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INFO
PRESS RELEASE (for past event on 6/17/05) For the past five summers, Clevelander Matthew T. and Los Angeleno Marcel DeJure presented their 20,000 Leagues Under the Industry Film Festival to discerning film fans of not only Northeast Ohio, but also filmgoers in L.A. and Pomona, California. By 2004's fest, what had begun as a modest one-day affair at the now-defunct Speak In Tongues had grown into a full-blown weekend extravaganza at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, featuring not only a staggering array of independently lensed, financed and distributed films but also rock bands, puppetry, and other performances. But to keep things fresh, summer 2005 will be a bit different. This year, the 20,000 Leagues juggernaut is teaming with MOCA Cleveland to kick off the latter institution's annual MOCA Mix summer series. On June 17, this year's mini-festival, FEVER DREAMS, presents a spring-themed collection of over 30 short films to an al fresco crowd, as MOCA transforms itself into an outdoor theater around sunset. According to 20,000 Leagues, FEVER DREAMS is planned to celebrate not only the "return of summer to the North Coast" but also "visually stimulating works of media from outside of standard industry constraints." The soundtracks to the films will be broadcast over an FM band via a low-wattage transmitter, which will be akin to the drive-in movie experience. "We encourage the audience to bring their own radios, and comfortable seating such as chaises-longues, beach chairs, bean bags and blankets," 20,000 Leagues says. "The goal is to create a beach-party feel for the screening." The films comprising FEVER DREAMS are culled from the 20,000 Leagues catalog, showcasing works of considerable impact, whether aesthetic or emotional, introspective or just entertaining. 20,000 Leagues comments, "We see this event as an opportunity to unite our fan base with that of MOCA Cleveland, not only to deepen the impact of such a screening by presenting film in an atypical environment, but to expand both of our organizations' influence on the arts in Northeast Ohio." With that in mind, the panoply of filmic adventure has been planned to range from musings on culture, to the influence of culture on music, to the amusing cult-like community of independent film itself. Music videos from the likes of I Am The World Trade Center, and Negativland with R Room, mingle with James Kochalka Superstar's "Monkey Vs. Robot", and meet the ongoing exploration of Bloodhag's ongoing Puget Sound Library tour whose "The Faster You Go Deaf, the More Time You Have to Read" expounds upon their "edu-core" philosophy (it involves heavy metal). Light-hearted animation, works of audio-visual collage, aesthetic explorations, devolutions and works by award-winning filmmakers all will be trotted out, as well as a healthy dose of puppetry. Following the screening on Friday evening is a new performance by Los Angeles-based puppet troupe The Cinnamon Roll Gang, BEACH BLANKET BABYLON, incorporating hand puppets and large "protest-style" puppets upon which images will be projected. Marcel DeJure, co-founder of 20,000 Leagues and founder of The Cinnamon Roll Gang, also will present a puppetry workshop for young people at MOCA Cleveland, in connection with FEVER DREAMS and in partnership with MOCA Cleveland's education department, on Sunday, June 19. "The arts community in Cleveland is always pushing forward," observes Matthew T. "It's in times like these when it's important to remember that you can't wait around for someone to do things for you. We can entertain, but we can also prove that you make your own community."
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