Montréal est prête

Our cine-comrades in Montreal have been busy organizing the 5th OTS8 which is set to take place at La Salla Rosa on May 27th at 8pm.

Our great thanks to the Double Negative Collective for putting together a great group of filmmakers. And kudos to the Canada Council for supporting the event (We really should consider asking the CC to get behind the SK events someday :)

Some incredible films have come out of the Montreal events, and the screenings are definitely one of a kind.  If you are in the 514, head to the event, and join their Facebook event page.

24 films by 28 filmmakers will hit the screen, see below for a list of filmmaker names.
Jason Auger ⋅ Audréane Beaucage ⋅ Caroline Blais ⋅ Jérôme Bretéché ⋅ Charlotte Clermont
Charles-André Coderre & Claudia Garceau ⋅ Ariel Desbiens ⋅ Wassili Dudan ⋅ Hannah Fleet
Jose Garcia-Lozano ⋅ Shannon Harris ⋅ Christopher Johnstone ⋅ Anne Koizumi ⋅ Sylvie Laplante
Sarah Anita McNeill ⋅ Sonya Mladenova & Vitalyi Bulychev ⋅ Marc Pelletier ⋅ Andrés Solis
Sonya Stefan & Charlotte Bonin ⋅ Svava Tergesen ⋅ Guillame Vallée ⋅ Erin Weisgerber
Matthew Wolkow ⋅ Steven Woloshen & Alexandra Grimanis.

Bonjour mes amis!

Montreal, your time has come.

Our good friends and comrades in celluloid, Double Negative collectif, have launched their call for submissions for their One Take Super 8 Event this spring. Check out details on their facebook page. It's been a couple years since their last event, but you don't want to miss out. Whether you're a maker or a watcher, some of the most impressive super 8 films have emerged from their events.

Registration dates have passed, but you must lock May 27th in your calendar to see these works premiere at La Salla Rosa.

For super 8 fans in Saskatchewan, big news about to break. hint. mark off the first week of June in your calendars. Makers, dust of your cameras.

Image credit: Marie-Douce St-Jacques

Syracuse wrapping up shooting. Anticipation builds!

The Salt City is getting near its screening as production wraps up on its super 8 films to screen at their 8th annual event (my how the years pass, I can recall the first event so clearly, waffles and all). 

You can keep up to date with them here, and join them when they screen their latest creations (which look pretty great judging from the production stills).

And in another bit of good news, it looks like our friends in Montreal are getting ready to put forth another OTS8 in the new year. We'll keep you posted here!

2013 update!

Wow, where do the months go.... Call it hibernating, but we're up from our slumber and ready to tackle 2013 with gusto.

Since we last checked in, Kodak has discontinued Ektachrome, leaving us monochromotically challenged and foraging for any color reversal stock. it's a sad day, but not all hope is lost, in a world of vinyl, polaroid and telephone books, all long since pronounced dead but then revived, we're fingers crossed that super 8 color reversal will have a second life. In the meantime, we're seeking stock for this year's event. A couple new things before a review of the last OTS8 event (from 2012). Celebrating their 7th year Syracuse is roaring ahead with it's annual event, to take place on April 20th! They've already got their 30 participants confirmed and shooting their films, so we can't wait to see them soon.



Montreal is back with another event hosted by our friends Double Negative. They're be unspooling their 30 new films at La Salla Rosa on May 2nd. They always deliver a fantastic slate of new work by some of Montreal's most exceptional film artists.

And finally, we have a lovely little wrap up remote by our most southern OTS8 event in Florida.

