Hi Frameworkers! I have a brief (and very early!) enthusiastic note to deliver to all FLEXfest lovers. I've been working with Roger Beebe (FLEX founder and artistic director 04-'13) and Alisson Bittiker (with FLEX since '05 and artistic director '13 - '16) on reviving FLEXfest here in Florida. We are in the very early stages of moving the festival to Tampa, FL. I'm aiming for a call for entries sometime this coming May for a festival in spring of '19 in the Tampa/ St. Pete area.
FLorida EXperimental !! I remember the first ever evening of FLEXfest programs in Gainesville put on by Roger (and Jodie Mack, Maggie Tuttle, Lisa Danker, and the original FLEX team) back in 2004. Growing up in rural Florida, that first FLEXfest seriously changed my life. Rob Todd's STABLE, Bill Brown's MOUNTAIN STATE, and (definitely!) Christopher Harris' RECKLESS EYEBALLING were all eye and brain-opening standouts from that first night of programming. The last evening of programs that year kicked off with ALTITUDE ZERO by Lauren Cook and THE ART OF KNOWING by David Gatten. In between those bookends were juror screenings by Naomi Uman and Tony Gault. I volunteered in '05 (Deborah Stratman, Bill Brown, and Scott Stark) and in 06' - the first time I ever fucked up a Ben Russell film projection, but not the last... actually, it was BR's fault. But the hits from that evening were the Craig Baldwin juror programs. In recent years, I've been involved in some other programming work - spent lots of time with Bryan Wendorf working on Chicago Underground (CUFF), three large-scale Luther Price exhibitions in Vermont, NYC, and Chicago. I ran a rag-tag, unofficial screening series in Bennington, VT. And about three years ago, I toured the New England Home Movie Tour. http://www.newenglandhomemovietour.com/ and other independent curatorial adventures. The FLEX revival is in its infancy but I wanted to put the word out now to spark some excitement and interest. I'm thrilled and motivated to keep FLEX rolling. It was a very NEEDED public program in Florida and I know there are dozens of people on this list that encountered their first truly alternative/ counter-cultural cinematic gems in Gainesville, Florida thanks to FLEX, Roger, Alisson, and company. Tampa and the surrounding area are in need of and primed for a culture revolution here too. Hopefully, other revolutions to come! more soon... the very warmest from Tampa, FL... Warren Cockerham
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