Guide to Final Day of Calgary International Film Festival 2011

Sun, Oct 2nd

12:00pm Becoming Santa (Eau Claire) Watch my video interview with ”Becoming Santa”‘s Santa/producer Jack Sanderson & director/producer Jeff Myers

2:30pm, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey

4:30pm Almanya – Welcome to Germany (Eau Claire)

7:00pm The Salt of Life (Eau Claire)

Made in Dagenham – CIFF Review

Made in Dagenham, starring the award winning actors Sally Hawkins and Bob Hoskins, is one of the film I watched and enjoyed at 2010 Calgary International Film Festival.

Here is an excerpt of the polit at Wikipedia.

“The film is a dramatisation of the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike at the Ford Dagenham assembly plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination and the desire for equal pay. The walkout was instrumental in the Equal Pay Act 1970.”

It was fun for me to see what lead to the the Equal Pay Act 1970, and I think you will have fun watching the film as well. I especially love one scene between the characters played by the beautiful Rosamund Pike and Sally Hawkins. Rosamund, playing a Cambridge/Oxford educated smart woman who was reduced to a “supportive wife” role by her husband and partly by herself, encouraged Sally to keep up the fight as Sally was doing what Rosamund dreamt of doing but never had a chance of doing much after her university education.

Here is a film trailer.

One Big Hapa Family review & Jeff Chiba Stearns CIFF Film Talk

I interviewed Jeff Chiba Stearns in advance of the world premiere screening his first feature-length documentary One Big Hapa Family at the 2010 Calgary International Film Festival.

In Jeff’s live action and animated documentary One Big Hapa Family, he insightfully and in a fun way explores “why almost 100% of all Japanese-Canadians are marrying interracially, the highest out of any other ethnicity in Canada, and how their mixed children perceive their unique multiracial identities.” Jeff explored the subject with insightful interviews and observations.

Jeff has also blended animation nicely into his documentary so the film can also reach the younger audiences and students easier. If you have a chance, I highly recommend you check out the film. Look out for the film as it will be coming to your local OMNI TV channel in 2011.

The following animated frames are examples of Jeff skillfully using animation to tell the story in a more fun and informative manner. Sushi may now be loved by many North Americans, but the first frame illustrates the younger Jeff having the unfortunate experience of his home-made sushi being unloved and rejected by his fellow classmates. The worst thing was even his teacher didn’t even break the ice by trying one piece!

Here is a movie trailer,

Here is a clip of Jeff talking about One Big Hapa Family at a post screening film chat.

Photo of Jeff at world premiere of One Big Hapa Family.

Jeff giving a film talk and Q&A at Calgary Japanese Community Association.

2010 CIFF Picks: Me, Too (Yo, Tambien)

Here is a new addition to my 2010 Calgary International Film Festival Picks: Me, Too (Yo, Tambien) (CIFF screening info: Globe, Saturday, Oct 2, 2:45pm) (film website).

This is a drama/romantic comedy with a twist. Here is the CIFF film synopsis (with emphasis added),

“ME, TOO is the story of Daniel (Pablo Pineda), the first European with Down syndrome to graduate university. Raised in a highly academic home environment, the 34-year-old Daniel is constantly caught between two worlds, without quite fitting in on either side. He is more intellectual than the average person with Down syndrome, but not “normal” enough to fit in with much of “normal” society. Because of his loneliness, his relationships are the most important part of his life. When Daniel starts a new job, he soon forms a close friendship with one of his co-workers, Laura (Lola Dueñas). The friendship advances quickly into something more all consuming, and soon Daniel falls in love.

The intimate journey of Daniel, Laura and their friends and family captures the intense emotions each of them experiences. ME, TOO is a fascinating and emotional first feature film written and directed by the team of Álvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro.”

“Out of Infamy: Michi Nishiura Weglyn” documentary review & film talk

Good documentary is a great way to get to know someone. In the 2010 Calgary International Film Festival, the wonderfully made Out of Infamy: Michi Nishiura Weglyn introduced me to Michi Weglyn.

