Back in the fall of 2002, VISIONFEST co-founder, Mark Doyle, first proposed his idea of creating a sidebar festival event that would pay tribute to the city of New York. Just two months earlier, the film festival had handed out a special prize called "The New York State of Mind" award to the short subject film, Once About Water Towers, by Stephanie M. M. Lucas. The award, which was designed to honor any work that, in some way, paid homage to the city of New York, was right on the money that year, as its honored film unfolded with hauntingly moving images of New York, accompanied by the narrations of several women, talking about growing old in the place they had always lived, and reminiscing about their own, personal 'city' memoirs. But festival organizers feared there might hardly be enough eligible entries each year to warrant the annual assignment of such award, so they opted to combine the spirit behind that award with Mark Doyle's proposed project initiative. A month later, the FiveXFive New York State of Mind DV Project, was started.
A special festival committee was immediately put in place to select five, established, New York-based filmmakers. Each filmmaker was assigned to shoot, edit, and finish a five-minute digital short, within a five-day period, in one of the five New York City boroughs, thus prompting each filmmaker to capture a slightly different reality of New York City. The filmmakers were each given a digital camera package with respective sound, grip, and lighting gear, and an adequate post-production facility, provided by that year's primary FiveXFive sponsors: LVR, Mad Dog Films, and Hit & Run Prods. Each of the shorts had to adhere to a specific set of guidelines that demanded that each would feature prominent locations and landmarks of the targeted borough and a strictly "narrative" approach (eliminating the tendency for creating experimental or music video-type projects).
The five selected filmmakers were chosen on the basis of several variable considerations, beginning with their professional track records, their commitment to the project, and ultimately, their availability for the production process and for the actual screening date of the shorts, which would be scheduled on the festival’s closing night. As more editions of the FiveXFive would unfold, the guidelines would vary slightly, particularly in the "theme" department, which has explored myriad subjects, such as the 2003 New York City blackout, international terrorism, and the employment of an "apple" ( perhaps the single, most obvious, iconic symbol of New York) as a key element or prop to be featured in each of the shorts.
On behalf of the entire VISIONFEST staff and the Domani Vision Film Society, we extend our gratitude to the participating filmmakers and to the sponsors of our past three FiveXFive Projects, who have allowed us to bring you these very special and very unique digital shorts, each depicting an individual vision, but together forming a collective "New York State of Mind."
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