Posts Tagged 'Skizz Cyzyk'

MFF Pleased to Announce Shorts Filmmakers in Attendance for Artscape 2014!

L to R: Filmmakers Skizz Cyzyk (ALFRED JARRY AND 'PATAPHYSICS) and Margaret Rorison (PULL/DRIFT) at MFF 2014.

L to R: Filmmakers Skizz Cyzyk (ALFRED JARRY AND ‘PATAPHYSICS) and Margaret Rorison (PULL/DRIFT) at MFF 2014.

Maryland Film Festival is thrilled to present another year of FREE SHORT FILMS at Artscape with filmmakers in attendance!  Click here for MFF’s 2014 Artscape Film Lineup.  Artscape runs July 18-20 in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District in downtown Baltimore.  Maryland Film Festival’s FREE SHORT FILMS program will take place in the Charles Theater located at 1711 North Charles Street.

Directors in attendance for MFF’s FREE SHORT FILMS at Artscape 2014 include Margaret Rorison (Opening Night Movement Shorts: PULL/DRIFT), Skizz Cyzyk (Animated Shorts: ALFRED JARRY AND ‘PATAPHYSICS), Jason Giampietro (Narrative Shorts: WHIFFED OUT; Character Study Shorts: I WILL PAINT YOUR SPIRIT), Scott Norwood (Documentary Shorts: CINEMA TIME CAPSULE) and cinematographer/editor Nathan Duncan (Narrative Shorts: SKUNK; Opening Night Movement Shorts: NIGHT AT THE DANCE).

MFF Presents FREE SHORT FILMS at Artscape, July 18-20!

Artscape2014Maryland Film Festival is thrilled to once again present Free Short Films at Artscape, coming up July 18-20, 2014!
Artscape is America’s largest FREE arts festival, attracting 350,000+ attendees over three days.  Maryland Film Festival’s Free Short Films will be held in the Charles Theater with filmmakers in attendance throughout the weekend.  Be sure to come by and experience our special collection of short films curated by our film programmers, and stay tuned for more announcements about filmmakers and special guests in attendance, coming soon!
MFF 2014 Artscape Film Program:
FRIDAY JULY 18TH @ 7PM
MOVEMENT SHORTS – 68 MINUTES
A Collection of Dance and Movement related shorts culled from the last 5 years of Maryland Film Festival’s shorts programs, reflecting Artscape’s “Join the Movement” theme for this year. An exciting and eclectic mix of styles and genres are showcased, including animation, experimental, documentary, narrative, and more. Several of the filmmakers will be present to discuss their work with the audience!

Warning: Program contains ADULT LANGUAGE, MILD VIOLENCE, ANATOMICALLY FRANK IMAGERY OF HORSES, ADULT THEMES

THE CHAPERONE – Directed by Fraser Munden, Neil Rathbone
EAGER – Directed by Allison Schulnik
FLOW – Directed by Christina Choe
MELT – Directed by Noémie Lafrance
NIGHT AT THE DANCE – Directed by Annie Silverstein
PULL/DRIFT – Directed by Margaret Rorison
THAT B.E.A.T. – Directed by Abteen Bagheri
SATURDAY JULY 19th & SUNDAY JULY 20th Noon-6PM
MFF 2014 SHORTS
Saturday and Sunday programs are comprised of titles curated by the Maryland Film Festival, all of them from MFF 2014. These programs begin each hour on the hour, and run between 30 and 40 minutes apiece. One or more filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at each screening to answer questions from the audience and discuss their work. Program content may be subject to last-minute changes.Programs may contain material not appropriate for all ages. Please refer to content warnings for each program below.

SCHEDULE:

SATURDAY JULY 19th
Noon – ANIMATED SHORTS
1pm – COMEDY SHORTS
2pm – CHARACTER STUDY SHORTS
3pm – NARRATIVE SHORTS
4pm – DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
5pm – ANIMATED SHORTS

SUNDAY JULY 20th
Noon – COMEDY SHORTS
1pm – CHARACTER STUDY SHORTS
2pm – NARRATIVE SHORTS
3pm – DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
4pm – ANIMATED SHORTS
5pm – COMEDY SHORTS

ANIMATED SHORTS – 37 minutes
Warning: Program contains CARTOON VIOLENCE, ADULT THEMES, and ADULT LANGUAGE
ALFRED JARRY & ‘PATAPHYSICS – Directed by Skizz Cyzyk
CAVEIRÃO (aka THE MASTER’S VOICE) – Directed by Guilherme Marcondes
THE CHAPERONE- Directed by Fraser Munden, Neil Rathbone
THE ORPHAN AND POLAR BEAR – Directed by Neil Christopher
YEARBOOK – Directed by Bernardo Britto

