HOT DOCS INSIDE OUT – DAY 11: Last Day
Farewell My Friends - Doc U at Hot Docs 2010
Okay… In Vancouver now and finally trying to close the week of Hot Docs blogging. I’ve had a couple glasses of wine and I’m still sleep-deprived from the week, but here goes.
This morning (Friday morning) our last Doc U session was with Robin Smith of Kinosmith, the distribution company of docs such as Rip: A Remix Manifesto and Up The Yangtze (the latter which put Kinosmith on the map). I really appreciated the frankness of Robin. He did not hold back from his opinions of the NFB and the CBC, and his opinions were mixed, shall we say. He provided one example that I won’t get into the details over but let’s just say that the commercial launch of the DVD of one of his films was in competition with the free streaming version on nfb.ca. Kinosmith asked the NFB for a temporary removal of the film but it was not granted. It’s tough to compete with free but I am also reminded that, as the NFB is a publicly funded producer, we the taxpayers have already paid for the right to watch the film. Tough call. I’m sure there are many details and insights I am missing here, but the bottom line is that I really liked and respected Robin Smith and his honesty. I also appreciate the NFB for sticking to their guns. I hope, over time, I still admire and respect each the same as I do today.
The final hurrah
That was the last session of Doc U for 2010. I have to say that the experience was the best I’ve had in my new career (besides the experience I had shooting Surviving In The Cracks). I made lots of new friends, contacts with big time distributors, saw lots of great films and had a little too much fun at the parties.
Later that evening I went to the awards ceremony and the festival wrap up party with my new friends made at Doc U. Only one of the films I saw this week was nominated for best-of awards (Arsy Versy), which indicated that, despite my best efforts, I still didn’t see that many ‘critically-acclaimed’ films. That’s fine – especially since judging a film as the “best-of” is a tricky thing to do… judges may be experienced (or not) but they still have their subjective tastes… the only legitimate award is the democratically decided Audience Award, but even then, these can be biased too depending on the audience, and how well the filmmaker was able to populate the screenings with the films supporters (this is more of a problem at the smaller festivals anyhow). That controversy aside, the highlight of the awards was seeing Nimisha Mukerji, fellow NFB Cookin’ Creative participant and co-director of 65_Red_Roses win the Don Haig award. Way to go Nimisha!
Anyhow, I ended the experience on a high note… partook in some festivities that night but left the party early to get some sleep in time for my flight back to Van. Sad to leave but happy to be home. Back in Van now and still feeling quite short on sleep… so off I go…
HOT DOCS INSIDE OUT – DAY 6: Doc U Day 1. Feeling a little low.
Doc U Day 1. Today we all met. I am tired of blogging now.
Fine. Continuing, we went around the room and introduced ourselves, and our favorite films. In case any of these newish filmmakers (some are newer than others and our ages range from 20 to in-their-50′s. I, along with many others fit nicely in the middle… ) So as I was saying, if any of these filmmakers become famous, then I will be able to boast that I was in their Doc U class in 2010. Here are their intros as we went around the room:
Firstly our two mentors:
Daniel Northway-Frank is the coordinator of Doc U and many other things here at Hot Docs as well as an excellent and enthusiastic host. He made darned sure we all made it to brunch safe and sound, at a charming Italian wine bar and bistro, Langolino, near Kensington (first time I’ve seen that area of Toronto – love it!).
Jeremy Gans stumbled into doc film from journalism and some time spent at the CBC. His directorial debut was a film called No Past To Speak Of, which screened at Hot Docs in 2006. Both Jeremy and Daniel have already gone out of their way to help Anam, myself, and Hayley for our Rendezvous meetings. Thanks guys.
Doc U Recipients 2010:
Jodie Martinson, Masters of Journalism UBC, her doc To The Tarsands screened at the Calgary International Film Fest and DOXA. Wow. One favorite film: Iraq in Fragments.
