Cinemars

Creative Places & Spaces Followup Webcasts

I excited to say that Kimberly Bagayawa and I have teamed up to produce 8 followup segments for Artscape, to showcase the wonderful events of the Creative Places and Spaces Conference that took place in October. The segments should be coming out mid-March. I'll post updates here regularly!

CURL Launch Article in Y-File

I'm happy to say that the lauch was a great success. Here's an article that was written by Y-File about the event!

The Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory (CURL), under the auspices of the Critical Research Laboratory in Law & Society at York's Osgoode Hall Law School, has officially been launched, bringing together an unusual mix of the academic and creative, and adding a complex and layered perspective to discussions about cities.

CURL provides an innovative and visual approach to discussions involving globalization and cities by giving social scientists, lawyers, urban studies scholars and geographers an opportunity to interact with photographers, digital media artists, documentary filmmakers and their works. It brings an understanding to the issues that wouldn't be possible without weaving an interdisciplinary academic approach together with the artistic, says Gregory Smith, CURL's acting academic director, 2009-2010.

Left: A guest at the CURL launch studies the photos by artist-in-residence Jorge Uzon. Photo by Uzon.

The space itself is a state-of-the-art multimedia and research facility designed to bring people in and get them talking about urban places. There is a gathering area, a small conference room and two labs with equipment for filmmakers and photographers, which include sound mixing and studio recording capabilities, editing software, as well as high-definition digital cameras, lighting equipment and more.

"On the academic side of things, I think the real genesis for this…came from the fact that there was this really great body of literature that was being written, at least for the last 10 years, about globalization and cities, but that there really wasn't any input by those who focus on the academic side of law," says Smith, a PhD candidate at Osgoode whose research focuses on the role played by law in constructing urban space and society. "The idea was to open lines of communication between people who would traditionally do urban studies and lawyers….and bring the legal community into the discussion of how cities are run." That idea grew to include not only other disciplines, but visual arts.

Right: From left, Greg Smith and Mars Horodyski at the launch of CURL. Photo by Jorge Uzon.

One of the ways visual arts and the academic side of things will come together is through an ongoing reading lab. "We have readings, for example, of work written by filmmakers about cities, as much as we would have, say, a reading from Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, literature, law, urban studies, geography, as widely varied as we can put together," says Smith. The first reading lab in January will look at Toronto, focusing on its growth and the planning decisions that have affected it over the years.

There will also be an online artist-in-residence every month showcasing work that represents some aspects of cities. Photographer Jorge Uzon is the current artist-in-residence. His black and white images of Mexico City and Toronto, which look at how the two cities have changed over the years, are on exhibit at CURL and can also be seen on the CURL Web site.

Left: Greg Smith mingles with guests at the official launch of CURL. Photo by Jorge Uzon.

The equipment is available to those with project proposals related to issues that include city life, urban growth, governance and development, that are accepted by CURL. The project leaders need to show a willingness to collaborate with other CURL members to help nurture the cross-fertilization of ideas and techniques between artists and academics, says Mars Horodyski, a filmmaker and CURL's artistic director, 2009-2010. Already there has been interest from faculty members wanting to partner with CURL and use the equipment. CURL is unable to provide funding, so artists must have their own in place.

Left: A guest at the CURL launch reads about the lab's mandate. Photo by Jorge Uzon

"There are a lot of artists doing really interesting city work," says Horodyski, winner of Ryerson University's 2003 Norman Jewison Filmmaker Award for her film Lemonade and of the 2007 WorldFest Houston International Film & Video Festival Golden Remi Award for her latest short, Spoonfed. "The challenge is figuring out how they fit into our mandate. The global cities theme is a pretty broad one."

Horodyski co-wrote the script for Where the Sidewalk Begins: The University and the Global City, a documentary film celebrating York's 50th anniversary with York law Professor Peer Zumbansen, CURL's director and founder of the Critical Research Laboratory in Law & Society at York's Osgoode Hall Law School. Zumbansen holds the Canada Research Chair in the Transnational & Comparative Law of Corporate Governance. A preview of Where the Sidewalk Begins can be seen on the CURL Web site.

