In The Tradition of My Family
Todd Davis
Short 16mm on Video 14:43 2006

“Billy wants a better scar than the one his father gave him.”

Dance Party USA
Aaron Katz
Feature Video 60:00 2006 Midwest Premiere

Jessica and Gus, two aimless teenagers living in Portland, OR, meet at a 4th of July party. Apathetic seventeen-year-old Gus hangs around doing nothing with his buddy Bill most of the time. Gus likes to tell half-true stories about all the girls he¹s slept with and all the drugs he¹s done. Jessica is seventeen too. She doesn’t seem to have much in common with anyone anymore ­not even her best friend Christie. Every year this one guy Brian throws a 4th of July party. The party¹s never that great, but there’s free beer, so people always go. Gus and Jessica meet each other there. They watch fireworks outside and light sparklers. Gus says that he’s not the sort of guy she thinks he is. He tells her a secret. It changes everything. “My goal with Dance Party, USA was to create a film that feels like real life. It originated from an overheard conversation and the bulk of the script was written in five days. It wasn’t until two years later that I was able to shoot the film, with a crew of friends from North Carolina School of the Arts, in my hometown of Portland, OR. Two years after that I had a final cut. It has been a long journey. Throughout the entire process I have tried to remain true to my initial goal of crating something simple, honest,

and direct.”­ Aaron Katz

PURCHASE TICKET-SATURDAY 8/19 9:00 PM