Last December the 1:1 Super 8 Cinema Soiree held their event and festival director Shane Eason sent us this dispatch:

December 7, 2012 Popcorn, Beer, Music & Super 8 Film @ The Bubble, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA 

Well the 2012 1:1 Super 8 Cinema Soirée finally hit the 5 year mark. Not sure if that's a good thing, considering the world's coming to an end, no? Anyway, we're still here at the bottom of the North American continent, making these awesome little movies on the ol' super 8 gauge, and we'll continue to do so in 2013. Hell yeah! This year's batch of films provided us with subject matter along the lines of economic struggles and political power; the happiness found in relationships; gatherings at holiday events; the desire to smoke cigarettes; Miami b-boys; pet dogs; and y'er Skunk Ape...or Big Foot, Yeti, or Sasquatch, pending where in the world you live. Footnote: It's a Skunk Ape here in Florida, and they live in the Everglades, or maybe it's the mangroves. I've never seen one, but saw two (on film) at the screening. So they must exist! 2012 filmmaker's included: Bryan Adams, David Aedo, Jennipher Aquino, Manny Estrella, Eric Fuhrmann, Mike Huet, Lacey Langlois, David Levine Ammar Marimutu, Marta Niagolova, Matt Perez, Van-Eric Prevalus, Nick Sacci, Aaron Sperling, Sean Stanley & Marlena Williams. The crowd was quite dynamic and enjoyed the films to the fullest. About 100 patrons tuned out on a cool December eve. Of course we had some competition with Art Basel. Later, the party moved from The Bubble to the Poor House, a great local music bar in downtown Ft. lauderdale. Live music was provided by some of the filmmakers and again, like every year, we got home at 4 a.m. Until next year!

One Take Films hit Cowtown

Past One Take Super 8 Event films have another strong presence at this year's 19th Annual $100 film festival. We're pretty proud that these film stay true to the budgetary constraints (I'd bet most of them were made for less than half of that).

Films from past events in Regina, Winnipeg and Montreal are making premieres in Calgary on March 3-5. For all event and ticket details click here.

We're thrilled that Alexandre Larose is their guest filmmaker this year, and in addition to his film catalogue and a workshop (that we guarantee will be fantastic if you attend), he's showing 2 films made for past OTS8 events. Artifices, premiered at Pop Montreal OTS8 2007 (maybe the most well received and widely screened OTS8 film of all time?) will screen on Friday night, as will Brouillard (OTS8 Montreal 2009).

Other films to check out:

From Regina, Gerald Saul will screen his 2009 OTS8 film Memories of Uncle's House. Craig Orrett's Garbage Ghosts from 2008 (Regina) has also been programmed (also, see another of Craig's films, FOWLS shot on super 8 and blown up to 16mm).

A unique opportunity to see a father and son screen their films at the same festival, Ryan Hill's Send & Receive (Regina 2009) will screen on Friday night, while his dad Charlie Hill will show the first film he ever made for the 2009 Regina OTS8 Big Jim to close out the festival on Saturday night. Big Jim was probably the biggest surprise hit of the 2009 event, and we're thrilled that Charlie will get to premiere it in Calgary.

From Winnipeg, a few films are making their way west:

Noam Gonick's first OTS8 film The Island of Hermaphrodites ( Winnipeg 2010) is at the festival, and Craig Webber's suspenseful Not In Service (Winnipeg 2010) showcases his OTS8 prowess that Winnipeg has come to expect. Another surprise hit from this past WNDX OTS8 was Scott Fitzpatrick's Down (2010). It's a amazing feat of incredible planning and flawless execution. I won't say anymore as it's best seen than explained.

So, there you have it. If you're looking for a small gauge film fix, and want to see these super 8 originals, head on down to Calgary for the $100 film fest (I'm sure the rest of the films are great too!). If you are heading there, let us know. We'd love to get your review of the festival. Also, good luck to the past OTS8 filmmakers, and fingers crossed for the venerable super 8 prize. Past OTS8 films have walked away with the top super 8 prize a few times in the past, so it would be great to add to that collection.

Montreal pics

The pics do a good job of showing what a

night we had with Double Negative in Montreal. I'm particularly fond of the bikes piled against the fence (That's how we love people coming to our shows!) Daichi Saito's face is hidden while cleaning the projector, but his Elmo was a standout, handling 800 ft reels with no problem, and a super bright xenon lens. The big screen was perfect for the space, but almost too big, as we just fit it under the ceiling. Clearly, we didn't take any pics while the films were playing, but there wasn't a square inch of floor space empty. Luckily we found a way to raise the projector high enough so no one's head would block the light.

