CO-OP
ONLINE ORIENTATION
Upcoming!
NEW Film and Television Certificate Program in NB
Are you interested in Exploring a Career in Film & Television? Come to the below Info Sessions being held to find out more!
Fredericton Info Session
Tuesday, March 20th, 7pm
Charlotte Street Arts Centre, upstairs room
732 Charlotte Street, Fredericton, NB
Please contact Tony Merzetti, Executive Director, NB Film Co-op:
cft@nbfilmcoop.com
Check out the website for this exciting new Programme by Clicking
here
Monday Night Film Series
March 19, 2007, 8:00pm
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
THE LIVES OF OTHERS swept the 2006 German Film Awards, winning seven prizes, including Best Feature Film, Best Direction,
Best Actor and Best Cinematography. A Special Presentation at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival®, the feature debut
from newcomer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is a beautifully written and exceptionally staged recreation of the nightmare
years of the German Democratic Republic. A far cry from the wistful look back at the former East Germany that defined the
popular GOOD BYE, LENIN!, Henckel von Donnersmarck determinedly focuses upon the venality of a regime that wrapped itself in the
rhetoric of a worker’s paradise while building a living hell and waging a cold war on its citizens.
It is 1984. Glasnost is a million miles away and a government minister with a wandering eye, used to exploiting his position to
eliminate rivals in politics or love, takes a fancy to Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck, MOSTLY MARTHA), a beautiful, popular
and very attractive actress. She is living with one of the country’s most popular – and loyal – playwrights, Georg Dreyman
(Sebastian Koch), who has connections in the government and is feted as a cultural superstar.
However, the couple’s apparently safe little world turns upside down when the grim and expressionless Stasi agent Captain
Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) – who believes no one is ever truly innocent of anything – is sent to spy on them.
THE LIVES OF OTHERS presents a blistering indictment of the former East Germany’s Kafkaesque regime, while retaining a human
portrait of its protagonists. Mühe is truly brilliant as Wiesler, the man with the headphones, a faithful cog in the machine who
nonetheless proves to be more complex than we expect. Here, nothing is as simple as it seems. With a knowing nod to Coppola’s
brilliant THE CONVERSATION, Henckel von Donnersmarck has made one of the most powerful films to emerge from Germany
in a decade.
Spotlight on the Members
In 1995 I received a call to shovel manure for a day for a film at King’s Landing (A Midwife’s Tale)… and I’ve been shoveling ever since.
Working primarily in the props or set decoration departments, I’ve worked on various projects throughout the Maritimes. Lately I’ve been the chief cheeseburger cook and bottle filler for The Trailer Park Boys (Seasons 6 & 7).
Through the course of my professional career, it has been my pleasure to maintain involvement with the Film Co-op as a crew member on such films as ‘Soupe du jour’, ‘Caught Looking’, ‘Remembrance Day’, and ‘A Cold Day in
Hell’. I credit the Film Co-op for its incessant encouragement of NB talent and look forward to participating in more Film Co-op projects in the future.
James Kennedy, Renewed Fredericton Film Co-op member
George Strunz retired in 1999 after a 32-year career with the Canadian Forest Service, conducting research and writing about
natural chemical defences of plants and trees against insects and diseases.
In retirement he continues to live in Fredericton
with his wife Annette. They live close to his elder daughter and her family and he is an enthusiastic and dedicated grandfather!
George keeps busy, inter alia, as a Board member of the Fredericton Botanic Garden and the Fredericton Arts Alliance, of which
he is Past President. Painting is important for him and he has had six solo exhibitions.
For some 30 years he has been a
member of the Fredericton Choral Society. George and Annette occasionally do some traveling, and a recent trip to Mexico
has led him to take up the study of Spanish (at an age when he admits to forgetting too many words in English.
He especially enjoys old black and white films and admits to a particular weakness for those British films made at Ealing Studios in the 50's and 60's. Many of his favourites tend however to be foreign films with sub-titles.
So far, he has not really been into making films, in fact his film experience has been limited to a four-second sequence taken
with his Pentax Optio S40 digital camera! Likewise his acting experience is limited, but if any short-sighted emerging or professional filmmaker
at the Film Co-op is casting around for a 70-plus year-old Brad Pitt look-alike, he is willing to audition for the part!
