on 23-27th sept, a couple of us from the onedotzero team headed up north to liverpool, to experience abandon normal devices [AND], a new festival that welcomes audiences to experience the best in new cinema and media art. fresh from our own festival at london’s bfi southbank, the opportunity to experience and indulge in this festival as a member of the audience was too tempting! www.andfestival.org.uk

no venue in the city was left untouched by the AND festival fever, activity and publicity, in a celebration that spilled from the screen and galleries into the landscape and imaginations of the north west.

with a healthy selection of film screenings, talks + workshops, exhibitions and events, all venues throughout the city joined forces to host this festival encouraging visitors, artists + filmmakers of the city, new and old, a platform to engage.

with just a couple of days to absorb the festival delights, we dived straight in:
- an intense workshop on ‘whole body interaction’ a hands-on workshop in motion capture, showcasing technology developed for wirelessly capturing body motion.
- going on an unusual bike ride through the city with any early demo of blast theories, ‘rider spoke’, which continues their fascination with how games and new communication technologies are creating hybrid social spaces.
- sitting back and witnessing the mesmerisingly powerful and educational 1915 KKK propaganda film ‘birth of a nation’ one of the most revered and reviled films ever made, being re-edited live by dj spooky in ‘rebirth of a nation’.
- and a personal highlight, ‘fantoscopic fair’ event hosted by ‘the kazimer’, a unique night mixed with dance, music and multi-media performance in the radical site-specific travelling carnival of amusements!

returning back to the big smoke, we left AND festival to wind down in it’s temporary liverpool home, while plans are already afoot for the april arm of the festival, when AND heads for the hills to visit a series of remote and rural locations in cumbria, lancashire and online presented by folly. so if you’re up in the north – you still have chance to abandon your normal devices and join in with the festival fun!