On April 3, SCM Digital Media Associate Professor Beverly Peterson and Filmmaking Assistant Professor Karl Nussbaum will be taking nine students from the school to Cuba to participate in the biannual International Video Art Festival of Camag\u00fcey. The event, which will run until April 10, features the latest Cuban and international experimental video creations and also provides participants and the general public with an opportunity to explore the city and exchange ideas with artists, curators, art students and academicians openly and spontaneously.<\/p>\n
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In advance of the trip, two acclaimed Cuban filmmakers, Jorge Luis Santana P\u00e9rez and Diana Rosa P\u00e9rez Leg\u00f3n (featured above) returned to Montclair to be interviewed by Peterson\u2019s class on February 21. The two filmmakers had previously visited the school in the spring of 2015. According to Peterson, \u201cThe visit to my class also exposed my Documentary students to experimental documentary work.\u201d After that, Leg\u00f3n premiered a short documentary at the Film Forum that evening. <\/p>\n
Jorge Luis Santana P\u00e9rez is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and founder\/president of the FIVAC, International Video Art Festival in Camag\u00fcey, Cuba. He is a Member of the National Guild of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and also the founder and director of the cultural center CEDINM in Camag\u00fcey. He has been exhibiting work since the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
Diana Rosa P\u00e9rez Leg\u00f3n is a film director and producer at FIVAC, International Video Art Festival in Camag\u00fcey and also a member of UNEAC. She has been directing and producing documentaries, short films and video art installations since the early 1990s. Diana premiered a short documentary at the Film Forum on February 21.<\/p>\n
In an interview in The Montclarion from April 2015, Peterson spoke about the impact the visit by Santana and Legon had on her students back then. Her comments are equally pertinent this year as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an educator, it was fantastic to see my students so inspired by Leg\u00f3n and Santana\u2019s visit to our class,\u201d said Peterson. \u201cIt is exciting that the Global Education program here at [Montclair State] is playing an important role in this historic opening dialog between two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
In advance of the trip, the students and faculty who will be traveling, will participate in an orientation event in Schmitt Hall sponsored by Wendy Gilbert-Simon of Global Education on March 1.<\/p>\n
One of the students who is inspired, is filmmaking sophomore Peter Chapman. Chapman, along with senior Will Monahan, will be showing his film at the festival. \u201cThe name of my piece is \u201cThe Strings of Things.\u201d It\u2019s a short silent film that tells the story of a young man who struggles with substance abuse.\u201d Chapman adds, \u201cI have been extremely honored to have my film screened at an experimental film festival in Cuba this April.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chance to go visit such a unique place such as Cuba is extremely exciting to me. It\u2019s been on my bucket list,\u201d says Chapman.<\/p>\n
Even the adults are excited about the visit, Nussbaum especially, who notes that he is the instructor of the school\u2019s experimental film class, and two of his students, Chapman and Monahan, will be screening films at the festival. Nussbaum will also be showcasing one of his works.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be going to screenings, workshops, participating in panel discussions, and making invaluable connections. I\u2019ll also be taking a reel of my students\u2019 work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nussbaum echoes the excitement of his students. \u201cIt\u2019s my first trip to Cuba, and I am really looking forward to it. What makes it more exciting is being part of a film festival. I love the dynamic of screening work for an audience and getting their feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peterson will be making a return trip to the festival, having participated in the festival in the spring of 2015, when she showcased her work.<\/p>\n
During Peterson\u2019s initial visit to Cuba, she screened her transmedia documentary, \u201cWhat Killed Kevin.\u201d This time, she will be showcasing a new experimental Virtual Reality documentary experience called \u201cMemory Rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, it\u2019s a little different, as Peterson notes. \u201cWe’re really excited about taking our students to Cuba to expose them both to a new culture that has been closed to Americans for decades.\u201d <\/p>\n
For almost 60 years, the United States had imposed a commercial, economic and financial embargo against the country, making communication and travel more difficult for both Cuban and American citizens.<\/p>\n
Only in 2009 did President Barack Obama begin to ease constrictions. In January of 2015, the policy of d\u00e9tente had become much more lenient, allowing open travel to Cuba for Cuban-Americans and selective visas for students and missionaries. Santana and Leg\u00f3n are only two of the several artists allowed \u201cartist visas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cuban trip will provide a lifetime of memories to the students and faculty, but the trip augurs well for a far broader warming of the relationship between the United States and the Caribbean nation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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