George Strunz, New Fredericton Film Co-op member/filmmaker
Provincial Actors on the Move
Arts in NB
Screening Event!
A documentary about ordinary people, marijuana, and the law of the land
by New Brunswick Film Co-op members Connell Smith and Peter Atkinson.
Screening includes a live performance of original music composed for the film by Darrell Grant, Eddie Gouchie, and Greg Moverley
WHERE:
Saturday, March 17th, 8pm, The Arena Complex Theater, St Andrews.
ADMISSION
: $6.00 ($5.00 for students) Tickets at the door.
Music and Social afterwards at the Fulcrum Gallery and Cafe (small cover charge)
This is a work in progress .
View the rushes and see the film as it takes shape!
Co-op members and Supporters involved:
Norean Goldston, Special Effects Editor.
Brian Chisholm, DOP
Christine McLean, Consulting
Director.
Vixens BAR-207 King St Is Proud to Present A Night Of Music & Movies
On Mar 21 at 8.30 p.m. Vixens is holding a "They Didn't Make it " fundraising night . The cost is $5 and will feature dance music, a music performance from TDMIs' director Joel Thompson and editor Denis Theriault , TDMI Trailers, and featuring: SPACEBLOOD, whose music will be showcased in TDMI.
There will be 50-50 draws etc....
On the TDMI front the picture editing is nearing completion and then the sound edit
and music will be tackled. Our web site has had over 2,000 hits and you can check it out by
Clicking here
Each Friday on the site, we feature a profile on a TDMI member.
I hope to see you on the 21st of March at Vixens. I know many of you are busy on Film Co-op film and
video projects and TDMI wishes you all the best on them. Let's not forget that all of this is
possible because you are members of the NB Film Co-op. The Co-op is always there for us when
we need it so renew your memberships sooner than later!
Jim Lavoie, Active Fredericton Film Co-op member
Second Student Film Screening Event!
University of New Brunswick
APRIL 12, 2007
The new Film Minor program at UNB, with the generous support of the English department, is organizing the second student film festival at UNB. The festival is open to all student filmmakers from the New Brunswick community.
Entries can include drama, animation, experimental and documentary. Films should be no longer than 15 minutes. Prizes for the top three films chosen by the festival audience!
Deadline for submissions: March 30, 2007
Send your films (DVD or VHS) to:
Temenuga Trifonova, Director of Film, Department of English, Carleton Hall, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3
For further information, email
temenuga@unb.ca
"Do as I say, not as I do"; it's a saying my dad's fond of, one he'd uncork when, as a lad, I would question his wisdom, given his less-than-spotless record. So, it's in the spirit of this patriarchal ethos that I offer-up some unsolicited advice for the first-time filmmaker (and in list-form, no less).
1) Writing and directing are unique processes, so keep them separate
"Writer" and "Director" - either credit is a great feather in the proverbial cap, but it's the 'slash' that's the key to instant 'auteur filmmaker' status. However, it's paramount that the would-be "slashie" wear his or her "writer" cap first.
Why? 'Cause even in the world of no-budget, digital shorts, at least a half a dozen people will need to glean information
from your script. If you allow yourself to be anything but clear and concise in your scene/action passages (or to play
fast-and-loose with format) simply because "I'm directing it and I know what I mean," then you're doing your
cast, crew and yourself a disservice. Your DOP and Production Designer - central players in rendering your vision - will
be handcuffed by a perfunctory script. A good rule of thumb; write your script as if someone else will direct the film.
2) Exercise due diligence when selecting your crew.
If you haven't worked with a prospective crewperson before, talk to at least three people who have. If even one opinion is negative (even slightly), stay away. Filmmakers producing through the Co-op are lucky enough to have a deep pool of enthusiastic, hard-working people to draw from. With no scarcity of talent, there's no reason to roll the dice.
3) "Focus on film" - not just an ironic Sundance Film Festival maxim.
As the shooting dates draw near, a director's attention must be on his or her film. So, though you don't want your crew size to
balloon into "unwieldy" territory, allow yourself enough non-technical, support people (Production Managers,
Craft Services) to let you focus on rehearsing your actors and planning your shots with your DOP. If it's 10 pm on the eve
of a shooting day and you find yourself wondering whether your pizza dough will rise before midnight, then you're probably
doing too much.
