How Can You Resist L.A. Freewaves?

I can resist it geographically, but if you’re in SoCal your excuse isn’t nearly as good as mine.

LA Freewaves presents How Can You Resist? its 9th biennial festival of film, video and new media. The festival will present works exploring the struggles between protest and desire — touching upon sexuality, economics, politics, consumerism and media — from the Americas, Southeast Asia, Africa, China and the Middle East.

The festival rolls weekends during the month of November starting on Friday, November 5, 2004 and wrapping up on Saturday, November 27, 2004. Each weekend’s programming will take place at a different location in downtown Los Angeles:

(click on pics for info on the artists)

Nov. 5 – 7 – MOCA Geffen Contemporary (30 video installations and projections, many from Africa and India)
152 N Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (in Little Tokyo)
Fri. – Sun. 11:00am – 5:00pm, opening reception Friday 8:00pm – 11:00pm

Nov. 12 – 14 – REDCAT Theater at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (68 works of film and video have been organized into nine thematic programs)
631 W 2nd Street at Hope St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (at the Walt Disney Concert Hall)
Box Office: 213.237.2800, www.redcat.org, $10/day
Fri. – Sun. 7:30 & 9:30pm plus Sat. 3:00pm & 5:00pm and Sun. 5:00pm

Nov. 20 – Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (live Blues music, food, break-dancing, MCs, and activist documentaries entitled Globalize This!)
152 W 32nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90007 (at Hill Street)
SAJE, a non-profit, community-development organization in the Figueroa Corridor
Sat. night 6:00pm – 11:00pm

Nov. 27 – Galleries, bars and cafés in Chinatown’s Central Plaza & Chung King Road (interactive new media works, artists’ karaoke, digital graffiti and video games)
Chinatown: 900 blocks of N. Hill and N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Sat. night 7:00pm – 11:00pm
Late show w/ Animal Charm 11:00pm – 2:00am

Freewaves will also sponsor billboard works, located on the Sunset Strip and Wilshire Boulevard, and several television programs. Selections from the festival can also be viewed on the Freewaves web site. Most exhibits and installations are free.

LA Freewaves’ founder and festival director Anne Bray talks about this year’s theme, “Resistance has many incarnations in this festival. Some of the works take us on an intimate journey through addiction, sexuality, and suffering; while others challenge us to consider such politically-charged issues as security, paranoia, and moral culpability in a time of war.”

So there you go – plenty to see, do and think about.