Picture of New NB Film Co-op Staff and Board of Directors
NBFC E-news - Wednesday, Dec 31, 2008
Spotlight!
Happy New Year to all our terrific members, sponsors and supporters in NB and across Canada!
The Film Co-op offices will be closed on the following days during the holidays: January 1
cat & tony
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WELCOME TO THE FILM CO-OP: NEW TECHNICAL DIRECTOR MICHEL GUITARD
Nine years ago, when I was 10 years old, I was very interested in acting and films. One day my mother was talking with a friend of hers who told her about the Film Co-op, which at the time was having a workshop series, so naturally she signed me up to attend an acting workshop. It was at this workshop that I was first introduced to Cathie Leblanc and before I knew it I was a member and Cathie had her creative hooks into me.
The first shoot I ever worked on was "Going Down on Bill", which was shot later the same summer, as a continuity assistant with Cathie. It was my first glimpse into the short filmmaking world and I was hooked. I wanted to learn as much as possible about everything. I started volunteering at the Film Co-op regularly, and if I wasn't volunteering I was hanging out, watching people edit, going through the entire film library, checking out gear and just absorbing as much as possible.
Before long I wanted to make my own short so I applied to make my film 2:36 in the winter of 2001, which screened at the first ever Tidal Wave Film Festival (now Silver Wave). It was an awesome experience that pretty much made me realize what I wanted to do. And being an 11 year old that got to tell adults what to do on set was fun too! Since then I've had the chance to direct 3 other short films, Mystery in 2004, Simon Hunter in 2007 and The Butterfly Broach in 2008 as part of the Film Co-op's Film and Television Certificate Programme.
During my time at the co-op I've worked on over 60 productions in almost all aspects of filmmaking, except Art Department, Hair and Makeup, which is probably for the best because I don't even own a comb. I now mostly do camera work and editing on projects. It wasn't until recently that I was offered a chance to start DOPing. Guy Kang's Pray My Children was my first kick at the can, followed by shooting and cutting Pierre Huard's The Clean-up and then doing re-shoots for Jason Shipley's Blood Shed all of which screened at this year's festival.
This year I was given the opportunity to be the Technical Director for the Silver Wave Film Festival, which was an awesome experience. Between that, editing Back in Your Arms and The Clean-up , directing The Butterfly Broach and volunteering on shoots regularly, I was pretty much living at the Film Co-op.
So now that I work here it seems as though the Co-op has no intention of loosening its grip on me, which is just as well because as I approach the point in my life where I've been making films longer than I've not been making films, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop. That is why I plan on continuing to make shorts in the future as I am currently stewing over a couple of ideas.
So drop by and we'll have a chat, but not too long or Cathie will get you...I'm on the Film Co-op payroll now!
Michel Guitard
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As Scene From Here
By Jim Lavoie
As 2009 is mere hours away, perhaps a quick recap of 08 is in order.
First of all, I wish all the best in the coming year to everyone at the Film Co-op, staff and members alike. Let's make this 30th year of the NB Film Co-operative the best yet!
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2008
- 2007/08 saw the first ever NB Film and Television Certificate program take place through the Film Co-op. Tony Merzetti quietly worked on the financial, equipment and overall coordination behind the scenes and Tony Sekulich and John Christenson lead the charge in the front trenches guiding their students along with the mentors brought in, from the classroom to the set for a top grade finished production entitled Diplomatic Relations.
- The Animation workshop hosted by Film Co-op Animator in Residence Elise Simard was terrific and interactive.
- The Experimental Film Programme coordinated by Film Co-op Filmmaker in Residence Michelle Lovegrove Thomson was the first of its kind for the organization.
- Josh Linton, Chris Fulton, Sarah Ketcheson, Bunthivy Nou, Tracey Carney, Jordan Roherty, Jason Chisholm, Linda Rae Dornan, Tim Turnell (to name a few), all first time winners of Silverware hardware at SWFF 08. Passage, Time Apart: A History of Hope,Cubers, Growing Op, Gruff & Ready , Gamers Manifesto, All Revved Up, A Lion's Tale and a further list too long to be mentioned of top top rated shorts and features screened at Silver Wave this year.
