Sprockets

Each year the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, held at Annecy, France in June, plays host to two Junior Juries. Ranging in age from 10 to 15 years old, four young people traveled from Vold, Norway to France with Gunnar Strom from the Vold University College/Vold Animation Workshop to spend the week watching films with the adult audience.

The 2005 Norwegian group was comprised of Tale Burgess Øyehaug and Ragnhild Dybdal Øie, who judged short films, and Asne Burgess Øyehaug and Ashild Dybdal Øie, who viewed graduation films, two pairs of sisters who have worked with the Vold Animation Workshop as part of their studies at the Amas Primary School. For the past 15 years, the Vold Animation Workshop has arranged workshops around Volda on an irregular basis, and all four girls have attended the one week work shop that Strom conducts annually. Following in the footsteps of the first Junior Jury from Russia and France in 2000, they were joined by an equal number of French students from the AAA (l’Atelier de Cinema d’Annecy et de la Haute-Savoie). Representing the AAA were Thibault Allombert and Louise Garcia in the short film category and Vincent Blanc-Tailleur and Quentin Deronzier in the graduation film category. Channel J and AAA sponsor the attendance of the Junior Jury at Annecy. Ingeborg Dybdal Øie, older sister of Ragnhild and Ashild, traveled from London where she studies to act as translator. The older jurors were able to use English as their working languages, but the younger members did not feel that they could fully express themselves in a foreign language according to Ingeborg and so she acted as the interpreter. She was amazed that it took the younger jury over two hours of intense debating to reach their decision, while the older jury reached their decision relatively quickly. The final Junior Jury decisions must be unanimous, so after many votes and vetoes, a unanimous decision was finally reached. In the end the young jurors realized that compromises had to be made so that everyone would agree on one film and after they finally reached a decision all four students felt that they had learned a great deal about listening to one another and putting their own strong opinions aside to come to a consensus.

ASIFA-SF, SCREEN 360 AND CATAPULT PRODUCTIONS (KATY KAVANAUGH) INVITE YOU TO
A RECEPTION - SCREENING - PARTY

HONORING GERMAN ANIMATOR FELIX GONNERT

Friday, July 29, 7:30 PM

Felix is a guest of SCREEN 360: FILMS FOR CHILDREN OF THE WORLD (for
audiences of all ages) at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Saturday, July 30.
His work Lucia (9-minutes) will be shown at 1 PM with Tornehekken (Hedge of
Thorens, an animated short from Norway) and Bazi (Play from Iran).

Please join us as we welcome Felix to San Francisco at the home of Nik and
Nancy Phelps, 2066 30th Avenue, SF. Food will be catered by Botany Bay.
Guests are invited to contribute something special to drink, like German
beers, wines and mineral waters.

We've been in Europe for a month but while we were gone the trash didn't
stop piling up, so it's time for all of us to go out and make Mother Earth
smile!!!! Sunday, July 10th we'll take to the tarmac to discover what
wonders the highway drivers have left for us. Meet at our house at 9:00 AM
for brunch, the watching of the safety film, and suiting up into our "safety
gear".

Info: call Nancy at 415/681-3189.

P.S. Garage sale here on Friday and Saturday!!!!

THURSDAY, JUNE 30 7:00 PM. NIK PHELPS AT THE BALBOA THEATRE

SPROCKET ENSEMBLE'S NIK PHELPS TO PROVIDE ORIGINAL MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT FOR
1919 Shackelton Endurance Expedition film.

On Thursday, June 30, Nik Phelps will provide a unique musical accompaniment
to SOUTH, the amazing movie made in 1919 by Ernest Shackleton about his
Endurance Expedition to Antarctica. The screening and performance will be at
the Balboa Theatre at 7:00pm.

Also on the program will be the Oscar nominated PEOPLE OF THE WIND.

SOUTH: Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition (1919)
When the Endurance was trapped by pack ice, the crew drifted on ice floes
for months before Ernest Shackleton and five of his men made a miraculous
850-mile boat journey to safety. One of the greatest epics in the history of
exploration, this is the original 1919 film produced by Shackleton and Frank
Hurley. (88 min)
(3:05), 7:00 Nik Phelps provides live musical accompaniment at the 7pm
show.
with
PEOPLE OF THE WIND (1976)
To survive, the Bakhtiari tribe must make an eight-week, 200-mile trip to
the mountain pastures. An astonishing epic of the one of the most grueling
migrations in the world, "People of the Wind" was an Oscar® nominee for Best
Documentary. (110 min)
(12:55), 4:50, 8:45

NIK PHELPS PERFORMS HIS SCORE FOR WINGS!!!! SUNDAY, MAY 15th at the
DARKROOM

If you missed it at the Balboa Theatre, in Point Arena or on our performance
tour of Scotland, you have one more chance to see and hear Nik and pianist
Frederick Hodges perform Nik's score to the 1926 Academy Award winning film
WINGS.

WINGS, staring Clara Bow, Buddy Rodgers & Richard Arlen, is still as strong
an anti-war film as it was when it was originally made, with exceptional
acting by a superb cast.

Dr. Hal Robbins will MC the evening, giving us all an added treat with his
remarkable and witty store of knowledge.

ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY!!! 8:00 P.M.

Nik And Nancy need a house-sitter during Annecy May 24 - June 15. To all of
our friends around the world - here's your chance to come to San Francisco.

It's time to roam Europe in search of new animation, and while we're away in
France, we need a dependable person to enjoy our house and great back yard
in these times of global warming. We will be gone from May 24 until June 15,
and basically need for the person to walk our elderly dogs a few times a day
and feed them. Other than that, there will be some great weather to sit in
our back yard and create, party, or whatever.

Get in touch with us soon if you would like to take advantage of a great
house in the Sunset District of San Francisco.

SUNDAY, February 27th Celebrate 79 years of Movies at the Balboa Theatre
Birthday Party.

Don't miss the rare opportunity to hear Nik Phelps perform his new original
score for the 1926 Greta Garbo classic TORRENT. Accompanying Nik will be
the incomparable pianist Frederick Hodges. In true 1926 movie fashion there
will be a vaudeville show featuring magician James Hamilton, Ms. Suzanne
(Kitten on the Keys) Ramsey on piano and witty vocals, a newsreel and Nik
and Frederick having musical fun with a cartoon.All this and prizes and
Birthday Cake too!!!!

SUNDAY, February 27 1:00 PM
Balboa Theatre - 3630 Balboa Street (at 37th Avenue) in San Francisco

Hello to all our friends here and abroad. Sorry to say, but Nancy has the
flu that's going around San Francisco right now, so we're postponing the
sale til next good weather. Sorry we'll miss you this weekend.
Nancy and Nik

Due to the continuing reports of impending rain for the weekend Nik and I
are holding our first house sale -- vintage hats, gloves, selected clothing
, costumes, kitchenware and many other household  items.  This sale is only
for our mailing list NOT FOR DEALERS OR THE PUBLIC AT LARGE!!!   PLEASE DO
NOT POST TO CRAIGSLIST!!!!!! If you have been to our parties and have had
you eye on something special in our house this might be your chance to take
it home with you.

Saturday and Sunday, January 8 & 9  (yep Nik's birthday!!!)

12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM  (dear friends, PLEASE Do Not arrive early)

2066  30th Avenue

San Francisco   (between Pacheco & Quintara)