Anam Abbas, U of T, Sheridan College. Fave: Up the Yangtze
Ajit Zacharias, successful software developer, now a creative producer, Sheridan College. Didn’t hear his favorite film, sorry Ajit.
Zdravco Jovanovic, MFA York, he’s a triplet. Missed your fave too Zdravco.
Me, Greg Masuda, for readers who don’t know me. Langara College, mechanical engineer. Fave: Born Into Brothels, now also Czech Dream, and I just thought of another: King of Kong.
Gabriele Kislat, an experienced DoP in fiction, now a director/DoP in documentary, she’s Quebec’s TDF recipient, like I am BC’s. Fave: Sari Soldiers
Jules Koostachin, Ryerson U, Cree, daughter of a residential school survivor, mother of four, and a very impressive CV including theatre, film, and aboriginal and women’s social issues. Missed your fave Jules.
Kathleen Mackey, Ryerson. Makes personal films. Fave: Bright Leaves
Sue Johnson, Ryerson. Enjoyed your film at Doc Shop Sue. Fave: The Beaver Trilogy.
Chris Bevacqua, Langara College, photographer for social and street newspapers, ex-social outreach worker in Vancouver. Fave: Hoop Dreams (can’t believe I still haven’t seen this one)
Kevin Caners, Algonquin College, has mechanical engineering to fall back on if film doesn’t work out for him (sound familiar? …for those of you who don’t know I also have a mechanical engineering degree) – don’t do it Kevin. Fave doc: Fog of War or Manufacturing Consent.
Wendy Dallian, Capilano U, worked for the David Suzuki Foundation for 8.5 years, including directly for David Suzuki and his wife. Fave: anything by Werner Herzog.
Thomas Retzlaff, representing the prairies – U of Regina. Everyone else here is from BC or Ontario, and one from Quebec… Where is the rest of Canada? Fave doc for Thomas: Don’t You Forget About Me
Hayley Crooks, Queen’s U, has 7 Rendezvous meetings! Did I mention she has 7 Rendezvous meetings? Missed you favorite film, Hayley.
Ashley Burke, Masters of Journalism, Carleton U, CBC Radio has syndicated some of her radio shows. Fave: Errol Morris’ first film Gifts to Heaven (did I get that right?)
Marcus Pukonen, Capilano U, stand up paddle boarded from Vancouver to Nanaimo to raise awareness for – I think – sewage treatment (lack of) in Vancouver, plus filmed it for his doc project. Fave: The Yes Men or Carts of Darkness
Tavi Parusel, Capilano U, this kid (I’m almost twice as old as him!) screened his first film at two festivals and has won awards. Fave: Man on Wire.
Reviews today:
Okay, I’m not a movie critic as you’ve probably figured out by now, and honestly, I’d prefer to spend less time on my computer on this trip so I’m going to try to keep these review to a minimum. Firstly, my screening schedule has changed quite significantly. For my first show today I had two options selected but opted for a third at Daniel’s suggestion (The Player with Dear Matthew)…
Dear Matthew - short film about a son, from the father’s perspective. The son was an artist, who went missing one day, I don’t remember how many years ago, and never returned. The father’s wife died wishing her son would return. This was a touching story, the pacing and music was appropriate, but this was your standard portrait. Technically it was fine. Editing fine. Everything fine. That’s it – there is nothing really unique or groundbreaking about this film, except that it sets up the next one, The Player, also a father-son story, but this time about a father told from the son’s (also the filmmaker) perspective. This reminds me that film selection for festivals is not only dependent on the qualities of a particular film over another, but also for programming considerations – i.e. does it fit in a certain ‘theme’, a niche, or a slot that could be quite specific. In this case, I believe Dear Matthew was that film. A fine film, and a complement to the feature for this programming slot at the festival. 3/5
