“How many documentary filmmakers does it take to fill a houseboat on a canal in Amsterdam?

If you know the answer to that question, you were probably one of the dozens of docuphile party seekers that flooded the EyeSteelFilm (ESF) houseboat during IDFA last month (November 18-28). This was the first year I was able to attend the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam, the largest doc fest in the world, and we (myself and Cinema Politica Executive Director Svetla Turnin) were quickly initiated into the nuances, tricks and maneuvering of the festival, which of course included nightly visits to the ESF party house boat…”

READ MORE: Racist docs! Punk Islam! Fake orgasms! Report from the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival | Art Threat.

(Please donate online on the link  below (requires Paypal):

WHAT: HOMELESS NATION CELEBRATION SCREENING
WHEN: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16th 2009; 7:00PM
WHERE: DE SÈVE CINEMA // J.W. McConnell Building (Library), local LB-125,
1400 de Maisonneuve West // Metro Guy-Concordia

Join us in celebrating, and supporting, the members of the street community who have made HomelessNation.org an international success.
Please keep in mind that this is Homeless Nation’s most important fundraising period and your generous support will help sustain the continued work of the project.

Limited numbers of tickets are available at various price breaks:
$100 // $50 // $25

Individuals who support the project by purchasing $100 tickets will be acknowledged on HomelessNation.org as “Community Pillars” for the upcoming year. Additionally, all ticket buyers will be entered into a raffle to win tickets to a sold-out Montreal Canadiens home game! (Remember to write your name and contact information on your ticket and place it in the Raffle box at the screening.)

The evening will include an intimate screening featuring selections of the award-winning content from HomelessNation.org that was recognized in 2009 by the United Nations and the New Media Institute.

Watch clips from Mario, Rose, Squee, Willie and others from the community, who spend their days and nights surviving on the streets of our cities. We’ve given them an opportunity to have their voices heard – now it’s up to you to listen.

Videos will be introduced by the project founders and by members from the community. A discussion period with Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin, Alex “Gadget” Berthelot and others will follow. Presentations will take place in both French and English.

THAT’S NOT ALL…
The evening will continue with an after-party at Burritoville (2055 Bishop) where drinks and snacks will be served. Continue the celebration of a great 2009 and the holiday season with HomelessNation.org and EyeSteelFilm!

Remember – your community support and participation is essential as Homeless Nation moves toward a new stage in its evolution.

Tickets available in advance, or at the door:
In Person: 4475 Boul. St-Laurent, Suite #202
Phone: 514.315.8695
E-mail: chris@homelessnation.org

Happy Holidays!

…

Célébrons!

Quoi: PROJECTION de HOMELESSNATION
Quand: Mercredi, le 16 décembre 2009 à 18:45
Où: Cinéma de Sève // J.W McConnell Building (Bibliothèque), locale LB-125,
1400 de Maisonneuve ouest // Métro Guy Concoridia

Chèr(e)s ami(e)s,

Rejoignez-nous pour célébrer et soutenir les membres de la communauté des sans-abris qui ont fait de Homeless Nation un succès international.
Dans l’esprit de cette période indispensable pour collecter des fonds pour Homeless Nation votre générosité est nécessaire pour continuer la poursuite de ce projet important.

Les billets sont proposés à différents tarifs:
$100 // $50 // $25

Les individus qui soutiennent le projet de l’Archive des Sans Abris en se procurant des billets d’une valeur de $100 seront mentionnés sur HomelessNation.org en tant que “piliers communautaires” et ce à partir de la nouvelle année. De plus, tous les acheteurs de billets sont éligibles pour une tombola pour assister à une rencontre à domicile des Canadiens de Montréal. (SVP n’oubliez pas de noter votre nom et votre numéro de téléphone sur votre billet avant dans de le glisser dans la boîte durant la représentation.)