4) Sympathy is wasted on Production Managers
However ludicrous the notion might be to "normals" like you and I, there are people who absolutely love paperwork. So leave the crew deferrals, release forms, et al to your PM. Do not, in an ill-advised bout of sympathy, do any of this yourself.
5) Don't settle - always do multiple takes and avoid any regrets.
And… okay, so I'm tapped out for now at five. But, hey, unasked-for pointers from certified newbies are best taken in bite-sized chunks.
Happy filming, and remember to charge your bats,
Chris Fulton
Fledgling Film Co-op filmmaker, nacho enthusiast
NBFC MEMBER FILM TO BE SHOWN!
The University of New Brunswick Libraries cordially invites you to attend
The Sixteenth Milham Lecture
BIRTHDAY SUIT!
From Short Story to Movie
Presented by NB Film Co-op member, Dr. Roger Moore
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 7:30pm, Kent Auditorium, Wu Conference Centre, Fredericton
A reception will follow the lecture and everyone is welcome!
Cast & Crew please come one, come all!
Monday Night Film Series in Saint John
8PM March 19: Ghost World (2001)
March 26: Junebug (2005)
April 2: Me and You and Everyone We Know
April 9: The Virgin Suicides
Pay what you can.
----------------------
Third Space Gallery / Galerie Tiers Espace
42 Princess Street, 2nd floor [Brodie Building]
Saint John, NB E2L 1K2
www.thirdspacegallery.ca
The New Brunswick Filmmakers' Co-operative announces that names will be now taken for the following workshops and registration and payment will occur at a later date:
- Advanced Writing for Television.
- Digital Filmmaking - Camera
- Digital Filmmaking - Lighting
- Non-Linear Picture Editing: Media 100
- Cinematography for Film Production
Please click here and here to read up on all the terrific upcoming intro, intermediate & advanced workshops
You can download the full intro/intermediate program as well and hard copy workshop programs are available at the NB Film Co-op at 732 Charlotte Street, Fredericton.
Note:
Certificate Students and active filmmaker Co-op members will be given priority for all offered workshops.
Email Cat at:
info@nbfilmcoop.com
Biz News
Women shut out of Film
by: Patricia Bailey March 7, 2007 – PLAYBACK online ·
MONTREAL -- Some of Quebec's best-known female directors -- among them Léa Pool and
Manon Barbeau -- say women aren't getting their fair share of public filmmaking cash and are calling on the likes of Telefilm Canada and SODEC to set things
right.
In an open letter published Thursday, International Women's Day, in Montreal newspapers including Le Devoir and La Presse,
the filmmakers blame indifferent public funding bodies, broadcasters and producers for shutting women out of the Quebec film
industry.
"We are alarmed by these figures," it reads. "We have been waiting for the balance to shift in our favour... but this is something that hasn't happened."
"Shouldn't a healthy film and television industry reflect a diversity of points of view?"
The filmmakers -- working together as "Réalisatrices Équitables" or "Female directors for Equity" -- maintain that female-directed projects backed by funders such as Telefilm and SODEC tend to be small-budget. Although women helmed almost a quarter of the films funded by SODEC in 2005/06, those projects received only 14% of the provincial agency's total allotment, they say.
The group also says women appear to be working less, noting that in 1985/86 they directed 16% of the projects funded by SODEC's production envelope (for both documentary and fiction). Today, that proportion has dropped to 14%. This despite evidence that more women are working in the industry than 20 years ago.
"We are sounding the alarm bell. Something is wrong," said Pool (The Blue Butterfly, Set Me Free) in a telephone interview with Playback Daily from her home in Montreal. "I don't understand it. I teach film and the classes are half women, half men. I see lots of talent, but for some reason they don't make it to the shooting stage." Pool has been an instructor at the Université du Québec à Montréal and at the Institut national de l'image et du son.
A recent study by the B.C. Institute of Film Professionals also found that women in that province have made few gains as directors, writers and cinematographers since the 1980s.
Pool believes women get discouraged before they apply for funding because female stories might not fit the standard industry criteria for what makes a good film.
