UWM Filmmakers Featured in Cannes Film Festival

Six films from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have been selected to screen at the prestigious 2011 Cannes Film Festival, held each spring on the coast of southern France. Films by Matthew Newman and John Roberts, graduates of the Peck School of the Arts Film program, Ericka Frederick and Josh Weissbach, current graduate students, faculty member Kate Balsley and Rob Yeo, Chair of the Film Department, have all been accepted into the Cannes Court Métrage or "Short Film Corner."

Of a Feather, by Rob Yeo, is an 11-minute lyrical portrait of the vibrant force of life, filmed over the course of a year in Wisconsin's Horicon Marsh.

Anima Mundi, by Kate Balsley, derives its title from a Latin phrase meaning "spirit of the world," a fundamental principle of philosophical thought for centuries. Composed of thousands of digital images of wild and cultivated flowers, this experimental piece celebrates the beauty of the natural world.

Walking Peace, by MFA student Ericka Frederick, is a 3-minute film about the complexities of daily existence and the need to take the time to balance what is happening around us. This concise, powerful film shows a young man moving through his world, shedding burdens and seeking a place of peace.

Calle 27 No. 1016, by Josh Weissbach, is a dazzling, 3-minute tour-de-force of camerawork and editing. It depicts memories of a place, turned over and over in the mind's eye, hovering on the edge of abstraction -- a love poem to Havana -- and to Cinema itself.

The Haunting of Wayne, by MFA alumnus Matthew Newman, is a 30-minute poetic character study of a man living his last days with Huntington's Disease. This complex film combines main character Wayne's voiceover flashbacks with filmmaker Newman's poetic writing about the loss of his first child, all contained within a fractured plot about another man's failing to become a vampire.

Mary's Friend, by BFA alumnus John Roberts, is a stylish, 4-minute animation about a lonely girl and her friend. Already celebrated in Wisconsin, Mary's Friend was selected as "Best Short" at the 2009 Milwaukee Film Festival and won the "Golden Badger Award" at the 2010 Wisconsin Film Festival, In Madison.

The Cannes Film Festival and Short Film Corner take place May 11-22 in Cannes, France.

 

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