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.

Syracuse OTS8 #5

Celebrating their 5th Anniversary, The Syracuse One Take Super 8 Event has posted their call for submissions. Spots are filling up fast. $40 will get you one of the 25 coveted spots. And if you miss the deadline, you can still take part in the fun, by attending the screening at Funk N' Waffles with a sweet treat or savory supper before the show. Always guaranteed to be a fun night, we'll keep you posted on the details on our great partner south of the border, keeping super 8 strong in the Salt City. If you're looking for some inspiration, or can't wait to see some super 8 before the screening, check out some of last year's films posted at Syracuse Experimental Film & Video' site.

1:1 Super 8 Festival Review

And now a dispatch from our friends in sunny FLA, (with snow and a windchill here, wishing we could be there now). Congrats to Shane Eason and his team on their 3rd successful 1:1 Super 8 Festival.:

This past year marked the 3rd 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival in sunny Fort Lauderdale. On December 8th, 2010, 18 veteran (and rookie) super 8 filmmakers and artists from South Florida nervously showcased their fresh films at the historic (and supposedly haunted) Maxwell Room, built in 1925. These technically skillful, yet clever pieces of celluloid premiered before an energetic, rowdy audience of 120+. Most dressed in their best holiday threads. Others in the traditional, all black "I'm an artist, I have angst, so leave me alone!" garb.

The participants for this year's event included:

Adrienne Rose Gionta, Ian Rosenberg, Devin Scott, Eric Fuhrmann, Kohyi Sanchez, Paula Hart, Hector Romagosa, David Levine, Ammar Marimutu, Van-Eric Prevalus, Alex Stevens, Derek Taylor, Jason Forsyth, Verner Maldonado, Andreyna Sanchez, Nicolas Sacci, and Rhett Baron.

Of the films, three of them had live music accompaniment or performance. David Levine's "True Love" had an improvised trumpet from musician Dan Roddenberry. There was air playing, but actual smashing, of an acoustic guitar found wrapped underneath the 8 ft Christmas tree from Rhett Baron for "Guitarrista en Florida" by Hector Romagosa. And for Ian Rosenberg's and Devin Scott's two part science fiction film "Space Bar" and "Space Bar 2 in 3D", a distortion-noise performance that incorporated electric guitars, a crosscut handsaw, and foam meteorites that showered the audience carried out by Anteaters & The Women Who Love Them.

The screening was followed by a small wrap party at The Poorhouse. There, the filmmakers (and their groupies) gave into Super 8 and holiday salutations. This, of course, carried long into the wee morn'. I think I got home at 4 a.m.

S. C. Eason - Festival Director

The 2010 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival acknowledges the following for their generous support: Florida Atlantic University Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, Florida Atlantic University School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, The Downtowner Saloon, The Maxwell Room, Black Iron Film Artist Collective, The One Take Super 8 Event, PAC LAB INC & Eastman Kodak Films.

1:1 Super 8 Festival - 3rd Annual in Sunny FLA!

Our friends south of the border are ramping up for their 3rd annual 1:1 Film festival.

Below is their press release with details of the event. Good luck to the filmmakers, and stay tuned for a review of the show!

2010 1:1 SUPER 8 FILM FESTIVAL
ONE REEL | ONE TAKE | ONE NIGHT
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

For the third time in South Florida, Black Iron Film Artist Collective and the original One Take Super 8 Event present the 2010 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival.
Twenty independent filmmakers and artists from South Florida will load their cameras to take part in this year’s spectacle. These 200 second “masterpieces” will truly display the diversity and creativity from different independent filmmakers of South Florida.

WHEN - Wednesday December 8, 2010

TIME - Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with screening at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE - The Maxwell Room (Adjacent The Downtowner Saloon)
10 South New River Drive East, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(Downtown Fort Lauderdale)

DIRECTIONS - Take Andrews Ave to SE 5th St. and turn East, then left on SE 1st Ave. Both located on the South side of the New River, East of the Andrews Avenue Bridge. Free and meter parking is available behind The Maxwell Room/The Downtowner Saloon and under the Andrews Avenue Bridge.

COST - Free and open to the public! $5 suggested donation.

The first Fort Lauderdale/Miami show (2006) coordinated by filmmaker and FAU Film Production Professor Shane Eason spawned 20 films, some new and some programmed from previous shows. It had approximately 125 attend and held an impressive festive atmosphere. Further, in 2009, a second festival had 24 films produced and 150 people in attendance. The 2009 festival also garnered a new, standalone, event title, The 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival. Although a new festival was established, the manifesto and concepts from the original would carry over.

One cartridge! One take! One night!

