Audience feedback

Urbanity Wrap up.

It’s been a couple weeks of things winding down after our Urbanity project, but I wanted to thank everyone who came out and offered their input.  The project was a great success.   Our final screening was planned to happen outside, but we couldn’t expect the fantastic weather to last, so it was shuffled inside due to rain (we did set up outside originally and there were many discussions about how tough our audiences were, and how they could totally handle the cold – however electronics + rain = bad, so we caved in to a more comfortable location).

We’ll be posting some more articles on this blog over the next few weeks, so don’t forget to keep an eye on it.   Check out some more audience commentary below and congratulations to Murray Kowalczyk, the winner of the CSIF $100 Film Festival passes and TRUCK t-shirt!

A major part of this project was to stimulate discussion, and you all helped to make it happen.  On the final night, we had several students from a U of C Masters of Architecture class come down to see Kyle’s final projects and the rest of the films.   The discussion was vibrant and exciting, and I was really happy to see people get so much from the collection of films we put together.   Check out some photos from the final screening below!

Hand Processing fun!

More hand processing fun!

Final stages of hand processing.

Parking the CAMPER

Camper Parking

Setup and Takedown

Audience

“Coloured Light District” by Ian Helliwell

Kyle Setup

Tristan Deveau

Audience Participation ballots!

U of C Screening Sept 25

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our third outdoor film screening last night!  We had a great crowd and the venue was excellent; it incorporated our project with the surrounding environment quite nicely – our evening consisted of our screenings, along with fire alarms from the Residence building down the street, cars and buses driving behind the camper with beautiful synchronicity with the films, car alarms blaring the background in the Art Parkade and even fireworks and cheering from the Stampeders football game (we think they won!).   It was a great example of city living and the excitement that comes with it, and it highlighted the films perfectly!

I want to repeat a big thank you to all the people that filled out the audience ballots – your comments are so appreciated and it’s great to get your feedback about the event, so keep them coming!  I’ll be posting some of the drawings and comments shortly.  If you haven’t filled out a ballot and would like to – there is an empty ballot in one of the posts below – where you can fill it in and either drop it off or mail it to our offices (J2, 2711 Battleford Ave SW) or e-mail it to programming@csif.org.   OR!  Your other option is to come to the final screening next Friday Oct 2.  We’re doing a hand-processing Super8 film demo at 4:30pm and the final screening will begin at 8:30pm.   Join us, fill out your ballots and enter to win a TRUCK t-shirt and a free pass to the CSIF’s Annual $100 Film Festival (March 4-6, 2010).   The end of the evening’s screening will showcase the work that Kyle Whitehead has created in the CAMPER over this four week period.

Keep an eye out here for more information on the next screenings or call us at (403) 205 4747.  In the meantime, enjoy some photos from the screening last night!

“Artifices #1″ by Alexandre Larose

U of C Urbanity Screening: September 25, 09

September 25, 09 Urbanity Screening; Projectionist – Luke Black

Whitehorn Wrapup and U of C Fever!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Whitehorn Community Association screening last week!  It was a blast and the films were fabulous as always.  They looked great up on the side of the CAMPER and while it was a trek out to the suburbs to see them, it was well worthwhile.   This weeks program is a little more accessible – although depending on your point of view, the U of C campus can be just as confusing and intimidating at Whitehorn.

The University is a strange little suburb all on its own.  A city within a city.  As an ex-student of the campus, I can vouch for the fact that if you live on it, there is very little reason to leave (with the few exceptions of a few bar-trips).   The University campus has everything that you could ever need: housing, food, entertainment, education all in one sprawly package.   It has built itself its own great little community of students that live there, students that feel like they live there and other professionals that can actually leave before 11pm at night (sometimes).  I think that the program we’ve put together for tonight’s screening compliments the location, a little city that is designed for thinking and discourse, and of course, a little youthful fun.

Tonight’s package includes films like “Blissfully Ignorant” and “Lines of Oblivion” that question and disrupt concepts about modern society, culture and power structures.  In the same way that University environments exist to support political and activist activities like protests and questioning authority (to a certain extent), these films question our modern viewpoints and values.  They look at how our society exists in a heirarchy, run by large corporations with capitalist interests and how that affects the rest of us that are not at the top of the ladder so to speak. In the same lines, “Red Men Rising” examines our capitalist culture with humor and horror.  Communist zombies attack the City of Winnipeg and free the poor from the oppression of the rich.  “But what happens when they run out of rich people’s brains?”

