Music fest under fire for selling products to Humans
The organizers of the first annual Beats of Burden music festival have come under fire for creating and selling products that are specifically geared to Human consumers.
At a rally held this afternoon outside the Ancient, Open-Air Theatre, members of groups that aid The Park’s refugees, as well as Park artists and shopkeepers, marched around the theatre, chanting their disapproval of what they call the festival organizers’ “outrageously offensive” decision.
“This is an incredible betrayal,” said Dorika Pumi, who curated The Park’s first art installation at The Park Museum of Contemporary Art. Entitled, “How Much Was That Doggie in the Window?” the installation has been described as “a living, breathing, depiction” of the horror of enforced domestication of Canines by Humans.
“I can tell you honestly that this is the last thing that we, as an organization, believed would ever happen,” said Vizsla Hoover of Runaway Rovers. Hoover’s group, which was involved in the art installation, assists Canines who have escaped enforced domestication.
“After years of working with refugees who have suffered tremendously at the hands of Humans, I am shocked that they [the festival organizers] saw fit to pander to them just for the sake of money,” she said.
Hoover is one of many in The Park’s immigrant and refugee aid community who is calling for the organizers to cease creating products for and selling those products to Humans.
“I looked at the catalogue and the number of products geared to Humans was almost equal to those for Animals,” Hoover said. “It is appalling.”
For their part, the music festival’s organizers say only that they believe many of the products offered for sale can be used by “any species.”
“We have offered a variety of products for sale in support of The Park’s refugee community. We have tried to be inclusive of all species and we believe we have been successful, in that many of these products have universal appeal. We do not, however, believe it is our job to determine which products should be geared to which species. That would undermine our intent, which is to service the Park community across its entire spectrum,” a festival statement said.
Nut Bar becomes PIFF 2013 official sponsor of “Mixed Nuts”
The Nut Bar has assumed official sponsorship of the film version of “Mixed Nuts,” which will have its premiere screening this October during PIFF 2013.
In a joint statement released this morning, The Nut Bar and Lodgepole Productions confirmed that an agreement of sponsorship had been reached.
“We are delighted to announce the collaboration between The Nut Bar and Lodgepole Productions in bringing this wonderful film home to The Park this October. We look forward to having the opportunity to present the film and to interact with audience members during The Park Interspecial Film Festival,” the statement read in part.
This is the first time that the venerable Park shop has sponsored a film.
“We thought it was a perfect fit, so we approached them last year,” said the film’s producer, Victoria Sciurini.
“They didn’t need much convincing, though. It turns out they’re big fans of Millicent [Hayberry, the film’s star] and they’ve been terrific about the whole process. They are a very generous company,” she said.
“Mixed Nuts” will screen at The Park Cinema on Oct 2 and 3, 2013.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival Runs from October 1-5, 2013.
Douglas Cheetah to host “Cheetah Chat” during PIFF 2013
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with film lovers during PIFF 2013.
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with Park film lovers this October during PIFF 2013, it was announced today.
“We are pleased to announce that Douglas Cheetah has agreed to participate in a live chat and Q&A at the Park Cinema, following the debut screening of his new documentary,” PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot said in a statement released this morning.
The chat, which has been dubbed the “Cheetah Chat” will be held live at the Park Cinema but will also be carried online, to allow those not able to attend to ask questions of The Park’s most celebrated director.
Cheetah, who is best known for his controversial 2007 (25 AZ) film, Black Cats Can’t Jump, has spent the last few years working on a documentary about the inner workings of the interspecial family, which he says he discovered exists both inside and outside The Park.
The film, entitled, Clutch, Flock, Litter, Pack: Relationships in the Age of the Interspecial Family, will screen October 2 and 4 at the Park Cinema during PIFF 2013.
The Cheetah Chat will be held on October 2.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
Beasts of Burden unveil poster for upcoming music festival
The Beasts of Burden commissioned this poster for the 1st annual BEATS OF BURDEN Music Festival
THE BEATS GET CLOSER
In a short ceremony yesterday afternoon, The Beasts of Burden unveiled the poster that they commissioned for the first annual Beats of Burden Music Festival.
The Beasts’ lead singer Alfredo Ox said in a short speech that the poster is meant to express two things: the joy that Animals feel when making music and the diversity of music makers in The Park. He declined to name the artist responsible for the poster, saying only that that Animal wished to remain anonymous.
The Beats of Burden Music Festival will be held September 14-16. All proceeds from the Festival will go toward assisting The Park’s refugees.
New rules: PIFF lays down the law before announcing films
Two days before announcing the roster of films that will screen at the 9th annual Park Interspecial Fllm Festival, PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot convened an early morning press conference to announce what she calls “the new rules.”
Exhibiting a no-nonsense attitude, Ocelot read from a prepared statement and then took questions from the media.
In the statement, she confirmed that PIFF 2013 would include a number of items that were introduced last year. Most notable of these was “Noon Nuttiness,” the name given to the practice of screening comedies only between the hours of 12:00 and 2:00 pm at the Park Cinema.
The difference this year, Ocelot said, is that patrons will not be allowed to bring any technological devices into the cinema. Last year, a riot broke out during a Noon Nuttiness screening, when angry protesters stormed the cinema and demanded that patrons hand over their cackle-enabled devices. The devices had been lent to the patrons by cackle’s parent company, GooseBook, so that filmgoers could share their favourite moments with friends.
“We cannot allow the Festival to be overtaken by theft and violence,” Ocelot said this morning. “And as a result, we decided not to renew the device-lending agreement with GooseBook at this time. We will be reviewing this option every year and making our decisions on a year-to-year basis,” she said.
