ANSWER PRINT SUMMER 2014
A CITY ANEW
CSIF Board of Directors: President: Leah Nicholson | Vice President: Ben Rowe| Treasurer: Wayne Bradford | Secretary: Scott Westby Directors: Tina Alford, Donna Serafinus, Michelle Wong, Taylor Ross, Matt Watterworth
STAFF Operations Director Bobbie Todd operations@csif.org Programming Director Nicola Waugh programming@csif.org Communications Director Nicola Waugh communications@csif.org Production Director Yvonne Abusow production@csif.org Programming & Communications Co-ordinator: Raeesa Farooqi communications@csif.org Production Coordinator: Dan Crittenden production@csif.org Designed and Compiled by Dave Reynolds + Nicola Waugh Editor: Guillaume Carlier Cover Photo by: SEITIES Advertising Inquiries: communications@csif.org The Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF) is a non-profit, member-driven media arts cooperative that encourages the production and exhibition of independent film. Suite 103-223 12 Avenue SW Calgary, AB Canada T2R 0G9 Phone: 403.205.4747 Hours: Tues-Sat, 10am – 5pm Web: csif.org
IN THIS ISSUE QUARTERLY MANIFESTO 4 ON SET: Empyrean 5 MEMBERS MISSIVES 7 A CALGARY KALEIDOSCOPE 11
12 FESTIVAL PROFILE: Sled Island Film 14 ON THE SLATE 15 SEITIES: For The Love of Analogue
CSIF is grateful for the involvement of its members, the network of artist-run cooperatives throughout Canada and for the financial assistance of its funders: The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Canada Council for the Arts, Calgary Arts Development, and from its donors, members and individuals.
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QUARTERLY MANIFESTO As a film student studying in Calgary, I constantly receive quizzical looks from friends and family, all who are seemingly shocked that I did not decide to move somewhere else for my studies. The idea of Calgary being able to compete with cities like Toronto and Vancouver when it comes to the arts is almost laughable to them, an idea that, unfortunately, seems to be held by many others. That sentiment, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. From events such as the Calgary Underground Film Festival and the M:ST Performative Arts Festival, to organizations such as Quickdraw Animation Society and EMMEDIA, Calgary has always played home to some great arts and cultural entities. In recent times, however, there has been an influx of events in Calgary that have strived to change the perception of Calgary as merely an oil and gas city. Though it may be true that Calgary’s arts community is not as prominent on the world stage as Toronto or Vancouver, the passion, dedication, ingenuity and welcoming environment that the Calgary arts scene has is one that is hard to find. This issue of Answer Print highlights just that. Entitled A City Anew, this issue paints a colourful narrative of the emerging arts & culture community here in Calgary, with each article highlighting a different part of it. Though seemingly unrelated, each article comes together to prove one major point – that the Calgary arts and culture community is truly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Filmmaker Gillian McKercher writes about The Calgary Collection, the musical documentation project she started with musician Mike Tod 4
that is striving to give a voice to the folk music community here in the city. Following this, writer and film director Ryan Drescher writes about Whatcha Got Calgary?, an anthology film project that intends to answer its own question by combining twelve short films, each shot by a different Calgarian director, into one narrative piece. Answer Print’s editor Guillaume Carlier sits down with director Tommy Lee and actor Cody Thompson to discuss their short film Empyrean and their experiences of making a film within the city of Calgary. The new online Calgarian analogue photography magazine – and now gallery – SETIES is also interviewed, highlighting the collaborative and supportive nature of the Calgarian arts community. To tie it all up, CSIF member Kadra Yusuf interviews the organizers of the Sled Island Film Festival, a festival that has been seen in recent times as one of the main of the local arts community. While reading through A City Anew, it is hard not to see how diverse the arts sector is here in Calgary. A passionate and supportive group, our local arts community is one that we should be proud of. Living in a world where the only constant is change, this dedicated community is contributing to the creation of a “new Calgary”. As Broadway producer David Binder said in his TED Talk The Arts Festival Revolution, “artists are explorers. Who better to show us [a] city anew?” Programming & Communications Coordinator Raeesa Farooqi
ON SET: EMPYREAN By Guillaume Carlier
Empyrean is the first feature length film by Tommy Lee, SAIT graduate and local filmmaker.The production was held in the city, and just outside of the limits. A psychological Sci-Fi with a spiritual background, Empyrean is a new vision in a well-established genre. Tommy and star Cody Thompson spoke with CSIF just after they wrapped up principle photography. CSIF: Walking around Calgary and meeting people, there seems to be already a good deal of word of mouth surrounding Empyrean. Can you describe what the process was to get this project off the ground? I know Tommy that you kept pushing this thing for at least two years. Tommy: I’m sure it was pretty much the same as most movies; write the script, then rewrite and rewrite. The writing process was certainly the longest aspect of production, but very satisfying.The script went through numerous changes over the past 4 and that was very exciting. Securing our funding was another
