Join MFA Photography, Video and Related Media as its class of 2014 presents their narrative and experimental video work. There will be drinks and snacks before the show, so come check out the latest creations from this flock of video artists.
This event is free and open to the public.  For student work and more details, visit: mfaphoto.sva.edu/thesis/2014.
Ellen Silverman
My Roots Lie Here
32 minutes
Ellen Silverman presents four elderly Cubans who are fiercely attached to their homes. The film treats the homes as characters which reflect each individual’s personality. It is their homes that keep them alive and provide continuity from the past into the future.
Jessica Azizi
Hello, Begu
15 minutes
Jessica Azizi explores the bombardment of mixed cultural messages that second-generation Iranian Americans live with and the conflicting behaviors and fantasies that result. “The overarching story,” Azizi asserts, “is one of impossible assimilation.” Hello, Begu, which combines an English greeting with the Persian, “say it,” expresses her characters’ dual identity.
Angelle Myers
Legacy
23 minutes
In Legacy, Angelle Myers explores the illustrious history of Harlem as the center of African-American achievement in the twentieth century. In presenting interviews with three Harlem elders, she seeks to merge modern storytelling methods with ancient oral traditions. Myers aims to inspire African-Americans to understand the urgency of documenting soon-to-be-lost memories.
Barry Salzman
It Never Rained on Rhodes
30 minutes
Five hundred years ago, the Jewish community on the Aegean island of Rhodes was formed in response to the Spanish Inquisition. In 1944, 1,673 people were shipped to Auschwitz from Rhodes, the farthest locale from which the Nazis deported Jews. Six months later when Auschwitz was liberated, only 151 of Rhodes’ Jewish community survived, and none returned home. Barry Salzman, whose maternal grandparents were born on Rhodes, traveled to five countries to meet 22 of the 45 survivors who are still alive and 300 of their descendants.
Cristin Hughes
Blind Spot
10 minutes
Appropriating material from mainstream movies, Cristin Hughes investigates the sexual aggression toward women that lies just beneath Hollywood’s sheen.
Chenliang Cai
Six Dreams About a City
25 minutes
Employing animation and historical footage, Tiger Cai’s film depicts five short phantasmagoric dreams of an unknown city, which seem to occur in the mind of an imprisoned white American. The film is Cai’s response to his loss of faith in China, where he was raised, but it offers no solutions from his current American perspective.