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• Issue #203
• Article

Claudia Kunin had the winning entry, "The Spectre of Memory", in the Experimental Film Category at the recent 2014 BeFilm Festival held in New York City at the end of April. Kunin, a California artist who makes both photographs and short animated 3D films/videos, is an artist represented by Contemporary Works/Vintage Works, an I Photo Central member dealer.

Focusing on the belief that "Shorter is Better", BeFilm, the Underground Film Festival, has become one of the most important short film festivals on the East coast. With films consistently nominated for Oscars both in the live action, and animation categories, BeFilm prides itself for always discovering new talented filmmakers.

The festival has grown and is now in its 11th year, showcasing the best national and international short films in animation, documentary, experimental, spec, narrative, and--since 2009--3D Stereoscopic categories. It provides a cultural and entertaining forum while recognizing and honoring independent emerging filmmakers through a panel of judges from the entertainment industry who reviews the films and gives the awards.

Claudia Kunin said, "The biggest compliment I received after showing 'The Spectre of Memory' were the gasps of astonishment in the dark as the film came to a close. Perhaps it was when people realized that the film had been animated from still photographs. Some people were so moved that they could not speak. Others used the words "magic" and "emotionally profound". Still, I was surprised and humbled to have won the prize for Best Experimental Film at the festival. What an honor!"

You can see many of Kunin's photographs and a short bio here: http://www.iphotocentral.com/showcase/showcase_view.php/24/0/152/1/3/0. They are available in 2-D and 3-D versions. You can see some samples of her short animations using photographs, including vintage ones, here: http://www.claudiakunin.com/ani.html. Be sure to get and put on your 3D glasses for the full effect, although you can easily see the shorts without such glasses.