big hurdle, but again, that’s the same for any movie. Once we had the script where it needed to be and we were on track financially, Mike (Michael Peterson, our producer) was able to lock down a fantastic crew and we were ready to go. Cody: I think that says something about Calgary in general- there’s a sense of excitement over any of this work in the city. Plus the community is small enough that word gets around quickly in the film community. And I feel that a film like this hasn’t come out in Canada, let alone Calgary, so there feels like an aura of mystery behind it as well. CSIF: What kind of elements came together for Empyrean to really take off? Tommy: Casting was key.While it is a genre movie and we did want to give the film a unique visual style, it’s a relationship story at it’s core, so without great actors, it doesn’t matter how good it looks or anything like that. But Cody and Dana really brought this story to life, in ways I didn’t expect. I knew they’d go a great job, but there were many times on set when I was totally surprised by their choices, which is exactly what should happen with actors. I want to be surprised, and I want to be challenged. On a more technical note, Brad (Bradley Stuckel, director of photography) was adamant about us shooting on this new RED camera (RED EPIC-M Dragon Monochrome) that only shoots in black-and-white. It was unbelievable, such a gorgeous piece of technology. I’m not sure if this is true or not, but I believe we were the first feature film in Canada (if not North America) to shoot with it, so that’s pretty cool.
still from Empyrean (Tommy Lee)
CSIF: Would you call Empyrean a sci-fi? It seems to be going in this distinct direction that sci-fi is going lately. I’m thinking of “Upstream Colour” and “Looper”, where the science fiction is almost secondary to the story. Tommy: Yeah, I agree with that. I love all types of science fiction, from Alien and Blade Runner to Upstream Colour. In a lot of the sci-fi movies I love, the genre elements are there as more of a shortcut to get to the heart of an issue that maybe wouldn’t work quite as well if the film was more of a straight drama. Like in Blade Runner, the whole thing about what it means to be human, it’s a nice way to shortcut to that bold theme by using replicants. In a non-genre film, it could maybe come off as pretentious, but people accept it in genre storytelling. I’d call Empyrean a sci-fi only because these elements are quite bold in the film, but the relationship between Fischer and Ingrid is the primary focus, similar to Kelvin’s doomed romance in Solaris. Cody, does acting in genres demand different approaches? Cody: Not really, I mean there was some scenes that were difficult to play in that they sort of fell outside the scope of human emotion, but as an actor you always have to bring the role into something playable, whether you’re playing a weather man or a robot.
Tommy and I had a lot of conversations about this as well, but as he said the heart of this film is drama, and you need to be emotive no matter what genre the film lives in. CSIF: When you take a quick search of the title, there’s an immediate connection to heaven, or the Old Testament concept of the firmament. What was the story behind the title? Tommy: That’s exactly it. Empyrean has a lot of Biblical references sprinkled throughout and religion is a major element in the film. It’s not a Christian movie or anything, but it’s something I grew up with and felt had a place in this story. Fischer, the character Cody plays, in embarking on a journey of enlightenment, so I thought the title fit. Plus, I love when movies have a one-word title, so that was a bonus. Tommy, how did you find your experience at SAIT worked (or didn’t) when the time came to start shooting? Tommy: My training at SAIT was key for the success of this film, in more ways than one. I learned the technical side of things, and while I didn’t come out as a cinematographer or sound mixer, I still feel like I’ve got a decent understanding of these things, even if it is pretty elementary compared to everyone else on set. On the other hand, many of my key collaborators and
snowballs blizzards heat waves small towns downtown crowds wilderness barns modern rustic unusual normal backroads highways wildlife traffic jams corporate backpackers boulders street lights windy calm sunny gloomy orchestras banjos wooden docks If a location could win an Oscar for best performance, Alberta overpasses Look at all the characters we’ve playedstreams to flawless excellence... casinos mansions VIETNAM in Word of Honor politics WW1 EUROPE and MONTANA in Legends of the Fall outlaws rodeos WYOMING & MONTANA in Brokeback Mountain golfing AFGHANISTAN in Chasing Freedom casinos METROPOLIS in Superman: The Movie hockey rinks JAPAN in Heaven and Earth horseback skateboards COLORADO in Everwood (the pilot) VIRGINIA to CALIFORNIA in Into the West fishing windy calm sunny gloomy orchestras banjos
WE ARE THE WORLD’S STUNT DOUBLE.
would win hands-down.
