Film Screenings / Programs / Series
THE BLACK MARIA FILM FESTIVAL: FIERCELY INDEPENDENT SHORT FILMS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
April 28 – May 1
The development of the short film is diverse and rich, and Black Maria has celebrated its legacy for the past 35 years. The festival was named after the American birthplace of the motion picture – Thomas Edison’s West Orange, NJ, laboratory – a revolving photographic studio dubbed the “Black Maria” because it resembled a police paddy wagon. For decades, this alternative festival has embraced the diversity and passion found in the cinematic short form. It provides many directors with their earliest exhibition opportunities and often discovers personal, eccentric, and unconventional talents. Black Maria travels each year to dozens of host sites and reaches audiences in the farthest corners of the U.S. and abroad through its annual tour. The festival champions film that lives in the margins of popular culture and in the center of filmmakers’ imaginations.
This five-part series, presented in honor of the festival’s 35th anniversary, focuses on works from the past 15 years of Black Maria programming. From the sublime to the outrageous to the profound, we hear the voices of highly venerated experimental filmmakers, young documentarians, and ingenious animators. Black Maria provides a window into the short form in its infinite variations and continues to honor Thomas Edison’s passion for innovation.
Curated by Jane Steuerwald, Executive Director, Black Maria.