Venez nous joindre pendant cette soirée intime avec une projection mettant en vedette des séléctions du site web Homelessnation.org, qui a été reconnu en 2009 par le United Nations et le New Media Institute. Venez rencontrer les fondateurs du projet ainsi que quelques membres de la communauté qui y seront pour présenter le film et pour répondre à vos questions durant la période de discussion bilingue tout de suite après le film.

Regardez des vidéos de Mario, Rose, Squee, Willie et bien d’autres membres de la communauté, qui passent leurs journées et leurs soirées à survivre dans les rues de nos villes. Nous leur avons donné l’occasion de faire entendre leur voix, maintenant c’est à vous de les écouter!

Les vidéos seront introduites par le fondateur et les membres de la communauté de l’Archive des Sans Abris. Une discussion avec Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin, Alex “Gadget” Berthelot and d’autres invités est prévue au programme. À noter que les présentations seront disponibles en français et en anglais.

ET CE N’EST PAS TOUT…
La soirée se prolongera avec un after-paty au Burritoville (2055 Bishop) où boissons et collations vous seront servis. Joignez-vous donc à la célébration d’une merveilleuse année 2009 et des temps des fêtes en compagnie de HomelessNation.org et EyeSteelFilm!

N’oubliez pas – votre participation et appui sont essentiels car Homeless Nation se déplace vers une nouvelle étape dans son évolution.

Les billets sont disponibles en pré-vente ou à l’entrée de l’événement:
En personne:  au 4475 Boul. St-Laurent, Suite #202
Au téléphone: (514) 315.8695
Par courriel: chris@homelessnation.org

Joyeuses Fêtes!

UP THE YANGTZE gets a mention on the list of TOP TEN CANADIAN FILMS of the DECADE by MACLEAN’s MAGAZINE:

“Using the Genie Awards criteria, I’ve confined the list to Canadian productions or co-productions. Not eligible are movies merely directed by Canadians, such as A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, Juno, Up in the Air and Avatar.

10. Manufactured Landscapes (2007)
Travelling to China, director Jennifer Baichwal looked over the shoulder of photographer Edward Burtynsky as he found haunting beauty in epic landscapes of industrial ruin and mass production. The film is a portrait of the artist, a magnification of his already larger-than-life art, and an exercise in perspective that shows us the moving picture outside his frame. Cinematographer Peter Mettler, whose Gambling, Gods and LSD almost made this list, holds his own with Burtynsky in composing visual poetry. Another film about manufactured landscapes that’s equally deserving is Yung Chang’s Up the Yangtze (2008), a documentary on China’s Three Gorges Dam….”

Top 10 Canadian movies of the decade – Arts & Culture, Brian D. Johnson Unscreened – Macleans.ca.

Believe it or not, Mitchell Kezin’s doc JINGLE BELL ROCKS is kicking off shooting! Searching out the true spirit of Xmas, Mitch is hunting down obscure Christmas songs and their obsessive fans, from the Ramones to John Waters. He’ll be kris-krossing North America in his sleigh of tunes all month! Special thanks to Knowledge Network, SCN, Access, Bravo!  TVO and the Harold Greenberg fund.

Click to see the first show, in Toronto: http://blogs.music.msn.ca/2009/12/merry-mexmas-and-jingle-bell-rocks.html

“Christmas came early to Toronto’s Lee’s Palace on Tuesday night. Actually, it was more like Mex-mas made an appearance at the club, since the Lucha Libre-mask wearing instrumental quartet Los Straitjackets, El Vez and his two lovely El Vettes were the stars of the evening.

So it was a no-brainer that I’d don my gay apparel and put on my Santa Claus suit, white beard and Mexican wrestling maskto cover the show as my holiday season alter-ego, Santez. You could have had your picture taken with him in exchange for a five-dollar donation (which Santez always matches) to The Kidney Foundation Of Canada. Tuesday’s total came to $90.

But that’s enough of Santez for now. Let’s get back to the show.

