Regina Review and Montreal Poster

The picture you're seeing is for our Montreal One Take Super 8 Event. Beautiful design and screenprint by Marie Douce. The digital image doesn't do them justice, but look for them hanging up around the city. Marie will be designing the programs as well.

Things are moving along for the Montreal event. The lab received the films late last week, and they're ready for pick up very soon. Expectations are high for this line up, and I know the films won't disappoint.

Can't believe it's already been a week since we wrapped up Regina's super 8 success. Yet again we had a capacity crowd well before the 8pm start, with people waiting outside the theatre for an intermission, hoping for a seat to open up. The highlight of this year's event were so many live performances to go with the films. Krystal Lewis followed up on last year with Mad Libs 2, providing a live interactive narration that got the crowd involved with a cinematic version of the board game. Eric Hill added another dimension to his 'Reversomotion' film (playing the film from tail end first), with his keyboard and amp in an improvised performance.

Brett Bell took it to another level doing a live foley for his pure one take. Assisted by Terryll Loffler on tin flute, Brett used office garbage bins to creative effect to replicate the sound of walking up steps and using a slide. And to end the live performances of the night we had a OTS8 first with Dan Suchoboki and another performer dressed all in black doing an interpretive dance in front of the screen during his film. Looked great and added a completely new dimension to his animated film.
These soundtracks and performances always make the OTS8 a must see event, as the live aspect expands the cinematic experience.

berny hi. and Jemma Gilboy collaborated on a cinematic love letter that crossed the pond, shot in both Edinburgh, Scotland and Regina, SK. It creatively, succinctly and very romantically showed the small differences between the couple's lives in places thousands of miles apart. The French new wave touches were perfect.

The buzz film of the night had to be 'Big Jim' directed by Charlie Hill. I can't count how many questions I was asked about who made the film, what camera they used, how incredible the shots were planned out, and more. As the director informed me, it was a family affair, as Charlie's sons Eric and Ryan (who have participated in OTS8 for many years) helped fulfill their dad's vision of a pure documentary portrait that pays homage to the verite docs of the NFB's Unit B. I can't describe the film anywhere near as strongly as it conveys its images, but it focuses on a pallette jack driver (Big Jim) working at a Canada Post sorting facility warehouse. It was a perfect subject for the use of super 8, and the B/W stock captured the light perfectly in the fluorescent lit warehouse.

28 films. great work. and another Regina OTS8 in the books. Thanks to everyone for coming out, to the filmpool for their support, as well as our sponsors SaskFilm, SMPIA, Exclusive Film, RPL Theatre and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. We're transferring the films at the moment, and with any luck will have DVDs ready for sale before the end of 2009.

TONIGHT!

We're hours away from the premiere of 28 new Saskatchewan super 8 masterpieces.

Films - check
Soundtracks - check
Programs - being picked up at this very moment
Audience - eagerly awaiting tonight!

I'll admit I took a sneak peak at some of the films while splicing them on the hand winds, and it's going to be a fun night. Some zombies, cats, forklifts, laundromats, and animation. As always, it's a wide assortment of cinematic styles.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Show starts at 8 and we expect a packed house.

p.s. Look for a recap of the show tomorrow, and the new poster for the Montreal OTS8!

South of the border

Well, we're 6 sleeps away from the 9th Annual OTS8 in Regina (excitement is building!). Hopefully, we can pick up the films from the lab before the weekend to splice them together. Looks to be an exciting mix of 28 films from across the province. The program is being designed at the moment, and soundtracks are trickling in.

While the wheels turn there, films are being finished up in Montreal, and will be sent to the lab soon. Anxiously awaiting their poster, and seeing the films projected with a Xenon lamp projector (it's an OTS8 first!).

But the reel excitement today is to announce a super 8 festival in Florida that the OTS8 is proud to present. We had the joy of going to Fort Lauderdale way back in 2006, and Shane Eason at Florida Atlantic University has organized another festival. The 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival is accepting submissions, and film is being handed out. The festival will be comprised of 30 South Florida filmmakers making single cartridge films.

The screening will take place at 7:30pm Friday December 11th, 2009 at Independent Working Artist Network's (IWAN) The Bubble - 810 NE 4th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

So, that makes 4 OTS8 events across the continent this fall. whew! and, as we always like to leave our fans with a teaser. Stay tuned for some big announcements for some interesting OTS8 adventures that are lining up for the new year. 2010 could start with a bang.

2009 Poster!

Voila! As promised, here's your first look at the 2009 poster for the 9th annual OTS8 in Regina.

They're being screenprinted as I type this, and will be hanging up around your fair city within the week.

We'll have some available on sturdier paper at the event in Regina for those interested in a limited edition copy.

1 down, 2 to Go!

Sorry for the delay in posting a review of the Winnipeg show, but festivals and flights have a way of exhausting people.

Where to start. Well, the first thing to say is that a combination of winter come early, and Russell Peters' sold out shows, still can't keep people away from the One Take Super 8 Event. Winnipeg showed up en masse (and early!) to witness the premiere of 34 new films at the Gas Station Theatre. It's our 4th year in Winnipeg, with 4 different venues, and this may have been the best yet. Big screen, great seats, full audio system, and a lobby with beer.

The projector held up yet again! I consider this the major achievement of every show, as I still haven't purchased back up belts, which seems to be the biggest risk at this point for projector failure. But the films played very smoothly and brightly.

