URBAN-15

We are happy to announce that we have officially selected 13 winners for the 17th JOSIAH MEDIA FESTIVAL! These winners hail from five countries and are split into 1st, 2nd and 3rd place among four film categories: Narrative, Documentary, Experimental and Animation. These winners will all win a cash prize of $250, $200 or $150, respectively.

We cordially extend our invitation for your participation in our awards celebration on February 17th at urban15.org/live-stream. Come watch these 13 winning films alongside acceptance videos from the talented filmmakers!

17th JOSIAH MEDIA AWARDS WINNERS

NARRATIVE
1st Place: “Sterling” Dir. Gunnar Sizemore, 18 y/o, Los Angeles, CA.
2nd Place: “The Thing” Dir. Arad Navizi, 20 y/o, Tehran, Iran.
3rd Place: “Savonnette” Dir. Quentin Pladeau, 16 y/o, Montpellier, France.

EXPERIMENTAL
1st Place: “Filter” Dir. Mehrshad Keshavarz, 21 y/o, Karaj, Iran.
2nd Place: “Interview” Dir. Arshia Motallebi, 21 y/o, Tehran, Iran.
3rd Place: “In Repetito Religare” Dir. Audrey Collard & Valentin Sismann, 21 y/o, Villemomble, Fr.

DOCUMENTARY
1st Place: “This is Not Medicine!” Dir. Angel Diaz & Caitlin Olive, 20 y/o, San Antonio, TX
2nd Place: “The Town That Time Forgot” Dir. Lauren Mule, 20 y/o, Tallahassee, FL.
3rd Place: “One Day of Life” Dir. Maria Leschenko, 14 y/o, Kyiv, Ukraine.

ANIMATION
1st Place: “Stray” Dir. Keyl Sparks, 21 y/o, Placentia, CA
2nd Place: “Bubby and Son” Dir. Gwenaelle Du-Thumm, 20 y/o, Princeton, NJ
3rd Place “□□□□□” Dir. Tong-min Li, 21 y/o, Taipei, Taiwan

DEBRA VARNER AWARD FOR INNOVATION
“Death in Silent” Dir. Faezeh Kiani, 21 y/o, Shiraz, Iran

URBAN-15 announces an OPEN CALL to all poets living in Bexar County for consideration in the 2024 MEGA CORAZON Poetry Festival. Poets accepted into the festival will be eligible to compete for the Gregg Barrios “Precious Words Prize” of $500 for the best performance presentation.

Monday, April 15, 2024 is the kickoff of the MEGA CORAZON celebration, a hybrid live/online spoken word marathon that is part of San Antonio’s National Poetry Month participation. This festival presents San Antonio’s poetic tradition that combines street, classical, and slam performance styles in a production that is improvisational, at times painful, and choreographed for a highly visual impact. While this year’s lineup is still in development, previously participating poets include Poets Laureates Carmen Tafolla, Laurie Ann Guerrero, Jenny Browne, and Octavio Quintanilla; internationally recognized writers Naomi Shihab Nye, and John Phillip Santos; “Slam Poetry” champions Anthony “The Poet” Flores and Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, and many other talented local poets. The Gregg Barrios “Precious Words Prize” was created by world-renowned poet and author Gregg Barrios in 2021 to award the Mega Corazon poet selected by the on-line audience for the best performance during the festival. The 2021 winner was Amalia Ortiz, 2022 winner was Jessica Tilton Zertuche and 2023 winner was Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson.

Guidelines for consideration in the 2024 Mega Corazon Poetry Festival:

· Poets, of any age, currently must reside in Bexar County.

· Poets must submit a 3 to 5–minute audition video (or online link) displaying original poetry performance. Selection will be based on power of content and power of performance commitment. Auditions videos will not be judged on production expertise, video technique nor platform. This is from the Heart.

· List of publications

· Artist bio notes and artistic statement

Please email materials to events@urban15.org. There is no entry fee to submit application materials, and the deadline is Saturday, February 10, 2024.

Final selections will be announced March 1, 2024. Poets selected, this year’s Mega Corazon will be pre-recorded live in our studio (2500 S. Presa 78210) during March. The internet broadcast of all performances will also be accessible free of charge and without a password on URBAN-15 website’s at https://urban15.org/live-stream. For questions for more information, please contact us at 210-736-1500 or events@urban15.org.

