WebFlicks clicks for artists

Go ahead. Turn on your computer and tune into www.WebFlicks.org Watch a documentary about Seattle's slam poetry scene or a cartoon about a farmer and his wacky mushroom friends. Check out a music video featuring Seattle band Sinforosa or watch teenagers take on the heady topics of racism and classism through a series of short films.

"I want people to be entertained," says Peter Mitchell, mastermind behind WebFlicks. "But the more important thing is that they're educated or inspired or changed in some way."

Those are some pretty lofty goals for an entertainment Web site. But then again, WebFlicks is not your standard site.

For starters, it's not run by the latest-and-supposedly-greatest dot-com (the kind that's just as likely to go belly up as it is to go stocks up). Instead, it's a non-profit site dedicated to showing art "in a non-commercial, non-competitive, protective environment."

Non-commercial? Non-competitive? On the Internet?

WebFlicks.org was made possible by a grant from the Seattle Arts Commission, as well as by a donation of bandwidth and storage space from Speakeasy.net and Playstream.com.

This site is a showcase for the artwork and artists involved with the Seattle-based 911 Media Arts Center. This non-profit collective has been helping film, video and multimedia artisans develop and create projects for the past 17 years.

The center itself -- the physical home to WebFlicks.org -- sits near the corner of Denny Way and Stewart Street. Take a walk through this recently expanded lair and you'll find rooms for editing video and creating animation. There's a room chock full of cameras, lights, cables, tripods -- all the gear needed to create a movie. Would-be movie makers and animators can rent this equipment or reserve time in the editing suites for a low, low price.

More importantly, the 911 Media Arts Center is a place for artists to meet, exchange ideas and -- thanks to the screening room -- a place to showcase their creations.

And now, WebFlicks brings that screening room to the worldwide public as only the Internet can do.

"It's not about marketing. It's about freedom of information," Mitchell says with the kind of honest enthusiasm found only in those who aren't out to make a buck. "You can watch stuff and experience stuff you wouldn't experience through the mainstream media."

"Lost Keys," for instance, is a short movie that finds a young woman confonted by her own stereotypes. It was written, directed and filmed by 14-year-old Michael Matas as part of 911's Young Producer Project.

Indie filmmaker Dave Hanagan is friends with members of the band Sinforosa and so he made a music video for them. "Just Like You" is darkly humorous, features a full cast of spiders and explores the concept of revenge.

MTV wasn't exactly knocking on the door. But WebFlicks was more than happy to host the video.

"It's pretty gratifying for people around the world to have a chance to see your work," Hanagan says.

He got involved with 911 three years ago while making his first movie "Spies for Hire." He used the center's editing equipment to finish the project and has used their gear ever since to make the stories in his mind a reality on film.

WebFlicks will soon offer a preview of Hanagan's latest work, a short film shot around Seattle and called "Jack Strange -- Literary Hero."

Unlike many other streaming media Web sites, WebFlicks does not make money off the movies and documentaries that appear on the site and does not demand that artists sign away their rights to showcase their work elsewhere.

"WebFlicks is approaching it from an artist's standpoint rather than trying to cash in and take advantage of the artists," Hanagan says.

P-I reporter Winda Benedetti can be reached at 206-448-8223 or windabenedetti@seattle-pi.com