Newfoundland Winter Storm

This Newfoundland Winter Storm video was shot using my brand new Macbook pro and the built in camera. I am just playing with the Youtube Quick Capture feature that allows you to record directly to Youtube and post with no editing..

It’s my first winter here in St. John’s and just about everyone has warned me about them. They are snowy, blowy and long. Lucky for me – I like winter. Well, especially the stay indoors part, feeling cozy while it’s stormy outside. As my friend Kelly said, all the more time to stay indoors and do art.

Today there is a winter storm warning. Lots of snow and wind to come.

Unfortunately, you can’t really see the gusts of wind blowing the snow until the very end at the 25 second mark. Snow is hard to capture on film and video, and even harder with a webcam.

Can you hear the gusts of wind? Not sure, I think I need a windsock for the microphone. Haha. But you can see my hair in the top of the frame as I struggle to position the mouse to stop recording.

Let’s see how I feel about winter in March, April and May – traditionally my least fave months.

Newfoundland Winter

What’s a Newfoundland winter like? Well, I am not even one full month into winter if you count December 21 as the first day of winter. But from what I’ve heard this has been a good one so far, as there was hardly any snow. Up until now.

This is a pic from Monday Jan. 12 after a particularly pretty snow fall. It was light and fluffy, and did one of those excellent blanketing jobs.

Today, with a winter warning effect, is going to be “some different.”

That’s the expression I have picked up first: adding the word “some” in front of nouns to describe things – like that’s some pie. And that’s some beard you have got growing there.

I like this “some” thing.

I don’t like how hard it is to get around in the city during winter. It is some hard. More on that later.

Moving Stories is the New Festival In Town

Moving Stories Films – the festival of short films based on books – is the new festival in town. Moving Stories Films is a 90-minute curated program of short films celebrating the written word submitted by artists around the world.

The event, the first of its kind in Canada takes place Friday October 17, 5pm at the Majestic Theatre (not Masonic Temple as stated in the programme) and will feature feature founder Judith Keenan and myself and Rachel Peters as directors.

More reasons not to miss it. There are some amazing films in the line-up, books which inspired the films in the film program will be available for sale. There will be snacks!

My mockumentary This Hour Has Seven Decades, which is based on the memoir by Patrick Watson opens the screening program.

Rachel Peters’ beautiful animated work Nagasaki Circus is in the program too. Who is Rachel? She is my PFD buddy – PFD being Post Festival Depression. Learn about how to kick it here.

Paul Quarrington’s film Pavane based on his book The Ravine premieres too.

The films have been selected by Festival Founder Judith Keenan and Programmer Paul Quarrington in consultation with illustrious Film Advisors Robert Lantos, Sarah Polley, Nino Ricci, Gary Thomas and Anne Collins.

From September to November 2008, Moving Stories will screen at public events hosted by film and literature festivals across North America. Hosts include St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, Ottawa International Writers Festival; Winnipeg International Writers Festival; WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival; Vancouver International Writers Festival and Pages Books & Music (Toronto) “This Is Not A Reading Series.”

Moovy.ca Has Launched

Moovy.ca is the latest greatest baby by the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival team. The site which launched in beta this Wednesday is an online community for emerging and established filmmakers of Newfoundland – and soon all of Canada – and is all about supporting and growing this vibrant and productive and successful community of artists, storytellers and craftspeople.

Check moovy.ca out – it is full of film news, resources, posts by various bloggers, videos, and even boasts a resident video blogger BABS! who is a bit dear to my heart.

Most of all make sure to participate by signing up and adding your profile to the directory. The directory is the first part of interactivity open to all and meant to be a place where you can advertise your skills, capabilities and availability for other filmmakers.

Here’s BABS!’ first video where she gets to interview producer Anna Petras on the importance of film festivals in the career of a filmmaker and to the life of your film.

The St. John’s International Film Festival is in the Air

It’s Saturday morning 9:45 AM and I am at Hava Java Coffee House and Espresso Bar downtown on Water Street awaiting Jenny Rocket who is late bringing in the morning’s supply of muffins.

Yeah I know – what?  Me up this early and out on the town? Get’s better. I’ve all ready been to the CBC building down near MUN campus where I did a live interview with Angela Antle on the CBC weekend morning radio show at 8:20AM, to talk about my film “This Hour Has Seven Decades” which will be screening at the Moving Stories Film Festival this Friday at the Majestic at 5pm. I’ve also all ready coffeed myself at Coffee and Company a few doors down but just moved to Hava’s because I couldn’t connect to the Internet there for some reason. I checked The Anchorage first but it wasn’t open yet.

All’s well though, because Hava Java’s staff have been super gracious helping me find an outlet for my laptop – I only get just over an hour of battery power due to my 17 inch screen and just general battery badness which I used up a quarter of at C&C trying to get connected to the wireless, and have allowed me to sit here in wait of the muffins with a glass of water. And the lighting and music is just right  for this morning.

I had planned to do bring my laptop with me last night knowing that I’d be up and about early, I figured it was a good time to indulge in another romantic writer’s fantasy of mine – the early morning cafe sip and write, where I leisurely reflect on the previous week’s events. ( I think  I may be too influenced by TV commercials with all these leisurely stress-free fantasies.)

But back to this week.  There’s a definite drop in temperature – and The St. John’s International Film Festival is definitely in the air. The festival’s posters and postcards are up all over town, the covers of this week’s arts weeklies, The Scope and The Current, are devoted to the festival, print ads are scattered throughout the pages of the newspapers and I heard an ad on the radio yesterday.

Oh geez. True story. The door just opened and in comes Ms. Kelly Davis, the Executive Director of the The St. John’s International Film Festival. She’s up and about with some special volunteers to go collect the vans that will be used to shuffle the crowds around. It’s a big weekend of setup for the crew.

Oh geez. Mark Bragg just walked in wearing his slippers. I was at his CD Release party last night for the soundtrack of Down To The Dirt – the latter film being screened Tuesday October 14 at the opening night gala for the Film Festival. And by the way, that was the first time I’ve ever seen him perform live and I was mesmerized. Bragg is a ridiculously terrific performer and it was a fun fun show.

Rachel Peters has not walked into the cafe. The Toronto based animator and my co-sufferer of PFD in the video is here in town holding animation workshops for kids as part of the festival. Hope to see her soon.

Egads. This hurts. Now I know why I am a night person, this early morning writing is killing me.

And the muffins didn’t come. I had a multigrain bagel instead.