Screen Arts Alumni at the Atlantic Film Festival 2009

We're very proud to have so many graduates and friends of the Screen Arts program with films in the 29th Atlantic Film Festival now underway. Many of the films shot in the region feature multiple graduates in various roles and there are a number of films written, directed and produced by graduates.
I may have overlooked some of them, but here are the programs where you can see work from Screen Arts alumni:

• The Life and Death of Gus the Hamster: A Dead Pet Story from Zac Barkhouse with Kevin Fraser producing in the Atlantic Shorts I program on Sunday, September 20th at noon in Park Lane 8
• Backshift is the Bridge Award winning short produced by Jeff Coll that is part of the Atlantic Shorts IV program on Monday, September 21st at 7pm at Park Lane 8
  
• Conscript from Jacob Owens is in the CBC Atlantic Shorts Gala program at the Oxford on Tuesday, September 22nd at 7pm
• DWB directed by Reed Jones and produced by Ryan Boon is in the Atlantic Shorts VI program at Park Lane 8 on Wednesday, September 23rd at 7pm
• Tattooed Soul by Mitchell Richard, Shadowboxin' by Graham Scharf, and MMLB (Take Care of Your Suitcase) by Jacqueline Poole all play in the Atlantic Shorts VIII program on Thursday, September 24th at 7pm at Park Lane 8

In addition to these screenings, alumni member, Jason Eisner is serving on the Atlantic Jury and I have been honoured by serving on the Canadian Jury.
Enjoy the festival and catch some of the great work from the Screen Arts family!

A Celebration of Hope

On Sunday, November 2 at 7pm Rachel Bower will premiere her short film Time Apart: A History of Hope as part of an event called "A Celebration of Hope". The film was co-directed by Rachel Bower and Warren Brown. It is part of Holocaust Education Week 2008 and it includes guest speaker Holocaust Survivor Felicia Carmelly and a performance by violinist Sean Kemp. It happens at Dalhousie University in the McCain Arts Building in the Scotia Bank Auditorium on 6135 University Avenue in Halifax.
Time Apart: A History of Hope (42 minutes)
Seventy-seven-year old Holocaust survivor Alice Zuckerman never gave up hope of finding her family, lost after the Second World War. Alice reunites with her family and takes us on a moving journey through old Eastern Europe.

Felicia Carmelly
Born in 1931 in Romania, Felicia was deported to the concentration camps in Transnistria. She experienced firsthand the evil of the Nazis and encountered the brutalities of Communism.

Sean Kemp
Sean tours with Juno-Award-nominated Lennie Gallant. Sean has scored music for TV5 and for the National Film Board.

The Show 2008

Convocation for Screen Arts is rapidly approaching and the Applied Arts tradition of a year-end show continues this coming Wednesday, June 18. In the morning the graduates walk across the stage and from 6-9pm at the NSCC Waterfront Campus at 80 Mawiomi Place (across from the hospital in Dartmouth) we have a show that highlights the achievements from the Applied Arts programs. Screen Arts has built a set in the studio, so come on by and see what they've made this year and watch some of the productions that the graduates have shot.

Follow a Stand In on the Sets of Films and TV Shows

I'm a big fan of Twitter, which is the beautifully simple text-based update community that allows you to share the mundane and profound details of your life as it happens. You can update things via the web, chat, or from your phone. With a 140 character limit it forces you to get to the point and there are great Twitters out there. To get a sense of life on a film set from a stand in you can follow the always entertaining glimpses provided by the anonymous Stand In. Follow him or her on Twitter and you'll be able to get a sense of the never-ending excitement and fast-paced life of those working in the industry.

"Daddy Why" Voted Best Overall Film

Screen Arts graduate Dawn Boyd's short film "Daddy Why" was voted "Best Overall Film" at the April 2008 WILDsound Film Festival in Toronto. The film also features graduate Kevin Fraser as one of the leads in the quirky film where a young father explains death to his eight-year-old daughter. You can watch "Daddy Why" online at the WILDsound site.

DVD's for sale.

Criterion is offering 20% off their DVD sales from their newly redesigned website. And Matthew Dessem over at the fantastic Criterion Contraption has a promo code that will get you an additional 10% off. Shipping’s not even too bad ($10 flat rate to Canada with $1 for each individual item).

The deal only lasts till the end of September, which is a week. So if you want to build your collection, or pick up some early Christmas gifts, you better move fast.

Hobo With a Shotgun

If you're reading this, you've probably already watched the Hobo With a Shotgun trailer that won the Grindhouse competition for fake trailers, recently held at SXSW in Austin, Texas. It was created by the trio of Jason Eisener, John Davies and Rob Cotterill in Dartmouth and went from idea to winning trailer in a matter of weeks. There is a cover story about Jason in The Coast and while the article doesn't mention that Jason and John graduated from the Screen Arts program a few years ago, but we're still proud of them and the recognition that they're receiving. The trailer is part of the Canadian prints of the Tarantino / Rodriguez double-bill Grindhouse, so you'll be able to see the trailer in widescreen in a theatre and keep your eyes out for the extended trailer and an actual Hobo With a Shotgun movie in the future.

The Criterion Contraption

Is this thing still in use?

If so, this might be useful for Media Workshop.

Matthew Dessem has a blog wherein he is dedicated to watching and reviewing ever DVD in the Criterion Collection.

The reviews are in depth and well researched, covering all aspects of the film and its production. They also provide tons of trivia and anecdotes gleamed from the disc’s special features and a multitude of other sources.

Enjoy Screen Arts.