Welcome to Planet MIX! This year the MIX Factory occupies a different orbit, still in the East Village, our most frequent home, but a new space lovingly crafted to present experimental film art and a fun hang-out space to inhabit. The other day I was hit by the feeling that we're so lucky to have what resources that we do to put on this festival, and do all the work that MIX presents year-round. Usually I feel that we don't have enough time/money/people to realize all of our ambitions, but those discontents melted away into the love and satisfaction of being able to say "yes" as much as I can to artists and others who want to collaborate or are seeking help. That MIX has grown and thrives today is, if not miraculous then unlikely. I'm proud of these past decades, and MIX's place in the hearts of many individuals and institutions worldwide.

Locally though, we urge you to take this week to OCCUPY BLEECKER STREET! The MIX Factory can be the site not just for just passively taking in films, but for actively reaching out to connect with other exciting queer life forms!

There is a utopian possibility in the current global occupation movement, in the imagination of science fiction (a theme that runs though this year's design and programming, with Flaming Ears, A UFO Over My Bed, the installation Buck & Bucky and others) and in MIX! That potential is what we hope you experience when you give yourself over to this alternate universe. On the culture front, we are making over the world in a small venue for a week. On the popularly understood political front, Occupy Wall Street (mere steps from the MIX offices) is striving to make over the world at large. Precarious, precious, sustained by limited resources and human effort, let's savor the sensation of possibility and change that can unite us on a multilateral undertaking.

I am immensely proud of the accomplishments that MIX has achieved artistically and institutionally (premiering Tarnation, the on-going ACT UP Oral History Project, expanded emphasis on installations & design, and our staunch support of free expression for artists & queerdos), and as we continue to push boundaries, it is equally important that we have a solid foundation in place to ensure that we honor this record of achievement, as well as provide a financial means for the vision of the festivals to come. That is the critical role of our donors, volunteers, board & staff, who have contributed immensely in ways large and small to secure the future of the festival. I encourage you to support MIX by donating your time or resources so our groundbreaking programming continues to flourish.

MIX is always a struggle, but a good one. There's never enough money, and yet we seem to find a way, despite a year of rent increases, water leaks, rapacious landlords, and other quotidian matters. Let me close by quoting the renowned author Samuel Delany, whose thoughts fit perfectly with MIX's dreams:

"Science fiction isn't just thinking about the world out there. It's also thinking about how that world might be--a particularly important exercise for those who are oppressed, because if they're going to change the world we live in, they--and all of us--have to be able to think about a world that works differently." -Samuel Delany

Stephen Kent Jusick
Executive Director