Door Kinetic Arts Festival Announces Announces Virtual Festival Lineup

 May 24, 2021
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Festival Producer Alan Kopischke 920.370.1034 or alan.kopischke@gmail.com 

Door County WI- Door Kinetic Arts Festival goes virtual for its 2021 season. The DKAF team welcomes audience members, wherever they may be in the world, to gather around their screens for a celebration of art, collaboration and cocktails. Everything patrons have come to know and love about the DKAF film festival will be available in their living rooms this year. DKAF producer Alan Kopischke said, “Give Netflix a break - we know you’ve finished it by now - and join us for this exciting lineup of festival favorites and new creators to discover.”

Spoken word poet and multimedia artist and creator, Harold Green, returns to DKAF for his second festival appearance. Captured on film, Green’s performance King in Continuum is vibrant and engaging, and builds on the work he developed at DKAF in 2019. His ever-timely and deeply poignant work makes poetry accessible to audiences from all backgrounds. Featured at protests, rallies, classrooms, The New York Times, and sold out venues, Green’s impactful performances generate a visceral response from audiences everywhere. 

The annual DKAF film festival will include fifteen short films, available to be screened, free, at www.doorkinetic.com from June 5 through June 12. Festival selections include: Montana, La Brouette, Two Little People, The Winter, Colorful Fears, Nice Guy, We Are An Island, Blank State, The Escape, Wooden Sword, The Farewell, The Human and Human, Rahmat Creel, Inhale, Wait A Moment. 

As always, DKAF is thrilled to feature works that range in experience, tone, and theme. In his film Montana, celebrated director and writer, Michael Schwartz explores the depth, emotional toll, and relentless hope of individuals dealing with mental illness. From breathtaking animation, moments of relatable comedy, and nail-biting suspense, this year’s lineup includes a wide taste of genres.

Patrons can stock up at the local liquor store and follow along with festival legend and celebrated cocktail connoisseur, Robert Simonson, as he creates the perfect concoction to accompany this year’s film lineup. Taking to the screen himself, Simonson will offer a virtual drink tutorial for festival guests to master in the comfort of their own home. 

Staying true to the DKAF tradition, festival founders Eric Simonson and Alan Kopischke will conduct a handful of interviews with selected festival artists. Though they look forward to hosting our live Q & A sessions at next year’s festival, they welcome guests to tune-in online for the behind-the-scenes scoop to hear about the process, the context, and the collaboration that inspired these works. 

All festival events will be available free and online at www.doorkinetic.com from June 5 through June 12. DKAF is proud to make this season accessible and available to all. They look forward to meeting together in person next season, in the spirit of artistic collaboration and creative development.

Any and all donations are welcomed, and deeply appreciated by the DKAF team. They believe this year has proven the continued importance of their mission: to offer performing artists the opportunity to collaborate, develop projects, present work and exchange ideas. With increasing dissonance and complexity to maneuver within social, political, and cultural landscapes, they commit to making space for the arts and the process of creation. DKAF welcomes patrons to join them in that mission, by donating at www.doorkinetic.com 

Contact: Festival Producer Alan Kopischke 920.370.1034 or alan.kopischke@gmail.com

DKAF 2021 Film Festival Lineup 

King In Continuum 
Directed by Harold Green
King in Continuum is a short film composed of poems written by Harold Green, with vocal accompaniment from his wife, Charisma, to show the unfortunately continued presence of themes orated by Dr. King decades ago.

Blank State
Directed by Lani Yamanaka
During the first months of Covid-19, Lani Yamanaka and Megumi Iwama weren’t sure where their dancing bodies and artistic professions fit. Blank State was born from this desperate, emotional need to create.

Montana 
Directed by Michael Schwartz
In the woods surrounding Flathead Lake, Montana, a troubled psychiatrist experiments with unconventional methods while struggling with her own traumatic past.

We Are An Island
Directed by Peter Logue
Real-life couple, Art & Nan Kellam spend a lifetime in isolation on an island off the coast of Maine.

Colorful Fears
Directed by Will Kim 
"Colorful Fears" is about the filmmaker's fears of his own creative tools, fake affection, betrayal, abstract imagination, and the cycle of the fears.

La Brouette 
Directed by Josh Garvin 
A woman living on a small Wisconsin farm hides a dark secret.

The Escape 
Directed by Liudmila Komrakova
The patient in an insane asylum is given an injection to calm her down. She is left alone lying on the bed in a straitjacket overwhelmed with her hallucinations and memories. In the ward, another girl unexpectedly appears trying to bring the first one to consciousness.

Nice Guy 
Directed by Mark Daniel Cade
Jim Franken is a single guy who doesn't want to be single. In his search for his soul mate he goes on several dates and encounters some very unexpected outcomes.

Two Little People
Directed by Xin Li
This hand-painted short animation depicts a love story between two little people living in a wheat field.

The Winter
Directed by Xin Li 
Walking in a snowy forest, a peasant sees an unusual deer and goes to follow it. The deer allures him and the peasant even wants to catch it.

Wait A Moment
Directed by Naseri Edris
The story of a man and a woman whose momentary decisions ruin their lives.

The Farewell
Directed by Kitty McNamee
Star crossed lovers rendezvous for what will be their final dance.

The Human and the Human
Directed by Behzad Alavi 
Humans fell to earth and began to procreate and multiply until earth was full of them.

Inhale
Directed by Zamiri Nasser
Ebrahim`s chronic insomnia has caused tension between him and his wife, Marziyeh.