Right: Peer Zumbansen

CURL will also host a screening series in the new year beginning with Radiant City, which looks at 21st-century suburban sprawl. The second film, Vernon, Florida, will explore whether or not a place defines the people within it or vice versa.

"In terms of the long term…it's more of the process, that's the most important aspect, to find engagement with academics and artists," says Smith.

Left: Mars Horodyski

In addition, there will be ongoing blogs with Smith and Horodyski, as well as others, and book reviews and articles to do with cities in the future on the CURL Web site. "There are lots of ways people can get involved," says Horodyski. In 2010, CURL will also host a conference.

Anyone interested in providing essays, book reviews, urban musings, blogging or photography for online publication, should contact Horodyski at mars@criticalresearchlab.org or Smith at greg@criticalresearchlab.org. For larger project proposals, there is a set of application criteria available. For more information, visit the CURL Web site.

The Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory is at 218 Computer Methods Building on the Keele campus.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

CFC Chatterbox Screening

The Chatterbox that I directed written by Brett Hannam screened today at the Varsity Cinema. From what I hear the piece was very well received, and most importantly Brett was happy with it. It was important to me that the short scene conveyed the essence of the writers story.

Following the screening there was an afterparty at the Revival. I met a lot of people from the CFC Residency that year - so much talent. It was a great night!

Official Launch of the Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory

The day has finally arrived! After many months of hard work we are finally ready to launch the new facility of the Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory. As acting Artistic Director, I have been working hard over the past five months, to get a new website together, get the word out, get the equipment mounted and bring an artist on board for a special exhibit. Photojournalist Jorge Uzon has put together a wonderful exhibit that showcases and compares Mexico City and Toronto! I hope we get a good turnout. I am thrilled to see how much we've accomplished and how the place has transformed.

You can see our new website at : www.criticalresearchlab.org/curl

CFC Chatterboxes - Ocean Boy

I've been asked to direct one of the CFC chatterboxes this year. The Chatterboxes are scenes that the residents of the Writers Lab put together to showcase their feature projects. I've been teamed up with a great writer - Brett Hannam - who's script is a sci-fi drama about a boy who is mysteriously swept in from the ocean and is taken in by a woman who has just lost her family. Very powerful stuff! I'm looking forward to a few intense weeks!

Loreal Fashion Week Toronto

I had a great time directing one of the cameras for a pilot reality series headed by Lynne Kamm following up and coming fashion designer Lucian Matis. I had a backstage look at fashion show insanity, with lots of passion, beautiful people and drama!

Creative Places and Spaces Conference Oct.28 - 30

I recently completed a short documentary "spotlight" about the Centre for Applied Genomics at MaRS that will be showcased as part of the Creative Places & Spaces Conference at the end of October. Eight "spotlights" were commissioned by different filmmakers from across Canada, so I'm excited to be a part of this. The spotlight was produced through the Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory, who I will be representing at the conference.

The video will be posted shortly!

Human Resource Premieres at Nuit Blanche!

We had a very successful premiere at Nuit Blanche this past weekend ! The film looped all night at one of the official Nuit Blanche locations at the SPK building located on Beverly Street just north of Dundas. There was a heavy flow of people all night long and it was fun to hide in the corner to see people's reactions - especially during the films gory moments!

Now it's time to send it off to festivals and see what happens! I will post the film online in the next few months, so don't miss it!

Shooting for "HUMAN RESOURCE" wrapped!

We had a wonderfully bloody weekend :) Our cast & crew were delightful and the atmosphere on set was amazing!!!


Thanks to everyone for helping out and spending your long weekend working on the film. Lynne Kamm impressed us with doing double duty - as writer and lighting/grip extraordinaire! Pasha Patriki was such a pleasure to work with :) I hope we can do it again. Also, I had the chance to work with up and coming producer Lindsay Ellis - I hope it's a collaboration that we can continue!