Here is an excerpt from Huffington Post’s detailed and insightful review of the film,

In Out of Infamy, Sharon and Nancy, using archival film footage and stills, tell the story of the camps by focusing on one particular detainee, Michi Nishiura Weglyn, who spent an impressionable part of her youth during World War II in the Gila River War Relocation Center near Phoenix, Arizona. Her story is especially interesting because she later became a successful fashion designer, probably best known for doing the costumes for The Perry Como Show on network TV during the 1960s. Several years after leaving the Como show, Weglyn took a bold turn in life and did extensive research on the concentration camps and wrote a definitive history called Years of Infamy that exposed this shameful stain on America’s recent past. The book’s road to publication was fraught with resistance from American publishers who didn’t want to touch the story. Weglyn should be known as a hero to all Americans for her tireless struggle to reveal such an unpopular truth.

Watching Michi in Out of Infamy reminded me of Audrey Hepburn as I think both ladies shared the same sense of grace and beauty and both did wonderful work for the greater good. If you have a chance, go watch Out of Infamy: Michi Nishiura Weglyn.

Here is Sharon Yamato, co-director of Out of Infamy, giving a film talk and doing Q&A in Calgary. Also check out the film synopsis and trailer.

2010 CIFF Picks: Sweetgrass

Here is a new addition to my 2010 Calgary International Film Festival Picks: Sweetgrass (CIFF screening info: Globe, Sunday, Sept 26, 4:45pm) (film website).

I am going to sit back and enjoy the beauty of this documentary film, a film that the husband and wife filmmaking team spent 10 years in making.

Here is the film’s synopsis from CIFF (emphasis added),

“An unsentimental elegy to the American West, SWEETGRASS follows the last modern-day cowboys to lead their flocks of sheep up into Montana’s Absaroka Beartooth Mountains for summer pasture. This astonishingly beautiful yet unsparing film reveals a world in which nature and culture, animals and humans, vulnerability and violence are all intimately meshed. The colourful characters and beautiful mountain scenery will at once feel familiar to Albertans who are acquainted with “Big Sky Country” and the lives of “real” cowboys—individuals who are distinctly a breed apart from the ones usually seen on the big screen at a multiplex. The husband and wife team of Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor spent 10 years filming the 150-mile trek into the mountains; of the nine films composed from hundreds of hours of footage shot, SWEETGRASS is the only one intended for theatrical exhibition.“

Here is the film’s trailer.

2010 CIFF Picks: Leave Them Laughing

Here is a new addition to my 2010 Calgary International Film Festival Picks: Leave Them Laughing (CIFF screening info: Eau Claire, Sunday, Sept 26, 12:30pm) (film website). Here is the film’s synopsis from CIFF (emphasis added),

“When comedians get huge laughs from an audience, it’s referred to as having “killed it;” when a comedian tanks, they “die” on stage. When Canadian comedian Carla Zilbersmith is diagnosed with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gerhig’s Disease), she kills it while dying. Academy Award-winning Canadian filmmaker John Zaritsky (JUST ANOTHER MISSING KID) aims his lens directly into the abyss of death again, as he did in THE SUICIDE TOURIST, only this time it isn’t about the right to die—it’s about dying right. Films from her final tours abroad are intercut with interviews, confessionals and skits that form a portrait of a brave woman prepared to drink deep from the cup of life, savour every moment and, when the curtain falls, leave them laughing.”

Here is the film’s trailer. Warning: Coarse Language & Mature Subject Matter

*** Spoiler alert. *** Please skip the following if you want to watch the film without knowing how things turn out.

As part of the research I’ve done, I went to check out Carla’s blog and I was sad to find that she has passed on. Her final blog video is a funny must see and her her son Mac’s eulogy is loving and very touching.

A good documentary will touch us and sometimes change how we see the world and live our lives. I look forward to watching this film even though I expect the audio quality of the film might not be the best at places.

Jeff Chiba Stearns – shares his “Yellow Sticky Notes” animation magic at 2010 CIFF

In the following interview/demo, Jeff Chiba Stearns, filmmaker of “One Big Hapa Family“, shows us how he use the “Yellow Sticky Notes” (viewed over 1.4 million times) style of animation to draw and create his magic. Also check out my video interview with Jeff.

