FilmNITE on selected Friday evenings from January through April. FilmNITE is an interactive experience where local filmmakers and photographers introduce their work, present their work, and discuss their work with audience participants within the intimate confines of the newly created grotto-like space downstairs at Bahrs Landing. While FilmNITE features local film artists, the subject matter spans local and global themes and ranges from the serious, to the silly, to the sublime. Location Bahr's Landing Restaurant 1 Bay Ave Highlands Borough, New Jersey Local Filmmakers Go UNDERGROUND with Global Themes and Imagery Highlands, NJ is most often associated with clamming, national park beaches, great restaurants, prohibition rum-running, and Marconi’s transmission from the highest point on the Eastern seaboard. Rich in natural beauty and historically significant, Highlands and the surrounding area is also home to many world class filmmakers and photographers. In recognition of this amazing resource, Highlands Borough Arts Council (HBAC) and Bahrs Landing Restaurant will be hosting FilmNITE on selected Friday evenings from January through April. FilmNITE is an interactive experience where local filmmakers and photographers introduce their work, present their work, and discuss their work with audience participants within the intimate confines of the newly created grotto-like space downstairs at Bahrs Landing. While FilmNITE features local film artists, the subject matter spans local and global themes and ranges from the serious, to the silly, to the sublime. This year’s program features world renowned, award winning filmmakers and photographers. The variety of styles and mediums being featured illustrate how film and photography have become an integral part of our daily life and how images represent a universal language. The documentary films, short video vines, and still photography being presented capture and chronicle the mundane and the monumental … and everything in between. The program is rich in diversity, reflecting experiences and issues that transcend time and connect local to global. Collectively entitled Take a Walk on the Wild Side … in addition to featuring a screening of a newly released music video, the program highlights a people’s struggle in the wilderness of West Africa, the intricate symmetry of light fractals found in the wild, life in Wildwood, N.J., and the wildlife in the Antarctic region. Please join us in celebrating these local artists as they share their work and their stories with us at Bahrs Landing, 2 Bay Avenue, Highlands NJ. Friday Jan 30 7 – 9 pm Gill Fickling UNITED NATIONS HUMAN TRILOGY – A WALK IN OTHER PEOPLES’ SHOES From the Solomon Islands, West Africa and Greece – stories of extraordinary people, their everyday challenges and triumphs. Friday Feb 20 7 – 9 pm A LOVE LIKE PI and Gerda Liebmann A LOVE LIKE PI – MUSIC VIDEO SCREENING and VIDEO VINES – CURATING FLEETING MOMENTS Experience A LOVE LIKE PI’s music video. Review multiple short videos and discuss how videos are the modern day electronic diary– capturing poignant moments and transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Friday March 27 7 – 9 pm Carol Cassidy WILDWOOD, N.J. A documentary film focused on working class women and girls in America's last great blue-collar seaside carnival town. Friday April 24 7 – 9 pm Joan Bruno ANTARCTICA ... A LAND OF EXTREMES How the darkest, coldest, windiest place in the world can be an oasis for the intrepid traveler. A detailed description of the films and film artists follows. Gill Fickling Friday, January 30 7 – 9 pm UNITED NATIONS HUMAN TRILOGY – A WALK IN OTHER PEOPLES’ SHOES "Akhtar's Story" Migrating to another country in pursuit of safety and a better life has long been a way of coping with crisis; but for some, the quest can be tortuous and seemingly without end. “The Wood for the Trees" In a remote corner of the Solomon Islands, a land of dense trees once populated by head-hunters, a struggle is underway – how to keep up with the 21st Century, while also protecting a way of life. "People of the Forest" For most of us, owning a passport or identity card is something we take for granted. Experience how the pygmies of West Africa have never been recognized as citizens of their own country. For the past 12 years, Highlands-based film-maker, Gill Fickling, has been traveling the world making films for the United Nations covering issues of UN priority - human rights, climate change, women's health and safety, indigenous people's struggles, and the fight for democracy. The films tell the stories of people's lives and how they are impacted by these themes, their brave struggles for survival and their courage overcoming challenges of the world's forgotten stories. Gill’s films have been shown at Film Festivals around the world as well as at numerous high-level events where global