) screen! It is chaotic, unorganized, non-institutional and just the way we like it at S.U.R.G.E. in order to try to facilitate and promote people-to-people connections rather than simply people-to-film!
The Flight of C-GAL: Community, Garden, Arts and Love (C-G.A.L.) for a Better World.
What would it look like if garden, permaculture, nature enthusiasts came together from all over the world along with artists, musicians and other people working for a better world? This is a presentation by a community organizing group about a community, garden, arts and love project that welcomes community support organized from a new perspective that immediately gives back to community. SURGE greatly welcomes C-Gal!
Date: February 19th, 2013
Time: 6:30pm-7:00pm
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Date: February 19th, 2013
Time: 6:30pm-7:00pm
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Open Networking Session and Photos with the Writers, Cast and Crew of Films and Scripts of SURGE Film Festival
This is the first of two amazing open networking sessions at SURGE Film Festival! In the tradition of breaking down hierarchies, this is an open time with an instructor for people to network with one another or possibly simply discuss the films.
Date: February 19th, 2013.
Time: 7:15pm-8:00pm
Date: February 19th, 2013.
Time: 7:15pm-8:00pm
Title: Dalai Mongol
February 20th, 2013. 1:15pm-2:15pm
Country of Production: Mongolia
An achingly beautiful creation of award-winning musician Levi Chen, whose accomplishments include winning Music Video of the Year at the 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards, Dalai Mongol takes viewers on a dreamlike journey through the enchanted landscapes of Mongolia as a man and woman, on separate spiritual quests, yearn to find themselves and one another.
The film's only dialogue comes in the form of musician Levi Chen's serene and majestic notes as well as songs from his latest album. Dalai Mongol's blend of nature and music narrate an inspiring and timeless tale of faith, triumph and love despite all odds.
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Title: WORLD PREMIERE: GAME OVER (23 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Leonie Viola Thoene
TOBIAS DEML. Game Over. Co-Director
February 20, 2013.
Time: 2:25pm-2:43pm
Q+A after the film featuring:
Time: 2:43pm-3pm
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2993564/
Bonus: After the film SURGE will also give out Free DVDs of the SURGE Collection!
February 20th, 2013. 1:15pm-2:15pm
Country of Production: Mongolia
An achingly beautiful creation of award-winning musician Levi Chen, whose accomplishments include winning Music Video of the Year at the 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards, Dalai Mongol takes viewers on a dreamlike journey through the enchanted landscapes of Mongolia as a man and woman, on separate spiritual quests, yearn to find themselves and one another.
The film's only dialogue comes in the form of musician Levi Chen's serene and majestic notes as well as songs from his latest album. Dalai Mongol's blend of nature and music narrate an inspiring and timeless tale of faith, triumph and love despite all odds.
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Title: WORLD PREMIERE: GAME OVER (23 minutes, U S A)
dir. by Leonie Viola Thoene
TOBIAS DEML. Game Over. Co-Director
February 20, 2013.
Time: 2:25pm-2:43pm
Q+A after the film featuring:
- TOBIAS DEML. Game Over. Co-Director and Director of Photography. This film screened on Feb 20th, 2013.
- Sarah Kozlowski. Game Over. Actress in the movie.
Time: 2:43pm-3pm
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2993564/
Bonus: After the film SURGE will also give out Free DVDs of the SURGE Collection!
WORLD PREMIERE: Game Over: Director's Statement
Leonie Viola
Thöne MA
SURGE Is very honored to screen Game Over, a film directed by Leonie Viola Thöne MA (with TOBIAS DEML as Co-Director) about an often overlooked topic. Leonie has been featured in some of the world's leading magazines around the world such as Der Spiegle and her cast and crew will join SURGE for this World Premier. Some of her past work regarding Pickup Artists (PUAs) include the film Pick Up Artists.
Director Statement Below:
As an artist I started travelling around the world very early and met a lot of versatile and extraordinary people. I was fascinated by human relationships, special communities, underground movements and social interaction and that led to my study in sociology. Shortly before I started writing my master thesis I met a guy whose behavior seemed irritating, strange and as if he was reciting a speech or a theatrical pattern. My interest was captured and I started researching things he did and said. That’s how I found out about the secret community of pickup artists.
The pickup artists see themselves professional seducers. They train manipulative and psychological techniques to seduce women. It’s a whole industry of coaches, internet forums, local groups, books, internet forums. They use their own vocabulary and the more women you “lay” the higher you get in the hierarchy. I wrote my master thesis about “pua’s” and when my studies were published there was a huge public awareness. Newspapers, tv networks, radio stations and magazines wrote about me and my studies.
The pua’s reacted with lots of hate mails, threats and insulting phone calls. Yet, I still started working on my PhD about pickup artists in 2012. Because I am not only a researcher but also an artist I wanted to express my knowledge about the community in an artificial way, too. I wanted to inform people about the existence of puas, make them see the phenomenon through a young girls eyes. That was when I started working on a theater play and later on a screenplay for Game Over and wrote the story of Gloria and Julien.
Director Statement Below:
As an artist I started travelling around the world very early and met a lot of versatile and extraordinary people. I was fascinated by human relationships, special communities, underground movements and social interaction and that led to my study in sociology. Shortly before I started writing my master thesis I met a guy whose behavior seemed irritating, strange and as if he was reciting a speech or a theatrical pattern. My interest was captured and I started researching things he did and said. That’s how I found out about the secret community of pickup artists.
The pickup artists see themselves professional seducers. They train manipulative and psychological techniques to seduce women. It’s a whole industry of coaches, internet forums, local groups, books, internet forums. They use their own vocabulary and the more women you “lay” the higher you get in the hierarchy. I wrote my master thesis about “pua’s” and when my studies were published there was a huge public awareness. Newspapers, tv networks, radio stations and magazines wrote about me and my studies.
The pua’s reacted with lots of hate mails, threats and insulting phone calls. Yet, I still started working on my PhD about pickup artists in 2012. Because I am not only a researcher but also an artist I wanted to express my knowledge about the community in an artificial way, too. I wanted to inform people about the existence of puas, make them see the phenomenon through a young girls eyes. That was when I started working on a theater play and later on a screenplay for Game Over and wrote the story of Gloria and Julien.
