Optic Nerve Film Festival Returns to MOCA Tomorrow

Alexa Gerrity, "Marked by Mercury"

Tomorrow night, the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami will once again host Optic Nerve, a film festival of inventive short films produced by up-and-coming artists. A total of 16 films were chosen by experts in the local film and art world out of 271 submissions sent from across the nation to MOCA. As in years past, the program -- screening only twice on Friday night at the museum -- should offer a dynamic viewing experience.

The films for this 14th installment of the mini film festival offer a diversity of genres as well as styles, from a comedic tribute to the fluxus movement (Hillerband + Magsamen's "Whole", 3 min.) to plays on the horror genre (Lee Hunter's "Last Night," 1 min, 14 sec.). "Whole" promises a "new kind of 'suburban fluxus' that recontextualizes objects and possessions to challenge presumptions of the everyday." Meanwhile, "Last Night" is a "voyeuristic short film inspired by the horror film genre."

The series of films also feature local talent. Carmen Tiffany of Hollywood, Florida, is represented by "The Accident" (4 min, 36 sec.), a heavy commentary on social expectations that begin with toys and media manufactured for the pleasure of children. Juan Carlos Zaldivar of Miami Beach has contributed "Shift" (5 min), which offers a surreal tale of "a character born from a tree, who has his face stolen by a wild dog."

The films at Optic Nerve 14 offer a mix of live action and various forms of animation. The works even include video collages and, most likely, other forms of out-of-the-box experimental abstractions.

Optic Nerve 14 will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 770 NE 125th Street, North Miami, and is free with museum admission ($5 adults; $3 seniors and students with ID; free for MOCA members, North Miami residents). Space is limited. Reservations are required. Call 305-893-6211 or visit www.mocanomi.org.

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