URBAN-15 and FilmSA present an in studio screening of local films as part of the 2023 Josiah Media Festival. We invite you to come meet these talented local filmmakers!

Saturday February 3, 2024, 7 p.m.

2500 S. Presa San Antonio, TX 78210

The 2023 Josiah Media Festival will begin streaming online for free at 8pm on December 15th trough the end of January 2024. Streams will run on a continuous 24 hour loop in two hour blocks. At the end of January, films will be judged by a panel of judges and cash prizes will be awarded to the young filmmakers.

Open only to filmmakers 21 years old and younger, the Josiah Media Festival is URBAN-15’s annual nationwide film and media event. It is named after Josiah Miles Neundorf, a talented film and media artist from San Antonio, Texas who passed away in 2006 as a result of osteosarcoma. Despite his short twenty years with us, Josiah expanded the lives of those around him through his brilliance, joy, and determination to create outstanding work amid the physical ravages of illness. In honor of this artist, his parents Marcus and Nancy Neundorf and the URBAN-15 Group created the Josiah Media Festival, an annual film festival designed to showcase outstanding works by young film, video, and media artists.

All Blocks will be two days long (48 hours). Screening for each block begins and ends on its respective date at 8pm CST

FILM BLOCK #1:

Fri Dec 15 – Wed Dec 20 | Fri Dec 29 – Sun Dec 31 | Mon Jan 8 – Wed Jan 10 | Fri Jan 19 – Sun Jan 21 | Mon Jan 29 – Wed Jan 31 

Only Natural to Forget by Lucas Bedate Sevila, 21, from Madrid, Spain

The Thing by Arad Navizi, 20, from Tehran, Iran

4 Wheels by Julianne Bernales, 20, from Quezon City, Philippines

This is Not Medicine! by Angel Diaz & Caitlin Olive, 20, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Deer by Luis Kølkjær Hansen, 17, from Hvidovre, Denmark

Voices of Us by Aimee Isobel Maric, 16, from Warranwood, Australia

Kolorete by Brian Medina, 21, from Bacoor, Philippines

Bubby and Son by Gwenaelle Du-Thumm, 20, from Princeton, NJ, USA

The Painting by Krause Cruz, 22, from Waco, TX, USA

Scenes from Salé by Imrane Rahani, 22, from Salé, Morocco

One Day of Life by Maria Leschenko, 14, from Kyiv, Ukraine

FILM BLOCK #2:

Wed, Dec 20 – Fri Dec 22   | Sun Dec 31 – Mon Jan 1 | Wed Jan 10 – Fri Jan 12 | Sun Jan 21  – Mon Jan 22 

Sterling by Gunnar Sizemore, 18, from Los Angeles, CA, USA

Invisible Struggles by Paarth Dewan, 19, from Austin, TX, USA

Chopsticks by Nathaniel Demuth, 19, from New Philadelphia, OH, USA

GPT Meni by the Vanima School of Animation for Children, ages 10-14, from Varazdin, Croatia

Frequency by Athur Meye Praming, 18, from Hvidovre, Denmark

Stood Up by Inês de Castro, 21, from Porto, Portugal

Down the Drain by Charlie Bush, 22, from Los Angeles, CA, USA

Imperial Kiln Brick by Yilin Li, 22, from Suzhou, China

Street Justice by Prince JTT Jude, 20, from Uyo, Nigeria

Defective Cycle by Seyed Majed Hosseini Khojasteh, 22, from Rasht, Iran

A Better Life by Yael Green, 21, from Hobart, Australia

FILM BLOCK #3:

Fri Dec 22nd – Sun Dec 24  | Mon Jan 1   – Wed Jan 3 | Fri Jan 12 – Sun Jan 14 | Mon Jan 22 – Wed Jan 24 

Make a Wish by Adventio Diyar, 21, from Sukarta, Indonesia

Mélanoïde by Aliénor Ghys, 20, from Valenciennes, France

Covenant by Daniel Mohseni, 20, from Syracuse, NY, USA

Zoom Class by Hayden Hoelscher, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Reunion by Edward Skovbjerg Paldam, 19, from Hvidovre, Denmark

Interview by Arshia Motallebi, 21, from Tehran, Iran

My Day in Kyiv in Summer 2022 by Elina Myshanych, 13, from Kyiv, Ukraine

Push & Pull by Lautaro Moran, 21, from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Menvra by Anna Kassay, 21, from Miercurea Ciuc, Romania

