The Rest of May

 May's finally coming to a close. I've been working border line full time, which makes for boring days and exhausted nights - but with this first month of summer almost past, I feel much better about the stretch of time that lies between now and August.

I haven't had much inspiration to sew, and even less to write films. I made myself a handy checklist at the end of April detailing all of the film exploits I wanted to complete by the time September rolled around. Three short films and a stop motion short. So far, we're at a smooth zero count. I have an idea or two rolling around up top, but nothing concrete seems to be able to make it's way out onto a page. I'm desperately hoping that June will bring a little more creative ebb and flow. I think once I move and assemble myself in my new (!) place of residence, new things will begin.

After two years of rather stagnant not-really adventures, I finally got out to Lighthouse Park up in West Vancouver. My first mistake was trying to get there on the precipice of the long weekend. The bus was packed and the traffic was horrendous. But eventually, I did get there. I spent the afternoon and was rather disappointed to find that Lighthouse Park is more the Stanely Park of North Vancouver, than anything. I could hear lawn mowers and screaming children no matter where I was in the park. Needless to say, my next adventure will have to be a little farther removed from the city. The only birds I saw were robins and black-capped chickadees. The flowers were few. It was nice to get out with my camera, but for my five hours there I only shot about 15 minutes and compiled the video below.

The end of May has come with this piqued sense of homesickness. Hauling out old DVDs of home movies to bring some warmth back into this basement. I watched this one I did for my Grandparents Christmas 2007 the other day, and thought I'd share the last 15 minutes or so. I hope you enjoy. Just a bit of self indulgence.

Thankfully, I might get to go home to Canmore for a week at the end of the summer. I'm really, really looking forward to it. It is rare I see my parents, rarer still to actually go home to them. I've been trying to come up with some sort of basis for a documentary about my family that I can start that week. I know I want to do it, but don't know what grounds to build the premise on. Laaaame!!

In other (good) news, I finally have a new place to live! As of yesterday, this adorable top floor of an old house that my friend and I had been after was granted to us. Our move in date is June 1st, but I will be moving shortly after (June 10th) with the aid of my parents who are coming out for four or five days to lend a hand.

Some things you need to check out!

My video blog, Kingfisher Says!

Choch on IndieGogo

The Long Road Home on IndieGogo

Dinner with Elvis on IndieGogo

Choch!

I've got to say, getting to know Brendan Prost over the past 8 months has been inspiring. He was making feature films before he even set foot in the film program at Simon Fraser University. Generation Why, Prost's second feature,  premiered in Calgary last summer and I nabbed a DVD of it this past fall. I was blown away by the fact that a fellow student had already achieved such a standing in the film community, with numerous screenings and DVD sales, not to mention the fact that it took home the Rising Star Award at the Canada International Film Festival. The drive and determination needed to complete a feature are two things I have yet to muster as a filmmaker - but seeing is believing, and with Prost's feature-per-summer game plan, it's quite the motivation to get off your keester and make some films of your own! It is possible, ladies and gentlemen, you've just got to have the drive and ambition to do it!

Screening this month in Calgary Prost's next feature, Choch, gives us some mulling over to do about that image in the mirror we preen and obsess over every day.

Via Brendan Prost's Flickr Photostream

I was lucky enough to see Choch at it's premier in Vancouver on April 15th (such a late review, I'm such a horrible person, apologies). Choch is a conversation in identity and the trials we put ourselves through to fit into a clique or a culture. Tyler is a choch, stoked on Jagerbombs, decked in Ed Hardy, and surrounded by friends who are rowdy and obtuse. We've all seen these stereotypical 20-somethings wandering the malls and prowling the clubs with popped collars. Our protagonist Tyler, we discover, isn't this insensitive, chauvinistic husk of a young adult we have come to expect from that caricature. He finds himself conflicted - unable to feel quite right in his social group. Putting up this tough exterior has become commonplace, but Tyler develops an acute, conscientious doubt concerning his identity. The things he has said and done start to disgust him and he begins to reevaluate this persona he has created. He can drop the charade, become an outcast to that social circle and have to look for new companionship, or keep it up - maintaining that group of "friends", perpetuating that stereotype, but retaining that safety net/comfort zone.

Not only was the identity of youth under scrutiny, but the masquerades that parents put on were also on trial. Choch presents the facades that adults find themselves putting up to impress, say, a date with a new woman - case in point: Tyler's father. The remoulding of one's interests to cater to that of another, in this case an internet date and a sudden interest in jazz, becomes just another face to put on in the morning to maintain that relationship, however strained and uncomfortable.

I felt Choch added a sort of middle ground to these stereotypical conflicts we are so familiar with - these social groups that seem so black and white. The Greasers and the Socs, the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies, the territorial lunchroom tables in high school. Culture cliques whose elitist dispositions always end in naive misunderstandings. In Choch we see Tyler strive to maintain an awkward friendship with an old friend, whose own social qualms manifest themselves in skinny jeans and obscure bands you've never heard of. Both characters are limited by the identities they have spun around themselves and the safety they feel they have in their cliques.

Choch was leaps and bounds ahead of Generation Why both technically and from a storytelling perspective. Prost coaxed some amazing performances out of his leading man, Zach White, and used a considerable amount of ad-libbed dialogue that provided smooth and believable conversations. Shot on a couple of Sony HDR FX-1000s on a shoestring budget, Choch develops a distinct visual style via handheld camerawork, black and white footage and tight, rapid cuts. Prost's filmmaking abilities improve astronomically with every picture - the sky's the limit. Keep your eye on this one!

Become a Facebook fan!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - independent films rely on word of mouth and shout outs to get their names out there. Become a fan, invite your friends to an event, write a review - anything and everything helps! Support truly independent film - spread the word!

A trailer! For you!

Choch - Trailer from Brendan Prost on Vimeo.

A personal invite! To you!

Choch - Screening Series Invitation from Brendan Prost on Vimeo.

Also, check out the films review at The Independent Critic!

I'm sort of really horrible at writing reviews/critiques. I accept this. Go see Choch.