Red Light Roastery presents Low Key Arts' 16th annual ARKANSAS SHORTS - A WEEKEND OF SHORT FILMS!, taking place January 6-8, 2023 at the Malco Theatre in downtown Hot Springs National Park. Full festival schedule announced and tickets on sale soon.
Did you know that Low Key Arts has launched a year-round film school in downtown Hot Springs? Come see what Inception to Projection is all about with our open house reception alongside Gallery Walk, Friday, Nov 4th, 5:00-9:00 PM. Hot Springs is full of stories and we are here to tell them! Inception to Projection is on track to facilitate the production of roughly 100 short films a year right here in downtown Hot Springs while launching careers for many emerging filmmakers within the region! Come see what all the excitement is about!
YOU ARE INVITED Inception to Projection Open House Friday, November 4, 2022 5:00-9:00 PM 620 Central Suite 2E FREE!
Refreshments will be served and Inception to Projection short films will be available for viewing on-demand.
WHAT IS INCEPTION TO PROJECTION? Inception to Projection is a hands-on filmmaking program that trains participants to write, direct, produce, and edit their own original short film. At the conclusion of the program, the students publicly screen their film at the highly anticipated film festival Arkansas Shorts - A Weekend of Short Film hosted by Low Key Arts.
Low Key Arts is extremely pleased to announce the hiring of Jen Gerber to fill a new role of Film Program Director, a position she has held as a freelancer since 2014. Under Jen’s guidance, both the Arkansas Shorts film festival (founded in 2007) and Inception to Projection Filmmaking Program (founded in 2010) have grown by leaps and bounds.
Drawing from her vast industry experience, Jen has made Inception to Projection one of the most robust film programs in the state for participants of all ages and experience levels who want to write, direct, produce, and edit their own original short film. Formerly the executive director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Jen is a filmmaker with an MFA in writing and directing from Columbia University (NYC). With over 15 years of experience in the classroom, Jen was formerly an adjunct instructor at Columbia College Chicago, creative director at the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SOCAPA) in Los Angeles and New York City, and a tenure track professor at the University of Central Arkansas, in addition to teaching at Low Key Arts. Jen has literally hundreds of success stories under her belt as students leave Inception to Projection with a level of expertise some might not feel possible within the short framework of the program. Her track record speaks for itself and we are very excited to welcome her aboard “officially”, once and for all! “Teaching Inception to Projection has become one of the greatest joys of my life. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to connect with so many passionate storytellers in our region, especially now that we can provide even more tools and resources for our filmmakers,” says Gerber.
Additionally, Low Key Arts is thrilled to announce that we have opened a digital arts studio in downtown Hot Springs enabling Inception to Projection to offer filmmaking classes and workshops year-round. In the past, Inception to Projection was offered only once a year due to the program’s dependence on partnering with area schools for the use of their computer labs. Since Covid, the course’s lectures have been offered over Zoom. “In many ways, offering the program virtually has been a blessing in disguise because it has made the classes available to participants across the state and beyond,” says Jen. “We still plan to continue offering many programs virtually because we find that participants enjoy the flexibility of zooming for the lectures, but moving forward we will incorporate more hands-on learning for the technical elements of filmmaking.”
Jen’s hiring dovetails with the single biggest grant the organization has ever received, from the Roy and Christine Sturgis Charitable and Educational Trust of Arkadelphia, AR enabling Low Key Arts to purchase equipment for a computer lab supporting Inception to Projection, allowing it to be completely self-sufficient for the first time.
“Our gratitude to the Sturgis Trust is beyond measure and we are truly humbled by their belief in us. We could not be more proud of the continued success of Inception to Projection and the support and recognition it is receiving that it so thoroughly deserves,” says Low Key Arts’ Executive Director, Sonny Kay.