Mah Jongg Matters by Emanuel Alboher, 18, from Boca Raton, FL, USA

Dinner at the End of the World by Gabrielle Milman, 20, from Stevenson Ranch, CA, USA

FILM BLOCK #4:

Sun Dec 24  – Mon Dec 25 | Wed Jan 3 – Fri Jan 5 | Sun Jan 14 – Mon Jan 15 | Wed Jan 24 – Fri Jan 26 

Gone by Robert Heselton, 20, from Middlesbrough, England, UK

2006 by Elizaveta Zharikova, 20, from St. Petersburg, Russia

Killer Chiropractor by Evan Nowack, 18, from Ladern Ranch, CA, USA

Minor Setbacks by Colton Sparks, 15, from San Antonio, TX, USA

A Memory by Storm Useinovski Krat, 16, from Hvidovre, Denmark

Death in Silent by Faezeh Kiani, 21, from Shiraz, Iran

Sage by Sahil Shettigar, 20, from Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Final Whistle by Orlando Rojas, 19, from San Antonio, TX, USA

In Repetito Religare by Audrey Colard & Valentin Sismann, 21, from Villemomble, France

509 by Hassann Imtiaz, 21, from Islamabad, Pakistan

□□□□□ by Tong-min Li, 22, from Taipei, Taiwan

FILM BLOCK #5:

Mon Dec 25 – Wed Dec 27 | Fri Jan 5 – Sun Jan 7 | Mon Jan 15 – Wed Jan 17 | Fri Jan 26 – Sun Jan 28  

Stray by Keyl Sparks, 22, from Placentia, CA, USA

When I Think of You by Gabriella Hsu, 21, from Grapevine, TX, USA

Filter by Mehrshad Keshavarz, 21, from Karaj, Iran

Fantasies of Closure by Brady Zielinski, 19, from Orchard Park, NJ, USA

A film by emily cox by Emily Cox, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Savonnette by Quentin Pladeau, 16, from Montpellier, France

Fallen City by Naphat Khunlam, 20, from Bangkok, Thailand

Who is She? by Naomi Stellone, 21, from Gainesville, FL, USA

The Town That Time Forgot by Lauren Mule, 20, from Tallahassee, FL, USA

Checkmate by Frederik Lysholm Jønsson, 20, from Hvidovre, Denmark

Debatable by Riley Church, 21, from Austin, TX, USA

FILM BLOCK #6 (S.A. LOCALS ONLY):

Wed Dec 27 – Fri Dec 29 | Sun Jan 7 – Mon Jan 8  | Wed Jan 17 – Fri Jan 19 | Sun Jan 28 – Mon Jan 29  

La LLegada by Ana Testas, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

I Wanna Die Behind the Barber Chair by Andres Reyes, 16, from San Antonio, TX, USA

V2 by Alex Schroeder, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Minor Setbacks by Colton Sparks, 15, from San Antonio, TX, USA

You’re Fired by Joseph Galindo, 17, from San Antonio, TX, USA

The Window by Sage Kimmel, 15, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Worn In by Miguel Almanza, 19, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Man Eating Cereal by Davis Stainfield, 21, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Zoom Class by Hayden Hoelscher, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Twisted Fantasies by Matthew Medellin, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

No Shame by Andora Zotigh, 16, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Ghost Party by Madison Feik, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

A film by emily cox by Emily Cox, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

Memento Mori by Ines Wallisch, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

The Desire to Disappear by Natalia Arratia, 18, from San Antonio, TX, USA

This is Not Medicine! by Angel Diaz & Caitlin Olive, 20, from San Antonio, TX, USA

The HOLIDAY LASER SHOW returns to the beautiful Lila Cockrell Theatre for a ONE-DAY, TWO-SHOW event on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. 

URBAN-15 once again is featuring the genius work of the Laser Wizard, Tim Walsh, with what has become the newest traditional Holiday event. This show is a blending of high-tech laser projections, animations and beam work, all choreographed with Holiday musical favorites. The show also features collaborative works of Tim Walsh and George Cisneros.

Tickets for the HOLIDAY LASER SHOW are available at NO COST. But for this free event, everyone needs to have a downloaded reserved ticket in hand or on their phones. If you reserve five FREE tickets, you will need to print five tickets. 

