AD MELIORA
Digital Video, 4 minutes. 2021
Image: Kate Balsley
Sound: Irina Escalante-Chernova
Ad meliora, or "towards better things" combines hundreds of separate images that create a deep meditation on being, creativity and nature; a mandala of forms that becomes highly symbolic of life, death, yesterday, now, and the next moment. Flowers, plants and textures were photographed in places such as nature conservatories, cultivated gardens, vacant properties and parking lots. The familiar landscape appears molten, luminous and renewed. Ad meliora is suggestive of adaptation, resilience and transformation.
2023
Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (Gimpo, South Korea)
2022
Thomas Edison Film Festival (Hoboken, NJ) Director's Choice Award
Wisconsin Film Festival (Madison, WI) Golden Badger Award
Indie Memphis (Memphis, TN)
Athens International Film and Video Festival (Athens, OH)
Big Muddy Film Festival (Carbondale, IL)
Experiments in Cinema (Albuquerque, NM)
Dobra Festival Internacional de Cinema Experimental (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
VASTLAB Experimental (Los Angeles, CA)
Digital Graffiti (Alys Beach, FL) Finalist
West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival (Morgantown, WV)
Bideodromo International Experimental Film and Video Festival (Bilbao, Spain)
Tune in to Green (Austin, TX)
Alternative Night of Experimental Film (London, England)
Malatesta Short Film Festival (Cesena, Italy)
Canopy Cinema (Atlanta, GA)
Altered Images Film and Music Festival (London, UK)
Experimental Film Guanajuato (Guanajuato, Mexico)
University Film and Video Association Annual Conference (SUNY Fredonia, NY) Honorable Mention
Aquifer: The Florida Review at UCF (https://floridareview.cah.ucf.edu)
BROOD X
Digital Animation, 30 seconds. 2021
They've hatched.
Created for the 2021 "Exquisite Shorts: Atlanta Halloween Edition."
COSMOS OBSCURA
Digital Video, 4 minutes. 2018.
Image: Kate Balsley
Sound: Irina Escalante-Chernova
In Cosmos Obscura, the universe is at once known and unknowable. New patterns, rhythms and metaphors are born from old ones, and familiar celestial bodies are refracted into strange and unusual forms.
2021
Altered Images Film and Music Festival (London, UK)
2020
Ospizio Giovani Artisti Gallery: Nuove Astrazioni (Rome, Italy)
2019
Another Experiment by Women Film Festival (New York, NY)
Dobra Festival Internacional de Cinema Experimental (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)
Mostra Strangloscope: Mostra Internacional de Áudio/ Vídeo/ Filme/ Performance (Florianópolis, Brazil)
Llawn Festival: Out of Line (Llandudno, UK)
DUMBO Film Festival (New York, NY) Best Experimental
Besides the Screen: Graphic Intelligences & Algorithmic Fictions Conference (Vitória and São Paulo, Brazil)
LUNA (Atlanta, GA)
Ospizio Giovani Artisti (Rome, Italy)
Dallas Medianale (Dallas, TX)
Saigon Experimental Film Festival (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
Festival Ecrã (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)
Ibrida festival delle arti intermediali (Forlì, Italy)
Rencontres Traverse Vidéo (Toulouse, France)
Braziers Mini-Indi Festival (Oxfordshire, UK)
Atlanta Film Festival (Atlanta, GA)
Athens International Film & Video Festival (Athens, OH)
Experiments in Cinema (Albuquerque, NM)
Digital Graffiti (Alys Beach, FL) Finalist
West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival (Morgantown, PA)
The Hazel Eye Film Festival (Nashville, TN)
Aquifer: The Florida Review at UCF (https://floridareview.cah.ucf.edu)
2018
The Exchange Gallery (Bloomsburg, PA)
I <3 ATLANTA
Digital Video, 5 minutes. 2017.
An abstract travelogue of the city of Atlanta.
2017
Atlanta Film Festival (Atlanta, GA)
Airport Shorts 4.0 (Atlanta, GA)
MICROSPECTRUM
Digital Video, 1 minute 30 seconds. 2016.
A surreal journey through the natural world. Leaves, flowers and other organic materials are abstracted and exist as shapes, forms, colors and textures. Nature is at once strange and beautiful. Microspectrum invites the viewer to reflect upon its complexities.
