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SVA Film, Video, and Interactive Media Festival 2008 San Francisco, CA |
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The Society for Visual Anthropology's annual Film, Video and Interactive Media Festival (formerly known as the SVA Film Festival) has been an important component of the American Anthropological Association's annual conference for 22 years. More entries are submitted every year, and the festival has increasingly attracted international participation and recognition. Featuring a wide variety of subject matter, the festival offerings include work of varying length, styles, and approaches. Festival goers can expect to see everything from the most recent work of well known filmmakers to the new work of student filmmakers and innovative makers of interactive media.
The three and a half day Film, Video and Interactive Media Festival is the SVA's most visible contribution to the AAA membership as a whole. It provides a wide range of benefits to many different people and groups. Filmmakers and interactive media creators are able to share their work and receive disciplinary recognition in a manner comparable to those who present papers. For student filmmakers and other young filmmakers, Festival recognition may bolster their chances for obtaining grants for future projects.
Anthropologists and other attendees have the opportunity to see work that addresses diverse anthropological subjects in ways only visual/auditory media can convey. The Festival creates a venue for conference goers to meet and discuss media with like-minded people. One of the greatest benefits of the Festival is for faculty wishing to become familiar with work that may serve their pedagogical purposes. An outgrowth of the Festival, the SVA web's online keyword search and descriptions of festival offerings can be particularly useful for those teaching classes. Jurists' commendatory remarks on festival award winners and clips of festival work going back two years extend the benefits of the Festival to everyone.
The Festival jury, comprised of anthropologists and film scholars, selects work to be included in the Festival on the basis of anthropological relevance and excellent production qualities. Low budget and shorter works receive the same careful attention given to high budget or longer works. Shorter works are especially welcomed since Festival goers often try to juggle conference sessions with viewing and many conference attendees are searching for work that can be both screened and discussed with students within a class period.
The SVA bestows a number of awards each year, including the Festival's highest recognition, the newly renamed Joan S. Williams Award for Excellence which commemorates the Festival's longtime organizer who retired in 2006. Other awards include: Awards of Commendation, Best Student Work and Best Short Work. In addition, special award categories may be given, including The Jean Rouch Award for collaborative and participatory work. In some years a Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a filmmaker, videographer, still photographer or interactive media specialist whose body of work is recognized for its exemplary impact on the field of anthropology. An annual special awards ceremony is scheduled on the evening of the first day of the AAA's annual meeting where award certificates are presented and short clips of the upcoming award-winning works are screened.
Request for Media Submissions
The 2008 SVA/AAA Film, Video, and Interactive Media Festival will take place during the AAA 107th Annual Meeting to be held in San Francisco, November 19 to November 23, 2008. We continue to welcome interactive media work, and we also encourage short videos, particularly those under 20 minutes in length. DVD submissions for all work are preferred, but they must be in NTSC format.
Registration for all submissions must be completed by April 1 at the AAA Meeting Registration Site, online. Filmmakers and distributors are asked to send a copy of work to be considered to:
These should be postmarked no later than April 1.
American Anthropological Association
Students who are just finishing a film must also register by April 1, but may submit their work up until May 15. Submitted materials will not be returned. Award winners will be notified in the summer and clips of selected films and award winners will be placed on the SVA website.
For further inquiries or questions contact
To see a list of the 2007 films, click here. To see a list of the 2006 films, click here. To see a list of the 2005 films, click here. |
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