Black Maria Film and Video Festival

The Black Maria Independent Film Festival will take place on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 1 PM at the Pocono Community Theater in East Stroudsburg, PA.

• Metered parking is available within the immediate area of the theater
• Free parking is available on Kistler Street within easy walking distance
• Parking is limited: plan to arrive a bit early

Something new this year!! Immediately following the showing, all are invited to The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Poconos, at 940A Ann Street (across from the American Ribbon Factory) for a discussion of the films.
Coffee and will be served.

The Black Maria is celebrating its 29th year as a showcase for cutting edge independent film. Each year the festival receives 700-800 submissions fromwhich a jury of film experts selects about 50 of the best films for inclusion in the festival. BlackMaria is unique in that it travels to over 50 venues in the U.S. and abroad, bringing independent film to a wide audience. Black Maria has the distinction of qualifying short films for consideration for Academy Awards, and has been honored recently by retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

The festival will begin at 1 PM and features a special selection of short films presented by John Columbus, Festival Director. Part of the proceeds fromthis event benefit the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Poconos.  Information on ticketing will be available soon.  Please check back!  For further information on the Black Maria Film Festival, please see their website (http://blackmariafilmfestival.org)

  Phoenix Dance (Best of Festival - Documentary)   

Karina Epperlein and Nicole Johnson,     Boston, MA           

Prize level: Grand Prize   Duration: 11 min

Sky David,   Carlsbad, CA

A haunting mixed media animation by a master artist in which he resurrects images from the sketchbook he carried as an American soldier in Vietnam. This beautifully rendered work recaptures a close brush with death and the inner trauma that is its legacy. The film is a timely reminder of the long lasting effects of war on the human psyche.

Prize level: Grand Prize   Duration: 8 min

 Energie!

Thorsten Fleisch,  Berlin, Germany

A visual tour de force, Energie, is crackling with the sound and phosphorescence of a lightening storm. The tempest’s rolling thunder, claps and sparks create a spellbinding work of raw power that captures the primal force of nature.