- Plenty of talented actors were seen in 2008 in Film Co-op and commercial projects: Gordon Gillhuly, Lita Llewellyn, Mandy MacLean, Bunthivy Nou, Josh Linton, Denis Theriault, Brandon Ellis, Wally Mackinnon, Tim Turnell, Elizabeth Goodyear to name just a few. Who can forget BronweN's musical video at SWFF 08 and Kendra Black's acceptance speech after her volunteer recognition award. Doug Sutherland's heartfelt words following his professional recognition award. The excellent photography of Jeff Crawford and John Calver. The continuing growth of the New Brunswick independent and commercial community and the talent pool, both sides of the camera, excelled when called upon. If your name or project are not included, it's only because of lack of space and my memory. Everyone involved shares in all that the Film Co-op does including all the great things the Film Co-op delivered and will continue to do.
This was a record year for productions right to the end. Gia Milani and Tony Whalen's CBC 3-2-1 Award project entitled Dark Radius is now in post production and Chris Giles' NB Joy Award film, Birth of a Nicola wrapped shooting on December 20th. A special shout out to Tim Rayne for the NB Joy Award he won.
2009
I can hardly wait to see what next year brings. I know it will include some more great stuff as new actors and new directors get set to win their time in the spotlight with the alumni member filmmakers. The amount of talent and diversity The Film Co-op has in its ranks is amazing. There are authors, poets, musicians, dancers, painters and photographers just to name a few of the disciplines of members outside of Film.
Which is why, in Feb 09 (TBA) The Film Co-op is going to have its first ever Variety Show with all funds going to Jim, er the NB Film Co-op of course! I will provide details soon and this will be for fun and a great way to beat the Feb Blahs as Corena Walby says.
Have a great, safe and Happy New Year!
Jim
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Training & Development
The New Brunswick Film Co-op annual workshop program will start up again in Feb of 2009 . Stay tuned for the launch of the new schedule in January of next year.
Anyone interested in one-on-one workshops with instructors for a fee, contact cat at: info@nbfilmcoop.com
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Festivals
CALL FOR ENTRIES
55th INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL OBERHAUSEN
Oberhausen , Germany, April 30 to May 5, 2009
(SHORT FILMS ONLY)
The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, a major festival in the short film circuit, is currently accepting entries for its 2009 edition.
Please note that all films must be submitted directly to the festival
Information and registration procedure
Application deadline: : January 15, 2009
The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen is not only the oldest short film festival in the world, but it is also one of the most important.
Some 450 films are screened in six days, with around 1,100 accredited industry professionals from nearly 50 different countries flocking to Oberhausen for this annual event.
The Festival has two competitive sections for international films: the International Competition with awards totalling 24 000 € and the Children’s and Youth Film Competition with awards totalling 2000 €.
National and International Business Development
Telefilm Canada, Montréal
514-283-6363
:: Consult the complete list of current calls for entries >>
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The Arts
ORDINARY CANADIANS
!?!
by Joe Blades
(Reprinted by permission from The Writers' Union of Canada Newsletter, Toronto, Vol. 36, No. 3, Fall/Winter 2008)
"I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know, a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough, when they know those subsidies have actually gone up-I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people."
-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, campaigning in Saskatoon, 23 Sept. 2008
The weekend before the 14 October federal election I was asked to write this article. It might be read as a continuation of the articles and discussions surround the arts in Canada, and arts funding, in the months leading up to the election.
I sent email interviews to truck drivers, horse loggers, support service providers in the oil patch, educators, office workers, organizers, writers, et cetera who are French, English-speaking, multicultural-multilingual, and/or First Nations; and married, single, widowed, divorced; with or without children . . . The responses were few. Far fewer than I'd anticipated, with none whatsoever from Montreal, Toronto or a great swath of the country. I phoned a few additional people:
Loretta Davis (51) and her husband W. R. (Dick) Davis/ (65) live in Yarmouth, NS (pop. 7,200), with their daughter Charlotte (18) and two sons, Mark (20) and Jonathan (25)-both at university. Loretta is "a working mother, living in and concerned with the future of our small coastal community. My husband is an engineer turned printer, and an avid runner." They are owner-operators of Sentinel Printing, in business since the '60s.
Paul Angers is 39 years old, live alone in Nasonworth, NB (pop. 750), and is employed as a courier truck driver.
