Cauleen Smith is an American born filmmaker and professor of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego

University of California, San Diego

The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...

. She is also known to complete work under the alias Kelly Gabron.She is best known for her experimental works that address the African American identity, specifically the issues facing black women today.She heavily associates herself with the bay area movement of experimental filmmakers that question Hollywood's aesthetic values. Her rise into the spotlight first occurred with her much acclaimed feature film Drylongso earning her national recognition as a filmmaker. Her film style is internationally renowned for being innovative displaying the influence of her college mentors Angela Davis

Angela Davis

Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...

, Trinh T. Minh-ha

Trinh T. Minh-ha

Trinh T. Minh-ha is a filmmaker, writer, academic and composer. She is a world-renowned independent filmmaker and feminist, post-colonial theorist. She teaches courses that focus on women's work as related to cultural politics, post-coloniality, contemporary critical theory and the arts...

, and Lynn Hershman Leeson

Lynn Hershman Leeson

Lynn Hershman Leeson is an award-winning American artist and filmmaker. She was Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Davis, and an A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...

. Cauleen currently resides in the greater San Diego area and is working on an upcoming experimental documentary of the life of renowned jazz musician Sun Ra

Sun Ra

Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...

.

Education

When Smith graduated from John F. Kennedy High School, she was a talented
cello player. She accepted a music scholarship from Chapman University

Chapman University

Chapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...

 in
Orange, California, but soon realized that her true passion was film. She
transferred to San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...

, a school known for a strong
film program.

In 1991 Smith completed her B.A in Cinema at San Francisco State
University. While a student there, she completed several films, two of
which received “ a lot of attention” according to Smith; “Daily Rains”
which was completed in 1990, and “Chronicles of a Lying Spirit by Kelly
Gabron” which was fully completed in 1993. The latter film officially
introduced Kelly Gabron to the world, Smith’s ‘alter ego’.

Once she finished her B.A., Smith was accepted into M.F.A. program at
UCLA. It was her work there that gained her worldwide recognition. In her
second year of the program, Smith decided to shoot a feature length film
titled “Drylongso”. However, it was against UCLA’s rules for film students
to shoot feature length films, “and for good reason, you don’t know what
you are doing!” according to Smith. She was, after some struggles, able to
complete the film, and it got a significant amount of attention at the
Sundance Film Festival, and took home several Best Film awards from other
festivals, mentioned below. In 1998, Smith graduated from UCLA with her
M.F.A. and a growing reputation as an up and coming force in the film
industry.

• 1991 B.A., Cinema San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
• 1998 M.F.A., University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
• 2007 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine.

Drylongso

Drylongso was a highly acclaimed film that gained Smith much attention and popularity. Smith made the movie while completing film school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The film takes place in Oakland, CA and follows a young African American woman named Pica, on her quest to photograph her concept of a dying breed, referring to African American men.The movie follows Pica through the attrition of the young black men around her and how she balances this with her dysfunctional families struggles. The film brings up the topic of gang violence that took place in Oakland which claimed the lives of many innocent African American young men. Drylongso is and old African American term meaning "same old" or "everyday". Drylongso was well received at many film festivals, most notably Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

. in 2000,Drylongso also won best feature at the Urbanworld Festival, Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival, and the Philadelphia International Film Festival.

Future projects

Sun Ra

Sun Ra

Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...

:
Cauleen Smith’s most recent work in progress is an experimental film about the famous jazz composer, Sun Ra

Sun Ra

Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...

. Sun Ra’s birth name was Herman Poole Blount until he legally changed it to Le Sony’r Ra. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1914, but eventually moved to Chicago in 1945, which is where Smith’s movie will take place. Sun Ra was not only a composer but a bandleader, piano and synthesizer player. He was also famously known for his “comic” philosophies. Sun Ra believed he was a cosmological being from Saturn and his music was composed to share with the human race. He promoted Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism is an emergent literary and cultural aesthetic that combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, Afrocentricity, and magic realism with non-Western cosmologies in order to critique not only the present-day dilemmas of people of color, but also to revise,...

, which influenced his call for awareness and peace. Sun Ra used his music as a vehicle of communication that he directly used to challenge African Americans to explore their historical past and celebrate it.
This is the first film Smith is making without a script or crew, but the film is gradually coming together. The premise of the film is the exploration of the city Chicago and the lasting effect of Sun Ra’s music in the area. She is continuing to ask contemporary musicians to write compositions of Sun Ra’s music for high school marching bands in Chicago to perform. She has the various marching bands dressed in solar flare costume descend on the streets of Chicago playing these written compositions. They quickly disperse afterwards leaving the people in the streets often confused. Smith is tracking Sun Ra’s musical movement around the city and is enjoying exploring Chicago and its history of music and influence.
Smith is waiting to raise additional funds to continue making the film. A film preview is available on vimeo.com, which people can also donate money to the cause.

