Editor

2nd Annual chashama Film Festival, The Festival of Worlds
October 22nd - October 26th 2009
Screenings at chashama Theater Space
217 East 42nd Street NYC
www.chafilmfest.com

We are proud to announce the second annual chashama Film Festival. Funded and curated by film director/producer Rick Kariolic, The Festival of the Worlds, explores global expression through film making, while setting the stage for audiences and filmmakers to cultivate the unknown in various cultures. The chashama Film Festival has become a platform for a spectrum of cultural, political, and philisophical ideologies, presented in an environment designed to foster creative and intellectual expansion. The 2008 chashama Film Festival spanned three days and screened fifty-four films from all over the world. This year cFF will screen 80 movies from over 30 countires spanning all seven continents.
Screenings are to take place at The Black Box Theater at 217 East 42nd Street, between Second and Third Avenues. Highlights include Marathon Beirut, a celebration of the resilience and dedication of the 2007 Beirut Marathon amidst the country's political upheaval after the war in the summer of 2006 and the assassination of government minister Pierre Gemayal; Pause Replay, a love story between a camera and a camcorder that investigates issues of watching, memory, love and death and Ein weites Feld (Expansive Grounds), a documentary by a daughter of a Nazi Party member that contemplates German perspectives of the Holocaust amidst the construction of a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.A comedic tale, One Hit Wonder examines a man in his early 30's who pursues his dreams of becoming a rock star after losing his job as a stockbroker; and Dirty Step Upstage, following independent filmmaker Amber Moelter as she shoots a documentary about an up-and-coming singer at the Midem Music Market in the south of France and gets more than she bargained for.
The chashama Film Festival will take place from October 22, 2009 to October 26, 2009 at the flagship chashama Theater Space, located at 217 East 42nd Street, and other theatres to be announced. For complete screening schedule and to purchase festival passses and tickets, please go to: www.chafilmfest.com.
Rick Kariolic(chashama Film Festival Director)Currently directing and producing a documentary on the history of 42nd Street, the multi-disciplined Kariolic has directed and produced many films, ranging from experimental to a feature-length documentary. His imagery focuses on life situations, including the birth of a child or the rescue of a friend, never turning off his humanity or the camera to share in “real time” moments and events through film and photography. In 2006, Kariolic received a space grant from chashama for his exhibition of “paint and shoot” and his photography exhibition “Europe” was shown at the chashama Black Box. Internationally, his works were featured at the BE HERE Festival in the former Yugoslavia at performance venues in Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia in 2004. Born in Chicago’s South Side, Rick Kariolic spent most his time watching movies and dreaming of making his own. Growing up, he often broke his father’s camera trying to get the impossible shot. Despite a humble background and lack of formal artistic education, his deep passion led him to pursue a career in the creative and performing arts.
Our Title sponsor chashama burst on to the art scene over a decade ago with provocative window performances, dazzling pedestrians amid the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan. Founded by Anita Durst in 1995, chashama is an organization dedicated to serving artists in New York City. Durst realized that lack of affordable space was the greatest threat to a diverse, dynamic, and provocative cultural environment in NYC. Her vision was to connect artists with untapped reserves of vacant real estate such as empty storefronts and offices languishing between tenants while invigorating surrounding communities with creative activity. Acknowleding the Festival's potential, chashama grabbed hold of this important medium to enhance their vision and expand into the film realm.
Since its inception, chashama has provided opportunities for performing and visual artists by awarding grants, producing shows and providing subsidized studio, rehearsal, and performance space. chashama has transformed more than 40 locations, giving 7,500 artists access to space well below market rate, which supported approximately 10,000 public presentations for over 500,000 viewers since its inception.
chashama Info: www.chashama.org
Press Reservations or interview inquiries with Rick Kariolic: Please call Michael Martinez, 212-712-7362
Location: chashama Theater Space
217 East 42nd Street
between 2nd & 3rd Ave.

Subway: 4, 5, 6, 7, and shuttle trains to Grand Central