((L-R) Worry With You, B!TCH, Just Like Them | Photos courtesy of BendFilm)
BendFilm announced that a new category for Music Videos has been added to the 18th annual BendFilm Festival, running October 7-17. BendFilm will host a hybrid in-person and virtual festival and will present more than 40 feature films, 75 short films and ten music videos. Tickets are on sale now for the in-person presentation on Saturday, October 9 — view the online stream of the Music Video program and all festival events at BendFilm.org.
The music videos in this year’s program showcase a wide range of formats and styles including found footage, video college, VHS 8mm, 16 mm and illustration. The themes explored in the music videos include love, gender fluidity, self-exploration, self-realization and the sacred connection between musicians, filmmakers and all creators.
Selin Sevinc, BendFilm Head Programmer, said, “Expanding our festival categories means we get to formally broaden our recognition of storytellers of all immersive mediums. We relish the opportunity to celebrate the role film and music play together to captivate, create a sense of place and invite audiences to dream. We look forward to sharing this new category with ten beautiful, soul-baring videos.”
The Music Videos selected to screen at BendFilm 2021 are:
B!TCH by Freak Daddy featuring Daisha McBride
Directed by Kyle Dorfman
Pioneering trans male musician Freak Daddy grabs the music industry by the throat in this power-packed allegorical music video for his latest single B!TCH featuring rapper Daisha McBride.
Clearing | music by Dolphin Midwives
Directed by Devin Jane Febbroriello
Working within the theme of the song, the video poetically portrays a process of release from abuse, control and disempowerment as a result of the confines of the Patriarchy in order to embody a regenerated sense of empowerment
Cute | music by Kevin Knapp featuring Baby Luck
Directed by Baby Luck
A celebration of all bodies; a loud and bold-ass declaration that we are all cute, we are all enough, right now, just as we are.
Just Like Them | music by MOsley WOtta
Directed by Jesse Locke
A study “in color” illustrating the lines we must draw and the rules we are soul-bound to break.
Midnight Sun | music by Deaf Telepathy
Directed by Doone Lupine Williams
Reflecting the song’s lyrical theme questioning the realness of one’s own memories, Midnight Sun’s music video is akin to peering through an old dusty View Master into a past that never truly existed.
The Painter | music by Harry the Nightgown
Directed by Noah Gavrich
The painter paints what could have been.
Reputation | music by Chaz Matador & Hadrian Shmadrian
Directed by Estevan Muñoz
A bullet train of tragedy descends upon Chaz Matador after deciding to fake his own death to boost his album sales.
Ritualistic Funerals | music by Mike Meyerz
Directed by Kevin Daniel Lonano
A spooky black and white Ed Wood tribute with a punk/black metal twist.
Song For Our Times | music by Ellington Peet and featuring Emelia Austin
Directed by Ellington Peet
A reflection on a period of time that was a monumental experience for some and an utterly inconsequential drag for others.
Worry With You | music by Sleater-Kinney
Directed by Alberta Poon
A young couple struggles to find happiness while stuck inside their claustrophobic home.