Filmography

• 2010
  • Remote Viewing. 4K digital Video. TRT: 15:00. Funded by Creative Capital.
  • The Grid. 4K digital Video. TRT: 15:00. Funded by Creative Capital.
  • T Minus Two. Digitized 16mm. TRT: 2:00.
  • Good Clean Family Fun. Digitized 16mm. TRT: 5:00.
  • Black and Blue Over You (after Bas Jan Ader for Ishan).TRT: 8:00.
  • Demon Fuzz. (loop) Digitized 35mm. TRT: 7:00
  • Elsewhere. (Installation loop) Digitized 35mm. TRT: 5:30
  • Sine at the Canyon Sine at the Sea. Appropriated 16mm NASA films. TRT: 4:00.
• 2009
  • Not the Black. MiniDV. TRT: 1:39.
• 2008
  • ENTITLED Super-8. TRT: 6:30”
  • THE FULLNESS OF TIME MiniDV. Single Channel. TRT: 50:00”
• 2007
  • NEBULAE – Austin. 16mm film installation with sculptural component.
  • Right Hand Only Left Hand Lonely Two Channel Video Installation
• 2006
  • (Afro)Galactic Postcards from M94 Three 20MB Video Podcasts and Website
  • I Want To See My Skirt Multi-Channel Video with sculptural component. In Collaboration with poet, AaronVan Jordan.
  • Marriage Is For White People Two Channel Video and 3D Installation.
  • Cantata for Salamanders and Twelve Choirs In Collaboration with artist, Daniel Bozhkov. S-16.
  • Dark Matter and The Post Card Video Experimental Narrative. DV. 8 and 2.5 minutes.
  • The Carbonist School Study Hall Commissioned documentary featuring the founding members of The Carbonist School. MiniDV. 12.
• 2005
  • The Green Dress Series Six Channel. 35mm. Color. Sound.14 minutes. Six channel loop.
• 2003
  • Hollywould If She Could. DV Narrative. 15 minutes.
• 2001
  • The Changing Same 35mm 9.5 minutes.
• 1998
  • Drylongso 82 minutes 16mm narrative. Distributed by Video Data Bank.
• 1997
  • White Suit 16mm 3.5 minutes.
  • Sapphire Tape #2: VHS. Five minutes.
• 1995
  • A Thousand Words 16mm 14 minutes. 1993
  • Sapphire Tape #1: The Message VHS video.
  • Memory Poison Bones Site-specific installation.
  • Chronicles of A Lying Spirit by Kelly Gabron 16mm 5.5 minutes.
• 1990
  • Daily Rains. 16 mm. 12 minutes.
• 1989
  • Wall Doc VHS. 6 minutes.

Grants and awards

• 1992
  • Film Arts Foundation Personal Works Grant.
• 1994
  • Rockefeller Inter cultural Media Arts Fellowship.
  • American Film Institute Film and Videomaker Grant.
  • National Black Programming Consortium Funding.
  • Western States Regional Fellowships.
  • Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, UCLA.
• 1995/6
  • Graduate Student Support, Academic Affairs.
• 1999
  • Honorable Mention Best Feature Film. Hamptons Film Festival.
• 2000
  • Nomination. Independent Spirit Award Best Debut Performance.
  • Winner. Independent Spirit Award Movado Someone To Watch.
• 2001
  • Urbanworld Film Festival. Best Feature Film.
  • Participant. Sundance Institute Writer’s Lab. Winter.
  • Participant. Sundance Institute Writer’s Lab. Summer.
  • Participant. Sundance Institute Director’s Lab. Participant.
• 2002
  • Texas Exes Teacher of the Year.
• 2004
  • Tribeca All-Access Participant.
• 2005
  • Rockefeller Technical Support Grant.
  • Texas Filmmaker Production Fund Grant.
  • University of Texas Office of Research Special Research Grant.
• 2006
  • University of Texas Dean’s Fellowship.
  • University of Texas Summer Research Grant.
  • National Black Programming Consortium. New Media Initiative.
• 2007
  • Artmatters Foundation.
• 2008
  • Creative Capital Film/Video Grant
  • James D. Phelan Art Award in Film, Video, and Digital Media. San Francisco Foundation.
  • Nominated for the Alpert Awards in the Arts

External links

• http://www.sistersincinema.com/
• http://www.wmm.com/
• http://vimeo.com/kellygabron/videos
• http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solarflare/the-solar-flare-arkestral-marching-band-project