There is nothing quite like curling up in a theater under a giant silver screen for a shared experience. The laughs are louder, the scares are bigger, and you're definitely not the only one crying. If you love a good movie or just need an excuse to gobble buckets of buttery popcorn, the Blackbird Film + Arts Festival is exactly where you need to be!
This year's event will feature amazing independent short films from around the world, as well as movie trivia, mediation mornings, a red carpet event, free film screenings, and more, April 11-14 at SUNY Cortland and throughout downtown Cortland.
WHAT IS BLACKBIRD FILM + ARTS FESTIVAL?
Founded in 2015, the Blackbird Film + Arts Festival celebrates and supports independent filmmakers from around the world, striving to curate an inclusive festival atmosphere where experienced professionals and first-time filmmakers can strike up conversations and perhaps take something away from one another.
WHERE IS THE EVENT?
The film screenings will take place at 22 Graham Avenue, Cortland. SUNY Cortland's historic Brown Auditorium Theater has been home to the Blackbird Film Festival since renovations were completed in 2018. The theater seats 500 guests comfortably and boosts a 25' screen with 5.1 surround sound. Located on the main floor in Old Main, the space is perfect for creating the inclusive festival atmosphere Blackbird is known for.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Movie screenings are FREE to the public! Parking on campus is also free throughout the weekend. Select activities may require a fee to participate.
FILMS & MAKERS
The 2024 Blackbird Film Festival features 103 films organized into 15 unique screening blocks curated around themes, stories and styles. Each screening block is approximately 70 minutes and typically includes 6 - 8 short films ranging from 1 to 30 minutes. Each block will screen in the Brown Auditorium Theater on SUNY Cortland's campus. As always, Blackbird film screenings and events are FREE and OPEN to the public.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING?
Along with film screenings, the event will encompass:
BRU 64 Cafe Kick Off Thursday, April 11 at 8pm; join Blackbird at BRU64 for our 2024 Kick-Off Party and get pumped for a weekend full of new experiences! Talk all things cinema over brew and food with this year's creators, writers, directors and makers. Get the inside scoop about what it really takes to make a film.
Cafe Meet-Up Friday morning, at 10am, join Blackbird back at BRU64 to caffeinate and chat with visiting filmmakers and festival guests over brews and bagels.
Film Trivia Lunchathon So, you think you know a thing or two about movies? Or, maybe you just really like a good lunch. Either way, the Hollywood Restaurant is the place to be on Friday, April 12, at noon. Munch, lunch and laugh with festival goes and contributors alike.
Red Carpet Reception Put on your best dress (or dashing duds) and join in on the BlackBird Red Carpet Reception to celebrate the 2024 Blackbird Film Festival with style alongside appetizers and a cash bar on Friday night at 8pm.
Sunrise Meditation Put a little OM into your Saturday morning with a guided meditation session to start the day and find inner peace. Stretch and sway with filmmakers at SUNY Old Main from 8-9am.
The BlackBird Film Fest is a collection of short films geared towards adults. The Friday afternoon block opens with a hefty dose of girl power! The evening block is a collection of movies that will make you feel all the feels. The film themes range from sentimental to educational on Friday night, focusing on altruism, intimacy, vulnerability and social issues. Friday night is for thrills! There's the crime, those who try to intervene, and the punishment for everything in between in this funky mix of films after dark. Expect lots of twists and turns and a few good scares. Not for the faint of heart.
Saturday morning starts on a lighter note, highlighting poems, journals, and lyrics- words in all forms. Words are powerful tools used to communicate, express, and bond this block of films. Enjoy the sweet sentiments before the next block takes a more morbid turn. Saturday afternoon's films explore the darker side of life- death. How will the ones we love carry out our last wishes after we're gone? Characters in this block are struggling to figure that out. This is followed by a Family Dynamics film block where our parents are our parents and our siblings are our siblings, and the characters in this heartfelt mix of films must come to terms. You might consider bringing a box of tissues to go with your popcorn. Saturday evening gets a little spicy, but only if you say so. The characters in these films want to (or need to) talk about sex in this important collection of stories about consent. Followed by a block of unavoidable bad guys. Every day for the characters in these films is a nightmare as they struggle to break free from the monsters living under the same roof.
Sunday morning begins with a celebration of all things nature. Humans are strange, and nature is powerful. This diverse mix of films will take you on a wild ride! Sunday's second block features another type of struggle. Aliens, immigrants, and refugees are all just people trying to do their best for their families in this emotional block of films. Got a case of the Sunday carries? So do these folks' Anxiety. Stress. Fear. Nonstop pressure from all directions at all times in this Sunday afternoon block! For characters in these films, it's all become a bit too much. The film fest goes out with a bang with a hauntingly beautiful last film block. They may be dead in these films, but they are far from gone. In this collection of shorts, deceased loved ones stick around for a while longer.
Each block finishes with a brief Q&A, where you can directly ask the writers and directors about their films!
MORE INFORMATION
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