COMEDY SHORTS – 31 minutes
Warning: Program contains ADULT LANGUAGE and ADULT THEMES
CRUISING ELECTRIC (1980) – Directed by Brumby Boylston
FUNNEL – Directed by Andre Hyland
THE NOVICE CLAIRALIENT – Directed by Tom Borax
PEEPERS – Directed by Ken Lam
VERBATIM – Directed by Brett WeinerNARRATIVE SHORTS – 38 minutes
Warning: Program contains ADULT THEMES and ADULT LANGUAGE
I WAS A TEENAGE GIRL – Directed by Augustine Frizzell
LA HIJA (THE DAUGHTER) – Directed by Jazmín Rada
SKUNK – Directed by Annie Silverstein
WHIFFED OUT – Directed by Jason Giampietro

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS – 33 minutes
Warning: Program contains BRIEF NUDITY, ADULT LANGUAGE, and ADULT THEMES
CINEMA TIME CAPSULE – Directed by Scott Norwood
DAVID HOCKNEY IN THE NOW (in six minutes) – Directed by Lucy Walker
THE SILLY BASTARD NEXT TO BED – Directed by Scott Calonico
THE HIGH FIVE – Directed by Michael Jacobs

CHARACTER STUDY SHORTS – 34 minutes
Warning: Program contains ADULT THEMES and ADULT LANGUAGE
THE IMMACULATE RECEPTION – Directed by Charlotte Glynn
I WILL PAINT YOUR SPIRIT – Directed by Jason Giampietro
EASY – Directed by Daniel Laabs

MFF 2013’s HIT & STAY Returns to Baltimore!

Hit & Stay2MFF 2013’s HIT & STAY directed by Skizz Cyzyk and Joe Tropea returns to the Charles Theater for three screenings starting this Saturday 12/7.  The film has been on the festival circuit since March and won the Audience Award at the Chicago Underground and Minneapolis Underground Film Festivals and the Best Documentary Feature Award at Sidewalk. Click here for Jenn Ladd‘s review of HIT & STAY in this week’s City Paper.

Screening Information:
Saturday 12/7 at 11:30AM;
Monday 12/9 at 7PM;
Thursday 12/12 at 9PM
The Charles Theater
1711 North Charles Street

Synopsis:
On May 17, 1968, nine Catholic activists entered the Knights of Columbus building in Catonsville, which then housed a Selective Service office, dragged stacks of draft records outside, and set them on fire with homemade napalm. They then prayed and waited to be arrested.

Between 1967-1972, there were hundreds of civil disobedience actions against U.S. draft boards, the Dow Chemical Company, and the FBI resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of draft files and the orderly process of the U.S. government’s ability to wage war in Vietnam.

HIT & STAY tells the little-known story of the Action Community and the raids they staged that turned priests, nuns, and college students into fugitives and targets of the FBI. More than just a documentary about chemical weapons and stopping a war, it’s a story about people and relationships and all the complexities that lie therein.

2013 Dirs. Joe TropeaSkizz Cyzyk. Digital 1.33:1 B&W and Color 97 min.

Click here for more information or visit http://www.hitandstay.com.

TWELVE MORE FEATURES ANNOUNCED FOR MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL 2013!

Good Ol' Freda production still horizontal

GOOD OL’ FREDA

Maryland Film Festival is proud to announce a dozen more titles for our 2013 edition, bringing the total number of features revealed to 36 thus far.  Our fifteenth annual festival, which will take place May 8-12 in downtown Baltimore, has expanded to 5 days and will include approximately 50 features and 9 shorts programs.  We will also present a silent classic with an original score performed live by the Alloy Orchestra and a favorite film selected and hosted by legendary director John Waters!

The diverse round of titles announced today includes work from Finland, Mexico, Austria, and Israel, and such titles as Zach Clark’s holiday-themed, darkly comic White Reindeer; Alex Winter’s riveting look at the rise and fall of Napster, Downloaded; Jessica Oreck’s experiential documentary about a family of reindeer herders, Aatsinki; and Calvin Reeder’s surreal, horror-tinged mindbender about a mysterious loner, The Rambler.

More MFF 2013 lineup announcements are coming soon! If you haven’t seen them yet, make sure to check the 24 features we announced last week! For all the latest information, continue to visit this blog, and follow us at facebook.com/MarylandFilmFestival and on Twitter, @MdFilmFestival.

