“The Varieties of Cinematic Experience”
Film Festival-Symposium (20-22 June; free and open to the public)
All activities at:
Judson Memorial Church, NY
From 20-22 June, the VCE film festival-symposium will bring together filmmakers, writers, religious leaders, educators, artists, and enthusiasts, raising questions about why we seek cinematic experiences, and how these experiences move beyond the screen and become embodied in communal and spiritual ways. Collectively, the group will creatively and critically examine how we receive cinematic works in community and how our environment affects the viewing experience.
The VCE fest-symposium will be attended by members of Judson church, APRIL, the European-based INTERFILM, and local NYC area groups.
2025 SVE Film Symposium Schedule:
Friday, June 20th
3:30pm: Welcome and Orientation to the Weekend Events
4pm: Screening (followed by catered dinner)
Shoplifters, 万引き家族
Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2018, Japan, 121 minutes
A Japanese couple stuck with part-time jobs and hence inadequate incomes, avail themselves of the fruits of shoplifting to make ends meet. They are not alone in this behavior. The younger and the older of the household are in on the act. However, the unusual routine is about to change from carefree and matter-of-fact to something more dramatic as the couple open their doors to a beleaguered young girl. The reasons for the family’s habit and motivations come under the microscope.
6pm: Dinner, Discussion, Community
Saturday, June 21st
10am – 12pm: Filmmaker Showcase (Part 1): Films and Filmmaking as Empathy Drivers
Filmmakers discuss their own work and reflect on the ways cinema creates community, embodiment, and empathy in both pre-production and post-production.
Julie Sexeny, filmmaker and Associate Professor, Wofford College, on Major Barbara.
Nina Danino, filmmaker and Reader in Fine Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, on Solitude.
André Daughtry, a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary photography and media artist, on Wilderness.
12:00 – 1:30pm: Catered lunch and discussion.
1:30 – 3:30pm: Filmmaker Showcase (Part 2): Films and Filmmaking as Empathy Drivers
Filmmakers discuss their own work and reflect on the ways cinema creates community, embodiment, and empathy in both pre-production and post-production.
Mark Dean, chaplain at the University of the Arts London, on Twister.
Anthony D Padgett, artist, dancer, on Performance.
Gwendolen Cates, photography and filmmaker, on The Doctrine.
4-6pm: Screening
Julie Dash, 1991, US, 113 minutes
At the dawn of the 20th century, the Peazant family in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina living at Ibo Landing on Dataw Island (St. Simons Island), off the coast of Georgia.Their ancestors were brought to the island as enslaved people centuries ago. The film is narrated by the Unborn Child, the future daughter of Eli and Eula, whose voice is shaped by the oral traditions and accounts of her ancestors.
6pm Communal dinner, conversations on embodiment, empathy, and community
Sunday, June 22nd
11am-12pm Judson Memorial Church Sunday Service
“Carnal Cinema”
with S.B. Rodriguez Plate