Short film highlighting Bruce Jackson’s prison farm photography on KLRU

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Katey Psencik

A new short film from director Deborah S. Esquenazi highlights Bruce Jackson’s visits to 1960s “prison farms” in Texas. Jackson, a renowned folklorist, documentarian and photographer, was one of few documentarians to have received unprecedented access to the southern prison farms, which were modeled after the American slave plantation and occupied lands that plantations stood on before the Civil War. Jackson studied black convict work songs and folk culture, highlighting the parallels between slave plantations and these now-vanished prison farms.

WAKE*UP, DEAD MEN: A Retrospective of Bruce Jackson’s Prison Farm Photography, 1965-1975, coming to KLRU on Oct. 1, showcases Jackson’s photography tracing the roots of the prison farm into today’s massive prison system and industrial prison complexes. The film will be available online through March 2016.

Photo courtesy Deb Esquenazi

Deborah S. Esquenazi is an Austin-based documentary film and radio producer, instructor, and video artist. She was a Sundance Documentary Film Fellow at the Sundance Festival in 2014, and Sundance Creative Producing Fellow in 2015. She is currently working on a documentary about the San Antonio Four, four women who were convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls but were later released from prison and are still fighting for full exoneration today. Visit Esquenazi’s website for details on this upcoming project and her other work.

Artists Den presents alt-J in theaters

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

Get a sneak peak at the new season of Artists Den on September 2 when the PBS show and Fathom Events will feature a performance by U.K. rock group alt-J. Artists Den Presents alt-J includes an exclusive performance during which the group played hits from its most recent albums for a packed crowd of 600 invited guests for a private performance inside the soaring, historic meeting hall of the Hollywood American Legion in Los Angeles. Tickets for Artists Den Presents alt-J can be purchased online or at participating theater box offices.

“Artists Den Presents alt-J” includes an intimate concert performance with interview footage captured exclusively for the big screen. Theaters across the country will have a unique cinema experience for this one-time event, showcasing many of alt-J’s hits from its debut album, 2012’s An Awesome Wave, and songs from the band’s most recent album, This Is All Yours.

Tickets for Artists Den Presents alt-J can be purchased online or at participating theater box offices. In Austin, “Artists Den Presents alt-J” will be shown on September 2 at:

Artists Den’s new season will air on KLRU Q in the Spring of 2016.

2015 PBS Online Film Festival Winners

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

Two winners of the fourth-annual PBS Online Film Festival have been announced!

The film that took the “People’s Choice” top honor was “Sinner Victim Saint,” a short narrative presented by CET & Think TV, centering on a newlywed husband who has recently lost his wife in a car accident and the dark turn of events that teaches him the power of sacrifice.

The creator, Moses Flores, is a local Austin cinematographer, director and editor.

The animated film “11 Paper Place,” presented by member station Vermont PBS, a love story about two sheets of paper who meet in a recycle bin, was the most-viewed of the 25 short films screened online.

During the six weeks the films were available for screening, entries were streamed more than 400,000 times, up from 312,000 streams in 2014 over a seven-week period.

More information about the PBS Online Film Festival can be found at pbs.org/filmfestival. The festival is also on Twitter at #PBSolff.

Arts In Context Shorts: Riding the Line

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

This week, Arts in Context Shorts takes you up handrails and down half-pipes to explore skateboarding culture in a new light.

Torque and Axis, an exciting new exhibit by artist Jared Steffensen, showcases the materials, shapes and movements generated by skateboarders as they travel through urban landscapes in innovative ways. Using bright colors, fluid lines and repurposed materials, the exhibit emphasizes the contemplative and imaginative aspects of skateboarding. Many of the exhibit’s sculptures highlight the beauty of skateboarding equipment while a film installation explores the perseverance skateboarders employ in their practice.

Presented by the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas, Torque and Axis pulls skateboarding into the art world with fascinating results.

POV Screening – Point and Shoot 8/10

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

KLRU, Austin Film Festival and the Bullock Texas State History Museum present preview screenings and discussions of three POV films scheduled to air later this year on KLRU. The screenings are free, but an RSVP is required. Be sure to RSVP for each film you would like to attend.

Don’t miss the third and final screening, Point and Shoot, on August 10th! Art and Craft premiered on June 10th and Web Junkie debuted on July 7th.

Point and Shoot
Monday, August 10th
7:00pm Texas Spirit Theater at The Bullock Museum
The screening is free but an RSVP is required: RSVP now
POV has broadcast every feature documentary by two-time Oscar nominee Marshall Curry for 10 years, starting with 2005′s Street Fight. Point and Shoot is the fourth. It follows Matt VanDyke, a timid 27-year-old with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, who left home in Baltimore in 2006 and set off on a self-described “crash course in manhood”. He bought a motorcycle and a video camera and began a three-year, 35,000-mile motorcycle trip through Northern Africa and the Middle East. When revolution broke out in Libya, he joined in the fight against Muammar Gaddafi and spent six months in solitary confinement. A co-production of ITVS. Winner of the Best Documentary Feature award at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. Point and Shoot by Marshall Curry.

POV Screening – Web Junkie 7/7

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

Don’t miss the second of the screenings, Web Junkie, on July 7th! Art and Craft premiered on June 10th and Point and Shoot previews on August 10th.

