Tag: Online

Racism and Cultural Appropriation in the Arts: Screening, Workshop, and Panel with Simone Blais

On March 24-25 2021, Vancouver Short Film Festival is partnering with the CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers for our first event in the VSFF On The Road series:

Racism and Cultural Appropriation in the Arts: Screening, Workshop, and Panel with Simone Blais

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Wednesday March 24th / 6:30pm via ZOOM
Short Documentary Screening and Discussion with Simone Blais
In this workshop, watch the 30 minute film Dance Like Everybody’s Watching, which explores the lives of Black dancers in Victoria, BC (Songhees, Esquimalt, W̱SÁNEĆ territories). After this private viewing, participate in a facilitated discussion with the director and other participants. This is the perfect opportunity for people looking to work though themes of cultural appropriation and inclusion in the dance community and is ideal for artists and non-artists of any background. If you are interested in community-building and anti-racism, this workshop is for you!

REGISTER VIA GOOGLE FORMS: https://forms.gle/V89FDvUwyrxsR8cE9

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Thursday March 25th / 6:30pm via Facebook Live
Filmmaker Panel featuring Peruzzo, Andy Hodgson, Adhel Arop
Moderated by Simone Blais, this panel will further the conversation begun in the screening and workshop, and explore the intersection of these themes with the work and career of local filmmakers.

ACCESS ON MARCH 25TH VIA FACEBOOK LIVE: https://www.facebook.com/events/2632082723748643/

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Simone Blais is a dancer, doula, director and aspiring midwife. She is a recent UVic Gender Studies graduate whose work focuses on decolonizing the dance community and reproductive justice for marginalized communities. In the past 5 years, she has worked with the Nesting Doula Collective, and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, delivering workshops about reproductive justice. She is also the director and producer of the documentary Dance Like Everybody’s Watching, which highlights the experiences of Black dancers in ‘Victoria’. Find about more at simone-blais.com About Dance Like Everybody’s Watching: Dance Like Everybody’s Watching follows three Black dancers in Victoria, BC as they expose their worlds of flamenco, hip hop, and dancehall. While the dancers grapple with racism, tokenism, and stereotypes, we are reminded that dance is always political. This short film deals with themes of cultural appropriation in dance and is uniquely a BC production. 100% of the production, cast and crew are based in Victoria, BC. Dance Like Everybody’s Watching is funded by Storyhive and Creative BC.

About VSFF On The Road: The Vancouver Short Film Festival is excited to announce VSFF ON THE ROAD: an online event series connecting filmmakers across the province while staying apart. Sponsored by Creative BC. VSFF is proud to partner with film organizations province-wide and connect with communities outside of Vancouver as we create unique educational and professional development opportunities for filmmaking in British Columbia.

Gracias a la Vida Project

Music provided sonic support for the world during 2020, and it is helping us move into a new year. For Toronto and Vancouver– based singer-songwriter, Gisun, this arrives via The Gracias a la Vida Project – a collaborative, philanthropic music initiative crossing an array of countries and communities. Today, Gisun launches the project with the release of Gracias a la Vida (thanks to life) – a special cover of Chilean singer Violeta Parra’s iconic 1966 song. Produced with friends and former colleagues from her time at the New School and beyond, Gisun gathered a diverse ensemble of five vocalists to create a unique take, each person contributing a verse with their own flair. The project is partnering with Music Heals is to bring attention to the importance of music therapy, where proceeds of the song will be donated to support their work and to encourage public involvement.

“Despite such a hard year, for all of us around the globe, we have been given the gift of family and togetherness during a time where plague has riddled us with separation and loneliness. It brings such happiness to be able to sing the words gracias a la vida, as we are grateful that it has given us a united family. This is a time where gratefulness can really help us heal, spiritually and physically. Through re-connectivity with others and ourselves, we have regained a deeper appreciation for community, family, and friends,” says the ensemble on The Gracias a la Vida Project. “Gracias a la Vida is an interesting song, because it stands in the midst of forking paths. On one hand, this song has become a global song of humanism and of hope. But on the other, this is the goodbye letter of songwriter Violeta Parra to the world. Being able to expand on the possibilities of collaborating with musicians from around the world has been a shining light.”

The Gracias a la Vida Project was developed in the early stages of the pandemic as Gisun reflected on daily gratitude. Throughout this very transformational year, she especially connected with the Mercedes Sosa version (Homenaje a Violeta Parra) of Gracias a la Vida. As it is one of the most widely covered Latin songs to date, Gisun brought an incredible team of artists, all within the Latin American Diaspora, to bring an array of styles and backgrounds into the fold; Montreal, Quebec’s Ada Lea, Italian-Congolese artist, Sans Soucis, and two artists based in New York: Bianca Muñiz, Joy Morales, and Guayaquil, Ecuador-based, Luz Pinos. In addition, guitarists, Stephen Orr and Alper Tuzcu, perform on the track.

