Film Fridays
Film Fridays are just ramping up! I’m in the process of collecting interviews with filmmakers, editors, and advocates. I am passionate about promoting creativity in film.
If you are a filmmaker and would like to share your work here, on Film Fridays, please email me with your interest at info@alexismariechute.com
For this week, I am profiling another great support organization and resource for Alberta and BC filmmakers:
STORYHIVE!
What I find awesome about STORYHIVE is that successfully submitted and accepted projects receive funding, distribution and support from TELUS.
With big government cuts in Alberta, Canada – where I live – artists of all kinds (including filmmakers) have less grants and funding options to create their meaningful work.
STORYHIVE presents a different model where big businesses support, promote, and provide funds for the arts. What a great scenario where businesses are giving back in a culturally useful and impactful way. I’m grateful!
I’ve never applied for a STORYHIVE project – YET! – but I’ve known others who have and because of that support have created wonderful projects that make a difference on multiple fronts.
Collaboration is the name of the game.
STORYHIVE
STORYHIVE has funded productions, supported filmmakers with mentorship and support from the National Screen Institute and brought hundreds of films to life online and around the world.
And we’re just getting started. Whether you’re just beginning your career, or you’ve shot thousands of hours of film and want to bring your dream project to life, STORYHIVE is here to help. Our goal is to celebrate your ideas and development with funding, distribution and support from TELUS to help BC and Alberta creators move their career goals ahead.
STORYHIVE is dedicated to creating and amplifying local stories and voices. Creators and community members based in BC and Alberta are invited to submit their completed projects, including single programs and series, to be featured on TELUS Optik TV™ On Demand through the Community Showcase program.
How it works:
1. Pitch & plan
Share your big ideas with us and gear up for production.
2. Vote & promote
Hustle and market your films to earn community votes.
3. Awards & screen time
Selected teams and projects will receive production grants, training and mentorship opportunities, as well as distribution on select TELUS platforms.
What do content creators get?
Great question. Joining STORYHIVE lets you:
- Apply for production grants and distribution
- Showcase your talent in the Creator Directory
- Connect with new audiences
- Get access to industry events and workshops
- Vote and promote your projects for funding
I’m in.
What do I do next?
Another great question. Here’s what to do:
- Check our eligibility criteria
- See how to apply
- Start your Creator Profile
More info about application and grant details:
Movie Night!
It’s MOVIE NIGHT YAHOO!!
What are you watching tonight?
Over the holidays I’ve been having a blast returning to many of my favorite old movies. However, I’ve been discovering that my memory of these films does not always live up to them when I re-watch…
With the trailers flying out for Doctor Dolittle with Robert Downey Jr, I was itching to watch the original with Rex Harrison.
What’s funny is that I did not recall that the original Doctor Dolittle is a musical. Nor did I remember that there is a strange intermission in the middle, nor that it is 2.5 hours long!
What really stood out for me when I was a kid was the huge snail and the voyage in its pearly pink shell. I laughed to myself when watching the old movie because the snail part is only five minutes max at the end of the film. Doctor Dolittle doesn’t even ride in it himself.
Still, my three-year-old was asking to watch the movie again the next day.
I’m not going to discuss the Doctor Dolittle incarnation with Eddie Murphy, or even the third one, which I doubt I’ve seen. Some stories are best not reiterated three or four times.
The other old movies that I re-watched include Mannequin and Mannequin Two: On the Move.
What I realized very distinctly while watching the Mannequin movies is:
- Movies of older eras often have slower starts. They have character building and setting establishment in the first 20 minutes or so. In today’s movie production age, films often start in medias res, aka in the middle of action or a story line.
- My kids – and probably myself too – have now been primed for the instant action/conflict. My children were bored out of their minds at the beginnings of all these old movies. So much so that they whined and begged to watch something else. We started Mannequin but abandoned it at around the 20 minute mark. However, I was not deterred. I convinced them to start it up with me again the next night. They were not enjoying it to my degree – I was literally singing along – but they enjoyed it (though my ten-year-old would never admit to it). The stories and music, the characters and plot, were still a hoot.
- Overall, my memory of these films was a much higher estimation than what they perhaps are in reality, when viewed today. At the same time, the nostalgia factor was so lovely that I plan to continue showing my family my favorite films from the 80’s and 90’s. These movies are so inventive and original… unlike many movies today that are remakes of the oldies but goodies.
- And finally, sometimes the sequel is better than the original, which I feel is the case in the Mannequin movies.
And tonight’s feature film… yes, it’s another spin-off/remake of an oldie…
Jumanji
Oh the irony! The third in a series. This is one reason I aspire to be a great filmmaker: To create original films from new and novel ideas.
The original Jumanji is still a cult classic. My kids loved it, though I again noticed the pacing is different from today’s films. I don’t totally mind this, though I do think that perhaps we can move into a new era where it’s not one or the other – slow build OR in medias res – but a hybrid of the two or something different all together.
What I believe the new Jumanji movies have done successfully is re-imagined the original movie premise but modernized the telling in a way that still honors the original. The new films have also interjected humor and unexpected elements that have viewers laughing from their guts. Not all remakes and sequels have enough new elements, not to mention all star casting.
And on that note, I am off to the theater!
Happy movie night!
