Production Heads | www.productionheads.com » Events

Reel 2 Real Film Festival for Youth returns for 2010

Kenji Maeda — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:02:09 +0000

Friday, April 9 2010 marks the opening of this years Reel 2 Real Film Festival for Youth. I will again have the honour to be the Master of Ceremonies for the Opening Night Gala and Award Presentation as well as at Sunday’s Young Filmmakers Showcase and Award Presentation.

One of the reasons why I choose to involve myself with the festival is because of the quality of the films that they bring to Vancouver. Venay Felton, Executive Director, does a great job year after year bringing in films that cover a variety of subject matters that would appeal to both youth and adults.

The opening night film is called The Indian. It’s a Dutch film (with English subtitles).

Eight-year-old Koos is very close to his loving Dutch parents who adopted him from Peru when he was a baby. When he finds out that his mother is expecting a baby, Koos worries that his parents won’t love him as much as their own biological baby. Through a chance meeting with a Peruvian boy named Illari, Koos learns that he is an Indian and a descendant of the Inca people. Determined to embrace his roots, Koos goes on a journey of self-discovery in order to find out who he really is and where he comes from.

This sensitive and insightful film looks at the fears and curiosities some adopted children experience. The Indian is also a wonderful reminder that the love between a parent and child isn’t defined by geography or ancestry, but by the love a family shares with one another.

For more details about the festival, head on over to www.r2rfestival.org.

Don’t forget! There’s a coupon for the festival screenings in the Production Heads Coupon Book.

Oscar Winning Film Trailer

Kenji Maeda — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:17:06 +0000

Over on the VAG Forum, withoutaboat shared a link to a video. I thought it fitting to post it here seeing that tonight marks the 82nd Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars. The video speaks to how formulaic a film tends to be to win an Oscar. It’s embedded below fr your viewing pleasure.

Speaking of the Oscars, Toronto Sun reports that there are a total of 17 nominations amongst 13 Canadians which is a record number of nominations for us with the maple leaf. But it looks like we won’t be winning most of those. Read the full Toronto Sun article to find out why.

A Trailer for Every Academy Award Winning Movie Ever — powered by Cracked.com

Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition

Kenji Maeda — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:52:23 +0000

I remember back in high school when this competition came around to help bring awareness to the issues of racism. I’ve always thought it was a great way to get young people involved in discussing the ever-so-important issue. At least it wasn’t just someone just talking in front of the class, instead it got people involved and creative.

March 21 is known as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which was designated by the United Nations is 1966. Since 1996 the Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition has been a key part of Canada’s national campaign. This year is no different.

The gist of this competition is that youth between 12-20 years old create a video “about your thoughts on eliminating racism.” Ten videos are chosen as the winners and will be shown on national television and the filmmakers will receive an all-expense paid trip to the awards ceremony. You can check out the 2009 winning videos for some reference.

See the official website for all the details and submission guidelines.

Deadline to submit is January 15 so there’s still time to get involved.

Crazy8s – Make your film with $800 in 8 days

Kenji Maeda — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:24:27 +0000

We’ve talked about creating your own work, like those who have stepped up to create their own webseries. Well many people start out by getting into one of the local film competitions such as the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon or the BloodShots 48-Hour Horror Filmmaking Challenge. These types of events can not only be fun and really challenge your ability to create a interesting story in a short amount of time, but it can also help to get seen within the greater film community and give the extra push to a full time career.

Crazy8s is another great film competition in Vancouver which has helped to bring recognition to some of Vancouver’s filmmakers. Some of those who went through Crazy8s include Tracy D Smith, Carl Bessai, and Zach Lipovsky. Zach even made it to the top five on the reality show “On The Lot,” created by Steven Spielberg, where aspiring filmmakers compete to become the next big Hollywood director. Zach has since signed as a Director with Endeavor Agency in LA, and is working on his first feature film.

So Crazy8s is back again for their 11th year and for the first time, applicants are invited to submit a 5-minute video pitch of their film idea. You will need to register on December 13 but space is limited. Below are the details. This would be a great opportunity for many of you to showcase your creativity, hard work, and talent.

Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 – Pitch Registration
Space is limited, and you must sign up in person to be eligible to submit.

Friday, Jan 15, 2010 – Video pitches due

Jan 29 and 30, 2010 – The top 40 video pitches will be selected to pitch in-person to a jury of industry professionals

12 semi-finalists will be chosen.

Each filmmaking team will be paired with a professional story editor to craft their script before presenting it again to the jury.

Of the 12 teams, 6 finalists will be chosen.

Those 6 teams will receive $800 and tens of thousands of dollars in production services – everything they need to make their film.

Production and post-production will take place over 8 days (exact dates TBD) in late March or April, 2010.

Finished films will be screened at a gala screening at the Vogue Theatre.

For details on the pitch sign up and info session go to: http://crazy8s.cc/video-pitch.html

Good luck to everyone who plans on pitching!

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe at Pacific Theatre

Kenji Maeda — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:07:03 +0000

Pacific Theatre is producing the great classic, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe running now until January 2 2010.