Sarah Kozlowski. Appearing for the Q+A after her film, 'Game Over' and on the Social Justice and Independent Filmmakers Panel on Feb 20th, 2013.
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Sarah Kozlowski. Magazine Cover Model on a popular international Magazine. Sarah is appearing for the Q+A after her film, 'Game Over' and on the Social Justice and Independent Filmmakers Panel on Feb 20th, 2013.
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"Game Over" Interview with actress Sarah Kozlowski
1) Game Over is the first movie about pickup artists. How do you feel about the topic?
I have heard about pick up artists that incorporate lying and seducing woman in order to financially gain from them. This story highlights an ever more dangerous type, the ones that do it in order to satisfy various addictions to power and sex. The emotional damage some woman have suffered by these men is just as dangerous as physical abuse.
2) Do you think people can relate to the movie?
Absolutely, there are so many degrees of manipulation that any girl or woman would be able to relate to this story, even if their story was not as severe as Gloria's in the film. It also applies to men suffering from betrayal at the hands of woman!
3) How would you describe the atmosphere on set?
Everyone was so happy to be there. It was very inspiring to watch the attention to detail that the creators had paid to every element of the making of this movie! It is also hilarious watching dancers rehearse for the 100th time to get a routine just right!
I have heard about pick up artists that incorporate lying and seducing woman in order to financially gain from them. This story highlights an ever more dangerous type, the ones that do it in order to satisfy various addictions to power and sex. The emotional damage some woman have suffered by these men is just as dangerous as physical abuse.
2) Do you think people can relate to the movie?
Absolutely, there are so many degrees of manipulation that any girl or woman would be able to relate to this story, even if their story was not as severe as Gloria's in the film. It also applies to men suffering from betrayal at the hands of woman!
3) How would you describe the atmosphere on set?
Everyone was so happy to be there. It was very inspiring to watch the attention to detail that the creators had paid to every element of the making of this movie! It is also hilarious watching dancers rehearse for the 100th time to get a routine just right!
SURGE: Encouraging You To Take the Risk! Social Justice and Independent Filmmaker and Screenwriter Panel
The amazing panel will feature social justice and independent filmmakers from all over the country. SURGE stands for Social Uprising, Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement and it is our desire that the actors and filmmakers who have taken the risk to have their voices heard will encourage the audiences whom they touch. All of the panelists have travelled a great distance to join us and we know you will find it an unforgettable event!
Date and Time: February 20th, 2013. 3:00pm-3:15pm
Garden Workshop (Outdoors, Weather permitting)
February 20th, 2013. 3:15pm-4:15pm
Garden Dedication with Heirloom Blooms
Learn about heirloom seeds from the founder of Heirloom Blooms, Lenny Archer. Heirloom Blooms envisions a community that practices environmental stewardship, is enriched by volunteerism, finds inspiration from nature, makes ethical consumer decisions, values lifelong learning, and nurtures the transfer of local knowledge from generation to generation. Join us in planting a garden dedicated in honor of social justice and those who fight for it.
- Jim Sea, director of Finding Your Voice.
This film screened on Feb 19th, 2013. - TOBIAS DEML. Co-Director and Director of Photograph of Game Over.
This film screened on Feb 20th, 2013). - Sarah Kozlowski. Actress playing in the film Game Over. This film screened on Feb 20th, 2013).
- Natasha Marcuse (playing “Violet Johnson”) in the film Game Over. This film screened on Feb 20th, 2013.
- Emerson Smith, director of Riding A Bike.
This filmed screened on Feb 19th, 2012). - More Surprise Filmmakers and Screenwriters!
Date and Time: February 20th, 2013. 3:00pm-3:15pm
Garden Workshop (Outdoors, Weather permitting)
February 20th, 2013. 3:15pm-4:15pm
Garden Dedication with Heirloom Blooms
Learn about heirloom seeds from the founder of Heirloom Blooms, Lenny Archer. Heirloom Blooms envisions a community that practices environmental stewardship, is enriched by volunteerism, finds inspiration from nature, makes ethical consumer decisions, values lifelong learning, and nurtures the transfer of local knowledge from generation to generation. Join us in planting a garden dedicated in honor of social justice and those who fight for it.
Title: Cultures of Resistance
February 20th, 2013. 4:30pm-5:45pm
Country of Production: Many Countries
Q+A with Director after the film! (In person or by Phone) 5:45pm-6:00pm
Cultures of Resistance 3-Line Synopsis
In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promote change. This is their story.
Cultures of Resistance Awards:
- LOUISIANA, HAMMOND, Documentary Silver, JamFest Indie Film Festival
- CHINA / BEIJING, Best Long Documentary, Beijing International Movie Festival
- ETHIOPIA / ADDIS ABABA, Audience Award, Addis International Film Festival
- USA / CA, Best Documentary, Tiburon International Film Festival
- INDIA / JAIPUR, Green Rose Award, Jaipur International Film Festival
- BENIN / OUIDAH, Python Audience Prize, Jury Special Mentions, Ouidah International Film Festival
- UKRAINE / KIEV, Best Documentary on Human Rights, Steps International Film Festival
- USA / NY, Best Documentary, 2nd Place, Buffalo International Film Festival
- USA / NV, Golden Reel Award Winner, Nevada Film Festival
- USA / GA, Best Documentary Feature, Atlanta Underground Film Festival
- USA / UT, Best Documentary Feature, Red Rock Film Festival
- USA Love & Encouragement Award, SURGE Film Festival
Programming Descriptors
FORMS:Documentary
GENRES:Independent, Environmental, Period/Historical, Social Issue, News
Medium Synopsis
Does each gesture really make a difference? Can music and dance be weapons of peace? In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, traveling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promote change. This is their story. From IRAN, where the graffiti and rap became tools in fighting back the regime, to BURMA, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, moving on to BRAZIL, where musicians reach out to slum kids and transform guns into guitars, and ending in PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE explores how art and creativity can be the ammunition in the battle for peace and justice.
Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger Delta militants, Iranian graffiti artists, women’s movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanon’s refugee filmmakers, U.S. political pranksters, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu River, Israeli dissidents, hip-hop artists from Palestine, and many more...