Thanks to Kania for keeping everything on track and taking care of so many details that may have gone unnoticed. Sean for your great attitude and coming through on such short notice! My brother Adam, for keeping us entertained and doing a great job as our sound recordist!!! Danny - your great contribution did not go unnoticed! Katie - as always, so great to work with you - you always come though!!! Kim - the blood was beautiful!!! You are an artist. Jerry it was a treat having you on set, thanks for being our blood test subject. Matt & Kirk, brilliant. You really brought it to life!

I can't wait to start editing....  now we just need to find an editor.
Nuit Blanche - October 3rd - just a few short weeks away!

NUIT BLANCHE 2009!

I've teamed up with writer extraordinaire Lynne Kamm to bring you another short that will be showcased as part of the second edition of "Concurrence" as part of Nuit Blanche.

I'll keep you posted as the story unfolds... so far:

Pipes A short film

"During the recession finding a job can be cut throat."

Artscape "Spotlight" for Creative Places & Spaces Conference

I've been asked to do a "spotlight" (3-5min film) on the Centre for Applied Genomics at MARS (Mars, funny I know!)

A series of 10 spotlights will be showcased at the Creative Places and Spaces Conference in October.

www.creativeplacesandspaces.ca

Creative Places + Spaces is one of the world's leading forums on creativity. Under the theme of 'The Collaborative City', this year's event will engage global perspectives on collaboration and connect them with local change makers. Come meet some of the most creative thinkers in Toronto's exploration of the art and science of collaboration.

I'll be focusing specifically on the Autism Genome Project that the Centre for Applied Genomics is undertaking.

It's quite a challenging topic and the only spotlight with a focus on science. Here's my take:

By showcasing the unique and multi-dimensional characteristics of Autism, this film will explore the many perspectives necessary to bring innovative advancements to this field of research. Through the use of abstract/sensory-based imagery, interviews and verite style documentation – it will attempt to paint a picture of the complexity of what the Autism Genome Project is taking on.

More information about the Centre for Applied Genomics : http://www.trra.ca/en/profiles/SickKids.asp

Trailer for "Where the Sidewalk Begins"

Check out the trailer for the half-hour doc I did called

"Where the Sidewalk Begins: The University and the Global City"

The full film will be available online soon!

Check out our article in YFile!

Go to YFile Article

     Thursday, June 11 2009

Headline News

U50 documentary traces the parallel histories of York and Toronto

Where the Sidewalk Begins: The University and the Global City, a new documentary film celebrating York’s 50th anniversary, explores the evolving identities of the University and the City of Toronto and how their histories intersect. It will screen next week.

Co-written by Peer Zumbansen (left), associate dean of research, graduate Studies & institutional relations at York's Osgoode Hall Law School, and Mars Horodyski, the film’s director, Where the Sidewalk Begins traces the parallel histories of Toronto and York University through the latter half of the 20th century and examines their challenges in a rapidly evolving global world.

“Cities are getting a lot of attention in the research world because of increasing immigration and globalization,” says Horodyski, who has completed a total of two documentaries and six narrative shorts. “I realized the University is like a city itself. It mirrors what goes on in the city.” Methods of generating, disseminating and implementing knowledge have become survival questions for city governments and universities alike.

So the idea to have the film examine how York has evolved over the last 50 years compared to Toronto was a natural one. “It was really natural for people to draw those parallels,” says Horodyski, winner of Ryerson University's 2003 Norman Jewison Filmmaker Award for her film Lemonade and of the 2007 WorldFest Houston International Film & Video Festival Golden Remi Award for her latest short, Spoonfed. Her films have screened at various festivals, including the Montreal World Film Festival, the Atlantic Film Festival, the Commonwealth Film Festival and the Palm Springs International ShortFest.

Left: Mars Horodyski

“York really reacted to the increasing immigration and the diversification of the city,” says Horodyski. The film also looks at how the city can learn from the University, and vice versa, as both continue to transform. Universities around the world are in dialogue and contestation with their transnational urban environment and share many of the experiences of cities with questions of access, identity and competition.

