US 

FROM THE FILM VAULT - TOD BOVINGDON

Alumni NB Film Co-op member Tod Bovingdon started his career recording sound on such Film Co-op films as: Driftwood, and Echoes in the Rink – The Willie O’Ree Story (Dir. Errol Williams), Colours of the Wind (Dir. Elspeth Tulloch) and The Vacationers (Dir. Blair MacIntyre).  After The Vacationers, Tod made his professional sound debut recording sound for the NFB documentary, Groundwater Pollution – The Underlying Threat directed by Kevin Matthews, another NBFCO alum.

Moving to Toronto in 1997 Tod put the skills and attitude developed at the NB Film Co-op to good use as a sought after and busy documentary and corporate sound recordist.  He recorded such diverse projects as Black, Bold and Beautiful (a documentary on black women’s hairstyles), SledHeads (a documentary tracing a year in the life of the Canadian National Sledge Hockey team), Destination Nor’Ouest a three-month long journey following 9 latter-day Voyageurs as they paddled from Montreal to Winnipeg following the traditional Voyageur route, living authentically in 1806, and The Devil’s Brigade where he was embedded in a Special Forces Commando unit for a month as they followed the same training regimen that soldiers of the First Special Service Force did during WWII, culminating in a 13-hour climb of an Italian Mountain, at night under battle conditions.

Tod worked for two years as staff audio for TSN and another 2 as senior staff audio for ROBTv (now BNN), worked the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and was the primary audio operator for ESPN Deportes (Spanish-Language) coverage of the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Tod has been contacted to develop a sound curriculum for Mongol Kino, the film school in Ulaanbaattar, Mongolia and has delivered sound recording classes and workshops to the Film and Television Arts program at Centennial College, Toronto as well as one at NBFCO a couple of years ago.

Currently, Tod is touring the country recording sound for Planète BRBR (pronounced ‘Bar-Bar’) which is a French-language “Canadian Idol-style” singing competition.  Planète BRBR is traveling to 10 Canadian cities auditioning French singer-songwriters for the chance to come to Toronto and compete on TV for a cash prize and a recording / video contract.  http://www.brbrtfo.com/

Tod is actively working towards a career in Television production with over 30 show ideas and concepts that he is pitching to broadcasters and producers with a partner.  He hopes to have his first show sold soon and see what life is like “above the line’.

If you are a Film Co-op member and have any sound related questions Tod is extremely approachable.  Just email him at todio@todio.ca and he will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

FILM DIARY WITH CARLEE JC 

Carlee is a third year student at the University of New Brunswick. She is majoring in Media Arts and Cultures with a particular interest in film studies. In the future, she wishes to pursue a career in film and television production. Carlee’s dream is to impact people through her work and hopefully make a difference in society!

Carlee’s interest in film started when she first went to the NB Film Co-op’s Kids Summer Film Camps where she got to make her first short films. From there, she became more involved with the Silver Wave film festival, where she was the host for the annual Youth Program. This led her to attend and participate in other Film Festivals around the region. The first one being Viewfinders Atlantic Film Festival for Youth in Halifax where she was a Youth Juror. After that, she juried at the Carrousel Festival International du film de Rimouski in Quebec and the Facets Chicago International Children’s Film Festival in Chicago. 

This past April, thanks to a reference from the Film Co-op, Carlee was able to participate on the Programming Committee of the Air Canada enRoute Film Festival 2016 as well as be the East Coast Ambassador for the festival.

“I heard about the position from Tony Merzetti last April. I was delighted at the opportunity to continue working in film festivals so I couldn’t not apply! But I had no idea whether I would actually be accepted as there’s very few spots. As you can probably imagine, I was ecstatic when I got in!”

Through this experience, Carlee was able to help pick 20 films from 300+ submissions this year from all over Canada.

“Through the NB Film Co-op and Silver Wave I’ve not only received so many great opportunities but I feel Cat, Tony and everyone else at the Co-op are the ones who really helped nurture this love for film in me and helped me not only to grow as a filmmaker/film-enthusiast, but also as a person. I wouldn’t be doing what I am now without their influence.”