Also returning in 2013 are PIFF Pockets, or pocket films, which are films that do not exceed three minutes in length and that have been made specifically for the Festival. Both pocket documentary and pocket fiction films will be screened at this year’s event, Ocelot said.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of submissions of pocket films this year. The popularity of this category exceeded our wildest expectations,” she said.
Once again, documentaries will make up a significant portion of the Festival’s offerings and, as an aside, Ocelot mentioned that she thought the Hot Dogs documentary category this year was “spectacular.”
The full lineup of films for the 9th annual film festival will be announced on Friday, August 16. The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
“Shoot the Messenger” to open PIFF 2013
George Angus Doo’s controversial and arresting film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) on October 1.
The announcement was made this morning in a statement released by PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot.
“We are thrilled to announce that George Doo’s award-winning film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival. The Festival is very grateful to him for giving us the chance to screen his great film,” the statement read.
The film, which received the 2013 Winkie Award, explores the relationship between Humans and Doo’s own species, the Pigeon.
This is the first film in which Doo has put his own species at the centre. His previous films dealt mostly with underwater crises and desert themes. In an interview last spring with film critic Hernando Gorrión of The Avian Messenger, Doo said he was at first reluctant to use his own species as the subject of a film because he thought the issues were too close for him to be able to see them clearly.
“There is so much conflict, so many emotions on both sides. In many ways, it is a relationship of mutual respect and dependence, yet we have seen too many misunderstandings and far too many deaths,” he said.
Shoot the Messenger will screen at The Park Cinema on the Festival’s opening night, and again on Oct 4.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
Autochthonous art to take root at Park ART Walk 2013
The 2013 Park ART Walk will highlight the art of The Park’s autochthonous Animals, it was announced today.
In a joint statement released this morning, the organizers of the annual Park ART Walk (PAW), the Society of Autochthonous Artists (SAA), The Park’s Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations, and the Founding Families Financial Corporation, confirmed the theme of The Park’s 7th annual Park ART Walk.
“We are extremely pleased that we have been able to work together to bring this focus to the 2013 Park ART Walk,” the statement began.
“While The Park is extremely proud of its immigrants and values the contributions in all areas that they have made and continue to make, we believe that it is time to shine a light on the artistic endeavours, both past and present, of our autochthonous population. These are the Animals without whom there would be no zoocracy and no Park as we know it, the Animals who foraged here first, then forged out of this place a society for others to live in peacefully, based on the values that we all have come to share,” the statement concluded.
Underwritten in part by the Founding Families Financial Corporation, The Park-wide exhibition will be entitled, “From the Ground Up.”
This is only the second time in its history that the Park ART Walk has had a distinct theme. Last year, thanks to a one-time gift from The Archons’ Initiative Fund, the event showcased art as it related to the theme, “INtegration through ART.” The stated goal of that themed exhibition was to “encourage Animals to learn more about species other than their own, so that we can understand our differences and our similarities.”
The 2013 theme, however, appears to have a much less ambitious goal.
“Our exhibit of autochthonous art has no goal beyond appreciation,” says Aintza Kanariar, Director of Public Relations for The Park’s Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations.
The Park ART Walk (PAW) is a one-day, juried art exhibition that showcases the artistic expression of Park residents. The 7th annual Park ART Walk will take place on Saturday, August 17, 2013 between the hours of 10:00 am and 7:00 pm. Showings will take place at participating art galleries, retail establishments, and at the Ancient, Open-Air Theatre. This year’s jury will include curators from the Ewe and Moo and Knochen Kunst Galleries.
Museum confirms addition of library to building complex
The Park Museum will house a library within its building complex, it has been confirmed.
In a statement released today, the Board of Governors of The Park Museum announced that after “extensive consultations” with the Museum’s architects, Fleck + Stone, they were able to alter the original plans for the Museum to include a library that will house books, manuscripts, and musical scores.
In what amounts to an admission of error on their part, the Board of Governors expressed their gratitude to the architects for allowing them the opportunity to “correct an oversight” and to reaffirm their commitment to making the project a comprehensive one.
No mention of extra cost was made in the statement, nor was the matter of further delay addressed.
The Park Museum is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
Beasts of Burden unveil new song for upcoming music fest
Last night, in a rare appearance at their own pub, the Beasts of Burden unveiled their newest song, “Llego Con Tres Juguetes” (“I Arrive With Three Toys”). The band has dedicated the song to the victims of enforced domestication.
Last night, in a rare appearance at their own pub, The Beasts of Burden unveiled their newest song.
As he ascended the makeshift stage at The Draft, lead singer Alfredo Ox motioned to the crowd and asked for silence. Then he took the microphone and made a short speech in which he said he’d dedicated his new song to the survivors of enforced domestication.
“I was moved by the many stories I read about Animals who escaped enforced domestication,” he said. “They’re a different kind of refugee, one that maybe doesn’t get as much attention as others. But since we established our new music festival, the Beats of Burden, to aid all Park refugees, I thought it was appropriate that I write a song about their struggles.”
Then, joined by the other band members, Ox sang “Llego Con Tres Juguetes” (“I Arrive With Three Toys”):
Llego con tres juguetes (I arrive with three toys)
Un muñeco de peluche (A stuffed toy)
Una pelota (A ball)
Un hueso falso (A fake bone)
The song is the story of a Canine refugee who arrives in The Park with no food, family, or friends. His only possessions are the three toys his captors gave him: a stuffed toy, a ball, and a bone.
When the band was done, the cheering crowd clamoured for an encore. But Ox said they couldn’t oblige.
“We’re saving the rest for the fest,” he said, leaving the band’s manager, Ignatius Herder, to reassure the crowd.
“They’ll be back…just not tonight,” said Herder.
Herder also confirmed that all proceeds from the song’s sales will go to charities that assist The Park’s refugees.
