FILMMAKING IN FOCUS: Artist Conversation with Colette Standish & Alex Mendo

An intimate, in-depth filmmaker in focus presentation and discussion with Bay Area artists Colette Standish and Alex Mendo.

Join us for an intimate, in-depth filmmaker in focus presentation and discussion with Bay Area artists Colette Standish and Alex Mendo. The intergenerational conversation will address the artists' approach to craft and concept, and what it's like creating erotic art, then and now. Moderated by Festival Director Shine Louise Houston.

What to expect:

An open conversation and projection of film excerpts that may include nudity and explicit sexuality.

Note: All attendees must be over 18 and have a valid government-issued ID. This is a viewing-only event; please keep sex limited to the screen. COVID testing and masks are optional and encouraged. Doors open 30 minutes before the event.

About the artists:

Colette Standish is a filmmaker, painter, and photographer whose work explores consciousness, eroticism, and embodiment. Educated at St. Martin's College of Art in London and the San Francisco Art Institute, she creates experimental, artist-driven cinema. Her films include Viaggio: A Journey, screened at festivals throughout Europe and the United States, and the ongoing series Chasing the Light: Dreamscape of the Erotized Body. Her video Phoenix Rising was featured at ZAZ10TS in Times Square, and she contributed a dream sequence to Christopher Coppola's feature Sammy & Quinn. Video one of Chasing the Light: Dreamscape of the Erotized Body screens in ART/SMUT at The Little Roxie on Friday, July 31st at 6:00pm. colettestandish.com

Alex Mendo is an independent filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist whose work explores intimacy and human connection. Born in Dallas, educated in Boston, and formerly a software designer in San Francisco, she left the tech industry in 2024 to pursue filmmaking and art full time. Her creative practice is influenced by Ecstatic Dance, whose improvisational movement informs the physical language of her films. Through her ongoing project Human Bodies, Mendo creates works celebrating desire, in collaboration with friends and lovers to craft deeply personal, body-positive cinematic experiences. Her short film Garden of Adams screens in ART/SMUT at The Little Roxie on Friday, July 31st at 6:00pm. humanbodies.co