The Player – as already mentioned, a son, the filmmaker John Appel, tells the story about his father, a gambling addict. A quick aside: Chris Bevacqua commented earlier this week that he is not a Rush fan, but that the film Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage was excellent and it didn’t matter that he was not a fan – something that only a good film can do. That’s how I feel about this film. I have absolutely no interest in gambling. I’ve been to Vegas and didn’t even play the slots. I do not enjoy poker, casinos even faux-casinos, or the horse races. It’s just not my thing. As hard as my mind seemed to try however, it could not turn my interest off in this story of an addicted gambler and the effect it had on his family. Good storytelling, interesting subjects, the filmmaker’s POV, good technicals all made this a surprisingly enjoyable experience. 4/5
133 Years of Music In Six Solos – sorry I had to take this down since it’s now being submitted to festivals
The last thing I’ll talk about tonight is the International Doc Challenge… no our film, 133 Year of Music In Six Solos, did not make the finals. The experience of watching the 12 that did deflated me a bit… I felt pretty strongly about this little piece as we waited for the jury decisions, and watching the 12 last night brought back those feelings of disappointment …anyhow there were some very strong shorts in the Doc Challenge this year and my congratulations to all of the finalists. The great thing about this competition for me was that it unblocked me – focusing on Surviving In The Cracks for so long had frozen me I think. For the Doc Challenge I was literally forced to be creative again – and to shoot, edit, master and deliver a film about something that I know little about, in a very short period of time. It’s a piece that, in the end, was just fun – eye candy and ear candy; it has no social, environmental, or political agenda whatsoever. I am embedding 133 Years… here again.
Okay, I’m going to give myself a break now. Blogging every day is exhausting and I’m sure my writing must be suffering. I haven’t given up on photos, I just forgot the cable for my camera – a final funny anecdote to remember from my 2010 Hot Docs experience. Yesterday as I emerged from the Museum Subway station, I was greeted by thousands of cannabis fanatics and a pot parade for the Freedom Festival. This morning as I emerged from the same station I found myself surrounded by hundreds, maybe thousands of police officers for a police parade. It was funnier that it sounds. I just love the contrast. I snapped pics of each, and will share eventually I think. But now it’s 1:02am. Goodnightynight.
Pot Parade on Saturday...
...Police Parade on Sunday, in the same park.
HOT DOCS INSIDE OUT – DAY 5 (SATURDAY): A big day, six reviews.
Sitting in the dark on a sunny day at Doc Shop.
I’m a little troubled today. I managed to see a total of 6 films yesterday, plus seven of my fellow Doc U delegates’ at Doc Shop. To all but one, I would give a solid 4/5 or 5/5. The final one however troubles me – the one which I feel I am being generous by giving it a 3/5. You see, Doc U officially begins today, and are mentors work on certain films at this festival – four of eleven mentors have significant roles with that final film, Life With Murder.
When I am watching a film, I make note of when I begin to analyse it. Was that shot in focus, was that cutaway relevant, what’s the font on the intertitles… in a good film, I will be so engaged in it that I these things just never enter my mind. While this film was strong technically, had experienced filmmakers and producers behind it, I began to find myself analyzing (and criticizing) the visual and storytelling style and techniques very early in the show. They stood in the way of my ability to care about the subjects. I think that I should have cared, and I honestly tried to.
The way that the film as lauded in its introduction and from the opening and closing comments from the director, it seemed ‘we all’ should regard the movie as a masterpiece of storytelling. Some of the comments from the audience in the Q&A supported this. I think the audience may have been divided however because, at least among the four Doc U students that I was with during the screening echoed my thoughts, although I am still trying to articulate why. Yes I had some interest in the story, but it seemed, for me at least, to be coming from a place of sensationalism.
