"Jack and Middy Retire"

SF State Master of Fine Arts graduate Chelsea Walton aims to educate others about the media and its influence through images in her four-minute animated film “Jack and Middy Retire.”

In the film, Jack and Middy desperately want to see the weather forecast on the news. As they sit and wait for the forecast a storm draws near that disrupts their satellite reception. The television shorts out and static fills the screen - causing them to be drawn into a world controlled by the media.

Walton, who will be teaching an animation class at SF State this fall, said her cautionary film deals a great deal with symbolism. The storm, she added, represents society’s fixation upon buying the best and newest technological products.

“It’s a dark comedy about people’s reliance on technology,” she said.
Walton, who created the film for her graduate thesis at SF State, said she is excited to have it play on campus. She screened the film at the Exploratorium in San Francisco in February and now she said she wants students to have a chance to see it.

“I heard about the film festival from a classmate and thought it would be a good place to have my film viewed,” said Walton.

The animation in the film is unique and intentionally themed for the movie. Despite technological advances in film, Walton still drew it by hand.

“It gives it personality when you hand draw (the film),” she said.
Walton said that through making the film, she wanted to make the audience realize that life is not about acquiring material possessions.

“I don’t think you need the latest and greatest for a quality life,” she said.

"Generation E"

An experienced raver and volunteer for a rave advocacy group, "Dance Safe," SF State Cinema graduate Le Sheng Liu made “Generation E,” a documentary that traces the federal government’s battle against a drug-drenched rave scene.

Liu’s documentary focuses on the federal R.A.V.E. Act of 2003, which makes it a felony to organize or operate events where illicit drugs are available. It makes it easier to prosecute property and business owners who fail to prevent drug use committed by customers and people on their property.

Liu’s film addresses his concerns about how the new law hurt the rave scene, as promoters fearful of prosecution stop putting on events.

“After starting my cinema degree, I thought it would be fun to interview activists, ravers, DJs, rave promoters, youth advocates, and local government officials about raves,” Liu said.

As a supporter of raves and youth culture, Liu said he does not believe that shutting down raves will help to keep kids safe and drug-free.

“We need to still embrace youth cultures and allow dance music to be played,” Lui said.

Liu said he has wanted the film community to view his work so he could get feedback.

After showing the film at UC Santa Cruz in March of 2005 for a Drug and Society course, Lui said he was glad that SF State students will now have a chance to view it.

“I like showing my work on campuses and colleges because they can relate to the subject,” Liu said. “I want my work to have an influence on how college students deal with youth in the future.”

Liu is now working on a new documentary, “Golden Mountain,” which focuses on attempts at legalizing medical marijuana in the United States. The film also highlights the differences and similarities of how America deals with drug use compared to China.

Liu said he considers himself an activist and he hopes to try and change society’s laws surrounding drugs and raves.

"The Mpassa: A Second Chance"

Joel Lawrence Holzman, who earned his master’s degree in visual anthropology at SF State, created a 32-minute documentary, “The Mpassa: A Second Chance,” after living in Gabon, Africa where he studied and filmed seventeen orphaned gorillas.

As part of his thesis project, Holzman spent five weeks observing the infant gorillas, whose parents had been killed by poachers. All of the gorillas Holzman studied - who ranged in age from seventeen months to seven years - were learning to live alone after being re-introduced to the wild.

“I became interested in studying primates and physical anthropology,” said Holzman, who graduated from SF State in 2003 after two years spent serving in the Peace Corps.

Holzman worked with Project Protection Des Gorilles, a gorilla sanctuary that helps reintroduce orphans back into the wild.

Holzman said that by the end of his visit in Gabon the gorillas were so comfortable with him that he was able to take close-up photos. He said that when he looked into their eyes he could sense their intelligence.

The film displays the 24-hour-a-day-commitment the sanctuary workers have for the gorillas - who have been given a second chance at life and creating families.

This will be the first time Holzman’s film will be shown at SF State.
Holzman’s next adventure will take place in South America, where he will be studying and photographing birds in Peru. Holzman said he will also travel through the Amazon to the coast of Brazil.

“I want to take advantage of the opportunity,” Holzman said of his global travels.