Canadian singer-songwriter Gisun is influenced by her Uruguayan background and South Korean roots to showcase her own style of Latin and soul-inspired music. Her songs weave together stories that reflect distinct chapters and stages of life. Since 2017, she has released three EPs: Suspiras, Partes, and Fin, in collaboration with musicians and sound engineers in New York, Spain, Toronto, and Vancouver. Currently, Gisun is working on her first full-length album with musicians from all over the world.

The video was produced by Rodrigo Ferrat, compiling performance videos independently filmed by each artist. With an aim to reach a global audience, particularly connecting with Latin American communities, the music video includes closed captions in English, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Music Heals increases access to music therapy for patients in children’s hospitals, seniors centres, palliative care, AIDS & HIV programs, at-risk youth, rehabilitation, and bereavement support. To date Music Heals has funded over 32,000 music therapy sessions. You can learn more about Music Heals and support the organization by donating or getting involved at musicheals.ca.

Noble Oak – Live Stream Virtual Tour

Noble Oak performs 4 live-streamed concerts from October 6th – 9th, hosted on Facebook Live by 4 different venues across Canada.
October 6: Victoria – Capital Ballroom @capitalballrm
October 7: Vancouver – Biltmore @biltmorecabaret
October 8: Winnipeg – The Garrick @thegarrickwinnipeg
October 9: Toronto – Adelaide Hall @adelaidehallTO

a Million Dollars in Pennies – Online Album Release Concert

a Million Dollars in Pennies had a brand-new album in hand at the beginning of 2020. The album, Decade in Spin, sounds like folk, rock and country all blended up into something you could drink all weekend long. After playing two shows in support of the record, Mike and Steph Shaver added a baby to their family band, and then COVID hit.

With the prospect of playing live shows getting pushed further and further into the future, it’s time to share an album we are very proud of. This will be broadcast live from our living room on the Side Door platform.

So put on your comfies, grab a slice of your couch and let’s snuggle up virtually for a Sunday afternoon serenade.

To hear and download the complete album before the show, head on over to amilliondollarsinpennies.net

If you would like to see the show and tickets just aren’t in your budget these days, send us an email to amilliondollarsinpennies@gmail.com and we’d be happy to put you on the guest list.

IN THE DOG HOUSE with Harpdog Brown – a weekly Sunday Brunch Series

New nine-part Sunday Brunch series with special guests debuts January 24th
Faced with travel restrictions, venue closures and other limitations due to the global pandemic, blues artist Harpdog Brown has been displaced from his touring life and is temporarily riding out the pandemic in Alberta.

Harpdog and his team had planned to film more music videos for the 2019 release For Love & Money. Unfortunately, those plans were thwarted along with all the tour cancellations. Thankfully FACTOR allowed us to rethink our plans and come up with a solution that still met the funding criteria.

Through reconnecting with former bandmates from his former band The Bloodhounds (1990s) they were able to safely congregate at DanLyn Studios in Sherwood Park Alberta, just outside of Edmonton. It was a magical reunion that led to some outstanding musical performances. This series has incredible production values with five cameras and full studio sound so it’s worthy of your big screen.

“Many years ago I had a radio show on CJSR, broadcasting from an old bank vault in the basement of the University of Alberta campus. It was a fun project and a great vehicle to share music and a forum to delve into the blues” said Harpdog Brown. “Then my manager and I got to talking about that TV show ‘Daryl’s House’ that Daryl Hall used to host. And we thought, hey wouldn’t it be fun and entertaining to do something like that?”

“The rest fell into place. The band is fantastic. These guys are top-shelf. Some of the best blues players in Alberta. DanLyn Studios was the perfect location. It’s a beautiful studio and plenty of room to ensure all safety protocols would be followed. We lit it like a stage to give a live performance feel. They even have their own pub so that became the Dog House Pub where we shot all the interview segments. The only thing missing was a live audience.”

To tie it all together, each episode features the new band doing a remake of a song from the 2019 release For Love and Money.

In The Dog House Episodes

#1 JAN 24, 2021 – Bill Bourne

#2 JAN 31, 2021 – Peter North

#3 FEB 7, 2021 – Jack de Keyzer

#4 FEB 14, 2021 – Cam Hayden

#5 FEB 21, 2021 – Aki Kumar

#6 FEB 28, 2021 – Kid Andersen

#7 MAR 7, 2021 – John Nemeth

#8 MAR 14, 2021 – Holger Petersen

#9 MAR 21, 2021 – Tim Williams

About Harpdog Brown

Harpdog Brown has grown a reputation as a real-deal purveyor of classic electric blues true to the sound of the old Chess Records and Sun Records of the late ’40s and early ‘50s. Until recently, he’s been touring as Harpdog Brown & the Uptown Blues Band – a vintage New Orleans Blues sound that is piano-driven and at any given show could feature slide trombone, sax, clarinet, trumpet and more. Still a vintage vibe, just a different vintage! They perform mostly originals yet they often include great songs of the masters from that era. Think Louis Jordan, Satchmo, Sonny Boy Williamson, Wynonie Harris, even Duke Ellington.

