Gentle colleagues!
We write to update you on our current discussion regarding the Orphan Film Symposium on Counter-Archives, to be held at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, June 15 to 18, 2022. (If you submitted a proposal, you will receive an email soon.)
The Orphans 2022 organizing committee is watching developments regarding COVID as the pandemic determines so much about what we can do together in June. The current situation is difficult as we have such a big, beautiful international community. While COVID knows no borders, our governments do and traveling into and out of Canada could prove challenging. Indeed, at the moment all theaters are closed in Montreal as a temporary public health measure. We know this will all change over the course of the coming months and so we remain optimistic.
Meanwhile . . .
Right now we are planning for a bimodal Orphans event, hosting participants in-person (in accordance with public health guidelines) and online (which was always the plan for some elements of the live event anyway). We all hope to be able to watch, listen, and talk to each other over meals and coffees, and otherwise share an energized group presence. Given the state of things it is clear that to maximize accessibility, even in the best scenario, we will have an online portal onto any in-person activities.
That said, we are also preparing for a second-best scenario for fully on-line encounters. (Orphans 2020 was entirely online, and hence rewatchable.) The Concordia and NYU organizers are meeting frequently to monitor travel restrictions and to brainstorm about creating the best event. We will update you as viable plans emerge. Thank you for your patience as well as your creativity and understanding.
Watch this space.
Looking ever forward . . .
Dan Streible, NYU
Haidee Wasson, Concordia University
For further film fun.
Flashback: 2014 Orphan Film Symposium at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.
