Screening:
Saturday, April 29, 1:00 PM, Charles 3

For some, film is an art, not a business. This panel will explore some of the alternatives to mainstream movie making and commercial distribution.

Moderator:
Shael Stolberg, editor of the International Film Festival Guide and The Film Festival Planner, who refereed last year's panel, returns to moderate. (www.festivalproducts.com)

Jeanne Finley is a professor at the California College of Arts and Crafts. Her video works have been screened at the Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art and abroad at the London Film Festival and the Yugoslavian Biennial, amongst others. She has received honors from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Scholars program and the National Endowment for the Arts. A sample of Jeanne's recent work can be seen immediately following the panel in the Maryland Film Festival 2000 program Finley/Serra.

Danny Plotnick has made 17 films, released 3 videotape compilations into home distribution, embarked on five national film tours, one European film tour, and has taught numerous seminars on film production and alternative distribution. One of the country's most out-spoken super-8 advocates, he is constantly fielding calls about technical and aesthetic issues regarding low-budget filmmaking. His film Pillow Talk was included as part of the Museum of Moden Art's "Big as Life" series focusing on the history of super-8 films. Danny's works are featured at the Maryland Film Festival 2000 in the program Danny Plotnick's Wild Kingdom. Swinger's Serenade will also be showcased in the "A Real Barrel of Monkeys" shorts program.

M.M. Serra is a professor of Media Arts at the New School University in New York. She is also the Executive Director of the Filmmakers' Cooperative, the oldest, most comprehensive distributor of independent, experimental film and video in the world. Her films have been presented at the Museum of the Moving Image, the San Francsicso Cinematheque and the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, just a few amongst hundreds of other alternative venues and festivals. A selection of Serra's work can be seen immediately following the panel in the Maryland Film Festival 2000 program Finley/Serra.

At 3:00 PM, Shael will be signing copies of The International Film Festival Guide at Atomic Books, 1806 Maryland Avenue-one block West of the Charles Theatre.