People in the Film
CULTURES OF RESISTANCE does not focus on one place in the world where a military unit or private corporation is violating a group of people’s human rights. Instead, the film looks at conflicts all over the world and seeks out artists who devote their work to fighting injustice and violence.
Poets for Peace
Medellín, Colombia, a city once notorious for drug violence, is reinventing itself as a world center for the living word. We attend the Medellín International Poetry Festival, which has been instrumental to this transformation by bringing the work of poets committed to promoting peace and social justice to the wider public. Founded in 1991, when the streets of Medellín were at their worst, organizers envisioned the festival as a form of artistic resistance against injustice and terrorism at the hands of drug cartels and the military. Over the years the festival has brought 1,000 poets from over 140 countries to Colombia and in 2006 received a Right Livelihood Award, widely known as "The Alternative Nobel Peace Prize.
Iranian Graffiti Artists
In Iran we encounter citizens who are at once patriotic—in rejecting heavy-handed threats from the U.S.—and critical of their own government—taking personal risks to demand greater political freedoms. Among these are the so-called Tehran Rats, a group of graffiti artists that under the cover of night expresses its dissent with spray-paint on city walls. As one of their members says, “good art is something that moves and shakes you.”
Rwandan Women Leadership
In Rwanda, where a greater proportion of women serve in the legislature than in any other country, we meet Hutu women who risked their lives to protect Tutsi children during the country’s 1994 genocide. One survivor, standing next to the rescuer who put herself in danger to help him, describes his experience: “She took me into the house and suggested that I hide up in the roof,” the survivor says. “I came out after three months, together with this brave woman.”
Liberian Cartoonist
In Liberia we encounter Leslie Lumeh, a survivor of his country’s civil war in the 1990s, who has since made sketches to recreate scenes from the conflict. Lumeh’s work was featured in a short documentary that aired on a local television station in Monrovia, which provoked then-president Charles Taylor to force the artist and his family into exile. Since his return home in 2005, his work has been widely welcomed and he continues to draw and paint to encourage ongoing peace in Liberia.
Brazilian Favela Photographer
Artists and community organizers work to stem violence in one of the most turbulent urban spaces in the world: the slums of Rio De Janeiro. One of them is photographer Andre Cypriano, whose startling images document the existence of those who persevere to build peaceful lives amid widespread poverty and despair. “These communities are where the violence exists,” Cypriano tells us. “But why? Through my photos I try to show where the problem is, where the solution is.”
Lebanon’s Refugee Filmmakers
In Lebanon we meet filmmakers who are devoted to offering their craft to those trapped within the walls of refugee camps. By giving the art of film to members of these communities, they are providing the tools to make visible what life is like for Palestinian refugees. As one member of the Zakira Photo Project says, “When you give them the camera, they feel a responsibility to document the community, so you are empowering them.”
Political Pranksters
The Yes Men are about as skilled as it gets in the art of deception. They first garnered international attention when one of them posed as a spokesperson for Dow Chemical on live television to make an announcement that would temporarily cause the company’s stock value to fall by over $1 billion. Since then, they have continued to pull off outrageous stunts, including the distribution of a special edition of The New York Times. The fake newspaper announced the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other improbable news, and asked its readers to think deeply about the state of our world.
Indigenous Activists
We travel to the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, where the Brazilian government has for decades pushed for the construction of the so-called Belo Monte dam. If built, it would be the world’s third largest dam and would displace many thousands of the region’s residents. During our visit we encountered an uprising of over 1,000 people from various indigenous communities who were joined by national and international supporters to express their unequivocal opposition to the project. Today, their resistance remains as unified as ever.
Israeli Dissidents
The Israel/Palestine conflict often gets reduced to worn-out accusations and talking points, and in the process loses sight of the real human suffering that comes as its result. Jeff Halper, an Israeli citizen who has become a vocal opponent of many of his government’s policies, is one member of a surprisingly vibrant community that condemns its government’s policies toward the Palestinian people.
Hip-Hop Artists from Palestine
Palestinian hip-hop group Katibe 5 carries on a tradition of socially conscious rap, even as the genre becomes increasingly commercialized in the U.S. The group is made up of five members who came of age together inside the walls of a refugee camp in Beirut where over 16,000 people reside in less than a square mile. While the plight of the Palestinian people is a central focus of their work, they rap in solidarity with other struggles around the world. As one member put it, “We're not just Palestinian refugees speaking about our problems, or our lives in the camps, because the problems we face are not only a Palestinian problem. All over the world there are people who are oppressed, people who are incarcerated, people who are suffering."
Monks of the Saffron Revolution
In Burma, where a military junta has refused to recognize the democratically elected leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi and has ignored calls for national dialogue, voices of dissent have been brutally repressed. But there are signs of hope and courage here, too. Dressed in brilliant saffron robes, the monks in this heavily Buddhist nation have braved the possibility of arrest, torture, and even execution in order to give voice to a more humane ethics.
This is only a handful of the inspiring artists who appear in the movie. You can see them and many more perform their music and explain what motivates their work in CULTURES OF RESISTANCE.
The Power of Nonviolence: A statement by Iara Lee
Cultures of Resistance director Iara Lee states: "The Cultures of Resistance (CoR) feature documentary profiles conflicts in over 10 countries—including Israel/Palestine, Nigeria, and Burma—with a focus on how artists and musicians creatively oppose various forms of oppression. As both a filmmaker and an activist, I believe that nonviolent resistance is the only effective, long-term approach to conflict resolution. Nonviolence does not mean passivity. In fact, strategic nonviolence is often militant, active, and requires its practitioners to put themselves on the line. It uses unarmed resistance to create a crisis that undermines the viability of violence and oppression.
"In the film, I try to explore the challenge of violence; I show situations where victims of injustice resort to violence in order to address their grievances. While I can sympathize with the deep frustration and legitimate indignation that motivates such action, I do not endorse their approach. I ultimately believe that artistic resistance combined with active nonviolence, as advocated by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., is the only way to break the cycles of militarism and oppression upon which so many of the world’s injustices depend.