TRAINING UPDATES WITH MELONY MCCARTHY 

Thank YOU NB Film Co-op, for making this opportunity available to us here (Directing Actors Workshop with Toronto Filmmaker Scott Eldridge).  What a great day! Is it true that Scott does a 2 day workshop? If so, please put me down for that and remind me ungently to put it in my calendar ;)

Here's a wee Workshop review:

Lots of hard work, but the mix of exercises and constantly changing roles were excellent learning opportunities.  I appreciate Scott's generosity and encouragement shared freely with everyone - he's a humble giant of a teacher.  Love him!!! My only disappointment with the workshop is that we didn't have time to see his work and hear those stories, and hear more of his feedback on our work.  We could easily spend a few days on this material - even though we ran out of time, I certainly feel as though it was time/$ well invested.

In addition to learning from Scott and through interactions with the other participants, I found it useful because (the adult learning stuff :):

- the varied activities reminded me that I'm pretty good at taking and giving direction, and with just rolling with whatever happens

- there were several instances when I was reminded that I have good instincts on a lot of this stuff, and need to be more confident about following those instincts instead of simply making the "safe" choice

- I was SO impressed by the depth and breadth of talents and experiences in our small group - WOW!  I love a chance to hang out with interesting people :)

Thank you thank you merci merci!

(Melony McCarthy)

DIRECTING ACTORS WITH SCOTT ELDRIDGE - Fun, creation, training, networking!

Toronto Filmmaker/Director Scott Eldridge recently came to town to give a workshop for Co-op members. It was fun and he will be back in 2016 with a two-day workshop.

In the Photo are: Back- Joshua Varner, Scott Eldridge, Melony McCarthy, Josianne Chiasson

Front - Ashley Phinney, Lana Lamb Vallis, Victoria Clowater, Reno Anastasio, Cat LeBlanc

MEMBERSHIPS

Ashley Phinney doesn't want to bust any heads, time to get your membership renewed for the year if you are in arrears...it's August. Memberships are due in Jan/Feb annually. 

New and Renewed Members: Naomi Frooman

THANK YOU TO THE MEMBERS FOR HELPING THE NBFC

Thank you to the Directing Actors participants for helping to clean up following the workshop, you all rock! 

HELP NEEDED!

Members, here is your chance to get your volunteer hours in. Email Cat at info@nbfilmcoop.com if you would like to volunteer on a member production or on any co-op activity. Lots to do, don't be shy! You can help out in any area your live in, in NB.

BUZZ

NB FILM CO-OP SWFF SCREENING TOUR HITS THE ROAD AGAIN!

Outside the Box: New Brunswick Film Tour - NEXT STOPS - MONCTON AND SACKVILLE!

(CHECK OUT THE SCREENING PROGRAMME FOR MONCTON) -  moncton_program_2016_.pdf

(CHECK OUT THE SCREENING PROGRAMME FOR SACKVILLE) -  sackville_program_2016.pdf

Outside the Box: New Brunswick Film Tour: A selection of outstanding films screened at the Silver Wave Film Festival

Origin of the Silver Wave Film Festival

Due to a lack of exhibition opportunities for local media artists to showcase their work, the New Brunswick Filmmakersʼ Co-op launched a provincial film screening event in 2001 called the Silver Wave Film Festival. The initiative received universal acclaim from participants delighted at the audience engagement with their work and the collegial nature of the gathering of filmmakers from around the province.

Call for Submissions process

The programming for the festival takes place in several phases. A call for submissions is sent out 8 months prior to the event. In addition to the submitted films, programmers also invite films to be part of the festival. The mission of the festival is to showcase the best New Brunswick films, and at least 50% of the films screened each year are produced within the province. Although it might be more advantageous to invite celebrated films from away and build an audience from films that already “sell themselves”, the Silver Wave takes pride in celebrating our own local stars, and nurturing a culture of “local films first”. This strategy has taken hold, as the most popular films at the festival are not the films from away, but rather the locally made works. The programming for the past few Silver Wave Film Festivals has included a diverse selection of films from across the Province including short dramas, comedies, documentaries, animations and experimental films.

Film Tour Project

Outside the Box is a provincial film tour comprised of the best films screened at the Silver Wave Film Festival over the past 5 years. The tour has been made possible by a grant from the Province of New Brunswickʼs Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture and through the generous support of local sponsors in the communities hosting these screenings with us. 

New Brunswick Filmmakersʼ Co-op

Besides undertaking the annual Silver Wave Film Festival, the Film Co-op is also involved in many other filmic activities. It offers film-training workshops in Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton. It houses a full range of professional filmmaking equipment available to its membership base, which spans the entire province. It carries out several production programs including a 48 hour film competition and provides cash grants and equipment deferrals to projects year-round. Based in Fredericton, the Co-op is eager to help emerging and established filmmakers produce locally-based films, and see the development of thriving communities in all corners of the province.