Where the Sidewalk Begins features found footage of York and Toronto up against images of the real city where real people live and work, including the University, as well as interviews with key players in the development of both places.

Right: A still image from the film Where the Sidewalk Begins

The film is the culmination of the interdisciplinary work of an artist and a lawyer, two people who look at the world in different ways. The result, says Horodyski, is highly engaging. “I’m really excited.”

The film is a co-presentation of Cinemars and Osgoode Hall Law School’s Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory (CURL). Zumbansen is the director of CURL and is the Canada Research Chair in Transnational & Comparative Law of Corporate Governance at Osgoode.

Where the Sidewalk Begins was created using the new HD technology in CURL, a program of the Critical Research Laboratory, a research facility for interdisciplinary and multimedia research on transnational and urban governance, political economy and culture. CURL has a state-of-the-art digital and traditional film, photo and video production facility, complemented by film and sound editing suites, a meeting room, work stations and a screening room.

“The interaction and collaboration between law, urban studies and film provides a richer, more layered perspective on the evolution and many faces of the city and the University,” says Zumbansen. “Seen through the artist's eyes, city and University regain their symbolic dimension, inviting the viewer to reflect on the prospects and promises of what cities and universities stand for.”

A reception and introduction to Where the Sidewalk Begins will take place Wednesday, June 17 at 7pm in the CIBC Lobby of the Accolade East Building, Keele campus, with special guest Mark Osbaldeston, the author of Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City that Might Have Been, talking about the past 50 years in the city. The screening will begin at 8pm in the Price Family Cinema.

RSVP to Joanne Rappaport, research coordinator, Osgoode Hall Law School, at jrappaport@osgoode.yorku.ca.

 

Special Screening of my new documentary "WHERE THE SIDEWALK BEGINS"

After many months of hard work I'm excited to announce the screening of my new half-hour doc "Where the Sidewalk Begins: The University and The Global City"

CANADA SCREENS TORONTO - a SOLD-OUT success!

This Sunday we launched the new First Weekend Club series Canada Screens - which I'm co-producing - with a special screening of "C.R.A.Z.Y.".

I had the unique opportunity of hanging out with Jean-Marc Vallee over a drink after picking him up at the train station on Saturday night! You can imagine what a wonderful experience it was spending time with such a talented director. I was nervous :)

We ended up with a full-house and a ton of enthusiasm from the audience. I think everyone had a blast. The unique thing about the event is that it's intimate, and social. You can enjoy a beer or a glass of wine while you watch the film... I think everyone appreciated that.

Hanging with, Jean-Marc Vallee and Kelsey Matheson who I'm co-producing the series with, she's also the Eastern Regional director of First Weekend Club. She was wonderful to work with and I have no doubt the next event will be just as exciting :) Check out her blog: www.kelseymatheson.com
Following the screening we had a nice dinner at the Drake, and were hoping to hit a karaoke bar afterwards - Jean-Marc has a not-so-secret dream of rockstardom. Unfortunately Sunday did not turn out to be the night for karaoke in Toronto. Nevertheless is was an amazing evening!

"Spoonfed" at 24th Annual Interfilm Short Film Festival in Berlin!

Just when we thought our film festival run was over...
Spoonfed has been invited to screen at the Interfilm Film Festival in Berlin on Nov 5th & 8th!
Our film was chosen to be one of the 400 out of 3000 submissions!

I was in Berlin almost 2 years ago for the Berlinale Talent Campus. It's an amazing city and I'm happy Spoonfed is having a chance to screen there!

Check it out:

http://www.interfilm.de/festival2008/filme-a-z_eng.php?programm=764

Canada Screens Toronto launches with "C.R.A.Z.Y"!

The upcoming Canada Screens series in Toronto that I am producing for First Weekend Club will be launching with an intimate screening of Jean-Marc Vallee's amazing film "C.R.A.Z.Y."

The event will be taking place on November 30th and will be followed by a Q&A and reception with the director!

Save the date, and I'll follow up with more details soon!