From the novel by C.S. Lewis, this splendidly theatrical invention preserves all the magic of the twentieth century’s best-loved fantasy classic. Four young adventurers pass through a doorway to a land in the grip of an icy queen, where it’s always winter and never Christmas – but Aslan is on the move!

Ron Reed, Founding Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre talk a bit about the production.

Showtimes

Wednesday – Saturday Nights at 8pm and Saturday matinees 2pm (Until January 2, 2010)

Location

1440 W 12th Ave, Vancouver BC

Tickets

Regular priced tickets are $34 for weekend evenings and $30 for weekday evenings. Further ticket prices available on their website.

PROMOTION: 2 for 1 coupon available in the Production Heads Coupon Book. Pick one up today at Biz Books for $25 or have it mailed to you by ordering online. Enjoy a night out with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and save money at the same time.

[VIDEO] Career Expo – Vancouver Motion Picture Week

Kenji Maeda — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:29:04 +0000

Last week we had a chance to attend the Career Expo at the Roundhouse Community Centre. The event was part of the Vancouver Motion Picture Industry Week put on by MPPIA (Motion Picture Production Industry Association).

It was not a job fair but instead it allowed industry organizations and companies share information about their services. A great addition to the event was that it was free.

You weren’t able to make it? Watch the video below as we talk to some of the exhibitors who were there.

Want to know more about the organizations featured in the video? Here are the links in order of appearance:

You can find a full list of the exhibitors on the Career Expo website.

Inside The Insiders event

Patricia Cullen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:51:00 +0000

Kick yourself, right now, if you didn’t go to this event for any reason other than work. Do it. I’ll wait.

Now with the other foot.

And now I’ll tell you why you have a footprint on each cheek.

Hosts Fiona Forbes & Michael Eckford (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

Regardless of which role you play in Vancouver’s Film & TV Industry, every topic discussed Tuesday night, applied to you. Directly or indirectly. Whether or not it was about your particular craft or service, it was about your industry. Your business. Your market. Your bottom line. And that’s why you have two footprints on your bottom. It’s called…symbolic.

And it’s not without irony. An important key to the continued successes of our industry is community. Remember, you are a part of this industry. So suffice to say, that an important part of your success is being an active part of that community. Which in turn feeds the industry’s success which in turn feeds your success and round and round we go in perfect harmony in a perfect world.

But, back to reality and without further adieu, let’s get up to speed with on what happened Tuesday night at The Insiders.

The Coles’ notes version…

Shawn Williamson, Stuart Aikins, Rob Bromley, Anna Archer, Matthew O’Connor, Louise Clark, Larry Sugar, Gary Harvey, Richard Lucas, Michael Eckford, Fiona Forbes (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

Tax Credits

Producer and Development Exec, Louise Clark (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

Yes, all the work is in Toronto. And yes, it sucks. But according to Louise Clark, Toronto has been vocal and up front about their desire to bring all the work to Toronto with tax credits. And it was discussed that the reason Toronto has it now, is because we had all the glory then. They wanted a chunk of what we had. And now they’ve got it. The question is will they keep it? Louise feels that just as the pendulum swung from BC to ON, it will once again swing back this way. But Shawn Williamson of Brightlight Pictures, is concerned with how the two Provincial Governments view our industry. Ontario approaches the Film/TV industry as Revenue whereas BC seems to view it as subsidy. All considered, Shawn feels that BC still has a lot to offer our southern counterparts in regards to the tax credits BC currently offers to encourage them to come up Beautiful British Columbia.

Producer, Shawn Williamson (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

If you ask me, it’s temporary. It’s a great big, not very secret Federal Government conspiracy. And yes, I use the term tongue in cheek and in fun. But think about it. Vancouver simply cannot play host to both the Olympics and the Film/TV industry at the same time. We simply do not have the resources. But can Canada stand to lose the gorgeous income our industry brings in altogether? No. So, how do we keep the business but move it temporarily out of Vancouver? Move it to the Tdot. Done and done. Everybody’s happy but the 35,000 British Columbians who make a living in the industry, are self-employed & without unemployment insurance. Statistically, that’s only .8% of BC’s population potentially out of work and who are also unlikely to cost the government in EI distributions. Which, back to irony, .8% is approximately the same percentage of people from our industry, who attended the event Tuesday evening. If .8% of BC’s population potentially out of work is not much for concern, then the protests of only .8% of that same population isn’t likely to be of consideration either.

But it’s not as simple as just a Tax Credit issue. Or my conspiracy theory.

Talent Agent, Richard Lucas (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

The Olympics

Dubbed ‘the blackhole’ for the evening, the Olympics pose one simple, yet massive challenge for any production in and around that time. Resources. Vancouver does not have the hotels, transportation, security, police force or required rentals like vehicles or barricades to facilitate both the Olympics and the industry. They had to choose only one. They chose. And everyone benefits but us. Us, the sacrificial lambs. Perhaps we could all move to Salt Spring and sell pieces of ourselves off as authentic organic Salt Spring lamb. Just to tide ourselves over. Then when the Olympics go away and our jobs come back, we could be revered as the most talented one-armed, one-legged cast & crew worldwide. Canadian TV just became even more unique. But don’t buy your ferry ticket just yet, shows like V, and possibly Fringe will remain in production during that time. You might not be able to actually make it to set, but you may actually get some work out of it. If you can rectify that first problem.