Double Negative OTS8 - Postively Amazing

Sometimes when we broach the 30+ marks for films in an OTS8 event, I get a little nervous.
We usually set the limit at 25 filmmakers, but then some stragglers come in and beg to take part, and a couple others have a reel they shoot and want to submit, and before we know it, we're nearing 3 dozen films. Usually, this doesn't make me too nervous, as it's often inevitable, that people's schedules don't turn out and they land up not finishing a film in time. But recently, that's not the case. Winnipeg has consistently offered more than 30 films at WNDX, and Montreal couldn't close submissions quick enough. Barely a day after posting their call for films over 30 participants were paid up and ready to go (we didn't even have time to get the translated version posted).

So, when 33 films land on my doorstep waiting to be processed, I start asking a lot of questions.
1- Will the venue be big enough? (there's an exponential audience factor that directly correlates to how many films we show).
2- Will people be able to watch over 30 films in one sitting? I consider it a badge of pride for those who do. For example : "Hey, how was your weekend?" "Pretty good. I watched 33 films on Saturday night."
3- Will the projector hold up? This is always a concern, as super 8 projectors weren't really intended to show feature length films.

As is often the case, all the anxiety is unnecessary and things turn out wonderfully. This was the case on Saturday night in Montreal. High atop a 4 storey warehouse loft (La Brique) in Mile End, Double Negative set the stage for a film screening to remember. 33 films, packed house (standing room only doesn't really describe it), big screen, bright projector and a dizzying array of films from experienced veterans to first time filmmakers.

I'll post some highlights over the next few days (maybe I'll snag a Double Negative member to review some of the films). All I can say at this point is that I've seen over 500 films during the decade of OTS8 events, and I saw some films in Montreal that showed me things I've never seen before. It is stunning to believe what's possible through in camera edits. The versatility of this medium still hasn't been fully discovered and its exciting to know that OTS8 is help pushing its boundaries. There are some photos from the event, we'll post in coming days. If you were lucky enough to snag one of Marie Douce's hand made programs count yourself lucky. They were as unique and well crafted as the films, and a great memento from the night. Let's hope the DN crew is interested in doing this again, as it's clear there is a big demand in Montreal for some small guage film fests.

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.

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.

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

Did you blink!

I knew we should have timed this. I think we have a new record in signing people up to take part in OTS8 events this fall. I thought Winnipeg was fast signing up 30 filmmakers (with a waiting list intact).

But Regina and Montreal both blasted out of the gates singing people up in records times, with both events reaching their participant limits well before the cut off deadlines.

That means film is in hands and cameras are rolling. I have word that 4 films have already been completed and returned in Regina.

With lots of sunshine on the prairies this week, hopefully people can make use of the bright light for their masterful super 8 films.

So the sad news is, there are no more openings for people to shoot OTS8 films for the events this fall. The good news is, let the anticipation start building for the screenings!!!

I'll be posting a blog in a couple days, giving some tips and hints for shooting a successful OTS8. Some handy pointers that will increase your chances of success, and bring your vision to the screen. Stay posted.

One Take Super 8 Nation

The OTS8 is infectious. We're steamrolling into autumn with 3 great events.

Winnipeg will kick off the season with the 4th annual event to close out WNDX. All the spots are seized, cameras are rolling, and in a week or so, all the films will be ready for processing. We'll be premiering all the films October 11th at the Gas Station Theatre. This will be a great way to spend Thanksgiving weekend.

Regina follows that on November 5th. Submissions are still being accepted, but hurry, because over half the spots have been taken. We'll be showing all the films on November 5th at the Regina Public Library Theatre. We're starting our poster design now, and it will be another one of kind silkscreen print. Sure to be a collectible, and as unique as the films we showcase. Can you believe it's our 9th annual event. We're on the cusp of a decade of OTS8 films!

And, not to be left out of all this fun our friends in the east (at least from a prairie perspective) are planning an OTS8 for November 21 in Montreal! It's our 3rd time in Montreal, and we couldn't be happier about this event, partnering with our friends in Double Negative. They have their entry form ready online, and are willing to hook up first time filmmakers with ready to go cameras. More details about location (and their fabulous poster as well), in the days to come.

Looks like a great fall and the potential of over 100 new super 8 films to satisfy all your small gauge needs.