I Can Do Anything!
With Performance by GRCH Camper All-Star Band
Curated by Sarah Gish
Friday, August 24, 7PM (rain date)
Location: Aurora Picture Show, 2442 Bartlett Street
Free Admission; RSVP Kindly Requested
Aurora Picture Show partners with Gish Picks and Girls Rock Camp Houston for "I Can Do Anything!", a rock and roll performance and screening of film shorts by, about, and for kids. As part of the Popcorn Kids series, this night of music and film celebrates children who truly can do anything because they still know how to dream! Before the films, please join us for a special performance by Girls Rock Camp of Houston All Star Band at 7PM. Screening to follow.
From documentaries to animation, these short films will showcase Texas filmmakers, including Austin-based Kat Candler, Houston filmmaker Maureen McNamara, and Houston production company Zenfilm. The program features short films with diverse voices about youth empowerment. In addition to the screening, the night will kick-off with a performance from the Girls Rock Camp Houston All-Star band. Girls Rock Camp Houston is dedicated to empowering girls and women of all backgrounds and abilities through musical education and creative expression at a one-week summer day camp. Aurora is proud to be partnering with GRCH this summer to teach their campers how to create short documentaries of their camp experience.
Special thanks to Gish Picks and Girls Rock Camp Houston for their support of this program. Popcorn Kids programs are made possible thanks to support from IKEA Houston, Whole Foods Market, Target Foundation and Brown Foundation.
The following films are included in this program:
Now U See Me, Now U Don't!, Maureen McNamara
Now u see me, now u don't! Look what i can do when noone's judging, noone's "watching", or when i decide to show my uninhibited self anyway..
Love Bug, 6 minutes, Kat Candler
In this humorous short film, nine-year old Turtle Thompson thinks his bug loving best friend Maddy is the coolest girl in the whole wide world- if only he had the guts to ask her to the Spring Fling Dance. A film by Austin-based filmmaker Kat Candler whose award winning short and feature films have screened at renowned film festivals including SXSW, Slamdance, Tribeca's Kid's Series and Chicago International Children's Film Festival. Candler is a film Lecturer at the University of Texas and Texas State University.
Growing Dreams, 20 minutes, Jane Churchill and Gwynne Basen
Growing Dreams gives an inspirational overview of school ground greening. It shows what kids have done to transform bare pavement into dream schoolyards: growing trees for shade, flowers for butterflies, vegetables for a food bank; building a greenhouse, a rooftop garden and constructing a courtyard pond as an outdoor classroom and refuge for wildlife.
Marvin, 8 minutes, Mark Nute
"Marvin was born with a hole in his head, He wasn't born stupid, he wasn't born dead." Mark Nute's "Marvin," a delightful story of a kid who loses his common sense through a hole in his head, plays like a perverse children's book, and with Steve Coogan's deadpan narration, the surprises keep on coming. The animation perfectly services the clever story, and the music by Jeff Mercel, along with the imaginative sound design, make for a funny and odd cartoon. I'd love to see this with a theatrical audience.
Matthew Doing Weather, 30 seconds, Matthew Buchannen
Matthew Buchanan visits the Weather Museum in Houston.
I Can Make Art...Like Emily Carr, 10 minutes, Jane Churchill
This short film is part of a series entitled "I Can Make Art" and focuses on the work of Emily Carr. In this film, kids examine Carr's unusual world and the inspiration for her haunting landscapes. Drawing on this inspiration, they then attempt to create a giant forest mural on a window in their school. The series is comprised of six short films that take a kid's-eye view of a diverse group of Canadian visual artists.
Roberto, The Insect Architect, 11min, Nina Laden
Roberto isn't like the other termites - he likes to build with wood, not eat it. And so, he sets off for the big city to pursue his dream of becoming an architect.
Live Oak Trees is a music video of the title track from the album "Our Roots are Strong," a cd co-produced by Sarah Gish and musician Leah White in honor of Houston's 175th birthday in 2011. Appearances in the film include Mayor Parker, Dominique Sachsen, Deborah Duncan, Ned Hubbard and Houston Texan football players. SugarHill Studios and Zenfilm created the film with fiscal support from Southwest Alternate Media Project.
ABOUT SARAH GISH
Sarah Gish loves to play the harmonica and drive her stick shift art car, HUBBA HUBBA ART CAR, which has 1,961 hand-painted bottle caps and 7 orange hubcaps! She's a cultural champion who ignites people's lives through her personal, family, and business enrichment company, Gish Creative (www.gishcreative.com). Sarah uncovers the cool in Houston on www.twitter.com/sarahgish, www.facebook.com/gishpicks, www.facebook.com/houstongems and through her blog, Gish Picks: A Guide To Cultural Activities For Families (www.gishpicks.com), and her annual book, The Summer Book®: A Guide To Houston Days Camps and Classes for Kids and Teens (www.thesummerbook.com).
ABOUT GIRLS ROCK CAMP HOUSTON
Girls Rock Camp Houston is dedicated to empowering girls and women of all backgrounds and abilities through musical education and creative expression. Girls Rock Camp Houston is a one-week summer day camp formed in October 2009 to offer girls music and art based workshops. For more information, visit http://www.girlsrockhouston.org/