A/V Dorks

Last year Michelle Hempton worked with the MFAH for her third A/V Swap Film Project. The first two years were underground events in a movie theatre after they closed for the night (not that I remember which one) with rowdy crowds who packed the aisles and cheered and jeered like they owned the place. That same crowd filled the Brown Auditorium downstairs last year, and the overwhelming response (as well as the films) encouraged both organizer and institution to consider it a resounding success. This year is back to the ad-hoc ways (maybe), after the MFAH film department balked at actually paying Michelle for the work that went into the program- so she's gone free agent again.

The A/V Swap is collaborative project that juxtaposes artists; filmmakers trade compositions with musicians and vice versa. The resulting pieces are sympathetic or antagonistic in turn- one techno song transforming its numbing effect on one filmmaker's ears into static shots of a stopwatch counting down punctuated by a disheveled man sneering "If you think I'm going to take this for another minute, you've got another thing coming." -to which the audience roared with laughter. Another film, an 8-bit Microsoft Paint-looking holdover from the Nineties, was dropped into the hands of Frank Olsen (former lead singer of Amish Acid Dealer) who put the audience through the ringer with a scorching noise-thing that sounded like The Locust; he also mangled the video through three or four digital conversions into a flashing glitchy orange horrorshow- he just hated the video is all. Also included is a well-produced and kitschy tribute to Pak's Convenience Store on Alabama, a horror flick by Stephanie St. Sanchez and Circles (my film!) with a sweet folk song soundtrack. Sometimes participants play both sides of the ball, making one film for a soundtrack and a soundtrack for another video. Check out last year's highlights at the release of the long-awaited DVD this Sunday-

Everyone is invited to the A/V Swap DVD release party
this Sunday at Poison Girl at 4 pm! It will be really fun
and low key. Plus, I will also be giving information about
this years swap. Hope to see everyone there.

Poison Girl
1641 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77006

(713) 529-9929