ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Paramount TheatreEndowment Fund for Excellence

THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE

Built in 1930 at the beginning of the Great Depression, Abilene’s landmark Paramount Theatre has a rich history both in the world of cinema, and the lives of the citizens of West Texas. Originally an atmospheric movie palace, designed by David Castle and financed by local entrepreneur H.O. Wooten, the theatre has been the entertainment destination for the region for the past 85 years.

Fully restored and renovated in 1987, the theatre was given a new life as a live entertainment venue as well, and is now host to thousands of patrons each year for live concerts, ballet, opera, musical theatre, private events, and much more. The Paramount Film Series, now in its 28th year, screens the best of classic and modern cinema in the opulent atmosphere of this prized facility. The Paramount is a member of the League of Historic American Theatres and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information about the theatre’s diverse programming, or for information about renting the facility for your next event, visit the Paramount Theatre website:

www.paramount-abilene.org

www.infinity-prints.com Dr. Jay and Nancy Capra

Melody Hunt Hunt Direct Marketing

OPENING NIGHT PROGRAM

Broken GroundFriday, November 6, 2015 7:00 pm

“If you yourself are not a victim, you cannot see the world as the victim does.” —Russell Banks, Cloudsplitter

Billy the Kid Director: Sam Johnson Narrative United Kingdom 15-year old cowboy Billy finds it particularly hard to fit in at a new school.

Temêpte Sur Anorak Director: Paul Cabon Animation France A storm reached the shores of Brittany, and two young scientists get caught up in the chaos.

Mend and Make Do Director: Bexie Bush United Kingdom Documentary/Animation A woman’s memories of her wartime youth come alive through everyday household objects.

Listen Directors: Rungano Nyoni, Hamy Ramezan Narrative Denmark/Finland A woman in a burqa flees to a police station to file a complaint against her abusive husband.

UFO Director: Gregory David King Narrative New Zealand A young boy needs to get to his real family up in space before his human family destroys him.

Roar Directors: Stuart Langfield, Dylan Rekert Narrative Canada A family divided by age and pride comes to terms with a promise made many years ago.

Milkmaid Director: Agnes Baginska Narrative/Experimental Australia/Poland A tale of a milkmaid who becomes a medium for the forces of nature.

Oh Lucy! Director: Atsuko Hirayanagi Narrative Japan/Singapore/USA A 55-year-old “office lady” in Tokyo is given a blond wig and a new identity by her English teacher.

Discipline Director: Christophe M. Saber Narrative Switzerland A father’s discipline of his disobedient child causes chaos in a neighborhood corner store.

Bendito Machine V: Pull the Trigger Director: Jossie Malis Animation Spain An exotic traveler finds himself in the middle of a turbulent conflict.

The 10 films that make up the Opening Night Program are presented under the title “Broken Ground.” They are from 13 different countries, and all explore victimology and the power of human connection and compassion. Filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has said that “Innocence can be more powerful than experience.” Sometimes our own innate sense of humanity can be the most powerful of weapons. What separates us is what makes us human. Our individuality, like a fingerprint or a sequence of DNA, is what defines us from the hour of our birth until the moment of our death. Of course, we try to alter this reality. We twist and turn and contort the paths of our lives to try and bend this destiny to our own will. Ultimately, what

makes us unique is what makes us special. Most of us spend our whole lives struggling to reach this conclusion. The “human” in humanity is derived from the acceptance of this realization. It is extraordinary how much power simple acts of compassion and selflessness can yield. This program begins with Billy the Kid, a film whose central character refuses to yield his sense of self worth and individuality in the face of terrible odds. It concludes with Discipline, a film that explores just how distorted our world has become as we stray farther and farther from this simple path of honor and compassion. The challenge is to learn how to respect beliefs that are not succinctly our own. The power comes from accepting the simple fact that we are all different, yet all of us are human. --Barry Smoot 24fps Festival Director

A bout This Program

MATINEE PROGRAM

WISE BLOOD

Saturday, November 7, 2015 2:00 pm“What are our stories, if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears?”

—Wally Lamb, I Know This Much is True

La Propina Director: Esteban Crespo Narrative Spain An encounter between a movie star and a flower delivery boy ends unexpectedly.

El Pescador Director: Alejandro Suarez Lozano Narrative Spain/China/USA A fisherman’s luck changes when he catches something that is not of this world.

Inaudible Director: Gints Zilbalodis Animation Latvia A trumpet players loses his hearing and struggles to adapt to a new life.

Maxiplace Director: Vincent Diderot Narrative France Mr. Leduc lives in a strange building where any tenant can move walls to steal space.

