The Kids of St. John’s

Ta-daaaaa!

Just one click away lies the masterpiece of the “2D in 2Days” workshop kids!

Over two days, seven kids, ages eleven to thirteen worked on flipbooks and claymation to come up with this:

I’m pretty proud of them, if I do say so myself (and I do).

“Loves it!” Newfoundland and Beyond

My [now annual] excursion to St. John’s NFLD was, as usual, a lovely time.  I’ve found that in every trip to The Rock I seem to get tricked into being educated, in some way or another.  This year at the St. John’s Int. Women’s Film Festival was no exception.  From Irish sailors stopping in to port, to films about Holy Heart High School, to dark comedies about Newfoundland life — everything seems to be crammed full of culture.  Everything also seems to be uphill and against the rain.

I ate cod tongue.

I have yet to be screeched in.

I spent Oct. 11th and 12th with seven junior high students, creating animation flipbooks and claymation shorts for the festival-sponsored workshop, “2D in 2Days”.  I was truly impressed by the quality and understanding of animation these guys achieved in only two days and it excited me to try the workshop again.  I had planned it all out two years ago, but this was my first time seeing it through to fruition.

The morning of Sunday, Oct 12th was spent in the CBC radio studio, with Angel Antle, on the Weekend Arts Magazine, talking of workshops, festivals, films (specifically mine, “Nagasaki Circus”) and fire eating.

Then, a little break and on to the festival!  I actually got rather distracted during most of the festival and missed a great deal of the films and workshops I had wanted to attend.  I ended up starting a flipbook of my own, having been inspired by my kids from the previous week, and I hid away for most of the week.

“Nagasaki Circus” screened on the 17th with the Moving Stories Film Festival, within the St. John’s Festival — A festival within a festival.  Like an onion.  Or a parfait.

Luckily, I missed my flight home because I was too busy dancing atop of Signal Hill with filmmaker, Irene Duma, so I was able to attend the closing ceremonies and the after party where I was able to meet people I had hidden from all week and shove some helium balloons down my shirt.  See?  It all works out.
I then garnered a solid three hours of sleep, woke up while the others were still wrapping up the party, and I caught my next flight off that precious stone.

watch Post Festival Depression, chalked full of festival inside jokes!

Here’s what you should expect next:

The Moving Stories Film Festival is trucking onward to screen at the Ottawa Writer’s Festival where many-a-masterclass will occur.

I will be on the panel of one of these masterclasses, “Animating Books: From Page to Screen”

Come to the screening Wednesday, October 22, 7:00 PM, at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street
Tickets, passes and info: 613.562.1243.
The brilliantly written and puppeted “Nagasaki Circus” will be screened, along with many others, including Paul Quarrington’s “Pavane”, which is a short adaptation of (or alternate angle to) his latest Gillar long-listed novel, “The Ravine”.

The “Animating Books: From Page to Screen” masterclass with Rachel Peters and Gary Thomas, Hosted by Chris Robinson, and Presented with the Ottawa Animation Festival will be held Thursday, October 23, 6:00 PM.

For more information about the Writers’ Festival and all of its events, visit: www.writersfestival.org

I’ve got MY bus ticket.  Do you?

Festival Time is Good for Yer Body…

“…Sweatin’ like a pig

in a portable potty.

Vitamin B, lots of fresh air.

Excuse me, Mr. Biker,

Can’t see through your lawn chair!”

I can’t remember who wrote that song, but I always think of it during festival time.

My summer of busker festivals has come to a close for 2008, but film festivals are just beginning!

If you’re in Newfoundland, be sure to come out to some screenings at the St. John’s Int. Women’s Film Festival on the 14th to the 18th.  One event in particular to keep an eye out for is the “Moving Stories Film Festival”, which will be featuring my latest film, “Nagasaki Circus” as well as many other intriguing shorts, on Oct. 17th.

I’ll be doing a kids’ workshop before the festival begins, on Oct. 11th and 12th, and the children’s work will be screened on closing night.

Much fun is guaranteed to be had in St. John’s in the month of October.  People who live on steep, secluded rocks certainly know how to have a good time.

Sadly, there will be no fire eating show at St. John’s’ closing party this year… at least not by me.  Any other fire eaters are welcome to take my place.  I’ll be heading out early, but I’ll have hoola hoops and Mamma Cutsworth’s beats on my mind.

Welcome To The New Site!

Welcome, Family, Friends and Enemies!  It’s been a long time coming (about four years), but my site is finally refreshed and updateable.
I’m excited to be able to share news with everyone again.  Be sure to sign up for the email updates!  Now go browse around a little.  You’re makin’ me nervous, kid.

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