With 34 films, there's too many to mention them all, but the night got off to a great start with Mathue Plouffe's Lumberjack: A Love story (which was an ironic follow up to Heidi Phillips beautifully rendered ektachrome film of a bonfire). Plouffe's humourous environmental tale created tree lovers of the bunch of us. Hard to top that film, but Curtis Weibe brought down the house with this B&W throwback ROCKET JOHN. This is a super hero we hope will make return trips to WNDX, and anyone who hooks up fireworks to someone's back for a One Take, surely deserves respect for that level of commitment. It was a flawless in camera edit, and a film worth seeing repeatedly. The narrative films are getting more sophisticated every year, from genre homages, to quirky 'only in Winnipeg' films. Hats off to Leslie Supnet for her animation which continues to experiment with the form, creating visual patterns that thrive on illusion.

A documentary that stood out in the evening came courtesy of Sunny Sidhu. A simple, yet very effective portrait of his father's daily rituals. It added depth to the evening's program that showed how much is possible in only 3 short minutes.
Another doc, which makes WHIP IT! seem like a hack effort was Kristin Andrews '$0 per Gallon'. This is the first roller skating super 8 film i think I've seen as a One Take, and it just showed how some things never go out of style (I'm talking super 8 and roller skates!) Melanie Safka's 'Brand New Key', was the perfect soundtrack, and I won't be surprised if this starts a roller revolution in the 'peg.

It's no stretch to say that Jaimz and Karen Asmundson created a super 8 film for the ages with their newest work 'GOTHS! ON THE BUS!'. People were doubling over at the visuals alone, but when you add their original soundtrack (which I've been singing to myself for days), it was clear that with a good idea, a few friends, a couple bus tokens and a super 8 camera, nothing is impossible.
I'm keenly awaiting the chance to see this film again, or for the soundtrack to be released ASAP.

So many more films to highlight, but sadly, unless you were there, any review won't do them justice. It was a fantastic evening and a perfect ending to arguably the best WNDX so far. No blizzard was going to hold down this festival, and there's no doubt anticipation is already building for next year.

But no time for looking back now, we're on the cusp of 2 more great OTS8's this fall. Regina is just around the corner. Later today we should be getting our poster proof (another Stacey Case collectible screenprint), and then the campaign begins to let the Queen City know it's about to be overtaken by super 8 madness. Films and soundtracks are pouring in, so now's the time to get the word out about seeing these great films.

Check back soon to see our spiffy new poster, I'll post a pic here.

WINTERpeg

it's october 9th.
in Winnipeg.
and it's snowing. hard.

Winnipeg likes making visitors believe in its myths.

WNDX is off to a great start. great films. great filmmakers. and fantastic audiences. can't wait till sunday night to unleash the torrent of super 8 suprises on this wintery city.

Did our projector test at the Gas Station theatre yesterday. beautiful venue. we're using the white backdrop cyc as our screen, so it'll be super 8 LARGE! only 230-some seats in the venue, so it'll be cozy and full. the seats themselves are fantastic. the old style recliners that rock out unexpectedly if you're not used to them. just like the kind at Massey Hall in Toronto. they don't make them like that anymore. and the Gas Station theatre is pondering replacing them, as they don't have many left with spare parts as replacements. The seats have a history. they still look in great shape, but the theare tech was reticent to tell me where they came from. after some prodding,and assurance that they were cleaned well before they were installed, he fessed they came from an old 'adult' theatre on Main Street that was shuttered. classic. underground seats for underground cinema.

Mike Maryniuk from the filmgroup has been gathering the soundtracks (meanwhile finishing his newest film to follow up on CATTLE CALL, which is a 3-D blast and will premiere next week at the Ottawa Animation Festival). Mike has a new film in WNDX OTS8 this year, it includes robots and blurry lights. should be awesome.

more updates tomorrow. in the meantime I'll pass along the advice I received about walking at night in Winnipeg.
'it's safe walking around at night, just keep at least an arm's length away from passerby.' supposedly this is the best technique to avoid any unforeseen knifeplay. how can anyone not love this city.

C'est What?!

Pardon the terrible title of this post, but I'm a sucker for bad punditry (and also a sucker for a wonderful Toronto Brewpub, known by the same name).

But the reason for this post isn't my butchering of French, but to inform the masses of what is looking to be the biggest and best OTS8 to hit Montreal. The participants who raced to sign up are all ready with film (way ahead of deadline), so I can only imagine they have ideas raging for what type of cinematic masterpieces they might concoct. Congratulations to Double Negative on spreading the word on this event to attract this stellar line up.

The list of filmmakers taking part is the best example of what the OTS8 sets out to do. Allow ANYONE (from first time filmmakers to advanced artists) to make a film and have it shown. And the fact that a large number of established, respected filmmakers have taken up the challenge, shows that super 8 is not a medium that is forgotten or past its best before date. Knowing many of these filmmakers previous works, I can all but guarantee that if you are attending the November 21 screening, you will see some amazing filmmaking. But without further adieu, here's the line up of filmmakers (in alphabetical order).

Hoda Adra
Stéphane Calce
Emile Cantin
Thierry Collins
Xarah Dion
Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Matthew Forbes
Jessica Fortin-Simard
Amber Goodwyn
André Habib
Bogdan Karasek
Isabelle Kirouac
Alexandre Larose
Karl Lemieux
Philippe Léonard-Brazeau
Ara Mahrejian
Eduardo Menz
Maude Michaud
Diana Mihalache
François Miron
Javiera Ovalle Sazie
Anita Pachulski
Michael Rollo
Adam Rosadiuk
Daïchi Saïto
Suzie Synnott
Malena Szlam
Roger Tellier-Craig
Emir Togrul & Ginga Takeshima
Mathieu Tremblay
Pierre-Luc Vaillancourt
Marcus von Holtzendorff
Steve Woloshen & Alexandra Grimanis