On / Off Director: Thierry Lorenzi Narrative France An astronaut faces a paradoxical condition in order to stay connected to his humanity.

The Samaritans Director: John Bryant Narrative USA A salesman faces the most difficult and important negotiation of his life.

Teeth Directors: Daniel Gray, Tom Brown Animation United Kingdom/USA/Hungary The life of a misguided and intensely focused man is chronicled through his oral obsessions.

The River. My Brother, Me Director: Timothy Jacob Elledge Narrative USA A young man reveals the crux of his family’s ruin in search of something left behind.

Er Und Sie Director: Marco Gadge Narrative Germany When Thomas’ girlfriend dumps him, his life takes an unexpected turn.

Tracks Director: Logan Sandler Narrative USA An amateur skateboarder is left to take care of his girlfriend’s young daughter.

The 10 films that make up the Matinee Program are presented under the title “Wise Blood,” and represent artists from 8 nations. The program begins with a quote from I Know This Much is True, Wally Lamb’s revelatory novel about facing our fears and finding a path forward. At the heart of this program is Freud’s “return of the repressed”: the more we try to deny who we are the more we become what we fear.” In our modern times, we all face the immediacy of our actions. In the age of instantaneous communication, words, more than ever before, become weapons as often as they lend comfort. So often our fears, not our hearts, dictate the outward expression of who we are.

My life, from an early age, was defined by dysfunction--not because of conflict or division, but because of a series of tragedies that were beyond my control. My grandmother, the anchor of that life, always told me that, "when we show the world our faces, what they see cannot be the sum of our fears. It must be the proof that we can triumph over them." This program is filled with work from artists revealing, in ways both touching and difficult, the challenge of this journey. In his film The River. My Brother, Me, filmmaker Timothy Elledge lays bare one of those moments we all will face in our lifetime. He shows us that grief will always give way to grace if we stand in triumph over that fear, and choose to move forward into a light that reveals our faith and the promise of who we are. --Barry Smoot 24fps Festival Director

About This Program

BOUND

Saturday, November 7, 2015 7:00 pm“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every

kindness, we birth our future.” —David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Madam Black Director: Ivan Barge Narration New Zealand When a glamour photographer runs over a kid’s pet, he’s forced to fabricate a story to cover it up.

The Last Train Home Director: Ansgar Glatt Narrative Germany A savage encounter on a subway train dramatically alters the lives of both bully and victim.

Dead Hearts Director: Stephen Martin Narrative Canada A young mortician gives his heart away to find true love.

Pig Director: Steven Subotnick Animation USA The pig is everything.

Whale Valley Director: Gudmundur Amar Gudmundsson Narrative Denmark/Iceland The bond between two brothers is tested by an event that marks a turning point in their lives.

Anthophobia Director: Valentin Petit Narrative/Experimental France Anthophobia: A morbid dislike or even fear of flowers.

CLOSING NIGHT PROGRAM

Baby Director: Samuel Aaron Bennett Narrative USA Naomi has a problem, and the vodka in the hotel mini-bar may not be the answer.

The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul Director: Kitty Green Documentary Australia Girls in war-torn Ukraine audition to play the role of champion figure skater Oksana Baiul.

Fridge Director: Pepe Botias Narrative/Animation Spain The cycle of a relationship as seen from the inside of a refrigerator.

Safari Director: Gerardo Herrero Narrative Spain What starts out to be an ordinary day in an American high school, will be a day like no other.

World of Tomorrow Director: Don Hertzfeldt Animation USA A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.

About This Program

The 11 films that make up the Closing Night Program are presented under the title “Bound,” and represent 9 different nations. Simply put, it is a program about connection. It begins with a quote from David Mitchell’s time-bending novel Cloud Atlas. Mitchell asks us to consider that we are bound to each other, that our lives are never fully our own because with each “crime and every kindness” we determine our future. In a world that seems to be constantly dividing and sub-diving along lines of religion, politics, aggression, human rights, racism, respect for authority, and even basic human equality, what is the end? We can no longer survive by escalating our isolation. We can no longer lead if hate-filled rhetoric is the calling card of those who announce themselves as “our leaders."

The films on this program all challenge us to recognize that we are, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, bound to each other as a human race. Turning our eyes away from each other will only, in the end, lead to our own spiritual blindness. --Barry Smoot 24fps Festival Director

THE DIRECTORS

2014 Best Director Moon Molson—The Bravest the Boldest

USA

Samuel Aaron Bennett Baby

Logan Sandler Tracks

John Bryant The Samaritans

Don Hertzfeldt World of Tomorrow

Timothy Jacob Elledge The River. My Brother, Me

Valentin Petit Anthophobia

Vincent Diderot Maxiplace

FRAN

CE

Steven Subotnick Pig

The 24fps International Short Film Festival extends congratulations to the 35 directors of this years’ Official Selection Films for their exceptional work.

