Tribeca Film Festival ’13 Notes
I wasn't as proactive as I had hoped for this festival; running on a budget and knew I was going to fatigue quite quickly in the same manner that I was back in SxSW - falling asleep through a handful of films! I bought a Matinee pass which allowed me entry into 6 films with a few restrictions (daytime screenings). Couldn't get all the films that I wanted, but managed to narrow it all down to the following six plus a few extra things:
- Cutie & the Boxer
- Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
- Shorts: Let There Be Light
- Powerless
- Inside Out: The People's Art Project
- Shorts: Character Witness
- Lil Bub & Friends
- The Bombay Sapphire House of Imagination
Lil Bub and Friends was streamed online and it was quite cute. The biggest take-out was the fact that a meme manager existed!
The Bombay Sapphire House of Imagination was a pretty cool experience; you can't go wrong with free drinks and popcorn, crowd-sourced transmedia projects and telling more than you should to a cute little robot. We'll need to follow up as to whether any of our rantings made it to the final cut for the robot documentary project. Kudos to Bombay Sapphire!
And my favourites as below:
Cutie & the Boxer - a look into the relationship between oddball artist Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko. Even in their post-screening Q & A, there is still a lot of passive-aggressive, yet, endearing bickering between the two.
Powerless - a documentary exploring a power supply and theft problem in a large city in India; looking at both sides - from the MD of the power-supply company, to the local thief-bro who specialises in hooking people up with free electricity in the neighbourhood.
Shorts: Character Witness - this was an intense 7 shorts, with the theme centralising around death and destruction. It was particularly emotionally-draining, but insightful - cryogenics, photography-recovery, post-death belongings and surfboards were all discussed at some point.
This entry was written by , posted on April 30, 2013 at 10:48 am, filed under Moving Pictures. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
SxSW 2013 – Film Notes
This was my first year @ SxSW and decided to go all in on it - Interactive, Film and Music.
I managed to catch 15 films this year; it wasn't until I was paying attention to some previews on the last day that I realised I had only scratched the surface - there were still so many more films to go through! But since I had to divide my time between all 3 things plus more, I think I did the best I could. I hope some of the ones I've missed get some proper distribution, particularly to Australia if there's the chance. I've got the guide as well so I think I'll do some catching up once the dust settles a bit.
My film list:
- Downloaded
- Rewind This
- Punk Syndrome
- TPB: AFK
- Gus
- Imagine
- Who Taught You to Drive?
- Before You Know It
- Before Midnight
- Mr Angel
- Spark: A Burning Man Story
- x4 Short Film Programmes
The topics and content for the most part was awesome, but a lot had a few challenges putting it together in a good structure or narrative to really, REALLY make them stand out.
My picks from the festival:
Punk Syndrome - a documentary about a Finnish punk band. The members are mentally handicapped. Heart-breakingly sweet.
Mr Angel - a documentary about Buck Angel, a female-to-male transgender pornstar. It was fascinating and quite an eye-opener!
Spark: A Burning Man Story - titles says it all; the cinematography in this was amazing.
Before You Know It - This one topped the list for me; it was a documentary about 3 elderly gay men getting by in today's contemporary society and their stories. Unfortunately there wasn't a trailer for this online 
Keep an eye out for it; if people feel the same way about it as I do, it should be making a few festival rounds this year.
This entry was written by , posted on April 4, 2013 at 1:25 pm, filed under Moving Pictures and tagged film, sxsw. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Life, Death, Synchronised Swimming and Weed
Aquadettes.
If you are in need of a reality check or just love the musings and infinite wisdom of old people, watch this.
This entry was written by , posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:26 pm, filed under Moving Pictures. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
The Gnome Garden
The Gnome Garden by Elena Hattersley
Cute mini-doco of a woman who likes collecting gnomes in inner-west Sydney. Love her spirit!
I caught this in one of the short film screenings at the Sydney Underground Film Festival 2012.
This entry was written by , posted on January 11, 2013 at 4:54 pm, filed under Moving Pictures and tagged gnomes, short films, suff, Sydney underground film festival. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Meanwhile in New York, during Hurricane Sandy…
This entry was written by , posted on November 1, 2012 at 11:56 am, filed under Moving Pictures. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
La Comtesse de Castiglione
This was one of the first films which started my love affair with short films. It was sometime in 2003 on a late Friday night; I should've either been studying for my university entrance exams (HSC) or out trying to copulate with the opposite sex.
But I was sitting in my sister's room in front of her tiny TV eating crisps watching Eat Carpet when this came on.
Like a lot of things, I didn't think I'd ever find it again, and would forever exist in my subconscious as some mystery. But here it is thanks to the internet.
This entry was written by , posted on August 29, 2012 at 11:22 pm, filed under Moving Pictures. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Champagne
This entry was written by , posted on August 13, 2012 at 12:39 am, filed under Moving Pictures. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Blessed Lightning has a vision
Tintin is mad.
This entry was written by , posted on May 26, 2012 at 12:30 am, filed under Moving Pictures. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Nothing in the world is sexier than…
... new standardized IAB ad formats! C'mon, you wanna rub your nipples on these. With some ice cubes. And fit a toothpick in all this somehow.
Originally shared by superworkfriend Nicola Yates
This entry was written by , posted on November 16, 2011 at 8:46 pm, filed under Blueprints, Moving Pictures and tagged ad formats, IAB. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Ren goes Psycho
Some light Saturday morning entertainment for the kids from the 90s.