"When combating a massive military machine that profits from the creation of militarized conflict, choosing the path of armed resistance plays into our opponents' strengths. I hope to show in my work that our strengths--the strengths of forces promoting democracy, human rights, and economic justice--are based in art, creativity, and grassroots participation in nonviolent social movements."
Event Title: The Edge of Imagination Station at SURGE
February 20, 2013.
Time: 1pm-7pm All day long!
Location:
The Wonderful and Beautiful Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Have you ever thought about your drawings coming to life or your action figures really living out an adventure? Sure you have, but unless you've made a stop motion animation, the movie has only been in your head...until now! Stop motion is a type of animation where the illusion of motion is created as a result of taking a series of still pictures which are then played back as a movie. The Edge of Imagination Station has been created to streamline that process and bring the studio to you. At the station you can use our custom built work spaces and software along with chalk, dry erase markers, paper, clay, and 3D objects.Now the question is, what's your story?
SURGE Script Reading Exhibition
Teleplay Title: Wild Mind
Country of Production: Japan
Date: February 20th, 2013.
Time: 6:15pm-6:30pm
Location:
The Amazing and Awesome Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Access: Wheelchair access
Find out more info on Wild Mind.
FUJIO TORIKAI
In the year 20XX, a town regarded as a so-called 'paradise for the disabled' is realized through the use of a cell-phone application.
However,the origins of that town,planed in 2014,lay in the misappropriation of a large-scale scientific experiment. Part one of the ensemble piece format script.
Country of Production: Japan
Date: February 20th, 2013.
Time: 6:15pm-6:30pm
Location:
The Amazing and Awesome Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Access: Wheelchair access
Find out more info on Wild Mind.
FUJIO TORIKAI
In the year 20XX, a town regarded as a so-called 'paradise for the disabled' is realized through the use of a cell-phone application.
However,the origins of that town,planed in 2014,lay in the misappropriation of a large-scale scientific experiment. Part one of the ensemble piece format script.
Zombie Social Justice!
Script Title: Decay, The Epic Saga
Country of Production: USA
Date: February 20th, 2013.
Time: 6:30pm-7:00pm
The Cast and Crew of the Highly Anticipated Film, Decay, will read their script! This film will be shot in Austin and the cast will read from the script! Make certain not to miss this event!
The cast, crew and screenwriter will be presented with a special social justice award for diversity in the arts!
Location:
The Amazing and Awesome Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Access: Wheelchair access
Jeryl Prescott, and Emma Bell attend the AMC/Sundance Afterparty, 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Beverly Hills
Jeryl Prescott is best known for her recurring role as Jacqui in the television series The Walking Dead, which premiered on AMC in 2010. Prescott, a resident of Winston-Salem, North Carolina,[1] divides her time between that city and Los Angeles. Prescott was originally cast for just two episodes of the premiere season of The Walking Dead However, her character, Jacqui, was then written into the series cast of the season as well.
Prescott has also appeared as a judge in the Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, which debut on CBS in 2011. The show stars Forest Whitaker, Richard Schiff and Eric Roberts. Additionally, Prescott appear as Felicite in the 2011 film, Bolden!. She has also cast in a film produced by Harry Lennix which is based on William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. On television, she also guest-starred on Brothers & Sisters, Southland, Parks and Recreation and many more series.
Prescott has also appeared as a judge in the Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, which debut on CBS in 2011. The show stars Forest Whitaker, Richard Schiff and Eric Roberts. Additionally, Prescott appear as Felicite in the 2011 film, Bolden!. She has also cast in a film produced by Harry Lennix which is based on William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. On television, she also guest-starred on Brothers & Sisters, Southland, Parks and Recreation and many more series.
Zombie Resistance! Jeryl, best known for her role on THE WALKING DEAD and the feature film THE SKELETON KEY, seen on the Red Carpet during a Zombie Social Justice event with a protest banner in the background when THE WALKING DEAD cast was protesting against the Dish Network. Jeryl will host the Zombie Farmers Ball Event on Mystery Night, October 30th, 2013 in Austin, Texas as part of the highly anticipated Zombie Epic Saga: The Beauty of Decay. Learn more at: www.TheBeautyofDecay.org
7th Annual International S.U.R.G.E.! Film Festival Awards Presentation And Interviews
Awards will be presented to our officially selected screenwriters and filmmakers from all over the world! Several Award Winners will receive very brief interviews.
In addition, the producers, cast, crew and screenwriter of 'Decay, the Epic Saga', will be presented with a special social justice award (in person or by phone) for diversity in the arts!
Among other people, Jeryl Prescott (IMDB page here), who appeared in over 5 episodes of the hit cable TV Zombie series known as The Walking Dead and starred in The Skeleton Key (IMDB page here), named one of the Top 5000 films on IMDB, will be presented with an award (by phone or proxy).
We will also present another award to Robert Orr.
Robert Orr has been an International Screenwriting Phenomenon ever since his very first script, SAVIOR, was produced by OLIVER STONE and starred Dennis Quaid.
Here is an excerpt from Roger Ebert's Description of the film:
"Francois Truffaut once wondered if it was really possible to make an anti-war movie, since war films were inherently exciting, and we tend to identify with one side or the other. Here is an anti-war film."Savior" is not subtle. Directed by Peter Antonijevic, a Serbian who is even-handed in his treatment of both sides, it was produced by Oliver Stone and his longtime colleague Janet Yang from a screenplay they purchased from Robert Orr, who was inspired by a true story. The symbolism is heavy-handed and the movie pounds its insights home with big, bold strokes. But Quaid and Ninkovic find the right tone for their relationship; it doesn't get soppy, or turn into phony romance, but remains hardened by war. And the end of the story is cathartic but not "happy" in a contrived way."
A movie like "Savior" is a reminder that human nature does not inevitably take us upward to higher moral ground, but sometimes drags us down to our dog-eat-dog beginnings."
Through production rewrite, story, writing and/or directorial credits (as detailed on his website) Robert has helped to create such International blockbuster films as UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION andUNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS starring KATE BECKINSALE, TEARS OF THE SUN starring BRUCE WILLIS and THE RESIDENT starring HILARY SWANK, winner of two Oscars for Best Actress. Robert's Directorial Debut film includes the award winning Blind Turn. SURGE Film Festival is honored to present Robert Orr with a special screenwriting award.
