NewEnglandFilm.com

Are you ready to see a film unlike any Hollywood mainstream film? If so, then head over to the Provincetown Art Association Museum on May 10th and 11th for the new experimental showcase for women filmmakers created by Rebecca Alvin.

Entitled Underground Voices, the showcase will present films and videos that were created for "artistic reasons, rather than commercial reasons." Ranging from unusual to funny, the exhibition is a diverse collection of films that Rebecca can guarantee even the people of Provincetown, renowned for its artistic activity, have not seen before.

"They are personal, thought-provoking and harder to grasp than the average mainstream Hollywood films," says Alvin. One such film to be shown at the museum is Alvin’s "Clock," a 7-minute video with the thematic concept of running out of time. The female reproductive cycle is used as a metaphor to observe society’s self-imposed obligation to do everything all at once.

"There isn’t a real support system for filmmaking in Cape Cod, nor for appreciation of underground and indie cinema," says Alvin. "As someone who moved here about a year ago from New York City, I am in culture shock!"

As an experimental filmmaker herself, Alvin is quite familiar with overcoming the challenge of finding your audience. Rebecca received a degree in Film from Emerson College and her Master of Arts degree in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research. She is a seasoned independent film, video, and multimedia artist specializing in "giving voice to women traditionally ignored by both mainstream and feminist discourse."

"I have made it my mission to try to expose people here to some very different kinds of films, experimental shorts in particular," says Alvin. In February, she did a showcase in Woods Hole that was sponsored by the Woods Hole Film Festival. "But I really wanted to do something bigger, something that would actually pay the filmmakers involved."

Alvin, along with Jenny Packard, Michelle Handelman, Jennifer Evans, Nicole Koschman and Carol Leigh, will feature their unique, personal and award-winning films that will challenge the audience and asks for individual interpretation. Most of the filmmakers will be available for question and answer sessions after the film.

The Provincetown Art Association Museum at 460 Commercial Street in Provincetown will feature Underground Voices on May 10th and 11th from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The program will include:

• "All Call This" by Jennifer Evans (5:00) a questioning of identity
• "Fishing for Brad" by Nicole Koschmann (6:00) a juxtaposition of two completely different visions of desire
• "The Lesson" by Nicole Koschmann (5:00) a new work
• "Mother’s Mink" by Carol Leigh (15:00) a mother-daughter relationship examined
• "Bergen Street” by Jenny Packard (5:00) an exploration into the dynamics of a love triangle
• "Clock" by Rebecca M. Alvin (7:28) the concept of “time is running out” explored
• "La Suture" by Michelle Handelman (10:00) a phallocentric fairy tale
• "I.C.U. (I See You)" by Michelle Handelman (5:00) a study in the concept of looking