We also have the world’s largest cowboyboot. if you’re interested.
crew members were fellow SAIT grads, many from my graduation year. It was a pretty amazing feeling getting to shoot my first feature while being surrounded by familiar faces. CSIF: For both, what did you have to learn, or unlearn, on this project? It’s a big first, for you two in so many different ways. I think people often approach big projects with a lot of assumptions that are either shattered or reinforced. Cody: Homework is key. I did a lot of work on the script before shooting, but once we got on set and things are moving faster than you anticipate, it was so helpful that I was prepared for the most part. On the flip side, it’s important to be open to what each moment has to offer.We did so much work together breaking down scenes, but so many of those scenes changed on the day, whether it be something technical changed or the emotion behind the scene felt different, so it’s important to be malleable on set. I guess I also unlearned being too precious with the work. I find I can be a ‘serious’ actor sometimes, which can rob certain moments of spontaneity. So it was nice to have so much time on set, and to really just live moment to moment. Tommy: I had to learn to roll with the punches and trust my instincts while we were in the thick of it. I did a lot of prep work, but that only helps so much. Many times I’d want to get 5 or 6 shots, but we’d only have time for 2 or 3, so you need to make a choice in the moment that’s true to your intent but also serves the story, which is most important.The other biggest learning curve was working with actors, something I had very little experience with prior to shooting. But we did a week of rehearsals and I read everything I could about the actor/director relationship prior to pre-production, so I felt more confident by the time we were rolling. CSIF: Lastly, what’s next for Empyrean? Once editing and post is totally wrapped up, do you have clear plans of where it should go? Tommy: Mike and I both feel the film may do better overseas, so we’re planning a festival run hopefully starting Spring 2015, if timing works out. I’m not too sure how long post will take. Picture edit won’t be as long as the sound edit, or the score. A local band, Jung People, are scoring the film so I’m very eager to see what those guys come up with.
MEMBER’S MISSIVES A Word From The Calgary Collection By Gillian McKercher
The Calgary Collection is a musical documentation project, involving the folk scene in Calgary. Created by Mike Tod and Gillian McKercher, the project is now embarking in its second season. Calgary is my home and I have never left. I’ve been criticized that my adoration for the city is a result of inexperience living elsewhere. Regardless, my heart belongs to Calgary and I want the city to be an artistic equal to Toronto and Montreal. People might feel that the arts are not prominent here, but a lack of establishment means that we can actively shape our civic identity. Calgary is an exciting place to work artistically because we do not have a precedent to meet. I’m in production for the second season of “The Calgary Collection”, a web-series that profiles members of our folk music community. My co-creator and co-producer, Mike Tod, is the origin of the project. We first collaborated for CSIF’s $100 Film/Music Explosion! In 2013- Mike played an acoustic set at The Globe and the audience sang along to his performance. I remember thinking that we should work together again, but I barely said goodbye and thanks at the end of the screening. A few months later I received an e-mail from Mike. He was polite and asked if I would meet with him to discuss documenting Calgary’s folk music community along the likes of the Smithsonian Museum interviews and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. I was recovering
The Calgary Collection’s Amy Nelson & Carter Felker
from leg surgery on my couch and cramming for a final exam prior to University graduation. I couldn’t walk and I was ambivalent about my degree and self-entitled to my dreams of cinematic brilliance. Mike gave me an opportunity that I should have relished, that a filmmaker should see as gold, and I ignored his e-mail. I don’t think I responded for a week. I was reluctant to respond because I never wanted to make a documentary. I wanted fame and esteem for a provocative and poignant narrative. I wanted Fellini and Linklater, not a local project on a subject of which I was an outsider. I met Mike and his curiosity for the origins of folk music was strong. While I was hesitant about the subject, Mike’s passion was irresistible; I agreed to do the project. We decided to produce a web-series where Mike interviewed the talent and I directed the production. Our first profile was Nathan M. Godfrey. We filmed in his apartment shared with his partner, Tatiana. Nathan and Tatiana were very hospitable. They invited us - Mike, three cameramen, three sound men, and myself - into their home filled with memorabilia from their