2018
IN*fusionart Magazine (www.infusionartmagazine.com)
2017
Athens International Film and Video Festival (Athens, OH)
Black Maria Film Festival Touring Program (Various Venues)
Delete TV (London, England, UK)
Spectral Microcinema (Steven’s Point, WI)
2016
Black Maria Film Festival (Jersey City, NJ) Jury's Choice Award
Wonder Root Generally Local, Mostly Independent Film Series (Atlanta, GA)
Minne Mini Film Festival (Minneapolis, MN)
New Mavericks Film Festival (Atlanta, GA)
FANTASY TABLEAU: THE ART OF STEPHEN WARDE ANDERSON
Digital Video, 9 minutes. 2015.
Rockford, Illinois native Stephen Warde Anderson has been a self-taught painter, poet, writer and musician for the past 30 years. This documentary explores the life and art of this truly eccentric genius.
2021
Local Filmmaker Showcase (Decatur, GA)
2018
“Stephen Warde Anderson: Attention to Detail” Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art (Chicago, IL)
2016
“The Wonderful World of Stephen Warde Anderson” Rockford Art Museum (Rockford, IL)
THE SONATINA
Digital Video, 9 minutes. 2015.
While working a dead-end job at a thrift store, a young man rekindles his passion for music.
2017
Jecheon International Music and Film Festival (Jecheon, South Korea)
2016
Prairie State Film Festival (Peoria, IL)
Door County Short Film Festival (Sister Bay, WI)
Wildwood Film Festival (Appleton, WI)
2015
68th Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner (Cannes, France)
The Milwaukee Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI)
APEX Film and Music Festival (Rochester, MN)
Red Wing Festival of the Arts (Red Wing, MN)
Flyway Film Festival (Pepin, Stockholm, Maiden Rock and Alma, WI)
Central Wisconsin Film Festival (Stevens Point and Wausau, WI)
THE CUCARANCHULA
Digital Video, 13 minutes. 2013.
A love triangle between a young writer, a pompous critic, and a mysterious little creature known only as...the cucaranchula.
2015
New Filmmakers Fall Series (New York, NY)
Honeytone Film and Music Showcase (Milwaukee, WI)
2014
67th Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner (Cannes, France)
We Like ‘Em Short Film Festival (Baker City, OR)
Beloit International Film Festival (Beloit, WI)
Green Bay Film Festival (Green Bay, WI) Finalist
Wildwood Film Festival (Appleton, WI) Best Comedy
2013
Milwaukee Short Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI) Artistic Achievement Award
Milwaukee Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI)
ANIMA MUNDI
Digital Video, 4 minutes. 2010.
“Anima mundi,” a latin phrase meaning “spirit of the world,” has been a fundamental principle of philosophical thought for centuries, representing the vital life force that animates all matter in the universe. This experimental piece combines thousands of individual images of flowers, both wild and cultivated, to create a unique, fluid aesthetic, celebrating the beauty of the natural world.
2015
Best of Rural Route Film and Video Festival (New York, NY) Blu-Ray Compilation
Best of Rural Route Film and Video Festival Touring Program (Various Venues)
2013
Frederick Layton Gallery (Milwaukee, WI) Mary Nohl Suitcase Export Grant, Permanent Collection
SpectreArts (Durham, NC)
2012
Black Maria Film and Video Festival (Jersey City, NJ) Director’s Choice Award
Black Maria Film and Video Festival Touring Program (Various Venues)
Rural Route Film and Video Festival Touring Program (Various Venues)
Another Experiment by Women Filmmakers (New York, NY)
The Milwaukee Short Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI)
Beloit International Film Festival (Beloit, WI)
2011
64th Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner (Cannes, France)
Athens International Film and Video Festival (Athens, OH) Best Experimental Award
Wisconsin Film Festival (Madison, WI) Golden Badger Award
Milwaukee Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI)
Milwaukee Underground Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI) Jury Award
Rural Route Film Festival (New York, NY) Best Experimental
Rural Route Film Festival Traveling Program (Various Venues)
If You Squint: An Evening of Avant Garde Films (Madison, WI)
Big Muddy International Film Festival (Carbondale, IL)
Dallas VideoFest (Dallas, TX)
Strange Beauty Film Festival (Durham, NC)
Filmmaker’s Showcase (Charlotte, NC)
Synch! Film and Music Festival (Bronx, NY)
Greentopia Film Festival (Rochester, NY)
Burnell Street Arts Center (Homer, AK)
MTS Gallery (Anchorage, AK)
Light Factory Showcase (Milwaukee, WI)
Central Wisconsin Film Festival (Steven’s Point, WI)
LOCALLY UNWANTED LAND USAGE
Digital Video, 8 minutes. 2009.
