This is one of the articles that came out of my most recent trip to Grants. I really thought these reporters were wry, smart and got me and the PAH program. Mark Twain is alive and well in the small town of Grants, NM. It was a pleasure doing interviews with them.

Digital media fest to open July 5

GRANTS - When you mix a maverick Hollywood director, a college digital film program, the Cibola Arts Council and the mystique of New Mexico, you produce the Project Accessible Hollywood (PAH) Digital Media Festival.

The event is scheduled to begin July 5 at New Mexico State University-Grants Campus.

The brainchild of producer-director Christopher Coppola, the festival will screen on-line theatre productions, team mobi-flicks (six-minute digital films) and mobile phone and web-cam art. Other planned events include a technology treasure hunt at the KOA Campground south of Grants and an award ceremony.

Coppola, nephew of award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola and older brother of actor Nicholas Cage, claims he is viewed as an "outlaw" in Hollywood because of his unconventional approach to film.

In an exclusive interview with the Beacon, Coppola and PAH Fest partner Doug Bocaz-Larson, manager of the planned Digital Film Technology program at NMSU, explained their vision for the event.

"I hate exclusivity and want to bring the technology down to everyday people...I want technology to be available to everyone," Coppola said. "Art can be a healing force internationally and it should be assessable to all people. Art and technology can be a powerful communication tool for us all," he added.

Bocaz-Larson agreed that everyone has a story to tell and should have the opportunity to voice that story. He said he has initiated that process through his students' digital film efforts.

"The students need to work on actual films rather than study theory," Bocaz-Larson said. "In this way the students get to work and also receive academic credit for their efforts. In most film schools, students work for free. It's also a way to promote the New Mexico film industry and prepare local people for work in that industry."

"We're hoping to empower people to produce films here rather than going to Hollywood," the director added.

Coppola has always loved New Mexico and the mythical attraction of Route 66. "I've toured the Rio Grande valley and visited places like Tinker Town and the Ice Caves. I really like Grants because you have a creative rural community, Native American cultures nearby, the defunct uranium mines and a dedicated person like Doug to promote the digital film industry," he stated.

Coppola considers New Mexico to be a perfect location for the digital revolution. "This state changed the world when the atomic bomb was developed and it can change it again with new film technologies," he said. "There are lots of scientists and PhDs in New Mexico who can help make that happen. I can see this state becoming a digital center rather than just a place where Hollywood studios can get a tax break. I visualize lots of small digital centers around the state," he added.

Coppola met Senator Joseph Fidel when the filmmaker was in Santa Fe consulting with state leaders on methods to attract the film industry to New Mexico. Fidel gave Coppola the phone number for Felicia Casadas, Campus Executive Officer at the college, and she referred him to Bocaz-Larson. "This is a perfect fit for me because of my background in both theater and technology," Bocaz-Larson related.

PAH Fest organizers have a distinctive sense of humor. One of the awards in the competition is the Bugsy-Kahn Award, which "encapsulates the spirit and philosophy of the PAH Fest," according to promotional materials. "This award is inspired by two legendary mavericks who did it their way, Bugsy Siegel and Genghis Kahn, and will be given to the festival contestants who best reflects that philosophy."

Coppola pointed out that Bugsy Siegel taught his gangland followers to negotiate with their enemies rather than just kill them, and that Genghis Kahn was ruthless but also wanted to bring people together. "We see a modern Genghis Kahn as someone who will conquer the digital film industry," he said wryly.

Mark Twain, who Coppola sees as a symbol of creativity, is part of the PAH Fest logo.

Because many of the competition entries can be made on-line, participants from around the world are welcome.

The PAH Fest will run from July 5 to 9 at NMSU and other locations around Grants. For further information on making entries and the festival schedule, go to www.pahfest.com or call Doug Bocaz-Larson at 287-6656 or 290-1331, e-mail dbocaz@nmsu.edu.

By Diane Fowler