Today’s announced features for Maryland Film Festival 2013 are:

16 ACRES_070412_02284504.jpg

16 ACRES

16 Acres (Richard Hankin) From the editor and co-producer of Capturing the Friedmans comes this riveting and nuanced documentary look at the rebuilding of Ground Zero—one of the most architecturally, politically, and emotionally complex urban renewal projects in history.

AATSINKI_[Jessica_Oreck]1

AATSINKI: THE STORY OF ARCTIC COWBOYS

Aatsinki: The Story of Arctic Cowboys (Jessica Oreck) One year in the life of a family of reindeer herders in Finnish Lapland yields an immersive study of hard work, hard earned leisure, and an intricate bond between man and nature. From the director of Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo.

Before You Know It (P J Raval) This observational documentary raises the curtain on a profoundly neglected segment of the LGBT community, its senior population, as three gay men residing in very different regions of the U.S. face new life challenges.

Bluebird_30

BLUEBIRD

Bluebird (Lance Edmands) In the frozen woods of an isolated Maine logging town, one woman’s tragic mistake shatters the balance of the community, resulting in profound and unexpected consequences.

Downloaded (Alex Winter) With remarkable insight and access, this documentary tells the story of the rise and fall of Napster, taking a close look at the internet mavericks and musicians involved and the lasting global impact of peer-to-peer file sharing.

Here_Comes_The_Devil

HERE COMES THE DEVIL

Here Comes the Devil  (Adrián García Bogliano) From Mexico comes this horror film concerning disappeared children and panicked parents, offering ever-escalating thrills as it heads to increasingly bloody, diabolical, and even psychedelic territory.

Fill the Void (Rama Burshtein) This drama set in Tel Aviv’s Orthodox community centers around 18-year-old Shira, who faces unexpected life challenges when her older sister dies.

Good Ol’ Freda (Ryan White) Freda Kelly was just a shy Liverpudlian teenager when she was asked to work for a local band hoping to make it big. That band was The Beatles, and Freda was their devoted secretary and friend for 11 years; this documentary tells her story—and the story of the world’s most famous band through her eyes.

MH_Guard

MUSEUM HOURS

Museum Hours (Jem Cohen) From the director of Benjamin Smoke and Instrument comes this gentle and expertly crafted drama about a Vienna museum guard and the friendship he forms with a woman visiting town to care for a sick friend.

THE RAMBLER_Lindsay Pulsipher and Dermot Mulroney shooting_photo by Juliana Halvorson

THE RAMBLER

The Rambler (Calvin Reeder) Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, and Natasha Lyonne star in the latest psychotronic vision from the director of The Oregonian, in which a mysterious loner, newly released from prison, sets out on a journey filled with bizarre characters and warped experiences.

We Always Lie to Strangers (AJ Schnack and David Wilson) A documentary story of family, community, music and tradition, built over five years and set against the backdrop of Branson, Missouri, one of the biggest tourist destinations in America.

WHITE REINDEER STILL 1

WHITE REINDEER

White Reindeer (Zach Clark) After an unexpected tragedy, Suzanne searches for the true meaning of Christmas during one sad, strange December in suburban Virginia. From the director of Vacation! and Modern Love Is Automatic.

Previously Announced Titles for 2013:

12 O’CLOCK BOYS (Lotfy Nathan)

AFTER TILLER (Martha Shane and Lana Wilson)

AUGUSTINE (Alice Winocour)

BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO (Peter Strickland)

COMPUTER CHESS (Andrew Bujalski)

DRINKING BUDDIES (Joe Swanberg)

HIT & STAY (Joe Tropea and Skizz Cyzyk)

I AM DIVINE (Jeffrey Schwarz)

I USED TO BE DARKER (Matt Porterfield)

IF WE SHOUT LOUD ENOUGH (Gabriel DeLoach and Zach Keifer)

IT FELT LIKE LOVE (Eliza Hittman)

LEVIATHAN (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel)

THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY (Sophie Fiennes)

PIT STOP (Yen Tan)

POST TENEBRAS LUX (Carlos Reygadas)

PRINCE AVALANCHE (David Gordon Green)

SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM (Lola Bessis and Ruben Amar)

A TEACHER (Hannah Fidell)

THIS IS MARTIN BONNER (Chad Hartigan)

TOUCHY FEELY (Lynn Shelton)

V/H/S/2 (omnibus)

WATCHTOWER (Pelin Esmer)

WILLOW CREEK (Bobcat Goldthwait)

