"Experimentally ILL 4: LibeRATED eX" D.I.Y. Indie Film Fest - Coolidge Corner Theatre (Show #3) March 24, 2011

March 24th: Coolidge Corner Theatre @ 7PM to 9PM

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Mike Phelan O’Toole
781-296-5226
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http://ExperimentallyILL.com

[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Video Artists Get “Liberated,” Announce “Experimentally ILL 4,” D.I.Y.
Indie Film Fest At Somerville And Coolidge Corner Theater March Dates,
Call For Entries

(Boston, MA, 1/26/2011) – Local cable access show producers and
regional award-winning video artists Mike Phelan O’Toole (of Needham)
and Lawrence Hollie (of Waltham) announce the fourth installment of
their “Experimentally Ill” showcase; a two hour movie screening of
eclectic low budget short films, animation, and esoteric video art,
taking place on three dates in the Boston area. After a two-year
hiatus, the triumphant return, dubbed “Experimentally ILL 4: LibeRATED
eX,” kicks off March 16th at the historic Somerville Theater, followed
by a second show on March 18th. Finally, March 24th marks the final
date in the three show festival, with a return to Brookline’s famous
Coolidge Corner Theater. All screenings are from 7PM to 9PM. All
tickets are $7.00, and are first come, first serve. Seating is
limited, so plan to arrive early. This is an independently produced
event, put on by the artist collective, within the theaters’ screening
rooms.

Caustic wit meets intense bark, as each screening will be emceed by
punk poet, storyteller and improv comedian Mike Phelan O’Toole, and
Quincy Brisco, former WBCN-era “Toucher and Rich Show” radio
personality, and current host of Brookline Access Television’s DIY
rock concert event, “The Golden Sounds Series.” The events will
exhibit off-beat works by Hollie, O’Toole and a motley crew of other
innovative indie video-makers, with submissions open to all. Producers
with approximately three to ten minute digital film works should
contact Hollie and O’Toole by March 1st, to be considered for the
festival dates. No music videos, please. The submission fee is $5.00.

The showcase evolved out of a desire from the duo to reward quality
creative efforts that may be overlooked by more pretentious “festival”
outlets, “It’s a very D.I.Y. approach, and, to me, a “filmic” answer
to punk rock. We aim to break the mold, gather a community of artists,
and maybe help change the model of how things are done, or interpreted by
viewers,” says Mike Phelan O’Toole. “We saw we needed a bigger stage
than simply a TV screen. This is a love letter to short works with
tall visions, and misfits, who have quality work, but have not gotten
proper exposure yet. Rather than hear “no” from someone else, we
decided to unite, collaborate, and say “yes” together. It’s “Be the
change you hope to see.” The live energy of the audience raises the
stakes. One different piece comes right after another, like a set from
The Ramones. As always, I’m also excited to communicate with
new people, face-to-face. This is kind of the “Anti-Sundance.”
concludes O’Toole.
Co-Impresario Lawrence Hollie emphasizes the duo’s view of the
importance of artist and audience being comfortable going against
mainstream conventions of media, and rallying to champion a quality
alternative in a proper movie theater setting, by adding, “Counter
programming your way. Be the other. Be part of THE CHOICE.”

Indeed, Sarah Shanfield, of Metro Boston, in breaking news of the
first Experimentally ILL, wrote that “If you know Mike Phelan O’Toole
and Lawrence Hollie from TV, you know that they make programming for
community access that isn’t always accessible. And hilariously so.”
In dissecting the film fests’ ethos, in a piece covering the third
event, Harry Vaughn of The Weekly Dig raved, “In a time when film
festivals, however indie-friendly they may appear to be, sell their
souls to audience pandering, Juno-toting, Fox Searchlight producers
(read: Patagonia-wearing Sundance hipsters), it’s a relief to stumble
into “Experimentally Ill,” a festival that actually dedicates itself
to promoting out-there artistic video and film endeavors.”

This brand-new series of screenings will include the shoe-string
budget films of local artist D.L. Polonsky, such as his new,
day-in-the-life video short “Blid,” and surreal live action/animation
pieces by “Your Professor of Surrealism” Mick Cusimano, such as his
newly completed, poetry-inspired “Don’t Spill The Eggs,” in which
Cusimano, O’Toole, Hollie, a Paris Hilton look-a-like and one A.J. 8
co-star. In September, 2010, the group was immortalized, as part of
Cusimano’s “ImagineNation” cartoon strip, in Imagine Magazine,
to promote the film. The periodical covers “the business of film, TV, and
new media production in the Northeast.”
The showcase will also feature Quincy Brisco’s star-turn in
Lawrence Hollie’s neo-noir “The Detective,” Henry Rollins/Spalding
Gray/Kevin Smith/Max Headroom-inspired spoken word by Mike Phelan O’Toole,
Andy Macbain, of rock band Tunnel Of Love, in “Enthusiasm Unlimited,”
in which crowds will see “Andy smoke” and “Andy work,” as well as
the Tarantino-esque shorts of local Dom Portalla’s Door 11 Productions,
an animated short which begs the question “Have you ever seen a bearded
man jogging?” and sundry other films not often given the silver screen
treatment.

For more on Experimentally Ill, please contact Mike Phelan O’Toole at
[email protected], and visit ExperimentallyILL.com.

With the new, “liberated” format of multiple dates and venues,
“Experimentally ILL 4” looks to expand on the ambition of “screening
movies that will leave some disturbed, and others refreshed and
invigorated,” as Harry Vaughn last wrote in 2009. Moviegoers less
receptive to the concept of low budget and experimental works would
benefit from an open mind in attending, as writer Jeff Miranda of The
Boston Globe noted that “as someone who often swims with the
mainstream, “alternative” sounds pretty appealing right about now.”

“This is the real independent cinema. These filmmakers have no support
from any movie studio; they probably receive disdain from film
establishment! Thankfully there are DIY people out there that won’t
let their vision remain on a bar napkin (or equivalent). Kudos to
co-host Mike Phelan O’Toole and this cadre of local video artists for
getting their shorts into the public realm.” praises Rob Vassegh,
writer of popular blog Cheap Thrills Boston, in covering
Experimentally Ill.

Hollie and O’Toole have been advocates of collaborative media, and
purveyors of unique video art, since 2001. They are known as
producers/performers in the community television shows “Random Acts,”
an experimental variety program, and “Solipsist’s Dispatch,” O’Toole’s
solo spoken word program, in addition to their video work with
Boston/Ireland rock band Midatlantic. Both Hollie and O’Toole are
recipients of separate “Most Innovative” awards from The Alliance For
Community Media’s Northeast Regional Video Festival for their creative
productions. In November of 2010, they shared award honors in the
“Profile Talk Show – Professional” category for “Solipsist’s Dispatch.”
The first, second, and third editions of “Experimentally ILL” have
seen positive mention in Metro Boston, Boston Phoenix, The Weekly Dig
of Boston, and The Needham Times, among other print and web publications.

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(Seeking interviews for features covering the founders/artists, and
the event, or event previews, listings, and anything else. Alternate
PHOTOS for pieces are available upon request, if a photo shoot is not
desired. Many thanks. )

Official Website: http://ExperimentallyILL.com