The show begin promptly at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Welcome back to High-Tech Holiday ! ! Because of the high number of Seniors from our community who attend this event, we encourage you to wear a mask – expecially if it decorated with HOLIDAY images!

Register for tickets here!

On Wednesday Sep. 20th at 6 PM  through Thursday Sep. 21st at 6 PM, URBAN-15 invites you to participate in the 2023 Big Give! Your generous donation during this grand charity event will be used to award winners of two of URBAN-15’s biggest events; Mega Corazon and The Josiah Media Festival, as well as the many artists who deserve recognition for their talented contributions to our community and organization.

Each year, URBAN-15 awards the winners of Mega Corazon the Gregg Barrios Precious Words Prize, along with a $500 cash award. Past winners have included some of the greatest poets in the nation, such as former San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, Jessica Tilton-Zertuche, and Amalia Ortiz. In addition to Mega Corazon, URBAN-15 also hosts The Josiah Media Festival, which highlights creative works made exclusively by artists 21 years old or younger. The cultivation of this young artistic talent is made possible by generous donations that allow URBAN-15 to award Josiah finalists a cash prize. Through both Mega Corazon and The Josiah Media Festival, artists of all ages are encouraged to continue along their artistic path and reach great heights. It is programs such as the Big Give that allow URBAN-15 to raise the funds these creators deserve.

This year, The Big Give and multiple partners have collaborated to feature “Match Minutes”, during which your donation may be effectively doubled by these organizations. Donors are encouraged to input their payment information 5-10 minutes before the designated “Match Minute” and completing the payment when your computer or phone clock reach the correct time.

Suggested Match Minutes include:

–  Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation’s Match Minute at 6:10PM on Sep. 20th (Matches will only occur to donations made within that minute)

– Argo Group & Wave Healthcare’s Match Minute at 7:10PM on Sep. 20th (Matches will only occur to donations made within that minute)

– Big Give’s Match Minute at 9:10AM on Sep. 21st (Matches will only occur to donations made within that minute)

– The San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture’s five minute match time from 1:10PM to 1:15PM on Sep. 21st

However, if you miss any of these times, there are many more “Match Minutes” to choose from, you can find them all here!

We humbly ask for your donations to keep these great programs going. Your gift will stimulate growth in our arts community and encourage brilliant minds to create great works.

Donate to URBAN-15 by clicking here

Important Update: New Lower Pricing as of October 30th 

 – Reserved Seats: $40

– GA: $30

– Seniors & Military: $20 

– Students: $15

– Purchase Tickets Here

In 2013, electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick bestowed to URBAN-15 a series of intimate concerts where attendees had the incredible opportunity to listen to sounds from the influential composer’s works “Silver Apples of the Moon” and “A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur” (Link to 2013 Performance). Now, as a celebration of his 90 years of age, Subotnick makes a return to our studio, bringing with him a distinct sampling of sounds in a new series of performances he has dubbed “As I Live and Breathe”. Subotnick has chosen six cities for this 2023 tour; Venice, Berlin, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.

URBAN-15 will have the honor of hosting three Subotnick performances on November 10, 11, and 12, and an “Open Conversation” in a panel-type setting where guests will have a rare opportunity to converse with the composer himself. In contrast to his typical Buchla Modular Synthesizer, Subotnick will employ the use of a digital, on-screen version, of the famous Buchla 200e. In addition to the live sounds that will be produced on-site, attendees will also view psychedelic visual projections by German video artist Lillevan as part of the mind-expanding experience that is a Morton Subotnick performance.

Morton Subotnick is one of the pioneers in the development of electronic music and an innovator in works involving instruments and other media, including interactive computer music systems. The work which brought Subotnick celebrity was Silver Apples of the Moon [1966-7], a composition commissioned by Nonesuch Records. It has become a modern classic and was entered into the coveted National Register of Recorded Works at the Library of Congress. In 1962, Mr. Subotnick and fellow composer Ramon Sender founded the San Francisco Tape Music Center. They longed for electronic sound-generating equipment that was more flexible, integrated and accommodating to the creative process than any then available. The same year, across the bay in Berkeley, Donald Buchla started his electronic music equipment company. With help from a Rockefeller Foundation grant, the two composers commissioned Buchla to develop new equipment to meet their creative needs. The result was the Buchla 100, an expandable modular system that was relatively economical and compact enough to be taken out of the lab and into concert venues. Subotnick has been actively composing since the late 1940’s and continues breaking barriers to this day.