Other films like “Piensa En Mi” is a beautiful examination of the daily commute on 16mm film.  With a gorgeous film print, Alexandra Cuesta examines the daily routine of someone riding the bus in Los Angeles.  In large cities, our daily commutes from home to work and back take up much of our day, and is often regarded as a nuisance.  Cuesta’s film forces us to examine something that we would normally ignore, to turn off our ipod’s and to watch, listen and enjoy the changing environments and forgotten peoples that make up such a large part of our daily lives.

Education is in large part a change in one’s perspective and looking at the world.  Like Cuesta’s film, Roger Beebe’s “The Strip Mall Trilogy” re-examines our surroundings and re-contextualizes them.  With children growing up in suburbs and strip malls, the nature of their learning has changed, and is very different than the education of their parents or grandparents.  Beebe shows us that we can learn and play with the simplest of ideas and images, and in the process, turns a strip-mall into a classroom.

Join us tonight outside of the University of Calgary Art Parkade for these films and more!  Keep an eye out here for updates next week on the final leg of the program, as well as more writing and commentary about the films.   Show starts at 8:30 tonight and remember to bring a sweater!

Whitehorn Screening Sept 18

Whitehorn Screening Sept 18

Whitehorn Screening Sept 18: Hydro-levesque (Matthew Rankin)

Whitehorn Screening Sept 18

Urbanity at Whitehorn

One of the mail goals of this project was to take art out of the downtown core and tour it into the suburbs, where the majority of people in Calgary actually live.  Traditionally, art is seen as something that happens downtown, and we’d like to change that attitude by bringing it out to where people live.  That is why we are really excited to present our second screning at Whitehorn Community Association.   The works that we will screen tonight are as varied in theme and content as the rest of the programs, and we are really interested to see what sort of dialogue we can create with the residents of this multicultural suburban community.

Whitehorn is an interesting location because it is pretty far out of the downtown core, but still really accessible via the c-train system.   The Northeast section of Calgary often seems to be very insulated; because there are so many immigrant populations living in the area, it has almost developed a little city system within itself, although that is not necessarily something that doesn’t apply to the other quadrants of the city.   The urban sprawl of Calgary makes it very difficult to get from one section of the city to another without having a car as transportation – and even with a car, it is frustrating because of bad traffic congestion and city planning (or lack thereof).  Therefore each community tends to develop its own culture, because it is easier to create things to do in their neighbourhood than to travel to another location for events.

However, it’s not enough for each community to have it’s own culture.   It does not allow for residents to access new and exciting exciting events.   There is just not enough support for each community to have a fully rounded cultural experience, in fact many of the communities have to subsist with one mass-market grocery store, a shopping mall with big box stores (if that) a couple bars, and no real entertainment district that would include live music, visual arts, dance or other arts events.  The audience size in any one community does not allow for big festivals to host their events in a suburban location, because the suburbs are not really a central point for everyone.   The main convenience of downtown locations, is that every has to travel an equally awful distance to get there, instead of just the people that live in the SE having to completely cross town and navigate an unfamiliar suburb to get to an event.

This evening’s program touches in issues like this and more.   Films like “Somewhere Between Here and There” by Liss Platt document the homelessness of living between two locations – Hamilton, Ontario and Brooklyn, NY.   The artist is isolated from family and friends in both locations and floating in cities that neither notice, nor care, that she resides in them.  This same sort of displacement and isolation is depicted in “Aislado” by Gerard Freixes Ribera, where the artist superimposes old footage from the tv show “Robinson Crusoe” over a modern city.  In this film the city, though full of people and activity, becomes just as lonely as a deserted island in the middle of the ocean.

Scattered between those films are also gems like “Hydro-levesque” – a beautiful and surreal short from the isolated city of Winnipeg.   There are some amazing films in each of the four programs from Winnipeg, a city which seems to have built a strange mythology around itself.  In an attempt to ward off long, cold winters and massive distances between themselves and other cities, filmmakers in Winnipeg have produced amazing amounts of very strong content about their city.   It is something I wish we saw more often in Calgary – a city that is equallty isolated in many ways.  The people of Calgary are just as isolated as those in Winnipeg on an emotional level.  Our city fights with its identity on a daily basis.  During Stampede, half the city leaves town, and refuses to acknowlege that they too have a cowboy’s heart and soul, an adventurous spirit and just a little bit of spunk and attitude.  We fight between being a city of big business and oil money and a city that has its roots in agriculture.   There is also a strong contingent of people that wants to see the city push pass both those labels and become a centre for arts and culture.  There is a strange dichotomy in Calgary that has so much potential for great stories and we would love to see that flourish into something interesting and happening.

