I am thrilled to announce that ANCIENT LORE has been officially selected for the amazing 18th Buffalo International Film Festival! My cinematic adaptation of a poem by H.P. Lovecraft will screen in the Experimental Film section at the North Park Theatre in Buffalo on October 12, 2024. 12:45 PM–2:30 PM.
Thanks to director Anna Scime and artistic director John Fink.

https://www.buffalofilm.org/events/biff-shorts-experimental-2024/

BIFF SHORTS: EXPERIMENTAL

Cinematic poetry in pixels and celluloid and works that experiment with the form, function and structure of film and media ecosystems. 85 minutes.

“The Lost Season”

Kelly Sears (Dir), 7 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

A streaming company hires all available camera operators to film the final weeks of this soon-to-be-lost season as the earth experiences its final winter. After seeing their footage as a form of ecological exploitation, the camera operators refuse to commodify further climate collapse with their labor.

“Ancient Lore”

Patrick Müller (Dir), 6 minutes, Germany, Western New York Premiere

Troubled waters and accursed thaumaturges: H.P. Lovecraft's haunting vision of the sea and the unfathomable mysteries that lie within its depths, but also the ancient lore hidden beneath the waters.

“Deep Time of Latent Space”

Eric Souther (Dir), 10 minutes, USA, World Premiere

The strata of human activity within large language models are another layer of the Anthropocene in this short, which places AI into the realm of geological thinking that spirals into deep time and broadcasts into the future.

The AI narrator takes us through the most incomprehensible moments of our history starting with the big bang, creation of earth, and the start of life. It uses its generalized knowledge to resolve our grasp of these moments into data-visualized images. It does so with confidence and a little bit of attitude, however, it tends to hallucinate. These hallucinations shine a light on what is needed to create a more ethical and accurate AI.

“Nkisi”

Joel Mulindwa (Dir), 9 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Joel Mulindwa in attendance.

Nkisi loosely translated from the Kongo tribe’s language means “a spirit” and the physical manifestation of these spirits comes in the form of masks, sculptures and other sacred substances that can be activated by supernatural phenomena to be present in the physical world. In some tribes like the Nande tribe in Eastern Congo, the word "Nkisi" means medicine or the practice of keeping one's body, spirit and mind sound. Joel Mulindwa’s captivating film depicts the relationships with Nkisi as spiritual objects with the capacity to heal.

“40° 24.2983'N 79° 58.251'W”

Tony Buba (Dir), 6 minutes, USA, New York Premiere

Director Tony Buba in attendance.

A hypnotic four-channel video that explores the front lines of a Rust Belt town as vital municipal infrastructure is dismantled in the wake of an industry in decline.

Memories of an Empty House

Bruno Carnide (Dir), 11 minutes, Portugal, US Premiere

An evocative video journal chronicling the warm embrace of a first love and memories and emotions we leave behind.

“Adidas Owns Reality”

Keil Orion Troisi + Igor Vamos (Dir), 22 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Directors Keil Orion Troisi and Igor Vamos in attendance.

Prankster activists (including The Yes Men’s Vamos + Troisi) perform an elaborate hoax to improve conditions for garment workers in the Adidas supply chain. Staging a shocking runway show at Berlin Fashion Week, they use humor and mischief to make the world pay attention to labor and environmental abuses that the massive sportswear brand is trying to hide.

“Bleach”

Giuliano Joseph Gatti (Dir), 5 minutes, USA, World Premiere

The murky history of the Vietnam War era, hypnosis and mind control, and the loss of innocence and life through war.

“Distant Early Warning”

Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli (Dir), 9 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Directors Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli in attendance.

A dissection of digitized 8mm films shot by Thomas Little and his brother Woodrow as they worked in the frozen tundra of the Aleutian Islands from 1955-56 for Bell Telephone. Project 572 was operated in collaboration with the US and Canadian governments to build a system of antennae known as the Distant Early Warning Line (DEWLine) so that we might have a few hours to respond to incoming weapons of mass destruction from Russia during the Cold War. Uncovered years after their deaths, the footage assembled by artist Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli reframes the brother Little’s journey into a haunting visual essay.

“I Dream of Things Forbidden”

Phil Hastings (Dir), 6 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Phil Hastings in attendance.

Phil Hastings’ descent into the unnamable and intangible. The desire for answers at the cost of understanding. An unconscious journey that provides no Direction.