Prismatic Ground

Prismatic Ground is a New York festival centered on experimental documentary. Hosted by Maysles Documentary Center and online NYC film resource Screen Slate, the festival will be primarily virtual for its first year barring a timely end to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We seek work that pushes the formal boundaries of non-fiction in the spirit and tradition of experimental filmmaking. This "spirit" is somewhat amorphous, undefinable, and open to interpretation, but refers to work that engages with its own materiality, and that privileges a heightened artistic experience over clear meaning. For a better sense of what we're looking for, here are some filmmakers that inspire us: Chris Marker, Lynne Sachs, Kevin Jerome Everson, The Otolith Group, Black Audio Film Collective, Pat O'Neill, Cecilia Condit, Edward Owens, Chick Strand, Barbara Hammer, Khalik Allah, Michael Snow, Janie Geiser, Isaac Julien, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Sky Hopinka, Fern Silva, Akosua Adoma Owusu... Board of Advisors: Thomas Beard, Steve Byrne, Jon Dieringer, Dale Dobson, Ed Halter, Kathy Kieliszewski, Nellie Killian, Penny Lane, Zach Pouga, Lynne Sachs