Locally Unwanted Land Usage is a tale of wastefulness and resourcefulness that promotes environmental stewardship. It was created using low-energy and consumer-grade equipment, and all of the props were made from donated or recycled materials. The result is a "green movie" whose production had little environmental impact, and can be enjoyed by everyone.
2019
UNCG Sustainability Short Film Competition (Greensboro, NC) Grand Prize
2016
Cause & Effect: Georgia Progressive Film Festival (Athens, GA) Jury Award
2012
National Centre for the Performing Arts (Mumbai, India)
Urban Ecology Center (Milwaukee, WI)
2011
Worldkids Foundation International Film Festival (Various Venues: India)
Twisp Rural Routes Film Festival (Twisp, WA)
2010
Reel Earth International Environmental Film Festival (Palmerston North, New Zealand)
ICA Boston: Urban Parables (Boston, MA)
Princeton Environmental Film Festival (Princeton, NJ)
Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival (Santa Monica, CA)
San Diego Children’s International Film Festival (San Diego, CA)
San Francisco Bay Area Children’s International Film Festival (San Francisco, CA)
Epiphany Children’s Film Festival (New York, NY)
Providence Children’s International Film Festival (Providence, RI)
Children’s Film Festival Seattle (Seattle, WA)
REDCAT International Children’s Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA)
Kids First! Film Festival (Santa Fe, NM) Jury Award
Earth and Sky Days (Grand Rapids, MI)
Flatland Film Festival (Lubbock, TX)
Wildwood Film Festival (Appleton, WI)
2009
Milwaukee Short Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI)
Material Afterlife Short Film Competition (Grand Rapids, MI)
AUTUMN
Digital Video, 3 minutes. 2008.
A portrait of the season of autumn. Individual moments are frozen to express the fleeting beauty and constant flux of nature.
2009
Beloit International Film Festival (Beloit, WI)
The People’s Choice International Short Film Festival (Quito, Ecuador)
ArtFilmPerformance (New York, NY)
Houston Art Alliance (Various Venues: Houston, TX) Permanent Collection
Central Wisconsin Film Festival (Stevens Point, WI)
Big Water Film Festival (Washburn, WI)
ArtQuinox (Minneapolis, MN)
Naturescapes (Olean, NY) Honorable Mention
Aaurau International One-Minute Film Festival (Aarau, Switzerland)
Renderyard One-Minute Challenge (London, England, UK)
Columbia Gorge International Film Festival (Washougal, WA)
Workhouse Film and Music Festival (Llanfyllin, Wales, UK)
Wildwood Film Festival (Appleton, WI) Best Experimental
ALICE UNDERWATER
16mm film, 2 minutes. 2005.
Original footage of an underwater dancer has been optically printed. The result is a surreal aquatic ballet.
2010
Strange Beauty Film Festival (Durham, NC)
Mini Cine Picture Show (London, UK)
Flicker Film Festival Spokane (Spokane, WA)
Flicker Film Festival Chapel Hill (Carrboro, NC)
Milwaukee at its Best Showcase (Milwaukee, WI)
Conduit Cinema (Milwaukee, WI)
Cedarhurst Center for the Arts (Mount Vernon, IL.)
2005
Take 291 Experimental Film Series (London, England, UK)
Invisible Film Series (New York, NY)
Big Muddy Film Festival (Carbondale, IL) Honorable Mention
Synch! Film and Music Festival (London, England, UK)
Flicker Film Festival New York (New York, NY) Flicker Grant Award
PRETTY
Digital Video & 16mm film, 7 minutes. 2002.
Katie is an intelligent, ambitious and hard-working robotics engineer. She is currently working on her newest invention-miniature robots that dispense cosmetics and give beauty advice. Despite her talents, her two male colleagues treat her terribly...simply because they find her unattractive. Pretty is a scathing satire of gender politics, sexual harassment and toxic masculinity.
2010
Cedarhurst Center for the Arts (Mount Vernon, IL.)
2002
UWM Student Film and Video Festival (Milwaukee, WI) Jury Award