policy-makers are brought together under the UN umbrella. A LOVE LIKE PI and Gerda Liebmann Friday, Feb 20 7 – 9 pm A LOVE LIKE PI – MUSIC VIDEO SCREENING and VIDEO VINES – CURATING FLEETING MOMENTS Music videos blazed the trail for short films fusing the power of music and imagery. Experience the local screening of A Love Like Pi’s Jack and the Giant music video with the band’s founder and frontman, Highlands native Lief Liebmann. Short videos have become a modern day diary – capturing poignant moments and transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Experience how Gerda Liebmann captures fleeting moments and memorializes them through short 1 to 5 minute films. Review several of her films, including the award winning A Line in the Sand and discuss the use of both music and silence in short films. Dialogue will include how passing moments can become eternal and how to create order out of chaos. Formerly from Red Bank, now based in New York A LOVE LIKE PI is an electronic rock band. Their newly released EP, Jack and The Giant, was released through Krian Music Group on November 11th, 2014. Gerda Liebmann was trained in graphic design at the Kunstgewerbechule in St. Gallen, Switzerland. She apprenticed in several top Swiss design studios before moving to the United States. Over time, Gerda transitioned from graphic arts to fine arts and her interests and her mediums expanded to canvas painting, installations, and digital media. Gerda’s work has been exhibited in the US, Europe and Asia and reflects her appreciation of simple beauty and the divine. Carol Cassidy Friday, March 27 7 – 9 pm WILDWOOD, N.J. A documentary film focused on working class women and girls in America's last great blue-collar seaside carnival town. WILDWOOD is the first documentary by Highlands resident Carol Cassidy, who co-produced and co-directed. Critics called WILDWOOD “hilarious and heart-breaking.” Filmed 20 years ago, WILDWOOD, NJ won festival awards and played on international television. It sparked Carol Cassidy’s continued multi-media work in social justice issues, especially those of concern to women and girls. Carol Cassidy is a multi-media director, producer, writer and editor who specializes in international human rights. She has worked in war zones, refugee camps and disaster areas in countries including Burma, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Bolivia and Peru. Cassidy has worked with the UN, BBC, PBS, CNN, Human Rights Watch and many others. Carol’s work has screened at art museums, film festivals and on international television. She is the author of GIRLS IN AMERICA, a book of interviews based on her documentary film series focused on adolescent girls. Cassidy also produces video biographies for families who want to capture and share life stories. Joan Bruno Friday, April 24 7 – 9 pm ANTARCTICA ... A LAND OF EXTREMES How the darkest, coldest, windiest place in the world can be an oasis for the intrepid traveler. Join local globetrotter and extreme traveler Joan Bruno as she shares her captivating photos, video clips and insights of her multiple trips to the ever changing Antarctic. From preparation to penguins ... appreciate how weather, weight, and wonder dictate what to pack. Re-live the transcontinental navigation with ships, ice-breakers and zodiacs. Traverse the tundra from Snow Hill Island to the Ross Sea and Ice Shelf. And yes, get a bird's eye view of Joan’s wildlife photos of seals, whales, and penguins - one of which was published in the 2014 National Wildlife Federation calendar. Joan Bruno holds a doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology and has dedicated her professional career to working with severely speech-impaired children who rely on the use of technology to communicate. In her spare time Joan pursues two passions - travel and photography. She has journeyed across the seven continents, visiting Antarctica and the Sub-Antarctic on several occasions. She seeks out destinations where she can explore and experience unique cultures, remote environments and amazing wildlife. Photography provides her the challenge of capturing some of the incredible sights she see, to create images that spark a range of emotions in others. ABOUT HBAC Highlands Borough Arts Council HBAC mission: Improve the quality of life in Highlands Borough by helping the arts to flourish. For more information on HBAC including a listing of events and upcoming programs, please see our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/highlandsborough.artscouncil or email us at highlandsartscouncil@gmail.com. Highlands Borough Arts Council (HBAC) is a committee of Atlantic Highlands Arts Council (AHAC), a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. This program is made possible in part by Monmouth Arts through funding from the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State Council the Arts.