(Recent St. Andrews Film Screening on the tour)

FREDERICTON'S MONDAY NIGHT FILM SERIES RETURNS!

Dear Cinephiles,

Hope everyone is having a great fall! The team at the Monday Night Film Series is looking forward to serving you this fall, and we're pretty excited about the line-up of films!

For the 2016/2017 season, we will be keeping our prices for memberships and admissions the same as last year. 

Annual Memberships (Sept 2016 - April 2017) are $30 regular and $18 (students, seniors, NB film co-op members)

Half year memberships (Sept 2016 - Dec 2016) are $20 regular and $12 (students, seniors, NB film co-op members)

Admission prices: Members $4.00 and General admission $7.00

We will have programmes and posters available.

Please check out the film lineup on our website:  http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/exhibition/monday-night-film-series

Phone 455-1632 and email: info@nbfilmcoop.com concerning memberships please

See you at the movies!

Tony, Cat and John

--------------------------------------------

THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY

WHEN: Monday September 19th at 7:30pm in Tilley 102, UNB. 

September 26, 2016 7:30pm

114 mins, UK, 2015, English

Featuring terrific performances by Dev Patel (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Slumdog Millionaire) and Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons (Margin Call, Inland Empire), The Man Who Knew Infinity tells the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the Indian mathematician whose contributions to number theory, continued fractions, and infinite series revolutionized the field. This sweeping historical Gala Presentation at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, about high science and the tragic repercussions of racism amongst the ostensibly enlightened is a testament to the wonder and precariousness of genius — and the power of friendship to change the world. 

Opening near the dawn of the 20th century, the film follows Ramanujan (Patel) from his humble roots in Madras — where opportunities for someone of Ramanujan’s abilities are few — to Cambridge University, where the young prodigy's visionary theories attract the attention of English mathematician G.H. Hardy (Irons). The chance to work in the same hallowed halls where Isaac Newton formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation is a dream come true for Ramanujan, but also proves to be a sort of nightmare. His colleagues, unable to see beyond his dark skin and unfamiliar culture, harass and humiliate him, while Hardy insists that Ramanujan deliver countless proofs before being allowed to publish his work.

One of the most remarkable feats of The Man Who Knew Infinity is the way it renders Ramanujan's groundbreaking, complex theories understandable even to a layperson. But even more important is the film’s depiction of Ramanujan and Hardy's difficult yet deep friendship, as they gradually evolve from stern mentor and untamable protegé to true peers, whose mutual love and respect transcend the formidable obstacles of race, class, culture, and tradition.

This is not so much a film about understanding the numbers, but understanding the men who made us see their merit, and the passion that drives each of us to find the true meaning in our lives.—Miriam Di Nunzio, Chicago Sun Times

This year, 30 limited release, independent foreign & Canadian films will be shown. Admission is $7/film, but a yearly $18 student film society membership reduces admission cost to $4/film. The series is open to all. Memberships are available at Tilley 102 every Monday night.

For further info, contact NB Film Co-op 455-1632  info@nbfilmcoop.com http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/exhibition/monday-night-film-series

The NB Film Co-op in partnership with the UNB Faculty of Arts and the Toronto Film Festival presents the series.

NEW BRUNSWICK FILM CO-OP MEMBER RECEIVES MAJOR GRANT

The Canada Council for the Arts has awarded Fredericton-born NB Film Co-op filmmaker Ryan O’Toole a production grant for his upcoming short film, “A Ways Away”. The prestigious grant, worth over $17,000, will go a long way to seeing his film come to fruition.

Ryan will begin shooting his production this weekend.

“A Ways Away” examines toxic co-dependence, loneliness, paranoia and insularity set against a mid-2000’s suburban backdrop. The film will be directed and produced by O’Toole, with Gia Milani (Shore Road Pictures) and Jillian Acreman (Columbus Avenue Pictures) also serving as producers.  

O’Toole’s last film, Pop (2014), was part of Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent Program at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and screened out-of-competition at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival as part of their Made in Canada series. His work has won multiple awards at New Brunswick’s Silver Wave Film Festival and has been shown on television as part of CBC’s DOWNLOAD program. O’Toole is currently an MA candidate at the New School in New York City, where has studied and worked since 2014. 

Further information is available upon request. 

CONTACT:

Ryan O’Toole (Ryan O’Toole Films Ltd.)

ryanotoolefilms@gmail.com