Film is a visual medium, and needs to be beautiful to engage a person to sit and watch for 5 minutes let alone for 90. By beautiful I don’t mean pretty girls, rolling landscapes, and perfect technical execution etc. – beauty can be found in imperfection and in the most offensive objects – in my early days as a photographer I would go out on photo walks and challenge myself to find the beauty within things like garbage. This film was not beautiful for me. Given an occasional pretty establishing shot, overall it appeared flat and unflattering to its subjects. The storytelling was also unflattering. Sure, it was communicated effectively – I paid attention to what was happening, but it seemed forced, contrived – like the filmmaker was telling the story his way, not acting as the medium for the subjects to tell their story. Life With Murder is the story of a family who is struggling to deal with the murder of their daughter by embracing their son that killed her. My criticisms here have nothing to do with the story, everything to do with the way the story was told. Please don’t kick me out of Doc U. 2/5… okay, okay 3/5
Quicky Reviews:
Czech Dream – brilliant – two Czech student filmmakers make the world think twice about the drivel we gobble up every day by staging a fake ‘hypermarket’ launch using the tools of mass media. This film in competition in this festival, it was made in 2004 and is a re-screening as part of the ‘Ripping Reality’ series at the festival this year. 5/5
Arsy-Versy – beautiful and quirky – about a 50 year old bat photographer revealing his piece de resistance and the relationship with the mother he still lives with. I think this was shot with a DSLR and it looks gorgeous. The filmmaker was the nephew of the main subject, the grandson of the subject’s mother, and helps explain how lovingly this story is told. 4/5
The Invention of Dr. Nakamats – I mentioned to Chris on Thursday that it was unusual for a Japanese to thrust his card into my hand with one hand. The film is revealing in that this is one Japanese man who identifies more with his celebrity than his humility. It still baffles me a little that Dr. Nakamats is traveling to promote this film that portrays him so poorly. But, perhaps the joke is on us. 5/5
6 Weeks – A Polish film about living in the brief but sadly (and probably unavoidably) sterile, unloving limbo between birth and adoption of newborn babies. The POV of the baby was neat, the music simple and haunting. 4/5
Chemo – Beautiful and beautifully simple. I haven’t seen anything more intimate this year, perhaps ever. Its minimalist style is simple, effective, and reminiscent of so many fringe plays where one or two actors perform only with their dialogue on an empty stage. 5/5
Well, I am out of time… Doc U begins at 10am.
HOT DOCS INSIDE OUT – DAY 4: Everyone’s a critic. Even me.
If you take another look at Day 3, you’ll see that I was overly ambitious with my movie viewing today. While my plans had me seeing four films, I managed to watch only two. The first change happened when I had to leave the Isabel Bader theatre after Babies to get back in line for Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage. And what a line it was. Both Babies and Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage received a disproportionate amount of publicity due to their screenings last night, the opening night of the festival. Babies is having a massive North American theatrical release following the festival. Their popularity at the box office reflected this publicity (line ups around the block), and proved that our society – well, the choices we make of what we consume at least, are highly dependent on the media. I am just as guilty. That’s why I decided to see Babies today – I wanted to know what all the hype was about. Similarly, with all of the films out there – shelves and shelves of them at the video store, thousands on television and perhaps millions on the internet – I gravitate to the ones with the best critics quotes on the package. It saves me time and improves my chances that the viewing experience will not be a wasteful one. But it also robs me from experiencing the great films with far less or no marketing. So here I am, the hypocrite, about to ‘review’ a movie or two, and add to the media circus, for what it’s worth to the reader, for what it’s worth to the film.
Hmmm. I’m feeling a little feisty tonight. Probably not a great time to try my hand at being a movie critic. Plus I don’t really know if it’s a good idea for filmmakers to criticize other filmmaker’s work. Courage Greg (or stupidity). Here goes.
