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Renegade independent radio stations keep activism alive by stealing from the omnipresent corporate airwaves. Phone conversations are overheard and surreptitiously recorded. Ubiquitous video cameras capture a steady stream of unguarded moments. These innovative documentaries reveal the power of modern surveillance technologies, the incumbent whittling away of civil liberties and the upending of notions of privacy.

Tune In Esther Johnson (World Premiere)
Follow the fascinating world of amateur radio operators, better known as Radio Hams. Dealing with the politics of space and social communication, this film blends documentary and abstract audio to reflect a world that bridges both do-it-yourself and state-of-the-art technologies. 2006, 14:30 min , Color, 16mm, UK

The Intimacy of Strangers Eva Weber (West Coast Premiere)
A clandestine film crew prowls the streets of London capturing phone conversations that take place in public. Weber “steals” these intimate moments and explores the ever-shrinking gap between private and public spheres. She weaves seemingly random exchanges into a modern-day love story, from first attraction to bitter end, creating an anonymous dance of life, love, loss and hope. 2005,19:35 min , Color, Beta SP, UK

How Little We Know of Our Neighbours Rebecca Baron (SF Premiere)
This innovative documentary traces photography’s evolution from staid portraiture to the introduction in the 1880s of the handheld camera, which moved photography out of the studio and into the streets. For the first time, subjects could be photographed in public without knowledge or consent. Baron simultaneously investigates Britain’s Mass Observation Movement (MOM), the surreptitious use of photography to record and scrutinize public behavior. MOM was an eccentric social science enterprise founded in England in the late 1930s, which combined surrealism with anthropology. The film follows the history of the movement from its inception as a progressive, if naïve, “anthropology of ourselves” through its reincarnation as a civil spy unit during World War II, and its eventual emergence in the 1950s as a market research firm. Baron examines MOM’s history and the ways in which it is echoed in a range of present-day phenomena, from police surveillance to Web cams and reality television, illustrating how our notions of privacy and self-identification have changed. 2005 , 49 min , Color , Mini-DV , US

For a complete program go to http://www.madcatfilmfestival.org

Co-presented by SF Cinematheque and The Exploratorium

See fresh perspectives and formula shattering techniques in film, video
and music art from the Bay Area and beyond! One hour of shorts are
accepted monthly on an open revolving basis, and the refreshments are darn
good.

$4, FREE admission for exhibitors.
Door, 7:30pm, Projector: 8pm

SUBMISSIONS:

* CUE and LABEL all tapes w/ name, contact, title and length.
* Mail dubs to: “openscreening” 992 Valencia , SF 94110.
* 1-2 week advance submissions strongly recommended.
* Email inquiries do not guarantee a space. Tapes do.
* Max trt: 20m
* DVD, miniDV/DVcam, sVHS, sm beta, 8mm and 16mm
* All genres. Student, “in progress”, and segments welcome

Contact openscreening@atasite.org.

These unique documentaries depict women with entirely different approaches to gaining independence. In a water deprived Iranian village, Atefeh stands alone defending her fields from Mother Nature’s arid whims. Unafraid of hard work and tough negotiations, Atefeh stands her ground, a lone woman, to save her livelihood. In The Angelmakers, several women in a small town in Hungary change their fate and that of the town through a series of irreversible acts of desperation.

Water and Atefeh by Nahid Rezaei  (US Premiere)

A portrait of a strong-willed, unconventional woman who works hard to save her fields in an arid region of Iran. While the entire nation suffers from drought, Atefeh makes every effort to irrigate her farmland. A struggle of wills, Atefeh negotiates with local workers, easily taking on different tactics to get what she needs. Sweet-talking and spearheading tough negotiations, she works with government engineers and laborers to lead natural ground water to her fields. Her hard-working energy and independent presence can only hint at how difficult it is to live a solitary life as a woman in Iran. While her world is far from lonely, she struggles to settle in her home amidst the chaos of her daily life.2001, 42 min, Color, Mini-DV, Iran 
 
The Angelmakers by Astrid Bussink  (West Coast Premiere)

The Angelmakers is an observational portrait of the sleepy village of Nagyrev in rural Hungary. We meet its inhabitants who share with us their daily lives and their memories of the village’s tainted past. We gradually come to understand the extent of the “arsenic murders” that took place in 1929, when a large group of women were held responsible for poisoning their husbands using the so-called “flypaper” method. Reticent about this period in their history for many years, they reveal intimate details through an intriguing web of memories, which recapture old but everlasting tales of life, death, and the struggle between the sexes.2005, 30 min, Color, Beta SP, Scotland/Hungary

For more details go to www.madcatfilmfestival.org

Co-presented by the Center for Asian American Media