HÄXÄN Festival is a Bay Area arts festival focusing on local artists exploring psychic and mystic connections through experiments in multimedia. HÄXÄN presents the kitsch of New Age pop culture alongside ancient sacred and mythological practice, as both serve as interesting avenues into this distinct cultural expression. We propose that ancient spiritual practice sifted through modern everyday interpretation has blossomed into what we have named the “Personal Occult.” We are looking for works that take this premise and make it personal and real. Our festival celebrates witchcraft and this Personal Occult.
HÄXÄN Festival seeks to make a more effective context for artist made films in our community by broadening the audience for experimental film while working within the cultural microcosm of the occult. In addition to films we exhibit segments of music, performance, and installation to bring HÄXÄN to life as a full festival. HÄXÄN publishes a program zine with original visual art. By opening to interdisciplinary modes of exhibition, HÄXÄN Festival remodels the traditional idea of the Film Festival into a contemporary, adaptive cinematic experience.
We focus on short experimental works which explore ritual, magic, gender subversion, psychic realms, digital mysticism, and the ultra-natural.