In addition, the producers, cast, crew and screenwriter of 'Decay, the Epic Saga', will be presented with a special social justice award (in person or by phone) for diversity in the arts!
Among other people, Jeryl Prescott (IMDB page here), who appeared in over 5 episodes of the hit cable TV Zombie series known as The Walking Dead and starred in The Skeleton Key (IMDB page here), named one of the Top 5000 films on IMDB, will be presented with an award (by phone or proxy).
We will also present another award to Robert Orr.
Robert Orr has been an International Screenwriting Phenomenon ever since his very first script, SAVIOR, was produced by OLIVER STONE and starred Dennis Quaid.
Here is an excerpt from Roger Ebert's Description of the film:
"Francois Truffaut once wondered if it was really possible to make an anti-war movie, since war films were inherently exciting, and we tend to identify with one side or the other. Here is an anti-war film."Savior" is not subtle. Directed by Peter Antonijevic, a Serbian who is even-handed in his treatment of both sides, it was produced by Oliver Stone and his longtime colleague Janet Yang from a screenplay they purchased from Robert Orr, who was inspired by a true story. The symbolism is heavy-handed and the movie pounds its insights home with big, bold strokes. But Quaid and Ninkovic find the right tone for their relationship; it doesn't get soppy, or turn into phony romance, but remains hardened by war. And the end of the story is cathartic but not "happy" in a contrived way."
A movie like "Savior" is a reminder that human nature does not inevitably take us upward to higher moral ground, but sometimes drags us down to our dog-eat-dog beginnings."
Through production rewrite, story, writing and/or directorial credits (as detailed on his website) Robert has helped to create such International blockbuster films as UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION andUNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS starring KATE BECKINSALE, TEARS OF THE SUN starring BRUCE WILLIS and THE RESIDENT starring HILARY SWANK, winner of two Oscars for Best Actress. Robert's Directorial Debut film includes the award winning Blind Turn. SURGE Film Festival is honored to present Robert Orr with a special screenwriting award.
Event: SURGE Film Festival Awards
Date: February 20th, 2013.
Time: Starts at 7pm.
Location:
The Amazing and Awesome Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Access: Wheelchair access
Date: February 20th, 2013.
Time: Starts at 7pm.
Location:
The Amazing and Awesome Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Access: Wheelchair access
Open Networking Session and Photos with the Writers, Cast and Crew of Films and Scripts of SURGE Film Festival
The wonderful and always enjoyable open networking session! Not to be missed!
Date: February 20th, 2013.
Time: 7:30pm-8:00pm
Location:
The Amazing and Awesome Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Access: Wheelchair access
Date: February 20th, 2013.
Time: 7:30pm-8:00pm
Location:
The Amazing and Awesome Acres Wild Hall at Acres Wild Ranch & Heirloom Blooms
900 F.M. 32, San Marcos, TX, 78666
Access: Wheelchair access
Above: Legendary Social Justice and Gift Economy Activist Genevieve Vaughan being Interviewed by the Amazing John Neill at SURGE Film Festival in Austin, Feb 2012.
MORE FILMS AND SCRIPTS ARE ADDED EVERYDAY!
Read How Filmmakers Describe S.U.R.G.E.! Film Festival
Photo: 'Asphyxious' screenwriter and director Shawn June, standing in front of the Marquee after the screening of the films 'Free World' and 'Asphyxious' at the Historic Academy Theater. This screening celebrated not only the Grand Finale of the West Coast portion of the 7 day SURGE Film festival, but it also marked the Grand Finale of the Fifth Annual International SURGE Film festival which ran for over 10 days nationwide! As always, admission was free of charge for everyone because everything in the world should be free!
Below is a letter from Shawn June written in Summer 2012 about SURGE Film Festival:
"Being an independent filmmaker is far from easy with having to setup and do all the work. It gives me an even deeper appreciation for the filmmaking process. In the end of this process is the final product, which is seeing the film completed. A finalized film is even more rewarding to not only watch, but to share. SURGE Film Festival has extended it's hand in not only sharing my film with them, but share with me an equal opportunity in supporting and showing my past films "Asphyxious" (2010) and "Claddagh" (World Premier Screening Dec 1st, 2012 in Los Angeles) by giving me this experience.
"My first film experience ever is with SURGE Film Festival. The following year they also accepted my second film, "Asphyxious" (2010). When they first told me that they accepted my film it was such an overwhelming feeling to know that all the hard work and time put into filmmaking was finally starting to get notice. SURGE told me they were going to show it in Austin, TX in February 2011. Immediately, I told them my assistant director and I would drive down from Des Moines, Iowa for the showing and support my film, but most importantly to show how grateful I am to have been accepted by SURGE. When I arrived they told me I won the Love and Encouragement Award, and that they would fly me out to their Portland, Oregon screening later that year in May. They paid for my round trip flight, housing and they even gave me a micro-grant as a stipend for other expenses. The photographs they provided me with also has greatly helped with publicity and press. That was my first experience on the West Coast. I plan on flying to LA this year (December 2012) to see the screening of my third film "Claddagh." I have never been to LA and I anxiously wait to see how it goes there along with the experience.
"I submitted my fourth film "Cherish" (2012) to SURGE and I faithfully await to see if its accepted by SURGE. These past 5 years I have been dedicated entirely to the filmmaking world and it has been so rewarding, but nowhere near as rewarding as having all the memories and moments that I have shared with SURGE Film Festival. SURGE Film Festival will always have a place in my heart and in my thoughts for being the first film festival to ever accept my film. Thank you SURGE Film Festival, and I look forward to the future experiences together."
HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAST SURGE FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULES
If the above video is not visible on youtube, you can also see it on vimeo at this website.
