Divided Spaces
This program looks at how individuals understand physical boundaries, public space and the power of words.
Matte Box Fun Mavis Navin
19823:10 min b/w Super-8 US
Navin reveals all the many ways to break up a film frame with her matte box
set.
Moose Mountain Mary Beth Reed
2002 5 min b/w 16mm US
Reed takes the viewer on a fantastical voyage through history. Regal and
religious icons merge with dancing kayaks over medieval jousting fields as
miners discover the legendary Colorado Moose Mountain in the vicinity of
Mesa Verde’s ancient cliff dwellings. (M. Reed)
California Telephone Haruko Tanaka
2003 3 min b/w 16mm US
A seemingly light portrait of people playing a game commonly known as
“telephone,” is ultimately a complex commentary on communication and the
idea of being an “outsider” ‹ whether because of race, gender or language.
Tanaka uses the poetry of the late June Jordan as her text.
New York’s Big Back Yard Rose Dabbs
c. 1982 13:5 min Color Super-8 US
Self proclaimed amateur filmmaker Rose Dabbs work includes “how to” films
and animated love poems out of string, as well as the long forgotten gem,
New York’s Big Back Yard. In this film, Dabbs reveals the wonder that is
Central Park with lush and beautifully-shot Super-8 footage. She includes
footage of free concerts, anti-nuclear weapons protests, cameos of Charlton
Heston and then-mayor Ed Koch, and children running free on large patches of
grass. The simple and romantic voice-over chronicles the range of cultures
that utilize the park and is set against Dabbs’ genius and rhythmic editing
that so artfully depicts these NYC communities in the 1980s.
My Hero Elizabeth Henry
2003 1 min b/w 16mm US World Premiere
There is a universe in every grain of sand don’t blink! (E. Henry)
Nikita Kino Vivian Ostrovsky
2002 40 min Color/b/w 16mm France Northern California Premiere
Nikita Kino is an inspired blend of home movie footage of visits to
Ostrovsky’s family in Moscow in the 60s and 70s, with Soviet feature and
propaganda films of the same period. Brilliantly edited, Ostrovsky blends
these disparate elements to create a cohesive story that is not merely a
personal documentary but a comment on political corruption and a look back
on Russian history.
There There Square Jacqueline Goss
2002 14 min Color Mini DV US
The desire to own and name land and the pleasures of seeing color from a
distance this personal survey of the history of mapmaking in the New World.
There There Square takes a close look at the gestures of travelers,
mapmakers and saboteurs that determine how we read –and live within — the
lines that define the United States. (J. Goss)
”MadCat tests, expands, and evolves the traditional, politically
motivated, 20th Century definition of the women’s film festival.” (The
Independent Film and Video Monthly)
www.madcatfilmfestival.org
info@madcatfilmfestival.org
415 436-9523