Producer, Larry Sugar and Director/Producer, Gary Harvey (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

Canadian Dollar

Casting Director, Stuart Aikins (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

I cannot say I recall this topic really being touched on. But what I do recall, quite clearly,

because it surprised me, is Stuart Aikins speaking on US productions here in Canada. That Fox decided two years ago that it can’t afford to pay anyone over scale. And that a project like Twilight, which was made on a fairly modest budget but grossed around 70 million dollars, puts very little of that money back into new productions. It goes into simply keeping their business alive.

Rob Bromley, President of Force Four Entertainment (Photo credit: Dean Buscher)

CRTC Hearings

Here’s the deal. No one is buying any shows until they know the verdict of these hearings. This, in conjunction with our non-competitive tax credit, the Olympics and high Canadian dollar, is why the industry is almost at a standstill.

I say almost, because you haven’t sacrificed yourself as lamb meat just yet. You still have the power to create within this industry, what you want out of it. In another twist of irony, since you’re not working as much, you theoretically have more time to create your own work. And time to write your MLA about how the lack of a competitive tax credit affects your livelihood. And maybe even time to keep updated on CRTC hearings.

What else can you do? Stuart Aikins likened surviving our industry’s present ‘illness’ to taking measures to protect yourself from H1N1. His advice. Sneeze into your sleeve. If you can adapt to sneeze into your sleeve to protect yourself from H1N1, then you can adapt to survive in this industry, because that’s what you’re going to have to do to survive it, adapt. And the crowd applaused.

I’ll leave you with that. And a suggestion for you to read the poem, Mutability by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

—–
A note to mention that 100% of the proceeds from The Insiders event went to benefit PAL, Performing Arts Lodge Vancouver.

All photos by Dean Buscher – specializing in unit stills and actor headshots to the film and entertainment industry in Vancouver.

BC Arts Cuts PSA

Kenji Maeda — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:37:02 +0000

The issue with the BC Arts Cuts is still upon us. Check out the links and videos below and find out how you can support the cause for our community of artists.

Stop BC Arts Cuts www.stopbcartscuts.ca

Grey Square – www.greysquare.ca

The Wrecking Ball event, November 23 – www.stopbcartscuts.ca/thewreckingball.html

[Event] The Insiders: BC Film & TV Forum

Kenji Maeda — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:01:35 +0000

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Film and Television Biz but were afraid to ask.

On November 16, you’ll have the opportunity to hear from some of the who’s who of Hollywood North about the status of our local industry, and 100% of the proceeds go to benefit PAL Vancouver.

Some of the topics they will be covering include the high Canadian dollar, more favourable tax credits in other jurisdictions, and the great vortex of the Olympics may combine for an industry crisis in 2010. There will also be an opportunity for a Q&A with audience members.

The evening will be hosted by Michael Eckford and Fiona Forbes of Urban Rush and the “Insiders” will include:

Casting Director, Stuart Aikins
BC Film Commissioner, Susan Croome
Manager, Elizabeth Hodgson
Actor, Alexander Ludwig
Talent Agent, Richard Lucas
Literary Agent, Anna Archer
Producer / Development Exec., Louise Clark
Producer / Reunion Pictures, Matthew O’Connor
Producer / No Equal Entertainment, Larry Sugar
Producer / Brightlight Pictures, Shawn Williamson
…plus other celebrity guests.

Monday November 16 @ 7:30 PM
The Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage…2750 Granville Street (Granville & 12th)
Tickets are $25 from Stanley Box Office, online at www.vancouvertix.com or at Biz Books

**Pre-Order your Production Heads Coupon Book by 9pm, Thursday November 12 and you will be entered to win two tickets to THE INSIDERS forum.**

13th Annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival

Kenji Maeda — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:18:21 +0000

It’s back again this year for another promising line up of films showcasing independent Asian filmmakers. The 13th Annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) kicks off tonight, Thursday November 5 2009, at the Cinemark Tinseltown movie theatre and runs until Sunday, November 8.

The opening night film is Tze Chun‘s feature film debut, Children of Invention, which has garnered many awards this year from various festivals and was also an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival.

If you missed the Mighty Asian MovieMaking Marathon during the summer, you’ll have another chance to view the top three films from the event along with a number of other short films during the Might Asians & Funny Canadians program on Friday at 5pm.

3rd place winner, MISPLACED, is a family’s emotional journey through a challenging time. 2nd place is VAGINA VACATION, a hilarious romp about…well, the title pretty much explains it. 1st place is BAMBOOZLE, a Chaplin-esque cat and mouse chase throughout the outskirts of Victoria.

There are more than 40 films screening over the four days so take a look at their program and you may see something you’ll want to check out. You’ll recognize some local actors such as Steph Song in the film, Dim Sum Funeral, screening on Saturday evening or a bunch of actors in the film Flower, Drum And Songs: More Than A Musical, a documentary about the Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre production of Flower Drum Song from earlier this year.