Arts organization at Syracuse University sponsors public premier of locally produced film on Jan. 25

Arts organization at Syracuse University sponsors public premier of locally produced film on Jan. 25January 09, 2002Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Point of Contact, a not for profit international arts organization sponsored by Syracuse University, is presenting the public premiere of “Prisoners of Freedom,” a feature film about a World War II refugee center in Oswego, N.Y. at 7 and 9 p.m. Jan. 25 at Hoyts Carousel Center Cinema. A $10 donation to support the film’s production costs will be collected at the door.

The film uses a dramatized documentary style to explore the experiences of the 982 European refugees who lived at the Fort Ontario emergency shelter in Oswego during World War II. The film features 12 of the original refugees and more than 180 Central New York actors, artists and musicians.

The film blends voice over narration, archival photographs of the camp and its inhabitants, interviews with camp residents and recreated dramatic events, bringing to life the complex and often contradictory feelings of the refugees who were trapped between liberation and imprisonment.

“Prisoners of Freedom” was directed by Owen Shapiro, director of the film program in the Department of Art Media Studies in SU’s School of Art and Design, College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). Shapiro recently won a 2001 Chris Award in the Columbus International Film Festival for his 30-minute video “Prisoners of Freedom: Greta’s Story.”

The film was written by Thomas Friedmann, VPA adjunct instructor; and Lester Friedman, adjunct instructor in SU’s Institute for Sensory Research in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. The film’s executive producer was Toni Meltzer. The film’s original score was composed by Andy Waggoner, associate professor in SU’s Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music; and Jonathan Dinkin of East Syracuse. Cinematography was by SU alumni Alex Mendes ’01 (VPA) and Aurelio Guzman ’01 (VPA).

Major funding for the film was provided by Syracuse University, the Syracuse Cultural Resources Council, the Syracuse Jewish Federation, the New York Council for the Arts and numerous private and foundation resources.

Point of Contact, Inc. receives support from the University’s Division of International Programs Abroad, The College of Visual and Performing Arts and The College of Arts and Sciences.