Seeking for films and videos on Craft(s) for a screening at Millennium Film Workshop (Brooklyn, NY), curated by Ari-Duong Nguyen.

OPEN CALL FOR CRAFT FILMS

A personal observation I was fortunate enough to learn this past year: one cannot buy themselves into being good at a craft, nor can one rush these trial and (mostly) error process. In contrast with craft’s uncompromisable nature, it is vulnerable to destructions of peoples, cultures or ways of living by imperial forces.

Film is collective memory. And may, through film, crafts and their practitioners be collectively memorized across generations and localities.

This project is most heavily inspired by a film I saw about a Palestinian craft. This is one of many reasons why all donations for this screening will go to a mutual aid initiative for Palestinians in Gaza & Cairo.

Priotizing material/physical crafts. Creative reflection on the idea of craft is also welcomed!

Priotizing BIPOC makers. Non-NYC-based & international makers are welcomed.

Defining Craft: By “craft”, I mean any practice/process/trade/occupation/activity that is primarily defined and shaped by its practitioner’s skill/dexterity and their time investment to carry the task to fruition. Most art-making processes could be considered craft, and so could most activities that produce an object. The open call prioritize crafts that deal with physical materials, or producing physical objects, as those are less covered in filmmaking than, for instance, reflections on art-making processes themselves. But I am, of course, always open to other variations, and submissions can be out of this priority. By emphasizing on “craft”, I just mean to emphasize on process, investment, practice, discipline, transference of an activity across places/histories/generations.

About me: I'm Ari-Duong Nguyen, born & raised in Vietnam, and currently curating & writing about films from Brooklyn. I've been programming at Millennium Film Workshop since 2022. My past curatorial projects & my writings can be found on my website: https://ariduongnguyen.cargo.site/