04 PM | 04 Oct

@SueAustinArtist #Underwater #Wheelchair – the director’s cut #video [#geekgirl]

Acclaimed British multimedia, performance and installation artist Sue Austin will present the South Hemisphere premiere of her underwater, live art event ‘Creating the Spectacle!’ exclusively as part of the Adelaide Film Festival (ADL) Film Fest in October, 2018 …

Audiences are invited to apply to attend the performance with demonstrated diving certificates or be willing to be trained for the event. Audience applications close Oct 9, 2018.

Sue Austin, from Devon, UK, is a disabled artist who aims to change perceptions of the wheelchair. For her, after spending years bedbound, the wheelchair gives her freedom. She ‘flies’ a NHS wheelchair underwater. In this film she adapted the chair with battery powered propellers and large perspex aerofoils to control turns. She is in the process of applying for a patent and hopes that one day these chairs will be made available at diving centres across the world.

This film was shot and edited by Norman Lomax of Moving Content, UK

Sources: We are free wheeling

Sue Austin has also been working with Ogo Technology a co. set to revolutionize the area around personal transportation and mobility.

The Ogo team has blended cutting edge electronics and battery technology with an innovative intuitive hands free control system, to introduce a new era in personal transportation and freedom of movement for maximum independence.

05 PM | 10 Jul

Call out: #Anxiety 2017 #Festival #TheBigAnxietyProject [#geekgirl]

anxiety

Anxiety 2017 Festival :: September – November 2017 :: Sydney Call for Commissions closes 15 July 2016 Anxiety 2017 is a new arts festival that fosters adventurous interdisciplinary collaboration and artistic innovation to address some of the biggest challenges in mental health. It will explore anxiety, stress, illness and mental health from culturally diverse and neurodiverse perspectives, and through cutting edge art practice and pioneering modes of community engagement.  The Festival seeks Expressions of Interest for three commissions of up to $25,000 each, for new works aligning with the themes of the festival. Proposals may encompass visual, sound, multimedia, or performing arts. Preference will be given to work with a strong social practice or community engagement aspect, and/or innovative mental health outcomes. Submit applications to thebiganxietyproject@gmail.com with a one page Expression of Interest that outlines your project idea, its relevance to the themes of the festival, potential partnerships, a venue or site for presentation, a short biography or a one page CV, and a contact phone number.

Source: Anat  and The Big Anxiety Project Blog

06 PM | 22 Oct

Girls on Film Festival – #Melbourne – Movies. Parties. Feminism. #GOFF2015 [#geekgirl]

GOFF2015

23rd  to 25th OCTOBER, 2015.

NOW in its second year, the Girls On Film Festival (GOFF) returns to Melbourne, bringing its signature flavour of films, fun and feminism. Held over three bodacious days in October, the festival’s 2015 line-up is sure to impress.

The impetus behind the creation of GOFF was a celebration of movies that steered away from films made by and about men. What we get instead are films chosen by feminists, made by feminists and you get to watch them – you guessed it – with a swathe of other feminists.

An ultimate party that is “more slumber party than competition, more mixtape than jury selection, more laid back than prestigious,” the Girls on Film Festival is more than just kick-ass films. On offer is live music, poetry, activism, zines, badges and (what we are promised) much more!

– See more at: http://www.girlsonfilmfestival.com/

Source: SWITCH

07 PM | 30 Aug

The Rise of Public Shaming – is it here to stay? #fodi #jonronson [#geekgirl]

FODI15 - ShameCulture

WHAT DOES THE RISE OF PUBLIC SHAMING SAY ABOUT ONLINE CULTURE AND IS IT HERE TO STAY?

Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, author and documentary filmmaker whose works include best-seller The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Psychopath Test. He has been described as a #gonzo journalist, known for his informal but sceptical, investigations of controversial fringe politics and science. His new book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed explores public humiliation in the internet age.

John Safran is an award-winning documentary-maker of provocative and hilarious takes on race, the media, religion and other issues.

Both appearing at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Sydney 5-6 Sept, 2015

Source: FODI

04 PM | 19 Jun

Iris Apfel -“you have to be interested to be interesting” #IRIS #MIFF [#geekgirl]

IRIS the documentary will be shown at this year’s #MIFF festival  (30 July – 16 Auguest).

While doing some research, I stumbled across this YouTube video of Iris Apfel (at the tender age of 91); and Deborah Lloyd talking with Nadja Swarovski about the secret to style and creativity.

I’m so looking forward to another doco by Albert Maysles about IRIS.

Variety calls it…“A joyous celebration of creativity and razor-sharp wit sustained into old age.” 

At 93 years of age, New York fashion icon Iris Apfel is as flamboyant and inventive as ever; her humour and intelligence as undiminished by time as her talent for reappropriating old garments and found objects into eccentric, eye-catching designs.

The last full film of acclaimed documentarian Albert Maysles – one half of the brotherly duo behind Grey Gardens andGimme Shelter (MIFF 2001) – Iris is an engrossing character study of a woman (and her loving husband, Carl) who has been both the subject of a Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition and a shrewd entrepreneur whose interior decoration advice was sought by nine presidents of the United States. Iris is a candid, affectionate insight into the mind of a fascinating individual, and a rare treat for fashion lovers.

“Maysles does a wonderful job of providing context on top of character moments … a rich and endearing entry into [his] already complete and accomplished career.” – Criterion Cast

Editor’s note: I do wish she wouldn’t wear fur!