Indie inspired Ocala-based station broadcasts independent films
CHRISTOPHER CURRY
THE STAR-BANNER
Published Mar. 27, 2006 7:30 am
[Pic caption]
Naseem Shah, the director of programming and the co-creative director of New Screen Television, works at the old Marion Theatre on South Magnolia Avenue in Ocala on Thursday.
BRUCE ACKERMAN/STAR-BANNER
OCALA - In the tradition of movie duos, the folks at the Marion Theatre may have found the Costello to their Abbott, the Hepburn to their Tracy - perhaps even the Chewbacca for their Han Solo - in a new television station dedicated to airing independent films.
New Screen Television recently relocated its offices to the historic Ocala theater, moving down the road from Orlando, where it remains a station on local cable.
New Screen's president and Ocala native Mark Astrom said the fledgling outfit wants to establish itself as the only truly independent film channel, an alternative to the Sundance Network and Independent Film Channel, both subsidiaries of big media corporations.
Astrom said the station will offer a venue and a second chance at life for films that don't get distribution contracts on the festival circuit. New Screen will also accept submissions directly.
"This is as raw as it gets," Astrom said. "We deal directly with the filmmaker. If the filmmaker can stay true to the vision of the film they want to make and have an outlet for it, that completes the circle, and they can continue that kind of work."
This week, the station's eclectic programming schedule included "Heroin Town," a critically acclaimed documentary about a Connecticut town that the national media savaged for drug problems, and "Hijacking Catastrophe," a documentary critical of the Bush administration's war policy in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
While Astrom, New Screen's general manager Rick Erikson and programming director Naseem Shaw have their offices in the theater on South Magnolia Avenue, including space in the old projection booth, the station's signal will originate from the Atlanta facility of Crawford Communications Inc. starting April 1.
Still, Erikson says New Screen will publicize its Central Florida ties and state on air that the channel is "broadcasting from the heart of the historic Marion Theatre."
[Pic caption]
Rick Erikson, the general manager, left, and Mark Astrom, the president and co-creative director, right, talk about their plans for New Screen Television at the old Marion Theatre on South Magnolia Avenue in Ocala on Thursday.
BRUCE ACKERMAN/STAR-BANNER
"It's a perfect fit," said Tava Sofsky of the Marion Film and Visual Arts Foundation. "We all mutually believe in the potential of what we can do together."
She and her husband, Brian Sofsky, operate the city-owned theater, which is slated for renovation back into a movie house that will also feature live stage performances.
Marc Mondell, business manager with the Ocala Planning Department, said bids seeking a general contractor to do the renovation should go out in April, with a firm selected possibly by May.
After the renovation work, the Sofskys envision the theater as a home for children's programming, including their Florida Family Film Festival, and a showplace for independent filmmakers.
Astrom expects a complementary relationship between New Screen and the Marion Film and Visual Arts Foundation. Films could show on the channel and in the theater, and special events could bring in filmmakers to discuss their craft.
Right now, New Screen is available to cable and satellite providers through SES Americom's AMC-10 satellite. It is not currently broadcast locally in Marion County on either satellite or cable.
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Christopher Curry may be reached at chris.curry@starbanner.com or (352) 867-4115.
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