world travels and didn’t complain during our three hour shoot. It was during Nathan’s shoot when I understood the value of our production. I agreed with Nathan when he said that Calgary talent rarely stays here. I agreed that art in Calgary is niche and insular. I agreed that Calgary has an ambiguous identity. Folk music, just like filmmaking and maybe every art form, struggles to find its place here. We all struggle for peer validation, technical quality, and a receptive audience. And it was again during Nathan’s shoot when I understood the perseverance of Calgary’s artistic community. Here were ten people volunteering after hours to give Calgary a voice. It was fucking awesome. Calgary may lack a large artistic network, but we are passionate and dedicated to our work. Since Nathan’s shoot we profiled seven more musicians with a crew varying from three to five. We released our web-series and have accumulated over 2000 views. We premiered a thirty-minute documentary at Calgary Folk Fest Festival Hall, “Where the Sage Brush Grows”, which compiled our episodes into a single narrative. Most recently, we received
IATSE Local 212 Representing Motion Picture Accounting . Art . Contruction . Costumes . First Aid Craft Service . Greens . Grips . Hairstylists . Lighting Makeup . Props . Paint . Paramedics . Script Supervision Security . Set Decoration . Sound . Special FX . Tutoring in Southern Alberta Since 1911
an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Grant to produce a second season of the Calgary Collection. I look forward to documenting more of Calgary’s talent, but this second season of The Calgary Collection is also an exercise in being a responsible local artist. If Calgary is to thrive artistically, we must expose our shared perspectives. I am frustrated by our complaints that we lack attention from industry and audiences. I have no patience for my peers who say that viewers “don’t get their art”. The moment a work is released, its interpretation is out of the author’s control, a scary but necessary transaction. As artists, we do not deserve an audience. We are privileged to receive one. The Calgary Collection explores just a sliver of Calgary life, and we must encourage the creation of art that explores all other aspects. In order for Calgary to develop its identity, we must begin sharing its perspectives. We must unite our community by validating our struggles against each others’.
A CALGARY KALEIDOSCPE By Ryan Drescher
Whatcha Got Calgary is a new anthology project, aimed at generating and showcasing local talent. The submissions have been selected and will be screened at the Globe Cinema on September 5th. Have you ever wondered just what is so special about Calgary? What sets us apart from other mid-sized cities across the country, or the continent? What can Calgary offer besides oil and seasonal cowboys? You may not be the only one to pose that question. The Calgary based production group 201 Studios has set out to answer that question with their project
Whatcha Got Calgary? A film anthology,Whatcha Got Calgary is an ambitious project that will to bring together twenty directors from across the city to discuss exactly what our city has to offer through the film medium. Each director submitted a proposal with their preferred themes from a list of twenty. Some of these themes included: winter, leisure, gender and equality, culture and history, and work, among others. With these themes, applicants built a proposal for the film they wanted to make, and the final team was selected by the projects organizers. The twenty directors were announced on June 15th, from across Calgary. With a July 15th deadline for the completion of their three minute shorts, the directors have begun to approach the project with their own unique styles. The crews have been asked to create a short three minute film which explains, analyzes, or explores some aspect or aspects of Calgary that makes the city worthwhile to them; they are tasked to make a short which helps to explain why they call Calgary home. Each of these twenty films will be shot in different ways, on different equipment, by different people, with different goals, themes, and stories. And then comes the challenging part. The coordinators plan to take each of these films and weave them together into one cohesive storyline. To do this, a framing narrative will be written in which each director, or a member of their crew, has been asked to act. In this frame, twenty directors will attempt to convince two out-of-town producers of the benefits and value that Calgary holds. Each director’s short will become their own personal argument for Calgary’s potential. Whatcha Got Calgary is a film collage that encompasses work, ideas, and ingenuity from all across the city and weaves these varied styles and themes into a work of art that we can be proud to say is “Calgary’s first film, directed by Calgary”. The final product will screen at the Globe Cinema downtown on September 5th. All the proceeds collected from ticket sales for the screening will be donated to a local, non-profit organization. 11
SEITIES
For The Love of Analogue By Guillaume Carlier
