• THE BIRDMAN

    A film by Jessie Auritt

    “With CDs, VHSs and old cassette tapes stacked head high, Rainbow Music is a hoarder’s paradise. However, its quirky owner, known as ‘The Birdman’, knows exactly where everything is. Amidst the Starbucks and Subways popping up on every corner of the East Village, Rainbow Music maintains its mom and pop feel, and is a hidden gem to its patrons. Due to the weak economy, online music sales and pirating, and the changing neighborhood, this charismatic curmudgeon is struggling to sell what he has in his store. Despite these challenges, The Birdman carries on to his own tune.”

  • THE IMPOSSIBLE FAMILY PORTRAIT

    “When Denis left Uganda, the last thing he wanted was to be a stranger to his family. And good news…he isn’t. He still sees their smiles, swaps stories and offers advice, all from eight thousand miles away.

    But getting everyone together for a family portrait? Well, that’s a pretty tall order. So we rang up an artist named John Clang and asked for his help. Not only did he help, he made the miles vanish with a video call and a projector. It’s The Impossible Family Portrait, made possible by Skype.” – Tim Delger

  • PORCELAINIA

    A film by Dave Altizer

    “This is the story of Teacher, Scientist, Artist – Bobby Jaber.

    Bobby is my Great Uncle and for years I have wanted to tell his story. This short documentary film doesnt even scratch the surface of the amount of work and art Bobby has produced. Sit back and enjoy what my family and myself have had all our lives, the artistry and story of Bobby Jaber.

    Learn more about Bobby’s work and procedures to producing his art at http://www.porcelainia.com“

  • PARDON MY DUST

    Directed by Adriel de la Torre

    Pardon My Dust, takes you into a world of art very much unexplored and discovers a unique sketch adventure that has become a very special art form. A canvas, many of us have seen, but never used, Peter Han has transformed into chalk art. Witness Peter’s incredible talent as he discusses how he achieves his calculated art of illustrating, he calls “Dynamic Sketching.”

  • FRAGMENTS OF CHINA

    Fragments of China

    A film by Thomas Blanchard

    “The film “Fragments of China” presents a few minutes the most beautiful moments I have lived in China for 10 days. I was mainly interested in filming the faces of the Chinese, I think it exudes a certain emotion that I can not explain, especially in children. People create the customs of the place they live in, and with all these traditions you can see the country’s true nature. With this film, I wanted to convey the nostalgia I feel now. China is really a very beautiful country.”

  • GET OLD

    Get Old – Hy Snell, 94

    A film by Variable – www.wearevariable.com

    “In March of 2013, Variable was commissioned by Edelman to produce four mini-documentary films along with the print advertisements for Pfizer’s cause-driven campaign; “Get Old”. The purpose of the campaign is to spread positive awareness on aging by showcasing stories that break the mold of the negative pre-conceived notions surrounding the topic. As a team of ambitious young creatives, we thoroughly grasp these negative connotations so we were thrilled to put our energy into a campaign message that we truly believe in.

    The first of four films features Hy Snell, an energetic and awe-inspiring gentleman. When asked how he felt about aging, Hy couldn’t even comprehend why we were interested in the topic. It was as if “age” didn’t even exist in his world. For Hy, “age” has had nothing to do with his joy and contentment in life. His immense passion for creating artwork has kept him moving forward without looking back for over seven decades despite his ongoing battle with failing eyesight. At 94 years-old and a dwindling 5% of his eyesight remaining, Hy continues to find inspiration due to the fact that he is literally seeing things differently every day. This fact spoke volumes to us since it is relatable on so many levels. In summary, Hy truly is a living testament who proves that each road block, as tough as it may seem at the time, can provide tremendous opportunity for growth and prosperity.”

  • BEAUTY

    Melanie Norris shares her passion for finding beauty in people that others may have overlooked.

    “My responsibility as an artist is to convey beauty in people. To find the wonderful side of things that may typically be ignored, or just kind of passed on the street…”

  • CLOSER TO THE SUN

    “The places, faces, and sights of summertime in MA.”

    A film by Stephen Nangeroni

  • THE VIOLA MAKER

    Directed and filmed by Eamon Urtone.

    “Helen Michetschläger has been a maker of fine violins, violas and cellos for over 30 years and I was lucky enough to film Helen create this beautifully decorated instrument over a period of a couple of months.”

  • SUPERCELL

    “It took four years but I finally got it.

    A rotating supercell. And not just a rotating supercell, but one with insane structure and amazing movement.

    I’ve been visiting the Central Plains since 2010. Usually it’s just for a day, or three, or two…but it took until the fourth attempt to actually find what I’d been looking for. And boy did we find it.

    No, there was no tornado. But that’s not really what I was after. I’m from Arizona. We don’t get structure like this. Clouds that rotate and look like alien spacecraft hanging over the Earth.

    We chased this storm from the wrong side (north) and it took us going through hail and torrential rains to burst through on the south side. And when we did…this monster cloud was hanging over Texas and rotating like something out of Close Encounters.

    The timelapse was shot on a Canon 5D Mark II with a Rokinon 14mm 2.8 lens. It’s broken up into four parts. The first section ends because it started pouring on us. We should have been further south when we started filming but you never know how long these things will last, so I started the timelapse as soon as I could.

    One thing to note early on in the first part is the way the rain is coming down on the right and actually being sucked back into the rotation. Amazing.

    A few miles south is where part two picks up. And I didn’t realize how fast it was moving south, so part three is just me panning the camera to the left. During that third part you can see dust along the cornfield being pulled into the storm as well…part of the strong inflow.

    The final part is when the storm had started dying out and we shot lightning as it passed over us.

    Between the third and fourth portions we drove through Booker, Texas where tornado sirens were going off…it was creepy as all heck. And intense.

    I hope you enjoy this. Once thing I’ve learned about timelapsing is that I always wish it would be longer or wouldn’t end. I wish I had been south and been able to record this storm come at me for 45 minutes.

    But I love it the way it is. I wasn’t ever certain I’d see structure like this even though it’s been such a goal of mine. But we did it.

    And by we, I mean myself and my buddy Andy Hoeland, who knows his crap and got us into position so we could chase this storm. Without him along I don’t know if I get this timelapse” – Mike Olbinski