FVPS 2024 RELAUNCH & SUPPORT

FVPSociety Needs A Solid Comeback!

In autumn 2021, many remarkable films and poems were scheduled to screen at the 2021 Film and Video Poetry Symposium. However, due to an overwhelming combination of the public health crisis, the expansion of my family, and unforeseen tragedies, I made a sorrowful decision to cancel the 2021 symposium and place my entire business pursuit, The Film and Video Poetry Society on hiatus. I let the office space go and lost all FVPS revenue to storage fee’s and other expenses just to preserve the work, equipment, and resources FVPS had built over its first 4 years.

Now, in late 2024, I am thrilled to announce that FVPSociety has relaunched. There is no better way to return than by fulfilling the vision developed for the 2021 symposium. Over 100 films are being screened at the new Los Angeles Center for Digital Art between November 7 and November 27, 2024. FVPS will present 16 film blocks, alongside 10 media installations, all open to the public for free. Additionally, a 24/7 live video stream is available worldwide from November 1 to December 1, 2024, featuring a curated selection of films.

I have facilitated, coordinated, and achieved the relaunch entirely by myself. From designing and building out the white walls for the new LACDA space to installing the media works, hosting international guests, becoming a projectionist, scheming for folding chairs, and turning the lights off and on for the symposium. I no longer have the volunteer base LACDA, USC, and LACSHA contributed pre-pandemic. And with all of the funding coming from my family’s pocketbook, the path forward remains somewhat daunting.

To truly bring my work vision back to life, I’m calling to core community and family to help rebuild FVPSociety. And It doesn’t take much. If everyone receiving this call donated $100, I would raise an essential $3,700 to cover the final 2024 symposium expenses and completely re-activate FVPS for services by January 2025. If you each donated more than $100, this would ensure a very confident comeback.

Every contribution supports my mission as a professional film programmer, and as an advocate, to honor and share the works of artists whose voices would realistically go unheard, including my own. Your support is needed to help FVPSociety reboot and thrive into 2025.

With gratitude, Jesse