Hopefully we can accomplish that with these screenings and our continued efforts to talk about our city, our culture and our future.

-Melanie Wilmink
(CSIF Programming Coordinator)

Screening # 2    Friday September 18  8:30 pm
Whitehorn Community Association
228 Whitehorn Rd. NE

*a full program guide is available for download at www.csif.org/urbanity

• Nocturne – Michael Crochetiere
  16mm | 0:06:07 | 1996
  CANADA
• Hard Times Town – Michael Achtman & R. M. Vaughan
  BetaSP | 0:03:30 | 2000
  CANADA
• Timbre – Kara Blake
  BetaSP | 0:08:20 | 2005
  CANADA
• Hydro-levésque – Matthew Rankin
  BetaSP | 0:16:00 | 2008
  Winnipeg, CANADA
• Souvenirs – Watermarks – Paula Kelly
  BetaSP | 0:10:00 | 2008
  Winnipeg, CANADA
• Somewhere Between Here and There – Liss Platt
  BetaSP | 0:10:30 | 2008
  Hamilton, CANADA
• coming + going – Larissa Fan
  BetaSP | 0:03:00 | 2005
  CANADA
• Land of Living Skies – Alex Rogalski
  DVD | 0:03:20 | 2006
  Toronto, CANADA
• Die Selbstheilung Meines Fahrrades (The Self-
  Healing of My Bike) – Dagi Brundert
  DVD | 0:03:31 | 2008
  Berlin, GERMANY
• Transport – Ramin Eshraghi-Yazdi
  DVD | 0:01:00 | 2008
  Calgary, CANADA
• All People Is Plastic – Harald Hund
  DVD | 0:10:00 | 2005
  AUSTRIA
• Aislado – Gerard Freixes Ribera
  DVD | 0:03:30 | 2007
  Barcelona, SPAIN

Urbanity at Whitehorn

In order to encourage dialogue with YOU, the audiences, we’d like to offer you the opportunity to participate in our discussions on Urbanity.   At each of the screenings, we will distribute ballots for you to write your thoughts, comments, draw images or whatever you would like to do in order to express your thoughts on Urbanity.  Drop it off in the ballot box at the CAMPER, or mail it to the CSIF Offices and we will post your works on the blog (anonymously of course!)   You will also be entered into a draw to win a beautiful TRUCK Gallery t-shirt and a 3 day pass to the CSIF’s Annual $100 Film Festival (March 4-6, 2010).

Check out some lovely drawings that were submitted from our first screening!

Urbanity continues this week at Whitehorn Community Association!

The next Urbanity screening is this Friday, Sept. 18, at 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Whitehorn Community Association. The next workshop is our Failed Film Critique on Saturday, Sept. 19, in the same location. Bring your “failed” Super 8 footage to this fun discussion with Calgary filmmaker Kyle Whitehead, whose practice is built on so-called “failures.” The address for both screening and workshop is 228 Whitehorn Road NE.

We hope to see you there!

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Tomkins Park Screening

Thank you to everyone that came out to our very first screening at Tomkins Park on Friday September 11.  We had wicked turnout – running about 85 people throughout the night and the weather cooperated to give us a beautiful, clear, fall evening.

The films worked together for a brilliant screening.  Films dealing with gentrification and change melded with films that dealt with crime and artistic expression through the not-so-legal form of graffiti.   It was great to see people drawn in to the screening, like moths to the light; some stayed and took in a film , then wandered away, some who wandered back for another film or two and then others who stayed to watch the entire screening.  Thank you to the fabulous audiences and new friends.  Thanks especially to the two gentlemen from Manchester, who took in a film documenting urban changes in their hometown, and donated some cash to the organizations running the program.  You made my night, and I promise it did not go towards buying anybody any coffee!