He’s been called a Blues Evangelist, and that’s a very fitting moniker. “I speak the blues like it’s the truth, and it is”, he was recently quoted. “I do feel like I’m a servant of the people. A missionary if you will. Music can heal people if they pay attention to the messages in these songs.” He delivers those messages with a vintage sound. “Blues is a beautiful celebration of our perfectly flawed lives. We help people forget about their issues of the moment and when they realize that we all have our issues, it’s OK.”

Follow Harpdog Brown

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarpdogBrownLIVE
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harpdogbrown
Website: https://www.HarpdogBrown.com
Listen/Buy For Love & Money from your favorite retailer: https://smarturl.it/HarpdogBrown

Not a YouTuber? All episodes can be watched on his website at https://www.HarpdogBrown.com/in-the-dog-house

#HarpdogBrown​ #Bill​ Bourne #BluesGuitar​ #BluesHarmonica

How to (Safely) Shoot Your Indie Film During a Pandemic

Have you been chomping at the bit to get cameras rolling on your next film project, but feel bogged down by isolation and public health guidelines?

CineVic presents How to (Safely) Shoot Your Indie Film During a Pandemic — an informative panel of local Victoria talent who have tackled the challenge of film production during Covid-19 restrictions over the past several months. Five experienced filmmakers will divulge the trials and tribulations of managing a distanced cast and crew without sacrificing the quality of your cinematic storytelling. They’ll also give some hot tips on how to follow protocols and resources published by WorksafeBC, ActSafe, DOC, CreativeBC, and others (hint: it’s more than masks, sanitizer, and six feet of space!)

Wednesday January 20th 2021 @ 7:00pm on Zoom

FREE for CineVic Members
(Email us at office@cinevic.ca to get the Zoom link)

$25 for Non-Members
(Register on Eventbrite – the Zoom link will be sent in your ticket confirmation email)

Meet our panelists:

Tamara Tulloch is currently serving as a Covid Compliance Officer/Health and Safety Supervisor for Air Bud Entertainment and Lighthouse Pictures inc. With 10 years as a set medic/craft service and the last 4 years as a paramedic and dispatcher for BC Ambulance – being able to tap into “insider knowledge” in the early days was vital to understanding the path and transmission of this virus in our midst. With an extensive education background in OH&S, in May 2020 she was asked to be at the forefront of covid protocol creation and implementation for the film/television/performance art industry and by late June was boots on the ground building Compliance and Enforcement teams all over the province. She is currently completing her 17th show in the Covid Era as lead for Covid Health and Safety with 3 more productions trained, crewed and beginning in the next month.

Libby Kaul has been involved in the indie film scene on Vancouver Island since 2016. She has a background in corporate administration and education but was drawn to the intense team environment of a working film crew while chaperoning her son to film sets in Vancouver and Los Angeles. She produced her first UBCP Ultra Low Budget short MIA in 2017 which won an Award of Distinction at the Canada Short Film Festival. She also produced Bump in the Night which debuted at the Telluride Horror Show in 2019. ​Libby was Location Manager for the short film version of All-In Madonna and worked as Second Assistant Director on the feature film Open for Submissions. During the pandemic, Libby has been advising on Covid Safety Plans and monitoring on-set regulations on local indie film productions.

Lukas Hanulak is a writer and director for film & television based in Victoria, BC. He was born in former Czechoslovakia, where his longtime passion for visual and emotional storytelling began, and where he has directed a dozen crime/drama series for major film and TV producers. As a writer, he co-created the award-winning film The Good Death, a story about voluntary assisted dying, that aired on many worldwide TV markets. He is a member of the Directors Guild of Canada, and his first Canadian production – the short film Empty Spaces – was made in December 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic.

Joyce Kline is a 2017 Leo Award winning Production Designer with a passion for visual storytelling. Formally trained as a visual artist, she draws on wide-ranging experience as a writer, playwright, dancer, home stager, theatre designer and storyboard artist. Joyce has exhibited across Canada and in Finland, had theatre pieces produced and workshopped in Victoria, Vancouver, and Toronto, received Ontario, Toronto and Canada Council visual arts grants, danced in Canada, England and France and taught drawing and visual narrative at Victoria College of Art. Her short film Cancelled Stamp, which she wrote, directed and co-produced in the midst of the pandemic, is currently in post production.

Justus Lowry was born to independent filmmakers and grew up exposed to cinema and making videos. After a Computer Animation program at The Centre For Digital Imaging and Sound (now the Art Institute of Burnaby), he spent half a decade doing freelance graphic design and photography before starting his own freelance media company in 2007, producing websites, advertisements, music videos, corporate videos, and TV commercials. Since then, he’s produced a variety of short culinary documentaries and two short documentaries about cacao. In early 2020 the international production of his first feature film about the chocolate industry was interrupted due to the pandemic, but he pushed through and the project is currently in post-production.