SEITIES is a new photography magazine, created and curated by the powerful collaboration of Sanja Lukac and Francis Wiley.The works shown are entirely analogue – no digital capturing whatsoever.The result is an enthusiastic and refreshing approach to analogue photography, rooted in nostalgia, but looking forward. Sanja spoke with CSIF before going on a tour of Croatia. Where is SEITIES going in the film direction? Is that on the horizon? Yeah, absolutely, but it’s going to take the facilities to make that happen. I mean, we’d love to able to collaborate with other film festivals. More international work. Even helping people develop their own film reels in our darkroom.With our facilities, I know that CSIF does amazing things for the community as well. For us, since working at The Globe and getting so much exposure with the various film festivals in the city, that was an inspiring connection, that really opened up a lot of things. Even at our galleries, having reels playing, I mean that stuff is just fantastic. I’d like to even dedicate a smaller gallery, maybe like a projection space. Just being a support system as always, for traditional artists. In that sense, how has the artistic community reacted to SEITIES? Locally, for artists, people have been just supportive, excited, collaborative. People really do want to see us succeed, because they also want a place to go to. This is mostly photographers? This is photographers who are involved in the organization and those who have been floating out there. I mean, I know there’s a lot of analogue photographers in the city, and it’s given us a chance to meet them, and even a lot of artists who are transitioning back to analogue. Doing sometimes earlier processes. And I think that’s because there’s a global interest. Part of our ability to do this kind of thing, is that 12
globally, there is a growing interest in analogue photography.We just filled that interest. But for people who aren’t exactly “artists,” they’ve been almost more enthusiastic.They are just happy to know that it’s contemporary, that it hasn’t been just lost in nostalgia.They really have an appreciation for the aesthetic and the technical, they appreciate that it’s beautiful. I mean, a lot of other people just assume that we only do photography, but there’s more of course. So what are you watching now, in film? Where do you go for inspiration? I like everything. I’ll see anything. Old, new, it doesn’t matter. I really like new movies that replicate older styles. Because that happens in modern photography too. It’s an appropriation. I also watched old movies my whole life, it’s still all very romantic to me.The acting style, the look. I romanticize it all the time. And there’s still so much I haven’t seen. I mean photography is vast, but film I think is bigger. Photographers, in the analogue sense, are all in negatives negatives negatives. But the ones that we know about, who are exhibited or marketed, that’s an industry. Film just involves so many more people. There’s even just a bigger audience for film. Like, everybody! That, versus the people who just like photography. Everyone sees movies. No one really checks out tintypes on a friday night. It’s the stories that get me.That’s what I’m mostly attracted to. But my favourite genre is horror, and now it seems like the industry has taken a turn into shock, just to upset people. I mean most of the time I’m laughing, because I’m thinking about how much fun it must have been. Because it’s not reality. Your photography doesn’t reflect that. No, not at all. It’s too pretty for that. I go to photography to meditate. Like going out into nature and meditating, taking it all in.That’s really when I relax the most. I could be scary, I guess. I could try one day. Maybe more in filmmaking. Not in photography so much. The thing that cinema and photography shares is capturing a “thing” like a moment, or an image, or a look, or a person. And then it becomes a memory, like a repetitive ghost. I love movies where nothing is happening. Like
[Andrei] Tarkovsky’s stuff. There’s nothing happening on screen, but there’s something happening. That’s some serious ghost stuff.
symbolism. Being from an Orthodox background, I’m super familiar with iconography.
Well, that’s where the imagination sets in. He gives a lot of confidence to the viewer.That’s something that I like doing too. I mean, you contrast that with what’s modern, with that crazy gore, I mean he understood psychology.That other stuff is just entertainment. Maybe that’s the difference between now and then, in a way.That was art, and this is just entertainment.
No, not really. Semiotics is something I’ve studied, and just based on the inspiring submissions we’ve had, you can really see how just the word “icon” is generating so much more differences than similarities.
Art Central is done now. It’s over, right? Yes, the gallery space is going out of The Globe, Shelf Life, Brava Bistro, some others.We decided that there’s no point gathering all this fabulous international work to have it sit in my house. It has to get out there. Maybe in a way that works better, because the gallery depended so much on events and people coming in. Now it’s in a different public forum. Especially for people who are going out to a movie, or to a restaurant. It’s very limiting sometimes, having a gallery space. But we’re moving forward. I mean, our next issue is still coming out in September.The theme will be icons, semiotics,
Are you expecting a religious interpretation?