This entry was written by , posted on September 1, 2011 at 11:40 pm, filed under Moving Pictures and tagged Ren & Stimpy. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Japanese Kids going Batshit crazy over Spongebob
Now in GIF form! Sorry this just never gets old. If you don't know where it's from, this was a promo for a Japanese Happy Meal toy promotion for Spongebob.
This entry was written by , posted on August 20, 2011 at 12:12 pm, filed under Moving Pictures and tagged gif, spongebob. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Chris Cunningham @ Opera House x Vivid Live Sydney
Just came back from the Chris Cunningham show at the Opera House as part of the Vivid Sydney Festival; in short it was a great way to spend a Sunday evening. He opened with his audiovisual mix of Gil Scott-Heron's New York is Killing Me (as above) which, after seeing it in the Opera House, has become one of my favourites.
This entry was written by , posted on June 6, 2011 at 1:07 am, filed under Food for your ears, Moving Pictures and tagged chris cunningham, opera house, vivid. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
boards of canada staircase whip fan vid
Not an official video, but digging the footage used alongside one of my favourites from BOC. Apparently came from some rare Japanese experimental short film about a woman and a boy playing on a staircase. Totally DEEP.
This entry was written by , posted on February 20, 2011 at 10:19 pm, filed under Food for your ears, Moving Pictures and tagged boards of canada, dandanko, Japanese, staircase whip, youtube. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Roots of Breakdance – Run DMC “It’s Like That” Alt MV
No-one has anything on these dancers; they are the real deal.
This entry was written by , posted on February 3, 2011 at 1:29 am, filed under Food for your ears, Moving Pictures. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Spotless – short by Jessica Nilsson
Directed by Swedish director Jessica Nilsson, caught this one at Flickerfest two years ago at a best-of compilation screening. It's pretty morbid, but everything about the pace, the music, the vintage film filter and the fact that it made very little sense made this a crowd favourite. Towards the end there is a cat on a piano. Yes.
spotless
Jessica Nilsson | Myspace Video
It's a good idea to be inspired by your favourite music.
This entry was written by , posted on August 29, 2010 at 3:27 pm, filed under Moving Pictures, plasmo and tagged cat piano, flickerfest, jessica nilsson, short film, spotless. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
French Kissing is Gross (from Freaks & Geeks)
I'm glad Freaks & Geeks never got renewed for another season. There was no way in hell they could create a second season that would've topped the first one. I love how it was left on such a high and promising note, and just left it there. Just made each and every episode available so... cherishable.
What if she puts her tongue too far into my mouth? What if I throw up? What if I throw up all over her? What if I throw up in her mouth?
This entry was written by , posted on August 19, 2010 at 12:31 am, filed under Moving Pictures and tagged freaks and geeks, french kissing, geeks talking. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Plasmo – a 5min clay animation where an adorable alien sacrifices himself to save a planet and declares his undying love for his gf. Epic.
How can so much drama, selflessness, a beautiful soundtrack, poignancy and a silly bit of humour be packed into a 4 minutes and 37 seconds clay animation?
Plasmo, a little alien, risks his life by flying his spacecraft into an oncoming comet to deflect it. In doing so, the core of a certain planet gets filled by a naturalistic/ forest-like utopia. In his last seconds, he sends a photo of himself and Pasty, as a gesture that she was probably the last thing on his mind before he hurls himself and his spaceship into the comet.
This entry was written by , posted on August 1, 2010 at 11:34 pm, filed under Moving Pictures, plasmo and tagged abc, drama, plasmo, youtube. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Watch Exit Through the Gift Shop.
This is the type of movie where you will feel like a bit of a jerk for downloading because it is pretty genius. And you should pay for good things.
I was going to write up some review, talk about some of the ideas, appreciate some of the artists, love the characters, etc.
But it is wrong because this movie provided a canvas for anti-establishment, and writing anything remotely about the movie's ideas would prove its point.
So don't watch it because you should.
This entry was written by , posted on June 5, 2010 at 2:28 am, filed under Moving Pictures and tagged exit through the gift shop, youtube. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Next! On Sick Sad World…
Daria is coming to DVD in 2010!
and so it seems that my life will once again have meaning...
And for nostalgia's sake:
As soon as the DVDs come out, i'm going to purchase 3 sets. One for regular viewing, one for back up, and one to put in a safe deposit box at the bank, along with my imaginary gold bullions and treasury bonds.
In other news re TV shows of yesteryear:
A porno version of SEINFELD was made!
and a NSFW original trailer can be found here:
Should be called "Seinfeld: A Porno About Nothing"
This entry was written by , posted on July 4, 2009 at 8:21 am, filed under Moving Pictures and tagged Daria, DVDs, Seinfeld. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Art and Copy
So me and my lovely friend went to see a movie as part of the Sydney Film Festival today, and watched a film about the advertising industry. The movie was part history lesson, on how the industry got to where it is today, part social analysis of the profound effect of advertising on modern culture, and part personal stories of how the most influential creative forces behind the ads and changed the way we live.
There were some pretty awesome vintage ads shown in the movie:
One point that was discussed in the movie particularly resonated with me. This advertisement was shown:
The ad was revolutionary at the time it was made because up to that point, all ads were made to sell a product based on design or functionality. This ad barely mentions the product. It instead tells a story with a particular kind of humour. Budweisser is then no longer a beer, it becomes badge for all those who subscribe to this kind of humour.
Overall I thought it was a pretty good film, not only was it insightful, funny, immensely charming, it was also the perfect advertisement for the industry. I left the cinema with the unyielding urge to sell something.
This entry was written by , posted on June 15, 2009 at 12:48 pm, filed under Blueprints, Moving Pictures and tagged advertising, art and copy, linkedin, marketing, sydney film festival. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
the plasmo shop
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