ZERO CHARISMA (Katie Graham and Andrew Matthews)

MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL 2013 LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENTS CONTINUE

iamdivine_Lynn_Davis

I AM DIVINE

Maryland Film Festival continues to announce titles for its fifteenth annual edition today, unveiling a dozen more feature films in their 2013 lineup.  Within this second round of announced titles are two highly anticipated documentaries with Baltimore subjects, Jeffrey Schwarz’s loving and definitive portrait I Am Divine (photo above), and Joe Tropea and Skizz Cyzyk’s Catonsville Nine documentary Hit & Stay; a wide range of international films including Augustine (France), Berberian Sound Studio (UK), Post Tenebras Lux (Mexico), and Watchtower (Turkey); Sundance 2013 breakthrough dramas A Teacher and This Is Martin Bonner; and the latest from David Gordon Green, Prince Avalanche.

MFF 2013 will take place May 8-12 in downtown Baltimore, and lineup announcements will continue next week. Together with the titles revealed in a first announcement Tuesday, today’s news brings the total of announced MFF 2013 titles thus far to twenty-four.

More lineup announcements are coming soon! For all the latest information, continue to visit this blog, and follow us on Facebook and on Twitter, @MdFilmFestival.

The latest announced titles for MFF 2013 are:

Photo still from AUGUSTINE.

AUGUSTINE

Augustine (Alice Winocour) Set in Belle Epoque France, Alice Winocour’s provocative period piece chronicles the sexual awakening of a female patient in a mental hospital for women suffering from “hysteria.”

Berberian Sound Studio (Peter Strickland) In the 1970s, a gifted but reclusive British sound engineer begins having ever-escalating strange experiences the mirror that Italian horror film on which he’s working.

Drinking Buddies (Joe Swanberg) Kate and Luke form a close bond working together at a Chicago craft brewery—but as the line between friendship and romance gets blurry, cracks begin to show, both in the workplace and their personal lives. Starring Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, Jake Johnson, and Ron Livingston.

Photo still from Skizz Czyzk and Joe Tropea's HIT & STAY.

HIT & STAY

Hit & Stay (Joe Tropea and Skizz Cyzyk) This Baltimore-made documentary tells the story of the radical priests, nuns, and everyday people who comprised the Baltimore Four and the Catonsville Nine, risking prison to challenge U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

I Am Divine (Jeffrey Schwarz) From the director of Vito comes the definitive documentary look at actor, singer, and drag icon Harris Glenn Milstead, better known as Divine; featuring extensive interviews with John Waters and many others who knew, loved, and worked with Divine.

Leviathan (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel) Functioning as both an immersive experiential documentary about modern commercial fishing and a feature-length experimental film, Leviathan offers an explosive and chaotic sensory experience like no other.

Photo still from POST TENEBRAS LUX.

POST TENEBRAS LUX

Post Tenebras Lux (Carlos Reygadas) The director of challenging art-house favorites Battle in Heaven and Silent Light returns with his most personal and transgressive film yet, a masterful meditation on natural wonder, sudden violence, and the human condition.

Photo still from PRINCE AVALANCHE.

PRINCE AVALANCHE

Prince Avalanche (David Gordon Green) Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch star as highway workers with a bumpy history paired for a project in a remote location in this charming blend of comedy and drama from the director of George Washington and Pineapple Express.

Photo still from SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM.

SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM

Swim Little Fish Swim (Lola Bessis and Ruben Amar) In this offbeat French/U.S. co-production with notes of deadpan comedy and romance, hardworking Mary’s frustration with her idealistic husband Leeward mounts when a vivacious young French woman enters their life.

Photo still from Hannah Fiddell's A TEACHER.

A TEACHER

A Teacher (Hannah Fidell) Diana, a young suburban high-school teacher, seems to be leading a pleasant, if placid, life—but behind closed doors, she’s risking it all for an affair with one of her students.

This Is Martin Bonner (Chad Hartigan) Fifty-something Martin Bonner looks for a new beginning in Reno, working with released prisoners for a faith-based organization. This subtle and moving character study won the Sundance 2013 Best of Next Audience Award.

Photo still from WATCHTOWER.

WATCHTOWER

Watchtower (Pelin Esmer) Plagued by tragedy and guilt, a man takes a job in a remote corner of Turkey—but the solitary new life he builds for himself is challenged by the arrival of a young woman, also running from her past.

Check Out MFF Alum Skizz Cyzyk’s Maryland Film Festival Video for Artscape 2012!