Paul Cabon Storm Hits Jacket

Thierry Lorenzi ON / OFF

SPAI

N

Gerardo Herrero Safari

Jossie Malis Bendito Machine V

Esteban Crespo La Propina

Pepe Botias Fridge

Ansgar Glatt The Last Train Home

Marco Gadge Er Und Sie

Gints Zilbalodis Inaudible

LATV

IA

Christophe M. Saber Discipline

AUST

RALIA

DENM

ARK/

ICEL

AND

Gudmundur Amar Gudmundsson Whale Valley

Stephen Martin Dead Hearts

Stuart Langfield, Dylan Rekert Roar

Gregory David King UFO

Ivan Barge Madam Black

UNITE

D KIN

GDOM

Sam Johnson Billy the Kid

Bexie Bush Mend and Make

GERM

ANY

NEW

ZEAL

AND

Kitty Green The Face of Ukraine

CANA

DASW

ITZER

LAND

Rungano Nyoni, Hamy Ramezan Listen

DENM

ARK/

POLA

ND

Alejandro Suarez Lozano El Pescador

Agnes Baginska Milkmaid

The Festival Poster Image Artist

TRAVIS LAWRENCE is an artist influenced by Jungian psychology and mythology. He uses the art of printmaking to present archetypal figures iconically composed of symbol and allegory. The iconic figures play the role of emblems of contemplation, and contain symbolic references to a deeper transcendental meaning. By embracing a sense of mystery, the viewer is allowed to invoke his or her own metaphorical interpretation. Travis uses traditional relief printmaking, but continues the post-printing process by uniquely staining the paper and hand coloring each individual print. He received

his BFA in Printmaking from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri. To learn more about Travis and his work, visit: www.infinity-prints.com.

The 2015 Submission FieldFor our 2014 edition, the 24fps International Short Film Festival received over 6,0000 submissions from around the globe. From this field, the thirty-one Official Selection films on these three programs were chosen.

This project is supported by a grant from the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council the City of Abilene and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

AUST

RALIA

/POL

AND

Atsuko Hirayanagi Oh Lucy!

JAPA

N/SI

NGAP

ORE/

USA

Daniel Gray, Tom Brown Teeth

SPAI

N/US

A/CH

INA

UK/U

SA/H

UNGA

RY

THE 2015 JURY

REMOTE PANEL Juried privately in select cities

Cameron McHarg (Jury Chair, independent actor, writer, and director, Los Angeles) Jordan Jacques Aboutboul (Row and Jack Productions, Palma De Mallorca, Spain)

Josh Wroe (Row and Jack Productions, Madrid, Spain) Ran Barker (Retired producer--Warner Bros, Burbank, California)

Dustin Reed (Co-founder Buried Films, Producer at Red Hot Organization, NYC) Gadi Elkon (Entertainment critic, writer. and blogger, Dallas, Texas)

Robert Leeper (Robert Leeper Media, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas) Dean Nolen (Actor, theatre acting/directing chair, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas)

Kyle Smith (Writer, director, KD Conservatory, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas) Robert Vaughan (Writer, producer, award-winning photojournalist, Austin, Texas)

Bhavesh Patel (Freelance producer/editor, Austin, Texas) Barry Smoot (24fps Festival Director, Paramount Theatre Artistic Director)

LOCAL PANEL Juried privately in the Paramount Theatre

Nil Santana (Jury Chair, professor of Art and Design, Abilene Christian University) Betty Hukill (Paramount Theatre Executive Director) Debbie Manns (Center for Contemporary Arts)

Nancy Capra (Artist, Paramount Theatre Board of Directors) Casey Huff (Arts advocate)

Lori Sims (Freelance artist, musician) Richard Transki (Costume designer)

Randy Davis (Arts advocate) Sara McKnight (Paramount Theatre)

Kyle Dickson (Associate professor of English, Abilene Christian University) Twig Capra (Visual Artist)

Grayson Allred (Paramount Theatre) John Mark Lapham (Musician, composer)

Daniel Latham (Abilene Behavioral Health, TSTC ) Janet Van Vleet (Entertainment critic, blogger)

The festival awards determined by the 2015 24fps Jury will be presented at the end of the Closing Night Program.