Review: Babies – Thomas Balmes
Follow four babies from four countries (Namibia, Mongolia, Japan, and the US) from birth to bipedism. Like nothing I’ve ever seen in a film, I admire the courage (and the patience) of the filmmaker and his attempt (intentional or not) to put the onus on the audience to decide what this film is about. Some will adore it for it cutsie putsie surface qualities – after all, babies and absolutely everything they do are cute. And these babies are sickeningly cute. Much of the audience will be happy to see it just for that, and go no deeper. But some will attempt to go deeper and decide this film is a silent commentary on the common ground we share as humans, despite the contrasts we have in our geography and culture; people will be aghast with the “primitive” way in which some cultures raise their children, other people will be more self critical – aghast with the ridiculousness of western ways of raising our kids. Still others will see this film as a window into our own behaviour as human adults – both the joy and the hopelessness. From absolute happiness to fear, frustration, curiosity and cruelty, we as adults behave in exactly the same manner, albeit with the burden/responsibility of having to deal with the consequences that moral, ethical, and legal consciousness carry. I think I see this film as all of these. Summary: Courageous. Fun. Cute but not too cute. A little long. Love the music but each time (several times) the same song played I thought it was cuing the credits – it wasn’t. Technically falls short of expectations. Definitely falls short of the hype. 3/5
Review: The World According to Ion B. – Alexander Nanau
Seriously, I’m too tired to write another review tonight so I’m cutting to the summary. Summary: A solid textbook portrait doc about a world-reknowned artist’s rise to stardom from the gutter (literally). A political film about a political artist. Inspiring. Purposefully remains true to the artists’ rise to fame, his work and his political motivation – the celebration of the artist is not stolen by the story of the gallery-owner’s agenda, which in the film appears well-intentioned, but as we learned in the Q&A with the filmmaker, was rooted self-service. 4/5
In other news, I learned today that one of my Rendézvous requests was accepted by a distributor out of California. Next Tuesday I have a 15 minute slot to pitch my new project Alexis.
Well, turning in a little early tonight to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is a long day – lots of screenings and in the morning I’ll have a look at the Doc Shop, the online market where Surviving In The Cracks can be screened. GNight.
HOT DOCS INSIDE OUT – DAY 1: Kickoff report from Winnipeg and Toronto – a Screening and a Scholarship
Greetings to my readers – all three of you – and welcome to my kickoff blog entry for “Hot Docs Inside Out”. To begin, I have some good news and less-good news to report.
Firstly the less-good news. Surviving In The Cracks was not selected to screen at Hot Docs, DOXA, or Yorkton. Darn. But why is this “less-good” and not “bad”? Because of the good news that follows! (Also, if you missed it from my previous post, “133 Years…” did not make the finals of the International Doc Challenge, so it won’t be screening at Hot Docs either – but it did rank in the top 25 out of over 100 entries!).
So enough of the less-good news, let’s move on to the good news. There are three major things:
First, I am presently in Winnipeg for the “World Premiere” of Surviving In the Cracks at the Winnipeg Cinematheque, which happens tonight. As well, my brother and I will be interviewed this afternoon on APTN (Aboriginal People’s Television Network) which, I am told, will broadcast nationally tonight. I will tweet and Facebook the details of the broadcast when I know them. The interview will appear tonight on the APTN National News, which airs at 7pm Central (Winnipeg), 6pm in Alberta, and 5pm in Vancouver.
Dr. Jeff and Todd Lamirande on the set of the APTN National News in Winnipeg
Second, I have been honoured with the Astral Media TDF Scholarship at Hot Docs (only two in Canada, one from QC and one from BC – me!!). This means that I get the all access full-meal-deal – to see and participate in Hot Docs from the inside out, attend Doc U, the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF), the opening gala, festival pass, plus travel and accommodation to Toronto for the whole festival. Wowzers.
The third good news, and something already underway that I am not blogging but I am very excited to be part of, is that I am participating in NFB’s Cookin’ Creative spring group back in Vancouver. Just want to say hi to any of you if you happen to be reading, and I think I’ll be seeing at least one of you at Hot Docs too!
My Brother's dog
My format for this will be a daily blog, starting now, April 27 through May 8, here on my website, plus regular live tweets throughout. I’ll also be linking back to my blogs from Facebook and Twitter so feel free to follow me/friend me from either, or both of those platforms.