Do you guys ever get first timers? Yeah! Absolutely.We get people who are shooting on film for the first time. Even tintypes for the first time. Most of the people we work with do a bit of both.We definitely want to encourage people to pick up a camera and not be intimidated.The quality of work that we are publishing is very high, but that comes from established people, but also emerging people.That’s really how we’re going to stay alive, is if we get more people into the dark room. I think this kind of photography will survive without SEITIES, no doubt. But we were lucky enough to start this thing at the right time. It was pure luck that we had so many excellent submissions. And luck that Calgary has been so receptive to something that we don’t necessarily think of as “relevant.” It’s been so nice.
the SEITIES team
FESTIVAL PROFILE Sled Island Film
By Kadra Yusuf
Sled Island has been running one of the best, if not THE best, music festival in Calgary for the past eight years. Now more than ever, the festival has been curating films, showing at the Globe Cinema and the Glenbow Museum. Look forward to Sled Island expanding as their festival garners bigger and brighter talent. CSIF spoke with their film editor and curator, Adele Brunnhofer. Can you tell me a bit about Sled Island? Sled Island Music and Arts Festival is a totally amazing festival that takes place in June in Calgary. It includes countless genres and sub-genres of music, live concerts, art shows, comedy shows, block parties, special events - and film - all taking place at a variety of traditional and non-traditional venues around Calgary. What are Sled Island’s objectives? Sled Island film is focused on showcasing the work of independent, Canadian, Calgarian and international filmmakers.The program supports a variety of formats as well as emerging talent.The program is an extension of the festival and serves to make a cumulative experience, offering something for everyone, including all ages screenings. our goal is to add value to the festival by helping to create a more cumulative experience - an extension of the festival’s primary focus (music) as well as its other arms (comedy and art). What criteria do you use when it comes to selecting films for the festival? We tend to look for films that will align with the festival-proper so guests will find music docs, 14
comedy, etc. For example, in 2014 we screened The Punk Singer because it’s subject, Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre) was Sled Island’s guest curator.We have a few films we seek out and work with a programming committee to view submissions and brainstorm. What was it about this movie “Teenage” that made it qualify? It was just a really great film! It hadn’t been screened in Calgary or Alberta before (or Canada I believe) and featured a fantastic contemporary score by Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) - so the music element was there.We thought that this film took on an interesting and overlooked subject (the advent of teenagers) and presented it from a variety of perspectives in a compelling format. It was just good storytelling.We also thought its subject and tone would appeal to the festival’s audience. What are your hopes for Sled Island in the future? And do you plan to develop the film aspect of the festival further? I think the film program will grow from year to year in a variety of ways. 2014 we tested screening films Friday and Saturday nights as well as Sunday afternoons and we were encouraged by the results, I think if possible, we’ll keep the current model going forward (nightly screenings during the fest as well as Sunday matinees).We screened in traditional venues this past year and the festival has always had a habit of taking on non-traditional venues, I think we’ll re-visit both in the future. A short film was screened prior to the main feature Teenage. Was this a local or Canadian short? The Break was indeed Canadian, by Alexis Mitchell. Is it a goal of Sled Island to screen more Canadian content through screenings of short films such as this one? Screening the works of Calgarian and Canadian filmmakers has always been a strong part of Sled Island’s film programming and will remain so in the future. I think we’ll always include shorts and short packages to showcase emerging talent.
ON THE SLATE PROGRAMMING Secret Cinema: August 19th at sunset
Curated by Raeesa Farooqi @ CommunityWise (223 12th Ave) End of Summer Mixer: August 23rd 3:00 – 7:00pm Hear from industry pros with info sessions from AFA, Alberta Media Fund, ACTRA, Details Talent. A free member appreciation BBQ to follow- learn more about the industry and meet fellow filmmakers! Secret Cinema: September 9th at sunset Curated by Hussein Juma with The Fifth Reel @ ContainR (9th St & 2nd Ave NW)
WORKSHOPS Check back on our website in late August for a full listing of our fall workshops!
SCREENWRITING CLUB Screenwriters club meets once a month to help writers with their script by providing feedback, discussing the intricacies of screenplay writing and inspiring creative writing. If you have a screenplay or two under your belt and are looking for some human interaction the Screenwriters Club could be the solution to your hermitude. The second Tuesday of every month from 7pm - 9pm at CSIF participants will meet to review a script or two and give feedback. This is a FREE group led initiative. Bring your experience, imagination (and a few snacks for the group) and become a member of this club.
EXPERIMENTAL FILM CLUB Join us at the Old Y on the second Saturday of every month from 10am where the film club will be working on different experimental film techniques. Drop in costs vary with the number of the participants and the costs of processing and film stock. The Film club is a collaborative group that shares the cost of shooting on Film as they work on a variety of filmmaking techniques. To join clubs contact Yvonne Abusow @ 403.205.4748 or email production@csif.org
CSIF is always looking for engaging stories by new and experienced members for upcoming issues of Answer Print. We welcome critical work, film reviews, personal reflections and visual works. Email answerprint@csif.org to get involved.
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