The Electronic Media Area of the West Virginia University School of Art and Design will be hosting the 5th Annual West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival. This international, competitive film festival takes place over a three-day period, March 20-22.

All screenings and events will take place in the Creative Arts Center’s Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (Room 200A) and the Museum Education Center.

The West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival celebrates exceptional, compelling, and innovative works in film, experimental video and animation. Over the course of three days, the festival will screen dozens of films, videos and animations from across the country and around the world, including new and original works from Belgium, Morocco, Chile, Italy, France, England, Iran, Poland, India, Canada, Switzerland and Australia–to name just a few—while also showcasing works by West Virginia and regional filmmakers.

The festival is also proud to screen competitive works by students of the School of Art and Design’s Electronic Media program.

Admission to the festival is free and all events are open to the public. Please visit the festival website for the full schedule of events, times and locations: www.mountaineerfilmfest.org.

According to festival coordinator and WVU Associate Professor of Art Gerald Habarth, the festival also strives to highlight topical themes in contemporary culture.

“This year the festival will present a special screening of works that explore the theme of ‘Escape,’” he said. “Whether it’s daydreaming, getting away from stress, finding a productive response to boredom or absorbing ourselves in fantasy, we seem hardwired to seek various forms of escape.

“Recent advances in science and technology have amplified this, allowing us to travel to the farthest corners of the globe or to be fully immersed in our virtual existences at the click of a button. For better or worse, we seem propelled towards these and other modes of escape. Are we more inclined today to seek respite from the pressures or the monotony of day-to-day living? How do ideas of escape manifest themselves in art, music, and cinema? How has the notion of escape changed in our contemporary era? This year’s festival includes a special screening of works that explore these and similar questions.”

Established in 2010, The West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival is an international competition, accepting submissions in the categories of narrative, documentary, animation, experimental video and student works. Its mission is to foster creative and artistic approaches to these genres, while connecting WVU students and the surrounding Morgantown community to the world of independent filmmaking and new media art.

The festival is a non-profit event. There is no charge to submit work for consideration, and admission to all screenings is free. There are no rules governing content or artist approach. Festival organizers only seek to display well crafted, compelling or conceptually challenging works in video, film and multimedia.

All festival films have a 20-minute maximum running time.

For more information, contact Gerald Habarth at 304-290-3067, or Gerald.habarth@mail.wvu.edu, or see website: www.mountaineerfilmfest.org.

-WVU-

cl/3/4/14

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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