For now check out : www.firstweekendclub.ca

"Spoonfed" on The Movie Network!

I just found out that Spoonfed got picked up by The Movie Network! So far it looks as if it played on August 28th and 29th. Hopefully there will be more dates to come!

Nuit Blanche a success!

We had a great turnout and everyone was really receptive to the variety of work!

Now that it has had it's official premiere, I am posting it here, incase any of you did not get the opportunity to see it on Saturday.

Nuit Blanche 2008 - Concurrence

Over the past couple months I've been working on an experimental short film called "RE-COLLECTION" that will be showcased as part of a group exhibit for Nuit Blanche 2008. My brother will also be showing three of his paintings. This will be our first show together!

Wrapping up my feature treatment...

After months of time allotted at various local coffee shops, I'm happy to say that I've finally finished writing the treatment for the feature film I've been working on. Tentatively called "The Tower".

Raymond often dreamt about his death, although he did not know what it meant. He did not want to die. He wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t unhappy either. Things were stagnant. Still. They hadn’t changed in a while. He was still working his job as a paint technology analyst, a job that his father had gotten him a year ago. All day he stood around with a stopwatch and watched paint dry.

It made him think a lot.

So Raymond spent the average 4.35 hours that it took paint to dry thinking about his life up to that point. Quantifying every moment to the tune of a stopwatch…

My brother did some amazing illustrations to go along with my story.

     

Check out more of his work www.myspace.com/adameshu

Canada Screens Toronto!

I am excited to announce that First Weekend Club has asked me to produce the Canada Screens Series in Toronto!

The Canada Screens Series is a monthly event produced by First Weekend Club which aims to please film lovers; sharing the best in Canadian Film within a distinctly social setting, for the sake of being an intimate and engaging bridge between film-goers, film makers and creative audiences.

The first event will be happening in November - details to follow!

check out www.firstweekendclub.ca for updates. If you're not a First Weekend Club member, be sure to sign up! This great organization promotes Canadian films in their first weekend of theatrical release in order to draw an audience and keep them in the theatre longer.

Their mantra: "See it first. Make it last."

I'm thrilled to be working with them.

The Canada Screens Series is a monthly event produced by First Weekend Club which aims to please film lovers; sharing the best in Canadian Film within a distinctly social setting, for the sake of being an intimate and engaging bridge between film-goers, film makers and creative audiences.

TIFF Blog: Last days...

So I had to step back a little bit due to an application deadline that I was contending with. However I still managed to get some film festing into my schedule. On Tuesday I saw my friend Justin Simms' film "Down to the Dirt". It was amazing! And I'm not just saying that because he's a friend. It's so wonderful to see something on screen that you know is going to succeed. The film was written by Joel Thomas Hynes - who also played the main character. Hynes really brought a lot, he was captivating to watch. After the screening I headed to the Manitoba party and hung out with writer/actress Alexandra Staseson (who also works for First Weekend Club). It was a really fun night. The next day was a run around of a day trying to get my application in... Thursday I made to the screening of Malcolm Rogge's "Under Rich Earth" - which brought to the surface an unsettling story of a small village in Ecuador facing the dirty ploys of a mining company trying to set up camp. Following that I hopped over to a shorts screening where I ran into Jeremy Munce who edited Bruce McDonald's latest film Ponty Pool. Jeremy and I met in Berlin when Tracey Fragments was screening there. Oh Berlin... Well it looks as though the festival is coming to a close for me... I'm off to one last meeting and then will regroup and rehash some final thoughts!

TIFF Blog: Doing the right thing...

The FirstWeekend Club/Whistler party was a great success. Everyone I talked to was having an amazing time. I had a blast meeting people as I helped Michael, the photographer for the event. I couldn't have asked for a better set-up in terms of networking - putting some familiar names to unfamiliar faces. After the party, I joined a few friends for some Pho at the Golden Turtle, a few blocks from the Drake.

