The third annual Festival of (In)appropriation will debut tonight in Santa Barbara at 7 in Pollock Theater.

Filmmakers edited previously existing movies with other media sources, including television, recordings, historical documentaries and videogame play, to add new contextual meanings in the footage. The event features 13 short films from six countries, a Q&A session with guest filmmakers Peter Freund and Dillon Rickman and a reception after the screening.

According to festival curator and UCSB Film & Media Studies Visiting Assistant Professor Jamie Baron, the showing features works typically unavailable in standard theaters.

“These are films that are hard to see elsewhere,” Baron said. “They get shown in festivals but aren’t the kind of things that are online or distributed, so I think it’s a rare opportunity to get to see them. It’s really interesting to see the different kinds of appropriation in these 13 films.”

The festival admissions guidelines require that movies remain under 20 minutes, be made within the past year and incorporate footage from outside content.

Festival curator Andrew Hall said it received and watched over 200 entries from around the world to determine its final choices.

“Ultimately, we want to present a diversity of aesthetic approaches, points of view, subject matter and source materials — from Hollywood features to home movies to institutional films to video games,” Hall said.

UCSB’s Carsey-Wolf Center Associate Director LeeAnne French said this year’s entrants included producers from Taiwan, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Canada and the United States.

“My favorite film in the Festival is ‘The Homogenics’ by Gerard Freixes Ribera from Spain, which draws on footage from ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ and has Dick Van Dyke playing multiple roles simultaneously,” French said. “It is hilarious!”

The three curators recently began offering similar movie showcases to broaden viewership, according to Hall.

“Over the ensuing two years, we’ve worked to expand our presence both online and around the country via traveling shows like this one,” Hall said.

French said the local setting accommodates the festival’s eclectic lineup.

“The Pollock Theater is an ideal venue for a festival of contemporary, avant-garde films because it provides the best, state-of-the-art cinematic experience in Santa Barbara,” French said. “I am really excited about the Festival of (In)appropriation because it promises to be full of surprises. With 13 short films there will be a lot of variety and a lot to talk about at the end in the Q&A and reception with the curators and filmmakers.”

Tickets are free and available in the Film & Media Studies Office or by e-mail at PollockTheater@gmail.com.

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