Alright, here we go!
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: full-length version premieres at Winnipeg Cinematheque April 27
I am pleased to announce the “World Premiere” of the full length version of Surviving In The Cracks at the Cinematheque Theatre in Winnipeg on Tuesday, April 27. The show starts at 7:30 and tickets are $5 at the door. A note from the group who is sponsoring this event:
“The University of Manitoba Transmedia and Justice Group is a multi-disciplinary collective of Winnipeg-based academics with a shared interest in supporting grassroots community-based efforts to achieve social and environmental justice through creative transmedia approaches to research and advocacy.
In this first film screening of the Transmedia and Justice Group, in partnership with the Winnipeg Film Group, we have invited emerging Vancouver filmmaker Greg Masuda to Winnipeg to present Surviving in the Cracks. This film chronicles the story of a partnership between the Vancouver Youth Visions Coalition, and the Partnerning in Community Health Research program at UBC. The film depicts how a group of formerly street-involved youth who advocate for the rights and wellbeing of the homeless in the Lower Mainland region of BC came together with students interested in applying creativity-based research approaches to shift the discourse on youth and homelessness in Vancouver to produce a theatre-based product that brings renewed attention to the BC government’s abrogation of responsibility in caring for the health and safety of children who end up on the streets through no fault of their own.
This film will be of interest to community members, academics, students, and policy influencers with interest in issues of homelessness, housing, social work, urban planning, health inequalities, and social justice, particularly those who wish to support grassroots voices in calling for a shift in discourse on these issues through creative approaches to community-driven research and advocacy.”
Thanks to the University of Manitoba Transmedia and Justice Group, the Winnipeg Film Group and the Winnipeg Arts Council for their help with this event. I will be making a stop-over in Winnipeg to attend this screening on the way to Doc U and the Toronto Documentary Forum at Hot Docs.
“133 YEARS OF MUSIC IN SIX SOLOS”: film selected for a special preview screening April 9 at Toronto’s NFB Mediatheque
We received word today that our (Team Tippius’) entry into the International Documentary Challenge, “133 Years of Music in Six Solos”, has been selected for a pre-screening in Toronto, April 9. It will show alongside other Canadian entries at the NFB Mediatheque – John Spotton Theatre at 150 John Street, Toronto, Friday April 9, at 6pm. Admission is free, so go check it out! If we were going to be in town, we’d be there for sure. This event is sponsored by DOC – the Documentary Organization of Canada.
RUN TO END POVERTY: promotional film for Engineers Without Borders
Last summer I was asked by Engineers Without Borders to provide some coverage of the Run To End Poverty event here in Vancouver, BC. Myself and friends Alejejandro Zuluaga and Andres Salas shot it over two days and since, it’s become a fairly drawn-out side project for me (mostly because Christian is too nice and let me stretch deadlines a couple of times) that’s finally been posted on their website, and so I’m now able to share the video with you.
The Run To End Poverty was started by Christian Beaudrie while he was on a placement near Tamale, Ghana with Engineers Without Borders a few years back. It is either 5K or a half marathon and is a fundraiser in support of international development of third world countries where extreme poverty is a real issue. Christian wanted me to emphasize however – the run is not just for Engineers Without Borders – anyone can participate – in fact all individuals and organizations are encouraged to join in their city’s Run To End Poverty (presently held in Vancouver, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Waterloo) and if their city does not have a run, start one! Contact Christian at the Run To End Poverty website if you want to learn more. Here in Vancouver, the event piggybacks on the Scotiabank Half Marathon and on similar runs in other cities across the country.