I was planning on heading to the Mongrel party at the Distillery but I decided not to - opting to be alert for my two meetings this morning. I'm glad I did. For the first time in a few days I woke up without the morning fog that comes from a night of drinking. Hopefully all that will change tonight at the Manitoba party. No morning meetings tomorrow!

I'll also be heading to the screening of my friend Justin Simms film "Down to the Dirt" tonight at 8:45! Can't wait!

TIFF Blog: Wet and Happy

Although the CFC BBQ got rained in, the turn out was good and so was the general energy. Everyone huddled into the two main tents, and colorful umbrellas decorated the entire premises. I made the mistake of wearing heels (yes I chose style over practicality!) and struggled a little through the muddy conditions. Luckily one of my friends was working the event and lent me her flip flops - Christina thanks again! Kelsey got a great shot of my muddy feet after I stepped right into a wonderfully huge mud puddle.

The mysterious thing about the bbq is that it never gets rained it - it hasn't in the past 20 years that its been happening. As the hot topic was the CFC's 20th anniversary, the change in weather seemed to mark a new start, a change - one of the speeches did allude to that, although what exactly that change meant was still to be determined. Overall I had a great time - saw a lot of people and fellow alumni. I went out with a few directors from my year - Justin Simms who has a film at TIFF called "Down in the Dirt", I going to the first public screening which is tomorrow- and Pascal Trottier, another great director who is finishing up his latest short. We grabbed a beer at Hemingways and dished about our latest directing trials and tribulations...

Later that evening I went out to the Boat to support Justin's soundtrack release party. The band was great and the crowd danced the night away...

Tonight, the First Weekend Club/Whistler party, then possibly the "Mother's and Daughters" screening, their party, then Mongrel, then Maple... whoa, I can't forget that I have an early morning meeting - oh festival...

TIFF Blog: Small World

On his return flight from Warsaw on Wednesday my boyfriend started chatting to the person sitting next to him. Turns out it was Thomas Woschitz, the director of the Austrian feature film "Universalove". Strangely enough, he accidentally ran into him again today while around the Bay/Bloor area. So I managed to get us a pair of tickets for tonight's screening. Described as a cinematic symphony and set to a soundtrack by Austrian indie band Naked Lunch, it sounds interesting. Following a strange series of random events, I really hope it's good!

TIFF Blog: Taking a cue from Piers Handling

So I'm taking a cue from Piers Handling, CEO and co-director of TIFF - who in a recent article talked about getting himself physically prepared for the 10-day TIFF festivities. He ramps up his workout routine and has completely stopped drinking - but admits to all night partying in the past and working on 3 or 4 hours of sleep the next day. Although I will definitely not be cutting out my boozing and all-night partying completely, I did really think about fueling my body full of good-for-me stuff over the past two weeks. I'm ready. Bring it on!

Toronto International Film Festival Blogger

So the time has come for the city's favourite event, The Toronto International Film Festival. I'm looking forward to all the festivities as well as hopefully some great films!

I'm going to be taking part in a live TIFF blog for First Weekend Club. The blog will be an insiders look into TIFF, the great movies and the great parties!

Check out:

www.firstweekendclub.ca

I'll be posting my TIFF blogs here aswell!

Fellowship and Global City University Project

I am excited to announced that I have been offered a Research Fellowship at Osgoode Law School along with the opportunity to direct an amazing film in collaboration with CURL (Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory) and professor Peer Zumbansen.

Exploring the idea of a Global City University, the film will look at the potential of public education reform, the interplay between the city, the university and in turn the community - ultimately it will look at how the university can create impact on a global scale.

The film is set to premiere during York University's 50th Anniversary celebrations at the Presidents Gala in April 2009!

Mars meets the Hills

I just got back from a wonderful week in LA. I stayed with my close friend Grazka Taylor in her gorgeous Beverly Hills home - it was pretty unreal. Grazka is an independent film producer based in LA. I had a chance to shadow her for a few days and get the real Hollywood experience. Screaming agents, facelifts, Sunset Boulevard, and an atmosphere that lives and breathes movies. The latter was my favourite part of the whole experience. I love the fact that film lives at the epicenter of everything in LA. I'm definitely planning a trip back...

