The Syracuse International Film Festival’s Spring Fest 2017, celebrating filmmaking in New York state, is Friday, April 21, through Saturday, April 23, at the Palace Theatre, 2384 James St. in Syracuse.
The full weekend of films begins on Friday at 6 p.m. with a gala fundraiser featuring musician Samite Mulondo, a reception and silent auction, and screenings of two films: “Queen of Katwe,” the true story of a young Ugandan girl who becomes a world champion chess master, and “Song of the Refugee,” a documentary following Samite’s return to his home country of Uganda to share his music and message of hope. Tickets for the evening—available at the door—are $75; $25 for the film and Samite performance only; and $10 for students. Advance sale tickets are available online.
For Saturday and Sunday, single-film or single-film-showcase tickets are $10. A one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday is $20. A full festival pass (admission to all films on Saturday and Sunday) is $40. The “Film Fans Special” is two full festival passes for $65 (a savings of $15 over the regular two-day price). Students and children under 17 are free when accompanied by an adult.
Saturday’s films begin at noon with “Beyond the Silence” by William Michael Barbee (fiction, 2016, 100 minutes). Two screenings are scheduled for 2:15 p.m.: “Grey Matters” by Ramona Persaud (documentary, 2016, 45 minutes) and “Turn the Page” by Linda Moroney (documentary, 2016, 60 minutes).
A series of short films will be shown at 5 p.m.: Carlton Daniel’s “Monogamish” (drama, 2106, 14 minutes); Ted Limpert’s “My Sister Mosy” (drama, 2016, 10 minutes); “Workplace Woes: Scavengers Among Us” by Michael Pizzano (comedy, 2016, 14 minutes); “This Is Not a Love Song” by Ursula Ellis (drama, 2016, 10 minutes); “For My Lovers” by Grace Cannon (drama, 2016, 10 minutes); “Crawling to Paradise” by Daniel Masciari (drama, 2016, 18 minutes); and “I Love NY” by Christian Vogeler (comedy, 2016, 11 minutes).
At 7 p.m. are Carrie Mae Weems’ “Surveillance” (experimental/documentary, 2016, 13 minutes) and Julie Cohen’s “American Veteran” (documentary, 2016, 75 minutes), winner of the Panavision Showcase.
At 9:15 p.m., “Metamorphism” by M.B. Padmakumar and Murali Chand (drama, 2015, 97 minutes) will be shown.
The day concludes at 11:30 p.m. with “Navigators of the Shadow Ring” by Jacob Dodd (comedy/drama, 2015, 45 minutes) and Steve Silver’s “The Watchtower” (drama, 2016, 56 minutes).
“American Veteran”
Sunday’s films begin at 1 p.m. with Carrie Mae Weems’ “People of a Darker Hue” (experimental/documentary, 2016, 15 minutes); “Impervia” by Patrick Devaney (sci-fi drama, 2017, 34 minutes); “Photoreceptor” by Jeffrey Newel (experimental, 2017, 4 minutes); “Dual Projection” by Avery Herzo (comedy, 2016, 12 minutes); “Rose Colored” by Brittany Wait (drama, 2016, 12 minutes); and Brad Riddell’s “Ten More” (drama, 2016, 11 minutes).
“A Program About Journalism and the Struggle of People” begins at 3:15 p.m. and features seven films: “Remembering David Carr” by Stu Lisson (documentary, 2015, 28 minutes); “America Heard: Refuge of Hope” by Yasmin Mistry (documentary, 2016, 5 minutes); “Sanctuary City” (documentary, 2016, 7 minutes); “Our American Family” by Serge Stambolyan (documentary, 2016, 9 minutes); “Before the Wave” by Molly Willows (documentary, 2016, 24 minutes); “Soup for My Brother” (documentary, 2016, 10 minutes); and “Otheró:kon: Under the Husk” by Katsitsionni Fox (documentary, 2016, 27 minutes).
The festival concludes at 5:45 p.m. with Sam Avery’s “Glimpse” (drama, 2016, 10 minutes) and Kevin Baggott’s “Mad Full of Dreams” (drama, 2016, 88 minutes).
Click here for descriptions of all of the films.
Spring Fest 2017 is presented by the Syracuse International Film Festival with the support of Onondaga County, CNY Arts, Le Moyne College, Panavision, Syracuse University and Visit Syracuse.