"The female imagination is different. Perhaps the writing is different. And our ideas about what movies are supposed to be like have largely been developed by men," she says. "Broadcasters and distributors are concerned with how they can market the film, and if they don't like your idea and get onside, you can't get money."
Pool, who considers herself privileged because she is constantly working, believes a comprehensive study is needed to get to the bottom of why there aren't more successful women filmmakers in Quebec.
SODEC did not return calls to Playback Daily, but a spokeswoman for Telefilm points out that producers, not directors, apply for funding. "We fund production houses. It's not Telefilm Canada who decides who a producer picks to direct his project," says Janine Basile.
But director Nicole Giguère (Entretien avec Anne Claire Poirier) maintains that Telefilm must be held accountable because the funding agencies know who will direct a project when a film is submitted for funding.
"From the beginning there is always a director associated with a project, and often they are the writer. It's rarely a question of the producer choosing the director after the project is funded," she says.
Filmmakers Philippe Falardeau, Serge Giguère, Jean-Pierre Lefevbre and Arnaud Bouquet also signed the letter.
IATSE 849 Member Shines! This is Clarke our special effects guy on Trailer Park Boys. This stunt is the coolest!!
Telefilm turns 40!
Creative, commercial, culturally connected.
In 1967, as Canada begins its second century, the government begins to invest in home-grown
filmmaking by creating the Canadian Film Development Corporation (now Telefilm Canada) with
a $10-million budget.
Now in 2007, with a budget of nearly $400 million (of which $272 million is administered by Telefilm for the
Canadian Television Fund), the Corporation has helped build Canada’s audiovisual industry, a vibrant component
of the Canadian economy to the tune of more than $3 billion.
Through its support, Telefilm has made it possible for thousands of talented producers, writers, directors, editors,
musicians, cinematographers, performers and technicians to pursue their careers in Canada. It’s a legacy worth celebrating!
N.B. man gets nod for work on U2, Green Day video
CBC News
A Fredericton visual artist was honoured this month in Los Angeles for his work on a music video by U2 and Green Day.
Graham Fyffe was among four recipients of the Visual Effects Society award for outstanding visual effects in a music video.
The awards were handed out on Feb. 11.
The award recognized the video for the The Saints Are Coming by U2 and Green Day.
The video purports to show large numbers of U.S. combat troops helping in the rescue efforts following Hurricane Katrina. The
video mixes news footage from the aftermath of the August 2005 disaster in New Orleans with images of helicopters and
tanks to create the impression of a massive military effort in the storm damaged city being covered by the media.
"It has to look absolutely real, so the audience can see what appears to be actual news footage," Fyffe said
Tuesday. "We basically had actual news footage of flooded streets, and we put in tanks and airplanes."
The video gained a lot of attention from the public after it was posted on the internet.
Fyffe said The Saints Are Coming was
viewed over a million times in one day on YouTube.
U2 and Green Day are donating all proceeds from the song to musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.
"COME
TO THE 2007 NB SILVER WAVE FILM FESTIVAL, I'LL BE THERE!"
says active Film Co-op member Roger Harley.
Whether you are a volunteer OR an attendee at the New Brunswick Filmmakers’ Co-operative’s
7th annual Silver Wave Film Festival in 2007, you will have the opportunity to experience and be a part of
what has now come to be known as one of the most outstanding events for New Brunswick.
Whether you’re interested in meeting great people, learning about the film and television business, or watching a
fantastic collection of films and videos, Get Involved!
Register
2007 SILVER WAVE FILM FESTIVAL
November 8-11, Fredericton, New Brunswick
- Email Cat at: info@nbfilmcoop.com if you have any questions.
MadCat Women’s Fest
11th Annual MadCat Women’s International Film Festival
The 11th Annual MadCat Women’s International Film Festival is seeking submissions!
Please spread the word. MadCat seeks films directed or co-directed by women that are produced ANY year. MadCat accepts ALL GENRES – experimental, documentary, animated, narrative, hybrid, etc.
The Festival favors work that pushes the genre and expands notions of visual storytelling.
DEADLINES: March 23, 2007 (early), May 21, 2007 (late)
Info:
www.madcatfilmfestival.org