----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Would you mind passing this on and/or posting to wherever it will get seen: Announcing The 1st Annual Taos Talking Picture Festival and Conference on Media Literacy April 6-9, 1995 in Taos, New Mexico U.S.A. For more information: phone: 505-751-0637 email: [log in to unmask] World Wide Web Site: http://laplaza.taos.nm.us/14.04-Taos_Talking.html The Taos Talking Picture Festival is a multi-cultural celebration of artists, their art, and its audience. The Festival showcases new and diverse independent feature films, documentaries, animation, shorts, student films, and an "open sheet" venue. The Taos Talking Picture Festival should be seen as more than just another film festival. It aspires to serve as a rendezvous where people meet to trade ideas and inspiration in an atmosphere conducive to clear, uncluttered thought; a unique context in which to view and discuss the art of film and media in general in this rapidly unfolding Age of Information. The leadership role of Art, particularly the art of filmmaking, is unparalleled in our society. Films serve as our mentors, influencing personal and political choices that shape the future. The purpose of the Taos Talking Picture Festival is to present a celebration of film which exemplifies and explores this role, and to encourage the literate production and informed consumption of the powerful arts of film and video. In one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world, Taos is a nature-bound community in a high valley at the edge of a great lava plain at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Situated around an ancient Pueblo, it supports three diverse cultures. One can easily glance backwards here at myths and legends of the Indian/Spanish/ American West. Taos is also an international tourist destination, a world-class ski resort and one of America's oldest art colonies. Simplicity and sophistication coexist here. Taos remains a last outpost. Almost remote. The town is still adobe, the countryside still rural. For hundreds of years it has attracted adventurers and artists. And, today, its distance from the anxious post-Modern World gives Taos a powerful mind-clearing quietness. Taos is an ideal place to think through and explore the ethical/technological issues of entertainment and communication in the New Media Age. To this end we are proud to host a 4-day Conference on Media Literacy which will run concurrently with the Film Festival. The Media Literacy Conference, moderated by broadcast journalist Hugh Downs, will open a discussion on how the media influences our thoughts and emotions. Throughout the Festival, producers, directors, writers, and other media professionals will conduct workshops, seminars, and panel discussions dealing with storytelling, independent film production, and media literacy. Please call for more information, and/or check out our Home Page on the World Wide Web. We would appreciate any help you can in getting the word out. If you could pass this on to any listserv or individual who would be interested, it would be greatly appreciated.