P.S. I really appreciate Jeff openly sharing his creative work-in-progress here. It reminds me of my 2008 interview with painter Christine Cheung where she chatted with me about her abstract painting and let me interviewed her and filmed her painting.

Jeff Chiba Stearns interview – One Big Hapa Family – 2010 CIFF Calgary International Film Festival

I had a great time interviewing Jeff Chiba Stearns, filmmaker of “One Big Hapa Family“, last night and I am looking forward to watching his feature-length documentary One Big Hapa Family on Sunday, Sept 26, 2:45pm.

In the interview Jeff and I chatted about what inspired him to make the documentary, why he thinks may explain the stats of 95% of Japanese-Canadian marries inter=racially or Japanese of non-Japanese decent (South Asian is 13%), why can we learn from this difference. Jeff and I also talk about the animation techniques he used, what inspired him to draw some of the scenes in his over 1.4 million views “Yellow Sticky Notes“, his recommended animation book “The Illusion of Life“, and other animation/filmmaking ideas. Enjoy.

2010 Calgary International Film Festival (Film Listing & Schedule announced)

The Full Film Listing & Schedule for 2010 Calgary International Film Festival has been announced! Yeah! will be announced today (Aug 27). I will be posting my 2010 CIFF Picks as I find interesting films.

Here is my list of 2010 CIFF Picks.

(See article at examiner.com)

Letter from Prime Minister Office re: Ana’s Playground

Readers of this blog may have read and seen my video interviews with Eric Howell about his film Ana’s Playground.

1. Eric Howell Ana’s Playground interview @ 2009 Calgary International Film Festival (with video interview)
2. Eric Howell Ana’s Playground (2009 CIFF) – Best Short & Best Film at Norwich Film Festival (with video interview)
3. Ana’s Playground qualifies for an Oscar nomination in 2010

Here is a trailer.

What you may not have known is that I’ve also written a letter, including a copy of the movie, to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. And today, a letter from Office of the Prime Minister arrived. I hope Prime Minister Harper will enjoy the film and be more active in trying to resolve the worldwide tragedy of child soldiers. (click here for a larger and readable version of the letter)

Lovers In A Dangerous Time wins People’s Choice Award at CIFF

Congrats to May Charters & Mark Hug! I am really happy to report Lovers in a Dangerous Time, May & Mark’s lovely Canadian film set and shot in the beautiful Creston BC., has won the People’s Choice Award at the 2009 Calgary International Film Festival. Check out Lovers’ Facebook group and Twitter.

Here are my previous blog entries about the film.

Here is a trailer of the film.

Here is my interview with the filmmakers May Charters & Mark Hug.

Here is the film synopsis from CIFF,

LOVERS IN A DANGEROUS TIME is romantic Canadiana, centering around two former childhood friends – Todd, a small town could-have-been, and Allison, an overly nostalgic children’s book illustrator – who are reunited at their ten-year high school reunion and embark on a childish yet romantic adventure recapturing the life they use to live.

The film’s characters eventually spiral into delinquent behavior, where scorching campfire antics, teenage bush parties, and childhood memories only delay their impending return to adulthood. Directors Mark Hug and May Charters build a story that shows what occurs when we try and revisit the folly of youth, and the results of trying to hold on to the past.

Kempton’s CIFF picks for Fri, Oct 2

The following 2 screenings are my Calgary International Film Festival CIFF picks for Fri, Oct 2,

A SXSW screened film “My Suicide, 7:15pm, Eau Claire” (Here is a Variety review of the film in case you are interested. I am testing if I am young at heart and can I stand “the editors’ riotous pacing, which never rests for more than 30 seconds on a shot and comprises a barrage of manipulated footage, 1950s public-service docus, animation and forever-shifting video images.”)