MFF Alum and former Program Manager Skizz Cyzyk has crafted a video for Maryland Film Festival for Artscape 2012.  This video features interviews with MFF Staff members Jed Dietz, Eric Hatch, Scott Braid, and Rahne Alexander on the program Maryland Film Festival has put together for Artscape 2012, including a Friday night screening of GIRL WALK // ALL DAY with special guest Anne Marsen at 7pm at the Charles Theater, and shorts programs on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6pm at the Charles Theater.  All MFF programming at Artscape is FREE to the public! 

Click here for Maryland Film Festival’s full Artscape 2012 Schedule.

Click here for Skizz Cyzyk‘s video for Maryland Film Festival at Artscape 2012.

Sundance Update: Slamdance Film Festival and Other Park City, UT Happenings

Slamdance 2012 Film Festival

Because of Sundance, lots of other activities gather in Park City, UT – both commercial and otherwise. One of the most important is Slamdance, an exuberant film festival organized years ago by filmmakers to catch work that Sundance misses.

Skizz Cyzyk, former MFF programmer and a key part of the Slamdance team for years (our Film Office used to sponsor filmmaker awards there) had mentioned a Sunday “coffee” w Neil Young and Oscar winner Jonathan Demme.  Moderated beautifully by Slamdance’s Paul Rachman (he made the great doc about American punk rock, AMERICAN HARDCORE, that premiered at Sundance a few years back), it was an intimate portrait of two very different and great artists who have worked together multiple times. I remembered Jonathan announcing the great HEART OF GOLD project from the MFF stage a few years back.

I wish every emerging filmmaker I’ve ever talked w could’ve been there. Understand corporate selling power. Listen to everyone. Don’t doubt. Embrace failure. Demme mentioned Dan Deacon and Jimmy Joe Roche’s new work several times and we got to talk about the Gunky’s Basement series after the group conversation.

–Jed Dietz

Best wishes to Skizz Cyzyk as he scales back his role at MFF!

Skizz Cyzyk

Dear Maryland Film Festival Supporter:

After nine years as Programming Manager for the Maryland Film Festival, Skizz Cyzyk has decided to step back from his day-to-day duties so that he can devote more time to his other career, filmmaking. He took some extra time off last year to see if he could combine both, but the amount of work here didn’t leave enough time to focus on filmmaking. While Skizz does plan to stay involved in MFF in a smaller capacity, the time has come to devote his primary attention to filmmaking, and his talents and expertise will be missed here.

From the very beginning of Maryland Film Festival, as a volunteer member of our Programming Advisory Board, Skizz brought his personal artistic focus to our mission of celebrating movies in the broadest possible way. The founder of MicroCineFest, a cherished underground film festival in Baltimore that ran from 1997 to 2006, Skizz always had an eye out for movies that were never likely to play in the mainstream but that had special audience appeal. He brought a unique sensibility and great passion to his MFF programming, introducing our audiences to cult favorites such as Guy Maddin, John Paizs (Big Crimewave, Top of the Food Chain), and Cory McAbee (American Astronaut, Stingray Sam), among others. Further, Skizz helped the Maryland Film Festival become a particular advocate for short films, each year coordinating the selections for our signature Opening Night Shorts Program and programming our annual “Shorts in a Tent” program at Artscape.

Along with programming, Skizz handled all things technical — which, in a time of ever-changing digital formats, was a task that demanded imagination, wisdom, and expertise. In addition, Skizz has handled all print trafficking (separate, dedicated staffs do this at other film festivals) and, of course, wrote countless program notes for our festival guide and introduced countless filmmakers at MFF screenings. In addition to all these MFF duties over these nine years, Skizz has also been involved with a number of other film festivals, helping with film selection, jury duty, and projection at, among others, Slamdance, Atlanta, Sidewalk, Bend, and IndieMemphis.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of working alongside Skizz notices his preternatural ability to stay calm in the midst of the most intense chaos. He has always focused on getting things done, solving problems one at a time. He infused everyone who worked with him with the feeling that we would not just get the work done, but also make great things happen.

While doing all this, Skizz also managed to complete a number of music videos and short films, one of which was shot in my office. But now is the time for Skizz to focus on filmmaking. He has several exciting film projects in various stages of completion. And anyone who has seen any of his films — from the outrageous Manager’s Corner, to the poignant Little Castles, to the lyrical music video “You Came to Me” for the duo Beach House – will join all of us here in anticipation of Skizz’s next film. We can’t wait.

Sincerely,

JED DIETZ
Director, Maryland Film Festival