SUNDAY, April 15

Chuck Statler:
Acknowledged as the "godfather of music video," Minneapolis-based director Chuck Statler balks at the moniker – "In Minneapolis I might be, but you can trace it back to film clips in Europe in the 1960s. So it well preceded me." Still, Statler became one of the first directors to put film to music when he hooked up with fellow Kent State alums Devo to produce the seminal "Jocko Homo" and their version of "Secret Agent Man." He would go on to direct pieces for Elvis Costello, Madness, Prince, Suicide Commandos, Cars, Pere Ubu among others in his usual playful, inventive style – at times reminiscent of the Dada film works of the 1920s. Interestingly, Statler also directed a short clip of American Splendor author Harvey Pekar’s The Last Supper (see Saturday screening of American Splendor at the Byrd). The subject of recent retrospectives at the Baltimore Film Festival and Sound Unseen (Minnesota) in 2004, and the Museum of Modern Art (New York) in 2006, Mr. Statler is a true pioneer who established a lexicon for the music video. Don’t miss his shows Saturday, April 14 at 12:00 noon at the Byrd, and 8:00 p.m. at 1708 Gallery!

John Porter:
Toronto filmmaker/performer John Porter has made over 300 films since 1969, including 70 solo shows and over 500 screenings world-wide, and is an icon in the super 8 world. A throwback to the era when cinema projections were pure magic, Porter denotes a sharp distinction in the term "filmmaker" – he shoots and projects only film originals, as each film is itself personal and unique (absolutely no digital tape!) Known too for his "film busking" contraption, a portable projection system that Porter often takes to the streets with his shoulder-mounted projector aimed at a translucent screen to the delight of passersby. In 2000, he received a grant from the Canadian Commission for the Arts, for which he completed Memory Rings, a series of 360-degree pans from heights in various American and Canadian cities. A true original, don’t miss Mr. Porter’s show on Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Firehouse Theatre.

Jeff Krulik:
Award-winning D.C. director of Heavy Metal Parking Lot (shot at the Capital Center before a Judas Priest concert), Obsessed with Jews (Top 10 Jewish films of 2000 – J. Hoberman), and Hitler’s Hat (American G.I. steals Hitler’s top hat), Jeff Krulik has become one of our premiere documentarians. His trademark? Humor, curiosity, compassion and a real empathy for his lively, extremely likeable subjects. Krulik puts his faith in his subjects, and in a way, the whole human race, and there’s never a letdown. Meet Mr. Krulik on Saturday, April 14 at 10:00 a.m. at the Byrd after the screening.

Laura Browder:
The writer/producer of Gone to Texas: The Lives of Forrest Carter, Dr. Laura Browder is an associate professor teaching playwriting in the creative writing program at Virginia Commonwealth University, and is a graduate of Brandeis University. She is also the recipient of several grants including the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the author of plays and three books, including Slippery Characters: Ethnic Impersonators and American Identities. Join Dr. Browder for a Q&A after the screening on Sunday, April 15 at 1:30 p.m. at the Firehouse Theatre.

David Williams:
A perennial JRFF festival favorite, David Williams will present his fifth feature, Kawashima’s Curve, as a work-in- progress. An associate professor in VCU’s Film Department, he has been making films since the late seventies, and his work has been screened at the Sundance, New York and Toronto Film Festivals. In 2003, Mr. Williams was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship. Meet Mr. Williams on Sunday, April 15 at 5:30 p.m. after the screening.