Black Mariah Film + Video festival

The Black Mariah Film and video festival is back in town (West Hartford, at the University of Hartford this Wednesday and Thursday 2/16&17, 7:30pm, to be exact). Actually, we could say back in CT, as this will be the only showing of these works in the state, and only one of three scheduled showings in New England.

What the heck is a Black Mariah? Rather than reinvent the wheel, the opening paragraph on the festivals website says:

Since 1981, the annual Black Maria Film + Video Festival which takes it’s name from that of the world’s first motion picture studio built by Thomas Edison in 1893, has been an international juried competition and award tour, has been fulfilling its mission to advocate, exhibit and reward cutting edge works from independent film and videomakers. The festival is known for its national public exhibition program, which features a variety of bold contemporary works drawn from the annual collection of 50 or more award winning films and videos.

One can find the tour schedule here

Each of these showings is individually curated, so a selection of winning works will be shown. Superstar professor and video artist Gene Gort will present the evenings screenings.

I have sporadically attended these showings since, ummm, well never mind that. Let's just say history shows this to be an interesting and rewarding experience.

Admission is $6, free for those who can whip up a student ID. The movies start both nights at 7:30pm. Screening is in The Wilde Auditorium, located inside the Harry Jack Gray Center. Since the University of Hartford is rather poorly marked, a campus map is here