Traveling Light: Alison Murray's Cinematic Dance

My interview with filmmaker Alison Murray is finally posted in the most recent issue of FilmCAN. Check out www.filmcan.org for the article and other exciting news about Canadian cinema.

"Alison Murray’s work is infused with a poetic punk essence. She describes film as a mere setup for a dance sequence, and from train-hopping hobos to fairground workers traveling with the American Midway, a nomadic ballet takes centre stage in her work. Her latest film, the documentary Carny, sold out all three of its screenings at Hot Docs this year, so it’s little surprise she was recently deemed worthy of a retrospective at Toronto’s Royal theatre..."

Collaborative Urban Research Laboratory...

I am currently involved with a group at York University dedicated to the study and research of the City. I will be working in collaboration with CURL on a film project about the past and present development of York University and its relevance as a player on the global stage.

I'm really excited at the opportunity to be a part of this great new initiative that is really pushing the boundaries of interdisciplinary collaborative research!

Check out CURL:

www.criticalresearchlab.org

 

curl constitutes an unprecedented, interdisciplinary and multimedia research laboratory, dedicated to the hitherto missing cross-section of legal, sociological and geographical research on global cities with image-based media forms such as documentary film, video art and photography. The researchers and artists working in curl collaborate  on text/non-text based projects to provide an integrated research portal on  global cities

Working with FilmCAN!

I've recently started my involvement with the Canadian online film magazine FilmCAN! They have been around since 2004 with quarterly releases as well as regular updates exploring interesting content in Canadian aswell as international cinema. You can check out my first installment in this upcoming summer issue - with an interview with insightfully imaginative filmmaker Alison Murray.

FilmCAN's goal Is to be the premier online resource for the discussion and promotion of Canadian film culture. We aim to spotlight the best of Canadian and international cinema through critical analysis and by providing immediate, digital access to films and visual media. Our primary areas of focus are independent cinema and those artists attempting to push the boundaries of both the form and audience of Canadian film.

www.filmcan.org
 

Nuit Blanche Project!

I've been invited to be part of a Nuit Blanche exhibit called "Concurrence". The event will be happening in October and I will be preparing a short film to showcase.

Concurrence

    A multi-disciplinary exhibition of contemporary visual art by Emerging
Canadian Artists.
    Concurrence is a showcase of contemporary art featuring works by young
creative minds meeting together for one night only to share their unique
experiences, successes and perspectives at Nuit Blanche 2008. The event's
aim is to encourage a dialogue and a creative exchange between emerging
artists and new audiences.
    The theme of Concurrence refers to a rare snapshot of the young artists'
development from their origins to the present and beyond. Simultaneously, it
is through the mapping out of their individual paths across continents,
cultures, styles, ideas and media that Nuit Blanche happens. With various
points of departure the artists harmoniously blend a global consciousness
with fine art and design practices, thus capturing the state of creative
expression as being in constant flux.

More details will be posted shortly at:

www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca
 

Tanya Mullings: Music Is My Life Premieres on BRAVO! Feb.5th

The second episode I directed as part of the "Heartbeat" series will be airing on BRAVO! February 5th at 7pm.

The episode profiles Canadian Reggae Pioneer Tanya Mullings - who was most recently nominated for a Juno for Best Reggae Album.

EPISODE 11 : Tanya Mullings: Music is My Life

Tanya Mullings, the Canadian born diva who has won the heart of fans all across Canada and the Caribbean. Being the daughter of the late great Jamaican reggae music producer Karl Mullings, means Tanya has been taught by one of the best.

Watch the trailer:

Tamara: The Art of Weaving - Premieres on Bravo February 5th

A half hour documentary profiling world-renowned artist weaver Tamara Jaworska. This film was completed by a group of us on behalf of a filmmaker named Michal Maryniarczyk who unfortunately passed away in the middle of production. The world broadcast premiere is this coming Sunday at 7:30pm on BRAVO!