OPTRONICA :: JULY 20th -24th, 2005

The bfi National Film Theatre (NFT) and Addictive TV join forces to present Optronica, the World’s first ever festival dedicated to exploring the convergence of visuals & music. A hybrid of film festival and music festival, Optronica will take place July 20-24, 2005 at the NFT and at the bfi London IMAX Cinema – the biggest screen in Britain. The exquisite alchemy which takes place when music and vision fuse has long been an underground phenomenon, inspired by early experimental film and developed through the club and alternative art worlds. Now the NFT and Addictive TV are taking visual music to a new dimension on the big screen.

Confirmed headline performances at the bfi London IMAX Cinema are:

· Opening the festival, the World premiere of Warp Records act Plaid and video artist Bob Jaroc’s new surround-sound audiovisual project "Greedy Baby". Plus support from The Mellowtrons: AV duo of Lee Walker and former Orbital animator Giles Thacker.

· UK premiere of DJ Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation - a live solo film remix by noted New York turntablist adding new music and meaning to DW Griffith’s controversial masterpiece "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) - in association with the bfi’s Blackworld initiative. Plus support from audiovisual cut-up maestros and Diesel-U-Music award winners Exceeda.

· Stunning audiovisual show from electronic music pioneer and ex-Kraftwerk star Karl Bartos, who also gives a lecture at the festival.

· Live AV performances at the NFT include Canadian multimedia duo Skoltz_Kolgen (Mutek Records), People Like Us (UK), Masakatsu Takagi (Japan) and The Sancho Plan (UK).

· Discussion panelists include Stuart Warren-Hill (Hexstatic), Dutch AV pioneer Jeroen Hofs (Eboman), Paul D Miller (DJ Spooky), Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) and Chris Allen (The Light Surgeons).

· Special live AV performance from Addictive TV on the flytower of the National Theatre (NT), with spectacular projections visible across the Thames, launching the NT’s Watch This Space series of outdoor events.

· A one-off club night at The Spitz on Saturday 23 July with synergistic DJ:VJ sets from French DJ Joakim (Versatile Records), Dutch electro-meister Legowelt (Bunker Records), Si Begg (Mute) meshing with visual sets from an international pool of VJs including eMovie (France), VJ Milosh (Poland), TomoGrapher (Japan) and Stanzacrew (Holland).

· Cinema screenings of new works curated from hundreds of entries submitted from over 30 countries.

Optronica’s blend of cutting-edge audiovisual art and technology is designed to create a new kind of cinematic experience, showcasing both emerging and established talent, bringing new audiences to a blossoming artistic genre that until now has not had its own dedicated festival.

Optronica is being organised by Addictive TV in collaboration with the NFT and is supported by Arts Council England. The NFT is the nation's most high profile and respected centre for moving image and its associated arts. As well as organising visuals-oriented events, releasing cutting edge DVD albums and producing shows like cult late night ITV1 music series Mixmasters, Addictive TV perform live as artists and were voted No 1 VJs in the World 2004 by DJ Mag.

Please visit www.optronica.org for more detailed info.