Dymphny Dronyk (41) and her children-Dashiell (18), Cody (15) and Maryke (13) live in Grande Prairie, Alberta (pop. 52,000). Hers is "a hard working entrepreneurial family with a strong affiliation for the arts . . . [They] believe education is paramount to the overall success of our country . . . [They] value those core Canadian values of universal healthcare, employment insurance, etc." Dymphny runs a "company [that] specializes in emergency response planning, community relations and mediation" and she volunteers for the Alberta Justice Civil Court mediation program."
Joanne Arnott and her family-Harper (18), Theo (15), Isidore (12), Flora Jo (7) and Jules(5)-live in Richmond, BC (pop. 185,400). A poet, essayist, and organizer in both aboriginal and arts communities, her "special focus or area of interest is in supporting the voices of aboriginal artists who are mothers and grandmothers, in articulating the world from that much-spoken of, rarely heard-from perspective." Joanne said, "My children are all passionate, creative people . . ."
Stephen Harper's statement and use of the term "ordinary people" drew a range of responses:
Paul said, "Define ordinary. I live within my means. I have never married or divorced or have kids. I have a white collar education but I work at a blue collar job. I volunteer for two organizations, I take martial arts, and I hunt. If all of this means I'm ordinary, then, yes."
Loretta wrote: "Funny, I always thought we were the stereotypical Canadian working class family in a small town, but according to our prime minister, as lovers of art and music . . . we are not ordinary Canadians . . . I guess that makes us "extraordinary"?
Dymphny doesn't "like the word 'ordinary'. . . I think the typical Canadian is extraordinary because we are a country as diverse as our geography is vast. I think I am very "typical" of the Canadian fabric-a first generation immigrant who built a good life for my family through hard work, imagination and resilience. I've assimilated to Canadian culture while still holding dear many traditions of my culture of origin and my Canadian friends help me celebrate many of those traditions. I am atypical for where I live-a left wing environmentalist working within a typically right wing industrial environment. What is typical about that scenario is that I don't need to pretend to be something I'm not. My neighbours and coworkers accept me for who I am, not despite what I am. and that is "typically" Canadian. I hope."
Joanne, however considers herself to be an ordinary Canadian: "Absolutely ordinary. With French, Celtic, Aboriginal ancestral roots, born into a big Catholic family and over the years creating my own, pagan version of family, I am your basic, typical, working-class Canadian woman. Family values such as the right to love, and freedom of speech, are a fundamental organizing principle around here. My childhood home of guitar music and sing-alongs, paintings by young and old, stories and poems produced and praised, glue made with flour and water: the arts have always been more relevant than what job the grown-ups did for pay, or whether or not someone stayed in school long enough to graduate."
Most everyone said they were reading mostly Canadian-authored books. Dymphny is reading Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden, who she thinks "is one of Canada's most brilliant writers. The book is deeply moving and very familiar as I have some experience working with the Alberta Cree community." Dymphny is also reading Stealing Mercury by Winnipeg poet Lori Cayer, and The World Without Us-"should be mandatory reading for all teenagers!" Dashill, studying history and anthropology at Grande Prairie Regional College, is reading books by Gwyn Dyer and Wade Davis while Maryke is reading Skin by Sara Tilley-"a powerful coming of age story by a Newfoundland writer."
Unexpectedly, Paul said he's not reading any books at the moment :-(
Joanne said her family's, "favoured Canadian authors include Perry Nodelman, Guy Gavriel Kay, Robert Sawyer, and of course my poets-Connie Fife, Gregory Scofield, Tim Lander, Marilyn Dumont . . ."
Loretta is reading "trash" but Dick is reading Green-Your Place in the New Energy Evolution by Jane and Michael Hoffman, and Charlotte "is completely engrossed in . . . Fall On Your Knees by Ann Marie MacDonald."
All respondents are active in the arts community: Loretta says they, " help individuals/organizations either self publish, or reach publishers for community books. Our daughter dances ballet and plays guitar, our youngest son is involved with graphic design and music, our eldest son is an engineering student and budding photographer. We all support the efforts of our local Yarmouth Community Arts Centre by attending theatre events, and promoting them among our friends. We are all avid fans of music and art, attending concerts, exhibits and festivals as often as we can."
Paul is active in local film and television productions where he does special fx makeup, scriptwriting, acting, and a variety of other tasks.
