SOS 2.

8 pm Saturday April 24, 2010

WEST LECTURE HALL

Oberlin College Science Center

Room A 162 @ 119 Woodland Street

After a one year hiatus, the S.O.S. (Super8 Oberlin Showcase) returns for a second edition! Over 20 filmmakers from the Oberlin College community (past and present) have loaded their cameras to take part in the spectacle.

Featuring PREMIERE FILMS by: Theo Anthony, David Burnham, Daniel Dudley, Lucy Engelman, Davey Field, Peter Freeman, Lily Gottschalk, Stephen Graves, Justin Harris, Harry Israelson, Jimmy Magliozzi, Ben Neufeld, Jay Nolan, Rowan Norlander-McCarty, Peter Nowogrodzki, Matt Presto & Sara Krugman, Ian Page, Max Rivlin-Nadler, Dash Robb, Jackworth Smith, Asha Tamirisa, and Ian Wood.

There are no advance tickets for this event, which is open to the public. Admission is free.

Brought to you by the Oberlin Film Co-op and Oberlin Film Series, with support from the Oberlin College Cinema Studies Program and Exclusive Film and Video. This event is organized in conjunction with the 2nd annual Oberlin Film Festival, which takes place on Friday April 23rd in King 106, beginning at 8pm.

Syracuse TONIGHT!

Well, we've recovered from a late, but great night at the Polish Combatants Hall, premiering 28 new super 8 films (and one blast from the past), for the first Toronto One Take Super 8 Event. Standing room only (with 220+ in attendance) set the stage for our 11pm starting point, with all the films hitting the screen before 2am. No real snags except for a little bit of a delay in showing our very first Kodachrome sound super 8 film, courtesy of Ross McLaren. Considering the reel had 'expired' over 20 years ago, it turned out really well, and was a great follow up to McLaren's 1978 film Summer Camp.

There were many highlights throughout the night, especially from our first time filmmakers. There were also many 'firsts' on screen, including humping tortises from the Galapagos courtesy of Jonathan Culp. For those who stayed to the wee hours, they were rewarded with a new film from John Porter entitled 'Light Sleeper'. I won't describe it, as words don't really do it justice, but if you are in Winnipeg on Friday, April 23 you will have a chance to see this time lapse masterpiece as well as many of John's other gems at the Winnipeg Cinematheque. If you have never seen any of John's performances, don't miss out. "Porter's films are dynamic, humorous and revealing, enjoyed by people of all ages (families are encouraged to bring their kids!) They reveal and highlight the excitement involved in the risk taking of creating a super 8 film." - Winnipeg cinematheque program.

If you happen to be nearby Syracuse, NY tonight, please check out their 4th annual event at Funk 'n Waffles. If you can't make it, be sure to watch it online live!

The films from Oberlin have arrived and are ready to take to the lab. We'll have more details soon, including all the participants and location of the screening.

Pity the April fool.

April is upon us, and what a month it's lining up to be.

The Images festival gets underway this evening, with a fantastic line up of work over the next 10 days. Not the least of which is the first ever Toronto One Take Super 8 Event. Less than one week from today we will premiere 28 new films at the festival (so excited to pick them up from the lab today). Here's the key details of where and when you need to be next Wednesday.

Polish Combatants Hall

206 Beverly Street (at Cecil)

Wednesday April 7th

11pm

Pay What You Can (first come first admitted. no advanced ticketing so don't show up late and be disappointed).

The event is gaining more attention as the filmmakers are anxious to see their work. First time filmmaker (more comfortably known as a writer) Alison Broverman documented her foray into super 8 filmmaking and published this article in today's Toronto Star. It's a great article about the process and experience for a first time OTS8 participant.

While things are getting busy here in Toronto, final preparations are underway for the 4th annual event in Syracuse. Check out their blog for their snazzy new poster and details about their April 10th screening at Funk 'n Waffles. If you can't make it to Syracuse, they'll be webcast streaming the event!

And finally, things are underway in Oberlin for their second S.O.S (Super 8 Oberlin Showcase).

Films are being shot at this moment. Check back here for details about the location and time of the screening on April 23rd.

Whew. Looks to be a really busy month of screenings. Can't wait.

Super 8 Spring Stateside

Spring has sprung for the OTS8. We're quickly moving forward on 3 new OTS8's taking place this April.

First, we have our first Toronto edition co-presented with the Images Festival. 25 films are in production at the moment and will premiere on April 7th on the opening night of the Experimental Media Congress. We'll be announcing all the details soon, after the launch of the Images catalogue and screening schedule (including the names of all the participants).

Following Images, Syracuse is steaming ahead into its 4th annual event (complete with snazzy poster featured here), presented by the Syracuse Experimental Film & Video Workshop. 21 films from 28 filmmakers will premiere at the fabulous Funk N' Waffles. There are lots of returning filmmakers and some new names on the list, so its looking to be a great night of subterranean cinema on April 10th at 7pm.

And finally, Oberlin has put out the call for the 2nd S.O.S (Super8 Oberlin Showcase) co-presented by the One Take Super 8 Event. The first event in 2008 was a smashing success, and this year is looking to be even better. The first 20 people to enter will receive a free cartridge of film and processing, and have their film premiered on Friday April 23rd (location to be announced). Thanks to the Oberlin Film Co-operative for their incredible support and help in coordinating this event. Inquiries about the event can be sent to ofc@oberlin.edu.

It's clear that we're full steam ahead this spring in bringing you more super 8, on more screens.

Stay tuned for an announcement about our upcoming 10th annual event in Regina.

SUPER 8 TODAY article

Here it is. You can read the review of our Oberlin show this past April right here by clicking on the jpeg. Thanks to Chris Cottrill for publishing it (and a great magazine) and to Mandy Szostek for writing the review. If you enjoy the article, be sure to pick up a copy of the full magazine, or better yet, get a subscription.

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)

South of the Border

It's that time of year again. We're marking the start of the 2008 season of OTS8 with two shows in the US in the next couple of weeks.

First up is the Syracuse One Take Super 8 Event. After a successful beginning last year with a sold out audience and great new work showcased at Funk 'n Waffles, we're back again this year. Organizer Jessica Lance has been busy getting filmmakers signed up, and on March 29 from 5-8 pm we'll be premiering a whole new slate of films from the Salt City.
click here for a map.

Two states over, the One Take Super 8 Event is pleased to present S.O.S (Super8 Oberlin Showcase) organized by Brett Kashmere (who incidentally brought the OTS8 to Syracuse in 2007). See the line up for the Oberlin show at the bottom of this post.
SOS will take place April 4, 2008 at Fairchild Chapel 50 W. Lorain St. Oberlin OH
click here for a map.

And, if you haven't checked out our Facebook group recently, we've updated it with photos from past One Take Events in Regina, Winnipeg, Montreal, Ottawa and Syracuse. If you have some pics from past OTS8's you'd like to share, please pass them along.

The line up for SOS is: Benjamin Baker-Smith, Jonathan Comeau, Cody Darling, Lena Dunham, Adekemi Gbadebo, Chris Gentes, Stephen Graves, Leah Greenberg, Gordon Holmes, Nicholas Hoskins, Avital Isaacs, Sara Krugman, Alison Luby, Sean McKeown, Ben Neufeld, Peter Nowogrodzki, Ian Page, Ally Paz, Matthew Presto, Lucas Rainey, Max Rivlin-Nadler, Sarina Roma, Andrew Roth, Jack Ryerson, Deb Sperling, Willie Thurlow, and Nicholas Weiss.

We'll be posting more updates as the events approach.