Fast, easy and disposable. That's the way our generation wants most things in life, and thanks to new ways of capturing moving images (webcams, point and shoot digital cameras, and cell phones, to name a few) and the rise of online distribution outlets (YouTube, Google, MySpace), that's the way we create movies, too.

But that doesn't mean they have no intrinsic value. Saturday night's Disposable Film Fest '08 is a direct response to our viral video-loving culture, and, according to festival organizers Eric Slatkin and Carlton Evans, seeks to demonstrate "how these new technologies can be used for artistic purposes."

The back story: Filmmakers (both pros and amateurs) were invited to make videos using disposable cameras, and upload the results to YouTube. For the first screening on Saturday night, they narrowed down the pool to selected shorts from four countries that run the gamut between narrative, documentary and abstract films. Ishai Setton, an alumni filmmaker who participated in our Art in Motion gala back in December, will be screening the piece he shot on a Nokia Nseries that night!

That footage you got of your best friend struggling to navigate the aisles at Safeway to find a cure for her vicious hangover? Probably more potential blackmail than art, but who knows, you might be the next Lev Yilmaz. Either way, tap your inner Garbage Pail Kid and celebrate the rise of disposable film at this first-ever fest!

Artists' Television Access is located at 992 Valencia Street; the screening begins at 8 p.m. and there is a suggested donation of 3 to 10 dollars.

- Caroline Stanley

Similar Topics:festival, film

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