Guest Artist Filmmakers

RICHARD MYERS
 
Myers was the central impetus of the Kent State University Experimental Film School in Kent, Ohio from the late '60's to early '90's and is particularly known for his 1970 film Confrontation at Kent State, which he filmed in Kent during the week following the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970; it is an important document of the period.

Myers began to produce independent films in the early 1960s. Many of his films are highly personal, with non-narrative or loose narrative structures derived from his dreams. Although some films (as, for example, his 1993 film Tarp) feature no actors at all, instead focusing entirely on inanimate objects, most films feature nonprofessional actors and are produced on very small budgets.

JOHN COHEN

The fact that John Cohen has been labeled a "Renaissance man," doesn't detract from the perception of his art as something which emanates directly from his own personal vision. Although it has the appearance of a "documentary style" it reflects his own viewpoint as a visual artist

Cohen's body of work has been recognized in a wide range of fields: his photographs are in major museum collections and publications, documenting icons -- both celebrities and traditional peoples. His award winning films have been shown on PBS and BBC and at festivals worldwide. The sound recordings of the New Lost City Ramblers have received several Grammy nominations, and, along with his field recordings, have influenced many musicians - including Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Ry Cooder - and shaped the old time fiddle music revival.

John will be showing three of his short film works The High Lonesome Sound  (1963) and The End of an Old Song (1972) both which are poetic depictions of life among the rural poor and the last of traditional Appalachian folk music makers and a sneak preview of his newest work, Roscoe Holcomb: from Daisy Kentucky.  After the screening, Cohen will be joined by Brady’s Run for a live music presentation.

MARI-LYNN EVANS
 
Mari-Lynn is a made-in-Akron filmmaker and the President of Evening Star Productions, the producers of Coal Country that takes a dramatic look at modern coal mining. The film depicts working miners along with activists who are battling coal companies in Appalachia -- both share a deep love for the land, but MTR (Mountain Top Removal mining which has leveled over 500 Appalachian mountains) is tearing them apart.

Mari-Lynn was executive producer on the American Public Television series The Appalachians as well as executive producer for health and children’s programming for PBS and the FOX Health Network.

JOSHUA GIPPIN

Joshua Gippin was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. He studied cultural anthropology and made his first documentary, The Raised Machete: Farmworker Voices from Ecuador, as part of his masters project. It was then that Joshua reinvented himself as a documentary filmmaker. Instead of moving to New York or San Francisco, he and his future wife moved back home to Akron in 2004.

Joshua produced The Grizzled Wizard: A Motion Portrait of Junk Artist P.R. Miller in 2006. In 2008, Joshua premiered God as we understand Him: a film about faith and the Twelve Step movement on Western Reserve PBS. In 2009, Joshua premiered The Bubba Briefs, a documentary about his grandmother.

Joshua believes that his calling in life is to help others produce their own documentaries about their families, a concept that he calls Heirloom Media, which will be the topic of his discussion.
To see Joshua’s portfolio, visit:

TED SIKORA

Ted Sikora is a Cleveland based artist who creates movies, musicals, and comic books. His feature film directorial debut Hero Tomorrow has shown in festivals all over the world; and he is currently producing an ongoing comic book series featuring Cleveland's first super-hero entitled "Apama - The Undiscovered Animal"

HERO TOMORROW
David, a struggling comic book creator from Cleveland, spends his days cutting grass and his nights smoking it while desperately trying to keep his superhero fantasies alive. When Robyn, his aspiring fashion-designer girlfriend, makes him a Halloween costume of his original character Apama, it doesn't take David long to hit the streets and begin blundering towards disaster.