The Railrodder

The Railrodder is a NFB short film starring silent film icon Buster Keaton (in one of his final roles) .

NFB Films Go Online for Free

The National Film Board has launched a 1.3 million dollar project to make it's films available online through streaming according to a report by the CBC.

"Oscar winners such as 1952's Neighbours, 1977's I'll Find a Way and 2004's Ryan are among the more than 700 films now available for screening online at NFB.ca..."This is part of our ongoing response to the digital revolution," NFB chair Tom Perlmutter said in an online news conference on Wednesday.

The NFB, which restructured its film programs over the past 18 months to free up resources for the digital project, plans to put 10 new films a month online.

Classics such as Mon Oncle Antoine and Nobody Waved Goodbye are free for online screening, along with pioneering animation by Norman McLaren and animated films such as The Big Snit and The Cat Came Back."

The streaming site is at NFB.ca and the open source video software they use is available at http://agit8.turbulent.ca/bwp/ - this link is for those of you who are into open source software, you don't need to to watch the movies. Oh by the way, you can also embed them!

twitter.com/thenfb if you want to follow them on Twitter.

the Cat Came Back

Boost - Another Finalist: Monday Morning

It appears that I was wrong when I said that White Collar criminals was the only Canadian finalist in YouTube's Project Direct. So out of fairness here is the other Monday Morning - again the shorts with the most votes will get a screening at the Sundance Film Festival. So please watch, rate and comment



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjuUq6vZWg

Then give it a vote at: http://www.youtube.com/projectdirect

If you like it, click on the link below to share it on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjuUq6vZWg

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Boost: Canadian Film and Television is a Facebook Group that, once a week, asks people to watch a television or film trailer on youtube, rate it, comment on it and share it on facebook if they like it. There is frequently a link to a facebook group, page or other source where people who like the music can find more information or keep up with the band. Canadian artists frequently have little or no money for marketing/promotion - this is a small step to try and help them out by putting their trailer in front of as many eyes as possible.

Boost: Canadian Music is a similar group, formed for similar reasons that sends out music videos.

RVT: I Met the Walrus

Nominated for an Academy Award and winner of Best Animated Short at the American Film Institute, I Met the Walrus was directed by Josh Raskin and was produced by Jerry Levitan. It is based on an interview that Levitan had with John Lennon in 1969. The audio for the film is the actual recording of the interview (edited down to 5 minutes). Enjoy:

NFB Cuts 22 Jobs

Via Art Threat: As part of it's ongoing campaign against art, culture, free speech, thought and expression and the uncontrolled flow of information the Conservative Government, in March, slashed $2.5 million from the budget of the National Film Board. As a result the NFB, which over the years has received 90 Genie Awards and 69 Oscar Nominations has announced 22 layoffs including 2 staff directors.

"Paul Cowan and Beverly Shaffer, two of Canada's most renowned documentary film directors, with a combined 46 NFB films to their names, will now be joining the ranks of Canada's private filmmakers (including other NFB alumni who have seen their jobs disappear during previous rounds of Liberal and Tory backed cuts).

The sole director remaining on staff will be Alanis Obomsawin."

More details are available at Art Threat and in today's Montreal Gazette

Screw the Oscars Anyway

Sure it was great to see so many Canadians nominated but really, the Oscars are tired and predictable and tend to reward personal popularity and box office success more than anything. Overall it has all the excitement and drama of Feist being nominated for "Best New Artist" (a joke in itself) and then losing to Amy Winehouse (also not new) because she needs the encouragement so she can handle the regular trips to rehab.

So - screw the Oscars anyway, our films are better and our stars spend less time in jail and jumping on sofas.

Talkback 2008

Presented by the First Weekend Club (http://www.firstweekendclub.ca/)

TalkBack 2008, with Genie Nominated Filmmakers, Sunday March 2nd, at The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen West, 3pm to 4.30pm (with a reception to follow). Guests include Rob Stewart (Sharkwater) and Vic Sarin (Partition), hosted by Paul Gratton. An intimate Film Artists Salon, to celebrate the finest in Canadian filmmaking talent. $15.00, RSVP to info@firstweekendclub.ca

Canadian Short Film Festival

From the Canadian Filmmakers Festival and Bell - Comes the "Bell Video Award for Best Short." It would appear that there are only 3 films online now but the contest remains open until March 14. The rules read like this

• Films must be Canadian Productions
• Films should be no more than 10 minutes in total length.
• Films that have been already submitted the Canadian Film Fest are ALSO eligible.
• Please pay attention to our submission guidelines.
• Film School submissions are welcome

More info and short films to watch at http://www.bellvideostore.ca/FilmFestival/Home.aspx

Lift Workshops for March & Early April

The Liason for Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (http://www.lift.on.ca/) presents monthly workshops for would be indie filmmakers.

PROJECTOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR *
Fix your own Super 8 and 16mm projectors!
SUNDAY MARCH 16, NOON-6 PM
Instructor: MARTIN HEATH
Cost: Members $60, Non-Members $75
* at Cinecycle, 129 Spadina Ave.

GETTING STARTED AS AN ACTOR
Act from the child and do business from the adult!
MONDAY MARCH 17, 6-10 PM
Instructor: MICHELLE LATIMER
Cost: Members $45, Non-Members $55

THE ART OF BLACK AND WHITE REVERSAL FILMMAKING IN 16mm
An all-inclusive 'make a film' course - workshops, film and equipment!
SATURDAY MARCH 22-SATURDAY MARCH 29 (various dates and times)
Instructors: ERNIE KESTLER, JULIA EDIGER, ALEXI MANIS, SHENAZ BAKSH, JEREMY SINGER
Cost: Members $250, Non-Members $300

*SECOND CLASS ADDED!*
CAMERA THEORY
A foundational workshop for aspiring camera operators and directors!
SATURDAY APRIL 5, 10 am - 6 pm
Instructor: Guy Godfree
Cost: Members $50, Non-Members $60

p.s. Now on DVD: Everything's Gone Green

Really funny film, if you're local video store doesn't have it it's because they have no taste.

Toronto Independent Filmmaking Workshops

LIFT (the Liason of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto) is running a series of workshop in February. Details are below, for more information Call 416.588.6444 or visit lift.on.ca.

INCOME TAX FOR MEDIA ARTISTS
Let "Tax Ma'am" help you file your tax return as a self-employed artist!
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6, 6-9 PM
Instructor: SUSAN FELDMAN
Cost: Members $55, Non-Members $70

GUERRILLA FILMMAKING IN SUPER 8
Experience the beauty of Super 8 in this all-inclusive 'mini-course'!
CAMERA: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9 & 16, 12-6 PM
FINAL CUT PRO (OPTIONAL): SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23, 10 AM - 6 PM
Also includes camera rental, film, processing, editing time and transfer
Instructors: RICK PALIDWOR, TRACY GERMAN, JOE PERT
Cost: EDIT ON FILM - Members $155, Non-Members $170
Cost: EDIT ON FINAL CUT PRO - Members $200, Non-Members $225

GRANT WRITING FOR ARTS COUNCILS
Tips, tricks and common sense guidelines for writing a concise and
persuasive grant application!
TUESDAY-THURSDAY, FEBURARY 19-21, 6-10 PM
Instructor: ELIDA SCHOGT
Cost: Members $50, Non-Members $65

INTRO TO MOVIE MAKING
Learn how to plan and shoot a 'doable' short movie!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 6-10 PM
Instructor: RICK PALIDWOR
Cost: Members $20, Non-Members $25

The Tracey Fragments officially Opens November 2!

The confirmed dates and places for the official, non fest, opening of the Tracey Fragments.

Toronto - The Royal - Friday November 2nd

Vancouver - Tinseltown - Friday November 2nd

Montreal - theatre TBC - Friday November 2nd

It has also been announced that the award winning NFB short Madame Tutli-Putli will be attached to the Tracey Fragments for the opening.

Exposure 2.0?

Congrats to Toronto's Kirby Ferguson who won the first round of CBC's Exposure with his video Yo! Gah!. That mean's that Kirby has won "up to" $25,000 to develop an online entertainment series for the CBC. Fortunately, for Kirby he already understands CBC copyright policy as clearly demonstrated by another video he uploaded.

AGENT ROD BRICKMAN: COPY PROTECTION



In other Exposure news, a message to the Exposure Yahoo Group says

This is just the beginning here at Exposure. We'd love for you to keep the videos coming in. This website will stay live and we encourage you to continue uploading, watching, and commenting. And keep checking the site for more information about Exposure 2.0!

So, Exposure rolls on. Hopefully part of the upgrade will be policing the above mentioned Yahoo group which has been short on posts and long on spam.

Exposure Ep. 2 on Sunday!

Just a friendly reminder that Exposure is on for Episode 2 Sunday at 11 p.m. If you watch you can see videos like this one




But not that one exactly, for some reason the actual videos for Ep. 2 are already up (I think alot of people won't watch the show if they've already seen the videos. If you can't watch the show you can still go to the website, watch and rate videos and even - join the Yahoo group to talk to other viewers.




Click to join cbcexposure

Log Driver's Waltz

I got an email this morning asking if I could find the NFB's Log Driver's Waltz. This video can be found on YouTube. More information about it can be found at the National Film Board or the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).