The SURGE organizers want to sincerely thank everyone for your support of the SURGE Film Festival and our increased and expanding ability to help filmmakers and screenwriters share their work throughout the world. We started a film festival over half a decade ago with no funds and no grants based on the foundation of love, equality, access and creating a better world. We made certain that general admission to all films and script reading exhibitions remained free of charge to ensure access to all and we know it is only by love and the will of the people that we not only continue to exist... but we grow year after year. We have screened films in Texas, Illinois, Oregon, multiple cities in California and more... just within the last 11 months. As we have grown, we have endeavored to remember our roots: instead of transforming our event into high ticket fees as is the tradition amongst growing film festivals...we have instead made certain to expand the benefits that we provide for our audience members and our filmmakers and screenwriters. For our audience once again we are providing free of charge popcorn (typically the largest profit machine of film festivals)!
Please join us for another amazing SURGE Film Festival in Los Angeles.on December 1, 2012 at the Amazing and Awesome Complete Actors Place Theatre!
13752 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Access: Wheelchair access
The SURGE organizers want to sincerely thank everyone for your support of the SURGE Film Festival and our increased and expanding ability to help filmmakers and screenwriters share their work throughout the world. We started a film festival over half a decade ago with no funds and no grants based on the foundation of love, equality, access and creating a better world. We made certain that general admission to all films and script reading exhibitions remained free of charge to ensure access to all and we know it is only by love and the will of the people that we not only continue to exist... but we grow year after year. We have screened films in Texas, Illinois, Oregon, multiple cities in California and more... just within the last 11 months. As we have grown, we have endeavored to remember our roots: instead of transforming our event into high ticket fees as is the tradition amongst growing film festivals...we have instead made certain to expand the benefits that we provide for our audience members and our filmmakers and screenwriters. For our audience once again we are providing free of charge popcorn (typically the largest profit machine of film festivals)!
Please join us for another amazing SURGE Film Festival in Los Angeles.on December 1, 2012 at the Amazing and Awesome Complete Actors Place Theatre!
13752 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Access: Wheelchair access
SURGE Schedule
CALIFORNIA. Berkeley.
Date: March 8 and 10th, 2012
Location:
BFUU
1606 Bonita Avenue,
Berkeley, CA 94709
Access: Wheelchair access
Photo: Randy Taran
We are also pleased and honored to welcome Randy Taran from the non-profit project happiness group screening the Project Happiness Film during SURGE in Berkeley!
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 7:30pm-8:30pm - Project Happiness Workshop with Randy Taran
Project Happiness: Skills for a Meaningful Life
Is happiness a habit that can be developed? Learn to identify, cultivate, and practice personal happiness in all aspects of your life in this one hour workshop. Deepening your happiness is not a selfish act – it enriches our lives and the lives of others. Engage in a stimulating group discussion with other people wanting more happiness in their own lives and in the lives of people they care about. Empower yourself by recognizing patterns that can increase your happiness and gain a renewed awareness of your own strengths.
Led by: Randy Taran
Randy Taran is an author, motivational speaker, and the creator, narrator and producer of the award-winning documentary, Project Happiness. Inspired by the making of the documentary, Randy went on to create Project Happiness, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto, California. Project Happiness creates educational programs to teach young people how to find their authentic happiness no matter their external situation. Her programs are currently being used by hundreds of schools and organizations throughout 42 states and in 29 countries.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 8:30pm-9:30pm - Project Happiness Film. Randy Taran will answers questions about the film afterwards.
Here is a summary of the Project Happiness recent achievements from Randy Taran:
As I look back on 2011, I am so grateful for the profound impact Project Happiness has been able to make in the lives of so many young people throughout the world. This has been a huge year for us and it has been made possible thanks to the support of people like you.
This year, the Project Happiness team has worked passionately to amplify your generosity and we are well positioned to make an even bigger impact in 2012! To date, Project Happiness programs are being used in schools in 40 states and 27 countries.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2011
* Project Happiness educational curriculum was initiated in more than 230 schools and organizations spanning nearly every U.S. state and in countries throughout the world!
* The Project Happiness online curriculum was incorporated into the Science of Happiness class at the University of Southern California and into programs and conferences at Stanford University. Project Happiness Town Halls have been hosted at USC, Rollins College, Clark University, Creighton University and Emory University.
* I have had the honor to speak about Project Happiness at Google, TEDx GoldenGateED, the Wisdom 2.0 Youth conference, Stanford University, Tibet House, the University of Southern California, the New York Open Center and for the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
* The Project Happiness film premiered in May and has been chosen as an official selection at 17 film festivals where it has won three awards for excellence in documentary film making.
* Our first schoolwide Project Happiness program was implemented at the Saklan School with all students, kindergarten through eighth grade participating.
* Project Happiness continues with its global expansion! In 2011, we brought on Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba as director of African programming. With his guidance, Project Happiness is affecting social change with more than 1000 children in Nigeria. African programming is now being expanded into Kenya, Ethiopia, Liberia and Egypt.
* In India, we have launched a year-long program to teach Project Happiness to children from the urban slums of Delhi. This program is being headed by Vibha, founder of the NGO Muskaan.
* Proyecto Felicidad! We have just finalized the Spanish language version of the Project Happiness film and will be premiering it next month in Mexico. In addition to the film, all of our other resources will be available in early 2012 for the Spanish speaking communities here in the U.S. and abroad.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 9:45pm-10:00pm - Very Short Excerpt read from “Justice, Peace, Prosperity and Sustainability: Why economics obstructs these goals, and what we can do about it.”
Written by Kellia Ramares. For more information see details below.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 10:00pm-10:15pm- Awards Presentation.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 7:30pm-8:30pm - Project Happiness Workshop with Randy Taran
Project Happiness: Skills for a Meaningful Life
Is happiness a habit that can be developed? Learn to identify, cultivate, and practice personal happiness in all aspects of your life in this one hour workshop. Deepening your happiness is not a selfish act – it enriches our lives and the lives of others. Engage in a stimulating group discussion with other people wanting more happiness in their own lives and in the lives of people they care about. Empower yourself by recognizing patterns that can increase your happiness and gain a renewed awareness of your own strengths.
Led by: Randy Taran
Randy Taran is an author, motivational speaker, and the creator, narrator and producer of the award-winning documentary, Project Happiness. Inspired by the making of the documentary, Randy went on to create Project Happiness, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto, California. Project Happiness creates educational programs to teach young people how to find their authentic happiness no matter their external situation. Her programs are currently being used by hundreds of schools and organizations throughout 42 states and in 29 countries.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 8:30pm-9:30pm - Project Happiness Film. Randy Taran will answers questions about the film afterwards.
