Pia Cruzalegui talks about launching Twisted Oyster Film Festival

Twisted Oyster is an annual theme-based and socially conscious festival showcasing stories and works of human interest. At the core of the festival lies community engagement and social inclusion with a mission to place a spotlight on stories of human interest across a broad range of social issues, through the curation of films and time-based media artworks.   Twisted Oyster is a unique festival in Chicago where film and art intersect in a dual program exhibition.  The works created by culturally diverse artists and filmmakers from around the world open doors to stories that engage the public into an in-depth experience of human tales and narratives. Every year, the festival selects a number of works created with the use of advanced digital technologies or electronics to create provocative installations, while films are selected by a jury panel of artists, filmmakers and writers.  The festival's dual program offers an opportunity to experience local and international short, feature, fiction, experimental, documentary films, and animation, plus a time-based art exhibition that includes small and large installations and performance for an immersive sensorial experience. Twisted Oyster hosts lectures, presentations and invites high school- and community college-level artists to show their films or video artworks.