IMAGES recap

It takes a while to recover from late night screenings and the three weeks of super 8 bliss we've recently enjoyed, all capped by our recent screening at the Images Festival last Friday.

We've posted new photos from the events on facebook, so check them out and add your own if you like.

The No Cuts. No Splices. showcase was a great success at the Gladstone Hotel Ballroom. Toronto has a great appetite for small gauge cinema, and the capacity crowd was enthusiastic and committed to staying up well past the midnight hour to see some great work that has come out of the OTS8 over the past few years. It's hard to say there was a crowd favourite film in the bunch, as each work seemed to find its own fan (this only speaks to how diverse the audience was). We had 9 filmmakers in attendance, which gave people a great opportunity to mingle after the screening, and find out more about how these 'shoot and show' films were created.

The silent films of the evening were unintentionally accompanied by a vigorous karaoke party happening next door. But ultimately, this lead to some serendipitous pairings. You can read a review of the show on Images blog. We're getting some interest in hopefully doing other screenings of this package of films at other festivals across Canada, so we'll keep you posted on when the show might be coming to a town near you. In the meantime, that's the bulk of our spring season, as we start to prepare for the fall. Winnipeg is already getting its wheels turning for their 3rd Annual event at WNDX, and preparations for our 8th annual in Regina are well underway. Over the next couple of months, we'll be doing some retrospective pieces on OTS8 history, as we get a bit sentimental about this nostalgic format.

COMING SOON!

The films are reeled, filmmakers are arriving and it looks like our launch of OTS8 super 8 films in Toronto is on track to be a hit.

For those wanting to come here's the fine details.
Friday April 11th, 11pm
Gladstone Hotel Ballroom (1214 Queen west)
18 super 8 films projected in their original format as part of the Images Festival, sponsored by CFMDC.

It should be a great night, but show up early, as seating will be limited.

On Friday afternoon, to warm you up for the evening, OTS8 Organizer Alex Rogalski will be the guest of Super 8 legend John Porter, on CKLN radio's Cinephobia. From 2:30-3pm they'll be discussing all things super 8 and give a preview of what to expect on Friday night. You can listen to the show online, by clicking on the listen live link on their webpage.

As a side note, the Cambridge International Super 8 Festival (their second year) has just released their program for their upcoming festival April 24th-26th, and their only selected Canadian films were both part of previous One Take Super 8 Events. 'Walk this Way' by Alex Rogalski will screen in Competition Programme 4 on Saturday night (April 26). Katherine Skelton's documentary 'Wala Mayroon' (the longer edited version of her one take from 2002 'Sunday in Mandaue') will screen in Competition 2 Programme on Friday night (April 25th).

And finally, congratulations to Terryll Loffler, whose film 'A Day Like Any Other' from the OTS8 program in Montreal in 2005 will be part of the Antimatter Film Festival's touring package which will screen in Mexico as part of Estacionarte 08 (link in Spanish for those who are interested). If you want a chance to see the original kodachrome version (and can't make it to Mexico) we'll be showing it as part of our package at the Images festival on Friday night.

S.O.S. Review

We're blushing. We knew Friday night in Oberlin was something special, but it was very nice of Brian Doan to say so in his review posted on his blog Bubblegum Aesthetics. We're still recovering from the road trip back north of the border, but promise to get some photos up on our Facebook group soon (including some new ones from Syracuse).

Now, we're just counting the sleeps till our big Toronto show at the Images Festival. Five more by my count. We're excited that over half the filmmakers will be in attendance as well.

If you've been at the recent shows, let us know what you thought in our comments (or just comment so that we know we have some readers).

S.O.S Standing Room Only

Wow. What a night. You'd swear there was a revival taking place at the Fairchild Chapel as OTS8 presented S.O.S (Super 8 Oberlin Showcase). Standing room only is putting it too politely, as the doors were kept open through the entire first reel, as the audience peered around corners trying to catch a glimpse of the 28 premiere films (we'll be posting the program and photos soon). Oberlin Cinema Studies Professor Brett Kashmere and his students outdid themselves on producing a fantastic screening filled with many surprises. Congratulations to all of the filmmakers who took part, almost all of whom had never heard of super 8 before, let alone shot a film.

We also had guests from across Ohio, including filmmakers from Cleveland who plan to review the show for 'Super 8 Today'. Looking forward to seeing their pics on facebook soon.

What more can be said, with a prayer our Elmo projector keeps ticking, and the films looked amazing on the chapel altar. From live soundtracks (including chip eating and milk drinking), to pre-recorded work, the students put in their all to create exciting new films and share them with a fantastic crowd (many willing to sit in the chapel aisle brick floor for 2+ hours !) We'll be posting more about this event in the next few days so stay tuned (including an interview with organizer Brett Kashmere)

Cleveland Rocks (actually Oberlin does)

The Cleveland Free Times has given us some page space for the upcoming Super8 Oberlin Showcase (SOS) taking place Friday April 4th at the Fairchild Chapel on the Oberlin Campus.

Click here to check out the article - scroll down to 'Super 8 Oberlin Showcase'.

The films are back from the lab, and tonight they make the 6 hour trek to Oberlin before being assembled and premiered to the anxious masses. We'll have a review of the show (and some photos) posted here by the end of the weekend.