Here is a summary of the Project Happiness recent achievements from Randy Taran:
As I look back on 2011, I am so grateful for the profound impact Project Happiness has been able to make in the lives of so many young people throughout the world. This has been a huge year for us and it has been made possible thanks to the support of people like you.
This year, the Project Happiness team has worked passionately to amplify your generosity and we are well positioned to make an even bigger impact in 2012! To date, Project Happiness programs are being used in schools in 40 states and 27 countries.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2011
* Project Happiness educational curriculum was initiated in more than 230 schools and organizations spanning nearly every U.S. state and in countries throughout the world!
* The Project Happiness online curriculum was incorporated into the Science of Happiness class at the University of Southern California and into programs and conferences at Stanford University. Project Happiness Town Halls have been hosted at USC, Rollins College, Clark University, Creighton University and Emory University.
* I have had the honor to speak about Project Happiness at Google, TEDx GoldenGateED, the Wisdom 2.0 Youth conference, Stanford University, Tibet House, the University of Southern California, the New York Open Center and for the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
* The Project Happiness film premiered in May and has been chosen as an official selection at 17 film festivals where it has won three awards for excellence in documentary film making.
* Our first schoolwide Project Happiness program was implemented at the Saklan School with all students, kindergarten through eighth grade participating.
* Project Happiness continues with its global expansion! In 2011, we brought on Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba as director of African programming. With his guidance, Project Happiness is affecting social change with more than 1000 children in Nigeria. African programming is now being expanded into Kenya, Ethiopia, Liberia and Egypt.
* In India, we have launched a year-long program to teach Project Happiness to children from the urban slums of Delhi. This program is being headed by Vibha, founder of the NGO Muskaan.
* Proyecto Felicidad! We have just finalized the Spanish language version of the Project Happiness film and will be premiering it next month in Mexico. In addition to the film, all of our other resources will be available in early 2012 for the Spanish speaking communities here in the U.S. and abroad.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 9:45pm-10:00pm - Very Short Excerpt read from “Justice, Peace, Prosperity and Sustainability: Why economics obstructs these goals, and what we can do about it.”
Written by Kellia Ramares. For more information see details below.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012. 10:00pm-10:15pm- Awards Presentation.
Mugs Cahill, Screenwriter of '40 Days Road.'
Thursday, March 8th, 2012- Script Reading Exhibitions - "40 Days Road" read by screenwriter Mugs Cahill
3-Line Synopsis of Script
An American priest kidnapped along with a female physician from Doctors Without Borders finds his faith by losing his religion in war-torn Darfur.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012 - More Script Reading Exhibitions
3-Line Synopsis of Script
An American priest kidnapped along with a female physician from Doctors Without Borders finds his faith by losing his religion in war-torn Darfur.
Thursday, March 8th, 2012 - More Script Reading Exhibitions
“Justice, Peace, Prosperity and Sustainability: Why economics obstructs these goals, and what we can do about it.”
Written by Kellia Ramares
Economics obstructs these goals because we use money to acquire the goods and services we need to survive as a biological being (food, clothing, shelter and healthcare) and to thrive as an engaged member of society (education, transportation, communication, and the tools of one’s chosen trade or profession).
For most of us, access to money is rationed via access to jobs, and access to jobs is rationed via competition. It is this fact of competition for access that is at the basis of the economy’s failure to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Even if all greed, corruption, discrimination and war were to magically disappear tomorrow, the fact of competition would be there. Competition for resources is at the root of the other four. By trying to eliminate those four without eliminating competition for resources is only treating the symptoms and not the disease that afflicts humanity today.
Capitalist politicians across the political spectrum, as well as socialists, talk about job creation as the answer. Job creation does not solve the problem because you cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet.
Even if you could have a very high level of employment, after a while, you run into the problem of “enough”. Especially with today’s technologies that increase individual productivity, we overproduce, which is a waste of environmental resources. Also, when we overproduce, inventory builds up, workers get laid off, and their decreased purchasing power kicks off a chain reaction that gives us the familiar boom and bust cycle. Overproduction is the problem of capitalism that socialism’s insistence on the human right to a job does not solve.
Creating a just, peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world for all means firstly a revolution in thinking, which is why I wish to give this talk to raise consciousness. The revolution will include relegating our competitive urges to the sports and games sector, (re)building community and (re)learning how to share, recognizing that individual freedom and achievement is maximized by being in community not outside it, and ultimately abolishing monetary systems, which ration goods unfairly and destroy community.
I will talk about the values we must develop (pointing out where we have them already), encourage discussion of values and lead an exercise in community building without money.
My qualifications to undertake this project are a lifetime in the work world, where I have seen “close up and personal” the failure of economic systems based on money to provide well for people, formal education in economics (BA Fordham University 1977) and law (JD Indiana University – Bloomington, 1980), and over a decade in journalism, including work for Pacifica Radio Station KPFA, Free speech Radio News, Women’s International News Gathering Service WINGS) Indymedia and Radio4All.net (Under the names R.I.S.E. and Broadcaster At-Large. I have also written articles for several web sites, most frequently Intrepid Report (formerly Online Journal), Center for Research on Globalisation and my own web site The End of Money: A Critique of Paying, Owing and Working “for a living.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kellia is a freelance journalist in Oakland, CA who left the Pacifica Radio Network in July, 2010 after 11+ years in the KPFA news department and over 10 years with Free Speech Radio News. She has also done extensive work and audio and print on the Internet, most frequently for Women's International News Gathering Service and Online Journal. She has covered a wide range of stories, for Pacifica and independently, from the controversy over spraying pesticides to control an infestation of glassy-winged sharp shooters in Sonoma county, to 9-11 Truth, Peak Oil, a plethora of environmental stories and performance enhancing drugs in major league baseball. She also writes book reviews and commentaries for the Internet on occasion. Kellia is looking forward to spending more time on a book project called: The End of Money: a critique of paying, owing, and working "for a living", which asks the question: "Why must we pay to live on the planet we're born on?"