Camper WEEK 1 – Kyle Whitehead’s Artist Talk

Camper WEEK 1 – Kyle Whitehead’s Artist Talk

Urbanity Screning WEEK 1

Urbanity Screning WEEK 1

Urbanity Screning WEEK 1

Urbanity Screning WEEK 1

Urbanity Screning WEEK 1

Check out photos from the screening below and remember to come by for Screening Number Two at Whitehorn Community Association this Friday!

Film Selection for Friday September 11.

The CAMPER will be located at Tomkins Park (17 Ave & 8 St SW) from September 8 – 12th.   Join Artist in Residence Kyle Whitehead as he transforms CAMPER into a mobile film laboratory. Experimenting with Super 8 as a means to cultivate a more tactile and intimate relationship with his medium; Kyle will create a series of “super short” films, which will be produced, hand-processed, and edited our of the CAMPER space. By basing the CAMPER in several suburban neighbourhoods, this residency aims to raise dialogue around the theme of urbanity while involving the local host communities.

Kyle  will be available during the day for visiting hours, at which time you can talk to him about his project, the different techniques he uses and his filmmaking process.  He will also hold an Artist Talk on Friday September 11 at 4:30pm.

Also join us after the Artist Talk for our very first film screening!  The first outdoor screening will take place at Tomkins Park on Friday September 11 at 8:30pm.  Hopefully it will be dark and the weather will hold up for us.  The screening is a suggested rating of 14A due to some nudity and drug use in one of the films.  The rest of the films rate at a G or PG rating.

The program presents:

4×8x3 (2004) – Chris Kennedy
16mm | 0:03:00 | Toronto, CANADA
8mm unsplit. Streetcars circle. The ferry leaves and returns in one gesture. Camera and character dance.

Little Things that Jazz up your Mood in Daily Traffic (2006) – Dagi Brundert
DVD | 0:01:00 | Berlin, GERMANY
A smiling light in the middle of Berlin. Not much more.

Creative Violation: The Rebel Art of Street Stencil (2007) – Andrew Stevenson
DVD | 0:23:00 | Toronto, CANADA
A short film that documents the exploding underground art form of the street stencil and explores its roots in political street art, industrial signage and graffiti.

Heart of Glass (2006) – Giles Perkins
DVD | 0:01:43 | Warrington, UK
What next for this city of industry? Shot on location in Manchester, UK

Cans As Coffins (2005) – Barbara Mann
DVD | 0:05:30 | Toronto, CANADA
Collecting cans at the food bank. How do you break the monotony of cans for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

You Are Not From Here (2005) – Diane Bonder
BetaSP |0:10:00 | USA
A record of a rapidly disappearing vernacular landscape. With an oblique narration about the process of gentrification, the film explores the
notions of discovery, belonging and the meanings we project on our environment.

Souvenirs – Waiting for the Parade (2008) – Paula Kelly
BetaSP | 0:07:25 | Winnipeg, CANADA
The 75th anniversary celebration of Winnipeg in 1948 is turned into a discourse on the city’s shifting identities through decades of progress
and regress, cynicism and hope.

Chinatown (2009) – Ryan McKenna
BetaSP | 0:09:37 | Winnipeg, CANADA
Set in the heart of Winnipeg’s historic Chinatown, it is the story of a half-baked opium addict, fighting to preserve Chinatown in the face of “progress.” A poppy-perfumed protest against the faceless/sameness identity smaller cities get bullied into accepting, often at the expense of real history and identity.

Zwei Indianer Aus Winnipeg (2008) – Darryl Nepinak
BetaSP | 0:02:40 | Winnipeg, CANADA
Two ersatz “Indian warriors” chase a beautiful Indian maiden through the streets of Winnipeg but she loves Chief Big Bear. Who is the hunter, and who the hunted in this tableaux?

Ok, Now What? (2008) – Jeff Bruyere
BetaSP | 0:01:30 | Winnipeg, CANADA
A happy-go-lucky guy is out for an evening stroll when trouble finds him.  Will evil prevail or will the good guy win?

October 25 + 26th, 1996 (1996) – Kika Thorne
BetaSP | 0:08:00 | Toronto, CANADA
During the Metro Days of Action, a 150 foot long building was inflated using the air vents in front of Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square. The October
Group action references both public institution and temporary home to protest the erosion of our city.

Bad Karma (1993) – Don Best
16mm | 0:02:48 | Calgary, CANADA
The deeds of the past come back to haunt us.