Saturday, May 4th @5PM
YAW BASH 2024
Join us for a Yonkers Arts Weekend celebration! After spending the day checking out all the art that Yonkers has to offer, stop by YoFi Fest's year-round home at its Digital Media Art Center to check out a curated collection of short films with local connections, have some refreshments and mingle with other artists and art lovers at our casual end-of-day reception. Enjoy complimentary YAWPunch Signature Cocktail, Yonkers Brewing Company Craft Beer and Light Bites!
​
The short films that will be showing continuously during the event include:
A TREE ONCE GREW HERE
director: Johnnie Semerad,
7 minutes
​
“A Tree Once Grew Here” combines captivating visuals, animation, and imagery, to tell a tale that transcends language. We are reminded that we must rebalance harmony and nurture our planet; because we can no longer afford not to.
BLACK ACTION FIGURES
director: Dave Steck
7 minutes
​
A short documentary about representation, connection and the power of seeing yourself included in popular culture.
It features Duro Wicks sharing some of his personal doll collection and talking about his motivation, process and passion to find and collect Black action figures.
READING A WAVE
director: Laura Perdrizet
3 minutes
​
An experimental video from a body of work inspired by Italo Calvino's novella Mr. Palomar. This series is about the impossibility of isolation: of a wave, of a moment, of oneself from the external world. It is reflective and investigative of the spaces between labor and meditation, divergence and convergence, the physical and the perceived. Reading A Wave aims to capture the essence of these dichotomies, challenging their complexities to reveal a micro view of the macro; focusing our attention to the details within the overlapping elements that shape our experience with the ocean.
LIBERTY SPEAKS
director: Lucia Bellini
8 minutes
​
On a quiet Pandemic Sunday from Times Square. Liberty Speaks.
POLLINATOR'S REVERIE
director: Dave Steck
2 minutes
​
Chris Soria is a New York visual artist, specializing in large-scale murals and dimensional artwork. This video captures the process of him creating a four panel outdoor mural inspired by the local plants and insects that live where the painting is located.
CONEY ISLAND DREAMING
director: vagabond
9 minutes
​
A young girl is attracted to the magic and beauty of Coney Island as she dreams of escaping the harsh reality of her circumstances. She gets lucky when she finds some lost money at the entrance to an alleyway. That money allows her to make her Coney Island dream come true and she forgets her troubles and is like everyone else for a little while. When the money runs out the magic and beauty of Coney Island go on but she's forced to be a distant spectator as she tries to delay the inevitable reality that awaits her.
PING PONG PARKINSONS
director: Dave Steck
3 minutes
​
Globally acclaimed musician Nenad Bach’s performing career was abruptly cut short by the onset of Parkinson's Disease, however playing competitive ping pong has not only halted, but actually reversed his symptoms enough so he can once again take the stage.
This film has been recognized with an Honorable Mention at the World Parkinson Coalition's annual World Parkinson’s Congress. and screened by the World Health Organization.