For most of us, access to money is rationed via access to jobs, and access to jobs is rationed via competition. It is this fact of competition for access that is at the basis of the economy’s failure to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Even if all greed, corruption, discrimination and war were to magically disappear tomorrow, the fact of competition would be there. Competition for resources is at the root of the other four. By trying to eliminate those four without eliminating competition for resources is only treating the symptoms and not the disease that afflicts humanity today.
Capitalist politicians across the political spectrum, as well as socialists, talk about job creation as the answer. Job creation does not solve the problem because you cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet.
Even if you could have a very high level of employment, after a while, you run into the problem of “enough”. Especially with today’s technologies that increase individual productivity, we overproduce, which is a waste of environmental resources. Also, when we overproduce, inventory builds up, workers get laid off, and their decreased purchasing power kicks off a chain reaction that gives us the familiar boom and bust cycle. Overproduction is the problem of capitalism that socialism’s insistence on the human right to a job does not solve.
Creating a just, peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world for all means firstly a revolution in thinking, which is why I wish to give this talk to raise consciousness. The revolution will include relegating our competitive urges to the sports and games sector, (re)building community and (re)learning how to share, recognizing that individual freedom and achievement is maximized by being in community not outside it, and ultimately abolishing monetary systems, which ration goods unfairly and destroy community.
I will talk about the values we must develop (pointing out where we have them already), encourage discussion of values and lead an exercise in community building without money.
My qualifications to undertake this project are a lifetime in the work world, where I have seen “close up and personal” the failure of economic systems based on money to provide well for people, formal education in economics (BA Fordham University 1977) and law (JD Indiana University – Bloomington, 1980), and over a decade in journalism, including work for Pacifica Radio Station KPFA, Free speech Radio News, Women’s International News Gathering Service WINGS) Indymedia and Radio4All.net (Under the names R.I.S.E. and Broadcaster At-Large. I have also written articles for several web sites, most frequently Intrepid Report (formerly Online Journal), Center for Research on Globalisation and my own web site The End of Money: A Critique of Paying, Owing and Working “for a living.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kellia is a freelance journalist in Oakland, CA who left the Pacifica Radio Network in July, 2010 after 11+ years in the KPFA news department and over 10 years with Free Speech Radio News. She has also done extensive work and audio and print on the Internet, most frequently for Women's International News Gathering Service and Online Journal. She has covered a wide range of stories, for Pacifica and independently, from the controversy over spraying pesticides to control an infestation of glassy-winged sharp shooters in Sonoma county, to 9-11 Truth, Peak Oil, a plethora of environmental stories and performance enhancing drugs in major league baseball. She also writes book reviews and commentaries for the Internet on occasion. Kellia is looking forward to spending more time on a book project called: The End of Money: a critique of paying, owing, and working "for a living", which asks the question: "Why must we pay to live on the planet we're born on?"
Friday, March 10th, 2012. 8:15pm-8:30pm - Community Feedback and Conversation about the film Cultures of Resistance.
Saturday, March 10th, 2012. 8:30pm-8:45pm - "One Minute" Film followed by Q+A with Director Dutch Merrick
One Minute
3-Line Synopsis
The Shortest Film about our Longest War.
Are War and Gasoline connected?
Take this Hummer for a short spin and see both sides of the story about how we actually acquire our comfortable lifestyle.
Programming Descriptors
FORMS:Narrative Fiction, Short
GENRES:Alternative, Educational, Microcinema, Human Rights, War, Environmental, Docu-Drama, Social Issue
NICHES:Native/Aboriginal Peoples, Black, Hispanic, Islamic, Latino, Native American, Third World, Youth/Teen, Buddhist
Foreign Titles
ENGLISH One Minute
SPANISH Un Minuto
Medium Synopsis
Billions of dollars and over a million lives have been poured into promoting and fighting recent wars in the middle east, just as countless dollars have been shoveled into glorifying our runaway consumption. Find a connection, within the context of your everyday existence, between our daily lifestyle choices and the destruction occurring halfway round the world.
Long Synopsis
Give me a minute and I'll give you the truth about why American, British and a tiny handful of other Western powers are compelled to wage wars of aggression in oil-rich lands.
Our consumptive, wasteful lifestyle choices are biting us in the ass, hard.
We're just not feeling it painfully enough yet.
That's the long..
..and the short of it.
Saturday, March 10th, 2012. "Debt to Society " 8:45pm ~ 9:02pm with Q+A afterwards with Director Bradd Hopkins. Bradd Hopkins is an award-winning screenwriter, author and publisher of award-wining fiction and non-fiction books. Bradd's Debt to Society screenplay is based on his award-winning original short story by the same name.
Programming Descriptors
FORMS:Short
GENRES:Drama, Horror, Thriller, Human Rights, Social Issue
NICHES:Hispanic
Long Synopsis
An imprisoned felon in a dystopian future pays his Debt to Society in sinister lottery when his number is drawn the day after a poignant visit from his wife and children.
Xavier, prisoner 1031, is doing hard time for manslaughter, soon to be paroled, when his number comes up as an involuntary organ donor in the corporate correctional system’s legal lottery.
Co-opted by their own economic necessities in a jobless economy, prison administrators, parole board members, and guards, as well as the prisoners and their families, are insulted, desensitized, and dehumanized in a macabre process that is designed only to assure fiscal viability at the expense of human dignity.
At every contact with the dysfunctional system, Xavier’s family is violated and degraded incidentally, but in the broader view, it becomes hard to determine who the victims really are. As the viewer absorbs the impact of Xavier’s losses, awareness emerges that the losses to the victimizers are even greater.
This work touches on the psychological horror of a powerful institutional system-gone-mad that compromises human values and ethics in the name of profits while maintaining a hypocritical façade of callous political correctness and superficial legality.
For more information about this award winning film, please see the profile for this film on the Love to SURGE Directory found at www.LoveToSurge.org or visit the profile page found here.
Exact February 2013 Schedule of films and screenplay reading will be posted in early 2013.
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"One must remember that in choosing the lesser of two evils, one still chooses evil." --Hannah Arendt, Philosopher, Activist
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