Dymphny said, "I am a writer and have organized or been part of organizing literary readings, workshops, retreats, festivals and conferences for the past 15 years. I'm a publisher-House of Blue Skies publishes poetry by Albertans. I'm also a photographer and artist . . . I'm on the board for the Reel Shorts Film Fest; the League of Canadian Poets, as well as the Writers' Guild of Alberta. My parents are studio potters and I have been an intrinsic part of their business since I learned to fire a kiln at age 12. My sons are . . . are well known in the Peace Country music scene. Their band was chosen to represent the cultural component of Team Alberta North at the 2008 Arctic Winter Games. All three of my children are visual artists as well as writers, each of them having won various local literary and arts competitions over the years. We have either volunteered for or organized numerous youth oriented music festivals and events."
Joanna family's "lives are centered on arts and culture, from mass production at home to aboriginal community organizing among the youth (Harper's role) and generally (my own role). Whatever income I earn comes via arts production or arts organizing, and the volume of unpaid work in the field is immeasurable: money comes and goes, but the vitality of cultural life is consistent, high volume and high contact, and deeply satisfying."
-30-
Photo credits:
Joe Blades, by Karen Ruet
Joanne Arnott & family "hands": Dan Fairchild Photography
www.danfairchildphotography.com
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Biz & Indie Film News
NOW PLAYING ON NEWS-CAST.COM MOVIES - No cost, no commercial interruptions.
http://events.news-cast.com/events/Movies
Just Added To Our Schedule:
VIRUS - Directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring George Kennedy, Edward James Olmos, Olivia Hussey, Glenn Ford, Chuck Connors and Robert Vaughan. A plane crash accidentally unleashes a deadly chemical weapon. Little known genre classic and one of the highest budgeted films ever produced in Japan.
Join the Facebook Group at: click here
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Advertise
LOOKING FOR FOOTAGE TO EDIT
I'm a member filmmaker and picture editor at the Film Co-op and am looking for any film/video footage a member may have of a shot project. I would like to get my hands on some footage to edit it for my demo reel to show my editing expertise. This is only for my demo and of course I realize that the filmmaker owns the footage and it is their creative property. I will only use it in my editing demo reel when I apply to film school this year.
Please email Cat at: info@nbfilmcoop.com to let her know that you have footage I can edit this week and part of next as I go back to Toronto soon.
best,
Kevin Guthrie, Film Co-op member
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY IN HALIFAX
Executive Director
Centre for Art Tapes, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Application Deadline: Received by 5:00pm Monday, January 26th 2009.
This is a permanent full-time position.
Salary range: $30,000 - $35,000 commensurate with experience.
Start date: March 1, 2009
The Centre for Art Tapes (CFAT) is a non-profit artist-run centre founded in 1979 that facilitates and supports artists working with electronic media such as video, audio, and new media installation. The Centre provides services to a diverse membership, and the general public, including production facilities, exhibitions and screenings, as well as programs that provide comprehensive technical training and residency opportunities to professional media artists.
The Centre is a creative environment for independent artists and members of the community to access a broad range of production facilities, as well as training and mentoring programs. Through programming we enrich the public’s cultural experience of the media arts and this has a reciprocal effect on the development of our production, training, and community activities.
Responsibilities
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the ED provides vision and direction for the Centre’s long and short-term goals, and oversees all administrative and financial operations.
Required Qualifications
The successful candidate will have at least 3 years experience:
Developing and managing budgets
Writing successful proposals and grants
Managing staff and interns
Developing professional relationships
Developing arts-related programs
Working with a Board of Directors
Working in the contemporary art world, preferably in the media arts
Working in an electronic environment
Educational Qualifications: Degree or Diploma in a related field
Please submit cv and cover letter by e mail as a PDF or by post. Received by 5pm, Jan 26, 2009.
Email to: cfat.operations@ns.sympatico.ca
Mail to:
Hiring Committee
Centre for Art Tapes
5600 Sackville Street, Suite 207
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 1L2
Please visit our website at: www.centreforarttapes.ca
For detailed job posting go to: http://www.centreforarttapes.ca/downloads/EDWebPDF.pdf
Any inquiries may be emailed to the Hiring Committee:
cfat.operations@ns.sympatico.ca
We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.