ImageMakers
Despite their prevalence, many short films are rarely seen in the United States outside of film festivals. ImageMakers, KQED’s 15-episode, half-hour weekly series, provides a forum for these entertaining and thought-provoking works. The second season of ImageMakers debuts at 10:45 PM Sunday, April 18 on KQED Public Television 9, and continues every Sunday evening following Masterpiece Theater (exact times may vary).
Each ImageMakers episode allows viewers to see, in most cases for the first time, short narrative works by emerging moviemakers who could become the next Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola. The films represent a wide array of genres and include some of the most creative comedies, cutting edge animation and gripping dramas produced by independent filmmakers today.
ImageMakers includes works from student filmmakers, local and international filmmakers, and first-time Hollywood directors. In addition to films from the United States, the series features shorts from Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Scotland. Each episode of ImageMakers groups films together around a central theme or topic. Episode titles include: “Waking from a Nightmare,” “Love and War,” and “Life is One Big Roller Coaster Ride.”
The series’ Web site, www.kqed.org/imagemakers, offers detailed descriptions of each episode, links to each filmmaker’s Web site, and opportunities for viewers to leave comments, vote for their favorite films and view some of the films again on the Web.
ImageMakers is a project of KQED’s Independent Initiative, created in 1999 to provide exposure and a voice to independent filmmakers who would not otherwise have an outlet on mainstream broadcast media. In the past year alone, KQED aired more than 250 works by independent filmmakers. ImageMakers’ series producer is Scott Dwyer.
ImageMakers has been made possible in part by a grant from Maurice Kanbar, celebrating the vitality and power of the moving image. Mr. Kanbar’s gift was made through a grant to KQED’s Campaign for the Future.