An excellent 35-minute opening set by local trio The Flying Bordelos (looking like waiters from a cheesy Latin restaurant in matching black pants and vests, and ruffle-fronted red tuxedo shirts) that covered instrumental and vocal performances, covers and originals — encompassing surf, garage, twang and ’60s freak beat styles — set the stage for the main event.

Los Straitjackets — a Grammy Award-nominated, Nashville-formed band of seasoned musicians — also specialize in guitar-driven surf and twang sounds. The group’s 2002 album, “‘Tis The Season For Los Straitjackets,” is my favourite Christmas record. It opens with “Here Comes Santa Claus,” and so did the set. A Santa suit-adorned El Vez, with the dancing El Vettes also adding backing vocals, then came out to do “Holiday Twist.”

El Vez is the “Mexican Elvis” persona of Robert Lopez, who was a member of Los Angeles punk band the Zeros and was later in Catholic Discipline with Phranc before embarking on his new career. The man puts on flamboyantly funny shows with numerous costume changes, props and both original songs and parodies with lyrics that promote Latino culture and tackle important social issues, while still maintaining a sense of humour.

Different tours have different themes. I’ve been treated to “El Vez For Prez” and gospel shows in the past and, while some songs overlap between performances, El Vez’s humour and originality make each one unique.

Los Straitjackets performed a number of holiday songs — including “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Deck The Halls,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Silver Bells,” “Sleigh Ride,’ “A Marshmallow World” and “Let It Snow” — while El Vez and the girls left the stage frequently to change outfits. The band also brought out “Itchy Chicken” (the song I used to finish fourth in the 2007 Canadian air guitar championship) in the encore.

Los Straitjackets also acted as the backing band for El Vez, which made for many interesting musical moments. It was like a Christmas feast for music geeks who wanted to play Name That Tune, as snippets of songs weaved their way in and out of others. I detected parts of The Velvet Underground’s “I’ll Be Your Mirror” and “There She Goes Again,” and Grandmaster Flash’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It),” among many others.

A take-off of “Blue Suede Shoes” featured a “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” instrumental bridge. There were a handful of James Brown-like splits by El Vez during “Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag.” “En El Barrio,” a Mexican take on Elvis Presley’s “In The Ghetto,” evolved into a parody of Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova” called “Souped Up Chevy Nova.”

There were both the Christmas and Three Dog Night versions of “Joy To The World.” “White Christmas” was changed to “Brown Christmas” and segued into “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” “Feliz Navidad,” featuring a giant inflatable snowman on stage, ended the night.

A crew shot the show for a documentary film titled “Jingle Bell Rocks!,” a “pop culture pilgrimage into the odd and irreverent universe of alternative Christmas music.”

Santez obliged when filmmaker Mitchell Kezin asked to interview him on camera for the movie, and to have his picture taken with him in front of the Lee’s logo. I’m also sending Kezin photos, videos and ideas that can hopefully be incorporated into the film, which should hit the festival circuit in 2011.

Check out the “Jingle Bell Rocks!” web site to see what’s in store. It looks like it will be more entertaining than watching a fat man getting stuck in your chimney.

You can see more photos from Tuesday night’s show here”

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Positioned for the Digital Future, Krim & Lorber Still Favor the Big Screen – indieWIRE.

[News from Lorber,  our TAQWACORE distributor]

Richard Lorber and Don Krim, veterans of art and specialized film distribution for more than thirty years each, first met during their freshman year at Columbia University in the ‘60s. The two have separately built strong track records distributing international cinema—on big screens and small—in the U.S. Now, as they announced today, the two will combine forces to try to leverage a large library for the future.

Over the years, Lorber and Krim worked together and then became friendly competitors. Now, they will jointly run the newly merged Kino Lorber, which has a combined library of some 600+ titles. They will be releasing films in traditional theatrical and home video models, but also positioning the catalog for emerging digital platforms…