Here and Now, vol. 3

Time: Saturday, July 23rd, 2022, Door: 7:30pm

Place: Shapeshifters (567 5th St. Oakland, CA 94607)

John Davis (image + sound)

Nao Nakazawa (image) + Alien on Vacation (sound, Hj Mooij & Whatnao)

Silvia Turchin (image) + Alien on Vacation (sound)

John Davis is a Northern California artist exploring the relationship between moving image and sound. Through live performance and studio-based projects, his work encourages sensory response through unexpected uses of traditional media.

Nao Nakazawa, originally hailing from Nagano, Japan, moved to California in 1996 to study film. First earning a BA in film & digital media from UC Santa Cruz, and later a MFA in cinema from SF State University, Nao has spent more than 25 years working on film and television productions throughout San Francisco Bay Area and Japan. Nao has been devoted to making his own films of many genres, such as documentaries, fictions and animations. For the past decade, he has been creating experimental works that feature live performances.

Silvia Turchin is a Bay Area experimental filmmaker whose work is concerned with memory and loss. Her films are experiential in style, encouraging viewers to immerse themselves in keen visual and aural observation of urban and natural landscapes.

Her films include “Summer Light for Tula”, "F-Line", "Oh Christmas Tree" and "Dogs of the 9th Ward". Silvia has screened at festivals such as Edinburgh International Film Festival, Ann Arbor, Filmfest Dresden, Mill Valley, Big Muddy, Frameline and Experiments in Cinema. She holds her MFA in Cinema from San Francisco University and has taught film production at UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Art Institute, and is currently Associate Professor in the Cinematic Arts Department at Cal State Monterey Bay.

Alien on Vacation is Hj Mooij on bass and synths, and Whatnao on violin and mandolin. These aliens love earth music of all kinds and they try to imitate what they heard while on vacation on this planet.