One note on the music I’d like to make – and of interest to filmmakers – the two songs you will hear were blasting in the background during the race, and I leveraged this in post, laying down the real tracks for effect without a lot of consideration for rights. I do consider music rights of course – before using Tegan & Sara’s song in the trailer and then the full length versions of Surviving In The Cracks, I got their permission; Anyhow, last summer, when the bulk of this short was shot and edited, I highlighted to Christian this might be an issue, but we decided to push ahead believing the owners of the music would allow it, especially considering the non-profit use of this film. Interestingly however, Youtube muted Dire Straits’ song automatically when Christian tried to upload it there last week, so for now we’re hosting it elsewhere (my Vimeo account – with tight restrictions on embedding and sharing enabled to avoid being blocked again). Youtube is still our ultimate destination to reach the largest audience and in the meantime Christian has approached Dire Straits (and the Soca Boys too) to get their official permission. I am very interested to hear their answer.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: 15 minute film screening at World Community Film Festival at Langara College Jan 29-31.
World Community Film Festival January 29-31, 2010
The 15 minute version of Surviving In The Cracks will be screening at the World Community Film Festival on Saturday January 30 at 1:15pm in Theatre 3 at Langara College Main Campus in Vancouver. The film is screening in the student category.
There are several VERY cool documentaries playing in this festival including RiP: A Remix Manifesto by Brett Gaylor, H2Oil by Shannon Walsh, and Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action by Velcrow Ripper. Visit the festival website for more information about the festival.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: film screening at VSFF (and a radio interview!)
UPDATED: THE RADIO INTERVIEW ON CJSF 90.1FM ( Cable 90.3FM) or online at cjsf.ca WILL AIR NEXT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT 3PM.
What a weekend! Surviving In the Cracks premiered Friday, October 23 at the Vancouver Short Film Festival to a full house. This was the first public screening of the film and it went splendidly! It was amazing to be part of this festival and to be included among such a solid lineup of films and it was a huge thrill to see it up on the big screen at one of the nicest theatres in Vancouver, Vancity Theatre!
The film didn’t win any awards (visit vsff.com for the winners), but it did draw the attention of some press: I just finished recording an interview with Nick Pannu at CJSF 90.1FM ( Cable 90.3FM) or online at cjsf.ca. The interview will be airing at 3pm Monday, November 9th on the Arts Indy program.
Surviving In The Cracks is an ongoing project… it started as a play, became a grad film project which spun off this version, and now has legs to become much more. On the live-theatre front, we are working on getting support for a re-mount of the play. On the documentary front, a longer version is in post-production now, and I plan to submit this to larger festivals before the end of the year. On a third front, we are seriously exploring the possibility of creating a new media component… Send me an email if you want to offer your support.
Stay in the loop: Become a fan of Surviving In The Cracks on Facebook!
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: screening at the Vancouver Short Film Festival Friday, October 23 at Vancity Theatre
I learned this week that the 15 minute version of Surviving In The Cracks was one of twenty-two films selected to screen at this year’s Vancouver Short Film Festival. The film represents Langara College and will be screening in the Student Shorts category with 11 other entries from UBC, SFU, VFS, Capilano University, Emily Carr University, BCIT, the International Language School of Canada, and the Art Institute of Vancouver. The Student Shorts start at 8pm on Friday, October 23 – tickets are $8, available at www.vsff.com or at the door. World’s Best Shorts and the Pro Shorts category screen on Saturday, October 24 followed by the awards ceremony. The festival will be held at Vancity Theatre located at 1181 Seymour Street in Vancouver, BC. There were a total of 139 submissions to the festival this year.
To read more about Surviving In The Cracks, please see my earlier post here or find us on Facebook.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: screening Sunday, September 27 at Langara College
The 10 minute version of the “Surviving In The Cracks” documentary film will be screening, along with other short documentary and dramatic films, at Langara College Main Campus on Sunday, September 27, starting at 3:00pm.
I will also be putting the film into a draw to be screened at the next meeting of the Celluloid Social Club, on Wednesday, September 23. UPDATE: Since “District 9″ guests were presenting tonight, the draw for the screening was pulled from the agenda.