URBAN-15 Performance Ensemble has a new visual and sound spectacular as a follow-up presentation to its successful 2021 and 2022 LUMINARIA appearances.

The San Antonio-based ensemble again will collaborate with laser light artist Tim Walsh in the new work combining illuminated costumes, dance, live percussion elements with electronic music, lit sculptures, and multiple laser projectors. This 40-minute set will incorporate electronic percussion triggers to drive the laser shapes and colors. The dancers in programable illuminated costumes will be choreographed for staged performances.

Since 2008’s LUMINARIA, URBAN-15 has presented large-scale performances with light technology and live dancers and drummers. The 2008 and 2009 performances at the Main Stage in Alamo Plaza and the laser/video projections on the sides of the Kress and J.C. Penny’s Buildings were the beginnings of URBAN-15’s presence at LUMINARIA.  In 2010, “Inside the Magic Prism” with laser projections onto the face of the Hilton Hotel and the enveloping green veil of laser spokes projected the entire length of Alamo Plaza provided an experience long remembered by LUMINARIA audiences. The ability to produce and execute such festival public spectacles is the legacy of URBAN-15’s mission. We are part of San Antonio’s celebratory Vision.

The Urban-15 Group walks with Little Amal at 2023 Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival

Luminaria and URBAN-15 Group are proud to announce its site-specific performance with Little Amal, who will come to San Antonio during this year’s Luminaria Festival on October 21. Come watch as the enchanting drummers and dancers of URBAN-15 lead her into the dream-like world of motion, lights, and colors of this one-of-a-kind celebration. With lights everywhere – above, below, and around her, Little Amal will be mesmerized by her surroundings and immersed in the arts and culture that call San Antonio home. Little Amal represents the plight of human rights across the world, specifically those having to do with immigration. As the largest majority-Hispanic/ Latino city, San Antonio makes an ideal location for Little Amal to stand in solidarity with the millions of immigrants who have called the Alamo City home. Celebrate life, art, and culture at Luminaria alongside URBAN-15 and Little Amal.  

More about Little Amal: Little Amal is the 12 foot puppet of  a 10 year old Syrian refugee child at the heart of The Walk.  She has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees. Since July 2021, Amal has travelled over 9,000km to 97 towns and cities in 15 countries and been welcomed by more than a million people on the street, including hundreds of artists and civil society and faith leaders, as well as by tens of millions online. Her journeys are festivals of art and hope that draw attention to the huge numbers of children fleeing war, violence and persecution, each with their own story. Her urgent message to the world is “Don’t forget about us”. Between 7 September and 5 November 2023, Amal will journey 6,000 miles across the United States. 35 towns and cities from Boston to San Diego and 1,000+ artists and arts organizations will create 100+ events to welcome her.

More information on Little Amal’s journey at her website here

For more information on Luminaria and The Urban-15 Group please contact:  

events@urban15.org or (210)736-1500 

Celebrate San Antonio’s arts and culture in a truly unique way at this year’s Floating Feastival! Hosted by The URBAN-15 Group, the Floating Feastival is a brilliant combination of the culinary and performing arts, all in the setting of a river cruise down the iconic San Antonio River Walk. Patrons of this great party will have the opportunity to taste an array of delicious dishes served by friendly waitstaff right at their boat during each stop at some of our city’s most beloved riverside restaurants. Every passenger will also have a front row seat to enjoy beautiful performances by local artists, accentuating this event as a truly one-of-a-kind experience.  

The event will be from 6PM to 10PM, beginning with a Welcome Cocktail from Hotel Valencia. Afterwards, guests will enjoy Devilled Eggs Carbonara and Salad from Range, and a delicious Chipotle Chicken Entre from Acenar before returning to Hotel Valencia for Dessert Flight and Coffee.

The Floating Feastival is brought to you by URBAN-15, an organization that brings new and unique art forms and education to the community. By attending this event, you’ll be supporting a great cause while enjoying a great fun-filled party on the river. 

This jubilant celebration will only occur on September 27th and tickets will go fast so hurry to secure a spot!