Passenger Side, 9:30pm, Eau Claire

Kempton’s CIFF picks for Mon, Sept 28

The following five screenings are my Calgary International Film Festival CIFF pick for Mon, Sept 28,

The Philosopher Kings (Documentary), Monday, Sep. 28, 7:15 pm, Globe Theatre

CIFF Synopsis excerpt,

THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS is a documentary film about the kind of wisdom that gets you through the day – the wisdom that comes from surviving hard times, lost loves, shattered dreams, and bad choices. The film goes deep into the most well-respected and prestigious universities to seek wisdom from the people who see it all and have been through it all – the janitors. […]

45365 (Documentary), Monday, Sep. 28, 9:00 pm, The Plaza

CIFF Film Synopsis excerpt,

Shot over the course of nine months, 45365 (pronounced: four, five, three, six, five) captures small town American life in striking cinema-verité style, peeling away the layers of Sidney, Ohio – population 20,000 – to reveal a deeper shared experience. The film follows the lives of the town’s residents as their storylines coalesce into a mosaic of faces, places, and events. […]

Grand Jury Award Documentary Feature SXSW 2009, Special Documentary Feature Jury Prize Newport International Film Festival 2009

Kempton’s CIFF picks for Sun, Sept 27

The following five screenings are my Calgary International Film Festival CIFF pick for Sun, Sept 27,

The Clone Returns to Homeland, 12:00 pm, Globe Theatre

Invisible City, 3:00 pm, Globe Theatre

Tulku, 5:15 pm, Globe Theatre

The Last Lullaby, 7:15 pm, Globe Theatre

If I am not too exhausted, I will check out “Victoria Day”, at 9:30 pm, Globe Theatre

Love Child – 2009 CIFF

The short film “Love Child” is at 2009 Calgary International Film Festival. It is just so adorable and cute. Enjoy.

What’s Virgin Mean? – 2009 CIFF

“What’s Virgin Mean?” is a 2 minutes 33 seconds 2009 Calgary International Film Festival selection that is short and sweet. A nice job well done.

Kempton’s CIFF pick for Sat, Sept 26

The following five screenings are my Calgary International Film Festival CIFF pick for Sat, Sept 26,

SHORTS – Documentary Style, 12:15 pm, Globe Theatre

Tetro, 2:00 pm, Eau Claire Market – Cineplex

Lovers In A Dangerous Time, 4:45 pm, Eau Claire Market – Cineplex (read more here)

SHORTS – Director’s Perspective: The Animator, 7:15 pm, Globe Theatre

Breaking Upwards, 9:45 pm, Eau Claire Market – Cineplex

Eric Howell Ana’s Playground interview @ 2009 Calgary International Film Festival

Sept 30 Update: Here is a link to my post-screening video interview with Eric.

*******

I had a great time chatting with Eric Howell, writer-director of the wonderfully made and heart-gripping short film Ana’s Playground: “an allegory about the moment when a child is forced to choose between ideology and humanity while living and playing in a dangerous war environment.”

Eric’s Ana’s Playground is screening this Friday (Sept 25) 7pm at Globe Theatre at the 2009 Calgary International Film Festival.

Here is a trailer,

The following are videos of my interview with Eric. Here is a link to Right To Play.

Anything But Ordinary @ 2009 Calgary International Film Festival

At the Calgary International Film Festival this Friday Sept 25 at 7pm, I am planning to watch the collection of short films “Anything But Ordinary”  which includes these two short films,

Ana’s Playground (with director’s blog + other info) (watch my Skype video interview with Eric)
DIRECTOR Eric D. Howell, USA, 2009, 20 MIN
In a war-torn country some children play soccer amongst batter buildings and burned out cars while listening to a professional match on the radio. All this changes as the war intrudes on their “playground”.

Oh, My God! (winner of the Special Prize of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk – one of the main prizes in the Generation KPlus programme at the Berlin International Film Festival)
DIRECTOR Anne Sewitsky, Norway, 2008, 9 MIN
Norwegian with English subtitles
Oh my God! Is a film about the orgasm, a spoon, and trying to fit-in.

Cairn
DIRECTOR Hanne Larsen, Norway, 2008, 15 MIN
Norwegian with English subtitles
Johan (11) faces a moral dilemma after having started playing a seemingly innocent prank.