Web Junkie
Tuesday, July 7th
7:00pm Texas Spirit Theater at The Bullock Museum
The screening is free but an RSVP is required: RSVP now
Internet addiction has been declared a national health crisis in China, the first country in the world to classify this evolving diagnosis. Web Junkie follows the treatment of three Chinese teenagers, obsessive gamers whose preference for the virtual world over the real one is summed up in one jarring statement: “Reality is too fake.” Israeli filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia gained extraordinary access to a three-month military-style rehab program in Beijing, illuminating a process that, while stern, may help set a standard as the wider world comes to grips with the devastating consequences of excessive Internet use. Official Selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Web Junkie by Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia.

PBS Online Film Festival 2015: Once Again

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

PBS has announced the 25 films that will be part of the fourth annual, Webby Award-nominated PBS Online Film Festival on June 15 – July 17, 2015. Austin filmmakers Ivete Lucas, John Spotswood Moore and Sai Selvarajan are among those featured in this year’s Festival for their films “Ex-Votos,” “Once Again” and “Sugarless Tea.”

Once Again
In the early nineties, OCD was thought to be a behavioral, almost psychotic disorder. 20 years after his diagnosis, filmmaker John Moore weaves together home movies, animation and live action footage to recall and recreate his childhood struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in his documentary, “Once Again.”

This personal documentary offers a subjective view of torture and triumph and gives viewers Moore’s individualized look at his youth coping with OCD through cognitive behavioral therapy.

About John Spottswood Moore
Moore is a multi-award winning writer and director. While studying for a BA in Film from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, his debut film, “Lemonade Stand,” won multiple awards. Since then, he has worked in both radio and television in various creative positions. In 2012, Moore received an MFA in Film Directing from the University of Texas at Austin. His four graduate films have continued to play in festivals and win various accolades.

“Once Again” made its debut at the Austin International Film Festival and has been awarded a Barbara Jones Media Award and Excellence Award from the Superfest Film Festival. Moore currently works as a contract film and video editor and is in production on his first feature documentary, “When We Were Live.”

Don’t forget to vote until July 17th for “Once Again” or any of the three Austin films as the “People’s Choice Award” winner! You can vote for each film every 24 hours.

PBS Online Film Festival 2015: Ex-Votos

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

Ex-Votos
After experiencing a shootout in her neighborhood, Anayansi, a pregnant teenager, fears that she will lose her child. Hoping for a miracle, her mother takes her on a pilgrimage to the festival of Saint Francis in Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. As their journey merges with thousands of travelers from across Mexico, they must face the reality of her condition and escape the confines of tradition if she is to survive. When Anayansi’s water breaks, the community calls on the Marakame, an honored member of the town revered for his ability to communicate with the forces of nature and the ancient spirits, to help.

About Ivete Lucas
Lucas was born in Brazil and grew up in Mexico. At age 22, she received a grant from the Mexican Film Institute to direct her first short film “ASMA,” which was shortlisted for the Mexican Academy Awards. Since then, she has produced and directed a number of award-winning short films and documentaries. She is currently producing a feature film for artist Keren Cytter and finishing post-production on her first feature documentary “Vietnam Appreciation Day,” which she co-directed with her husband, Patrick Bresnan.

Don’t forget to vote until July 17th for “Ex-Votos” or any of the three Austin films as the “People’s Choice Award” winner! You can vote for each film every 24 hours.

PBS Online Film Festival 2015: Sugarless Tea

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

Sugarless Tea
This short film takes viewers on a journey to India and Queens, NY, in a tale of separated brothers, chance meetings and identity. Sugarless Tea features watercolors paintings filmed using a stop motion technique that evokes travelogues and bedtime stories, and highlights the process of painting itself.

Narrated by Hari Kondabolu, the Queens-raised comic who the NY Times has called “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today,” “Sugarless Tea” tells the story of how one man living in India drinks his tea without sugar to fund a trip to the United States and visit his twin brother who was adopted 54 years earlier.

About Sai Selvarajan
Selvarajan was born in Sri-Lanka on a Wednesday night during a coup d’etat. He grew up in Nigeria playing soccer and eating bananas. As a child, Sai spent his holidays traveling with his family through Europe, India, and Sri-Lanka. His family moved to Dallas when he was nine. It was at this point that he fell in love with Texans and American pop culture. The moving image is the medium in which Sai communicates with the world. He brings a fierce passion for storytelling, coupled with great design acumen, resulting in stylistically intense pieces that linger through their emotional resonance. He spends his days at Lucky Post perfecting the American television commercial and his nights dancing to records with his wife and daughter.

Don’t forget to vote until July 17th for “Sugarless Tea” or any of the three Austin films as the “People’s Choice Award” winner! You can vote for each film every 24 hours.

POV Screening – Art and Craft

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Brenna Pollock

Don’t miss the first of the screenings, Art and Craft, on June 10th! Web Junkie screens on July 7th and Point and Shoot previews on August 10th.

Art and Craft
Wednesday, June 10th
7:00pm Texas Spirit Theater at The Bullock Museum
The screening is free but an RSVP is required: RSVP now
Mark Landis is one of the most prolific art forgers of the modern era—and he isn’t in it for the money. In the last 30 years he’s copied hundreds of pieces, from 15th-century icons to works by Picasso and even Dr. Seuss, then donated them to museums across the country. When a tenacious registrar discovers the ruse, Landis must confront his legacy and a chorus of duped professionals intent on stopping him. But Landis is a diagnosed schizophrenic, driven since his teens to escape “the life of a mental patient,” and ending the con isn’t so simple. A cat-and-mouse caper told with humor and compassion, Art and Craft uncovers the universal in one man’s search for connection and respect. Official Selection of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Named a Top 5 Documentary by the National Board of Review. Produced in association with American Documentary | POV. Directed by Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman; co-directed by Mark Becker.