New Indieplex Team Members
Ron Merk, Editor in Chief of Indieplex Online Magazine
As Editor in Chief of Indieplex Online Magazine, I’d like to both introduce and welcome our new regular contributors to our publication: Sanford Jenkins, Jr., Michael Steve and David Coe. They come from diverse backgrounds and cultures and points of view, and will provide Indieplex Online Magazine with the kind of all-encompassing views of art and the world in which it is created. All three of these men come from an arts/film/photography background, and will offer unique perceptions of all the films, events and other subjects we will cover in this publication. Welcome aboard, gentlemen.
Sanford Jenkins Jr. is a writer and film director from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Morehouse College and USC School of Cinematic Arts. Prior to film school, he worked as an investment banker and film distributor in New York. His work in film, video and theater has screened at major film festivals internationally, and has been supported by the Directors Guild of America, AFROPUNK, the ActNow Foundation, and Art Share L.A.
On Film Festivals:
Film festivals provide artists space to critically engage their work with audiences, burdened less by their commercial potentials. Annually, the San Francisco International Film Festival centers itself for engagement with the Bay Area community, showcasing work across form and content. The Bay Area itself is a complex work of art, providing a unique backdrop for local concerns and world perspective to take the stage (or the streets). There’s likely something between the spaces which moves you to empathy.
David Coe is a aspiring young photographer and filmmaker who wants to document the growth of companies, the world, and the people around him. With a strong admiration towards history and journalism, he believes that photography and the moving image have a timeless and immortal caliber that possesses such importance in the far future. After graduating high school David decided to take a gap year to build his portfolio, do internships, and network to gain more experience in his passions. He is planning to attend San Francisco State University in the fall of 2018 for Cinema and Marketing. He has expanded his body of work by photographing and filming for numerous Freestyle Scooter Companies and Magazines, has shot Weddings, Bio-Tech Companies, Sports (Football/Soccer), Financial Advisers and has hung his work up at coffee shops. David is also skilled in social media marketing and is actively learning digital marketing. David is a strong believer that nothing is impossible and by stepping out of your comfort zone you can learn to overcome obstacles that come at you. He is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn more about David and his work visit: http://davidlcoe.net/.
On Film Festivals
Film festivals have supplied the film industry a safe haven for emerging filmmakers to collaborate and build to reach big audiences to portray their stories. The San Francisco International Film festival is one of the major events within the film festival community. It provides a stage for emerging filmmakers to showcase their work in one of the most creative and diverse cities in the world. To David being able to document these emerging filmmakers at the San Francisco International Film Festival is important to him because these filmmakers could be the next Oscar Winners.
Michael Steve comes from a West Indian family that valued arts, education, and being resourceful. These things contributed greatly to the path he’s been on in the film and the television industry. Michael is originally from the east coast and worked in TV for more than a decade. This experience was and amazing way to learn the industry, but Michael felt he was no longer growing or finding ways to learn and exercise any creativity. Michael recently moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to start the next chapter in his artistic life with the intention of doing more significant work and building more meaningful relationships.
I’ve following many film festivals in the past but I’ve never attended one. Having the opportunity to attend this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival is going to be a memorable life and career experience, especially considering how the past 2 years have been going—good but uncomfortable—since I embarked on this different path. Being able to see the end product of months and years of planning, hard work, and dedication is incredible. What I resonate with most, is getting insight to the filmmaker’s process—from beginning to end—and understanding their personal experience while they were creating. Hearing the filmmaker’s story and seeing their work translate to an affirmation for me. I enjoy learning and growing from the process and the struggle of artists to get through it.
On Film Festivals:
Film is an expression and also communication, whether it’s between different cultures, marginalized communities, displaced peoples or ignored demographics. Sharing and experiencing this form of communication is important to me. It is how we connect with each other and people we don’t know… yet.
