DIVA announced the 2012 Teen Video Challenge Competition winners with a screening and awards ceremony on Saturday, April 14th at the Bijou Theater in Eugene. 

The festival’s Jury was please to recognize two first place winning videos this year. Festival Director Steve Newcomb made the awards before a packed theater.

South Eugene High School student Jordyn Roach won a $200 Jury First Place award for her claymation film Jovial Giraffes – a short video in which inanimate objects spring to life from a young boy's sketchpad. Jordyn also won a $50 Audience Choice award.

Adrian Tujillo also won a $200 Jury First place award for his video The Trumpet Player – a story about a young street musician who has a very special talent. Adrian is a student in Springfield’s Academy of Arts and Academics.

University of Oregon Cinema Studies major Samantha Stendal won the $100 Jury Third Place award for her film Diseased in which, after, an alarm rings, Ryan’s race for survival begins with the diseased close at his heels.

More at  http://teenvideo.proscenia.net/

April 14th - Teen Video Challenge - BIJOU!

Join us at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 14th to celebrate the screening of DIVA's 2012 Teen Video Challenge Competition at the Bijou Theater - 492 East 13th, Eugene. Admission is free but seating is limited.

Each year DIVA (The Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts) calls for Lane County teens ages 13-19 to submit video work that is reviewed by a panel of video professionals and educators. Winning videos will be awarded certificates and cash prizes at this year’s event.

This year 16 videos representing a wide range of film themes will be screened and include animation, documentary, music video, and narrative film categories.

The Teen Video Challenge, established in 2003, is the youth division of DIVA’s OpenLens Festival. It is funded, in part, by grants from the Oregon Media Production Association and the Lane Arts Council and is dedicated to celebrating the work of young filmmakers throughout the county.

More: teenvideo.proscenia.net

Behind The Lens Seminar Begins April 3rd

The Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA) hosts "Behind the Lens", a weekly film seminar that explores the relationship between classic feature films and the culture in which they appeared. The Seminar is offered to the community in collaboration with the University of Oregon Arts and Administration and Academic Extension programs.

Each week a single film is screened and discussed.  The host, Tom Blank, is a retired film and television director, who brings illuminating insights to the history of Hollywood and International film production.

All films begin at 7:00 PM and are followed by a lecture, discussion and question and answer period.  The duration of each session varies by the screening length of the film. Screenings take place at the UO Baker Center at 7:00 PM. The Center is located at 325 East 10th Street, Eugene. Free parking on site.

Tues. April 3. "Crossfire" (1947) Director, Edward Dmytryk; Writer, John Paxton (86 minutes). Plot: A man is murdered in a New York hotel room by, apparently,  one of  three soldiers just out of the army. Cast:  Robert Young and Robert Mitchum. 

Click2See full Spring schedule and how to register.

First Friday Art Walk - New Exhibit At DIVA

Join us during the First Friday Art Walk on April 6th for the opening of Window Seat - The Art of the Circle Field by James W. Earl. Opening/reception hours: 5:30 - 8:30 PM. Click2Read more online.

LCC Gallery 3 Points North

LCC High School Art Show

DIVA Member Shannon Hardin Offers Workshop

Register: Clay Space at 541-653-8089

Pre-Festival Film

April 27-29, 2012
Bijou Art Cinemas  
Eugene, Oregonwww.disorientfilm.orgPre-Festival Film
Great Grandfather's Drum 
April 13, 2012  7:00pm;  The Shedd
FREE
Feature documentary "Great Grandfather's Drum" celebrates Japanese American culture and history in Hawai'i.  It is an inspiring century-long story of struggle and success in the great American tradition; of harsh labor on the plantations, internment and patriotic heroism during WWII, asserting civil rights, and helping to establish statehood for Hawai'i.  The story unfolds through an intimate and joyful portrait of Maui Taiko, a contemporary Japanese American drum ensemble, descendants of plantation workers, and by elders who lived this history.  Kay Fukumoto and her family formed Maui Taiko to continue the tradition of Obon Taiko music brought to Hawai'i from Fukushima, Japan by her great grandfather and others a century ago.  Ms. Fukumoto is one of the first Japanese-American woman taiko performers in the US.  The film connects history to the lives of people living today, and includes Maui Taiko's performances on the giant drums.  We travel with Maui Taiko on a heartfelt journey back to Fukushima to seek their ancestral roots, to return the music brought from this region of Japan to Hawai'i so long ago.

Anselmo Villanueva
Executive Director

Dis-Orient Film Festival

On March 21st at 9:30 AM, the Regional Arts & Culture Council will present its State of the Arts report to the Portland City Council in Council Chambers at City Hall.

 

Joined by CAN and complimented by a series of brief yet powerful testimonials and performances, RACC will celebrate the cultural, economic and educational benefits of the City's investments in the arts while offering a powerful reminder of the critical need to restore arts and music education in our schools.

 

Now more than ever, we must show our strength as we lay the groundwork for CAN's proposal to establish a new public fund for the arts and arts education in Portland.

 

Join us March 21st to make it clear that arts, culture and creativity are your priority in 2012. RSVP now at rsvp@theArtsCAN.org.

 

Learn the basics of creating improv, story telling, and comedy sketches. Instructor, Katina Andoniadis mixes old-school improv technique with new-age rapid fire comedy skills to create a lively atmosphere. Develop your comedic muscles, create comedy sketches and improvised stories. Beginners and experienced performers welcome. Enroll online. 

View KVAL news report video.

Katina Andoniadis is a member of DIVA's OpenLens Festival planning committee.