This year marks the third 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival in sunny South Florida and it’s already a hot topic of discussion among artists yearning for the sight and smell of super 8 film. So grab a camera, get some celluloid, and shoot for the 2010 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival.

For additional information and questions contact: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168821126475288

The 2010 1:1 Super 8 Film Festival acknowledges the following for their generous support: Florida Atlantic University Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, Florida Atlantic University School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, The Downtowner Saloon, The Maxwell Room, Black Iron Film Artist Collective, The One Take Super 8 Event, PAC LAB INC & Eastman Kodak Films.

Regina Review

A guest review of our 10th Anniversary OTS8 program in Regina from Yvonne Abusow, a participant and membership co-ordinator at the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative. Thanks Yvonne!

This year was Regina’s 10^th year Anniversary of the One Take Super 8 event, 24 films screened on September 30^th. It was a night of excitement and nerves as Filmmakers friends and patrons of the event waited for the films to screen. I myself was a bundle of nerves as my film opened the evening’s festivities. This was my second year participating in the OTS8 in Regina and both events amazed me with the unique voice and vision of each filmmaker. This time I brought friends to experience the creative collective of Saskatchewan’s one take filmmakers and they walked out of the theatre at the end of the night excited that such a thing existed in the city of Regina. They were amazed that there was this small but mighty collection of people who participate year after year to have their films seen for the first time in front of an audience. A lot of things can go wrong on a shoot, I myself have tasted the disappointment of an out of focus image in front of a large audience, but I remind myself there’s always next year, and next time it will be bigger, better, and in focus!

The evening made me really appreciate the way others viewed the world. Ryan Hill’s Circles of Life, made me realize that there are circles everywhere I look I only have to look for them. Eric Hill’s film made me realize that wind-up toys can find true love, and Gerald Saul’s film “Rerun Amok” made me want to know how he did that? There were so many great films from the evening that I can’t mention them all in this blog, but I can say that I am in awe of the filmmakers that look at the world in ways I never would, and the 10^th annual One Take Super 8 event made me awestruck.

AND THE TROPHY GOES TO....

Our first non-invitational golf tournament at WNDX this year was a thrilling success. Our foursome initiated the tournament with a 10am tee time at U-PUTTZ which saw a few of our participants fall away (who can blame them after we got out of a George Kuchar screening/talk after 2am, that was totally worth it).

Dave Barber, Leslie Supnet and Clint Enns, all braved the early hours and luckily U-Puttz serves a mean cup of coffee (which is so nuclear hot, I had to set mine aside during the 18 holes and pick it up after - STILL WARM!) Not much of a breakfast platter, but the pizza pops sort of qualified. As the venerable Mr. Barber mentioned while seated in the suprisingly white and sterile cafeteria room "I could live off that menu. It's filled with my favourite things." I won't go through the list, but Mr. Barber's b-day is coming soon, so if you're wondering what to get him, I would suggest taking him out for a round, and buying him dinner at U-Puttz.

On to the action. The first 9-holes were under-water themed, and as we were submerged Clint Enns showed consistency and caution, scoring par 3 on the first 5 holes, but avoiding some of the risky ramps through shark mouths and octopus tentacles. His caution paid off putting him 2 strokes ahead of Barber and Supnet leading into the back nine. The pre-historic second half surrounded us with neon dinos and palm trees, and Supnet made a charge at taking Enns' lead with many a near hole-in-ones, but the cups continued to cough up the ball, making for an easy 2 putt birdie. The final hole secured the win for Enns, with Mr. Barber sneaking into 2nd and Supnet having a solid 3rd place finish. Yours truly trailed behind, only due to serious risk taking and a philosophy that the more putts you take in mini-golf the more bang you get for your buck.

Post game breakfast celebrations continued at the Don, with Enns proudly carrying his trophy (and almost forgetting it on the table!!!). It's clear this will become an annual WNDX/OTS8 tournament with many challengers ready to take up putters next year and challenge Enns' title.

As a note to those planning to attend U-Puttz on a weekend day. I would highly recommend being onto the 19th hole by 11am, as the place was running rampant with rugrats making the black light environment look like a neon blur of screaming glowing sugared up kids with weapons.

(thanks to Leslie Supnet for supplying the photos).

TONIGHT! CELEBRATE A DECADE OF OTS8

Join us tonight at the RPL theatre at 7pm, as we have a filmmakers' cocktail with light snacks and refreshments to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

We'll be premiering 24 new films at 8pm to what we're anticipating will be another very anxious, excited capacity audience. Stay tuned for a review of the show tomorrow as we highlight the films, and hopefully (fingers crossed) get through another year without a catastrophic projector malfunction. (Don't worry we have a back up or 2)

See you tonight! If you're killing time waiting for the films tonight, check out Greg Beatty's preview of the event at the Prairie Dog.