Emily II

December, 2010 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Emily I

January, 2011 - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Green III

This picture and the other nature shots I've been posting over the past few days were all taken this past January in Victoria, British Columbia around Durrance Lake. Stay tuned here for more shots that I've gathered over time.

Green II

A Three Colors Celebration!

Today marks the arrival of a pretty big home video release for many film fans: the Criterion Collection Blu-ray and DVD sets of Krzysztof Kieślowski's fabulous Three Colors trilogy. The good folks over at thesubstream.com asked me to help them talk about the set for their DVD/Blu-ray Shed feature - check out my brief blurb here (presented along with links to my Row Three reviews for each of the three films - thanks guys!).

And to help get you further in the mood to re-visit these great films, I've included below the cool Three Reasons videos put out by Criterion to help promote this release:

Green

Mirror

Tangled Morning IV

Tangled Morning III

Tangled Morning II

Tangled Morning I

Help Support the 4th Shinsedai Cinema Festival!

Hello, all. This past July, the Shinsedai Cinema Festival was held for the third time in Toronto at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, showcasing an impressive array of independent short and feature films from Japan's independent film community. Next year will mark a new chapter in the fest's still-young history, as it will be moving to a brand new venue in the city: the Revue Cinema. With this change, however, comes some new financial responsibilities for the festival's organizers, leading them to branch out to the greater online community for help.

Thus, they have begun a fundraising campaign at IndieGoGo to help cover the costs of transporting and accommodating the Japanese filmmakers who will be arriving from overseas to promote their film and enjoy the festival. The goal is to raise $7000 in a little under 60 days - something that, with enough people, can be easily accomplished. Even a small donation would be greatly appreciated, and on the right side of the campaign page, you will find a listing of rewards for specific donation amounts.

So, if you feel like helping out, just check out the campaign at the above link to see your options and more info on the impact your donation will make. Also, if you wish, you can check out the main page for the Shinsedai Cinema Festival. Many thanks in advance!

Elegeia (Mark Beneria, 2009)

Hello, all. This post comes in the midst of yet another period in which I've been pondering the life and work of the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. A while ago, I found a short film devoted to him on Youtube that I really should have shared earlier. In any case, here it is now. Shot on and one day after December 29th, 2008 (the 22-year anniversary of Tarkovsky's death) in the Russian Orthodox Cemetery in Sainte-Geneiève-des-Bois, France (near Paris) where he is buried, Mark Beneria's Elegeia offers up a fittingly poetic tribute to the artist using patient camera movements and a solemn flute score (by Okuda Asuya) that evoke his legendary, powerful films. In a mournful tone, Beneria reflects on the greatness of Tarkovsky's work and the sad circumstances surrounding his troubled life in exile. If devoted admirers of Tarkovsky's work weren't compelled to actually visit his grave in France, they will be after seeing this film. I know I want to.

CineAction Issue #85

Hello all. Today, I come to you with a piece of news that's at least a few weeks old, but has not been mentioned here yet. It concerns the most recent issue of the Toronto-based film journal CineAction, which is published three times a year and features different essays on particular subjects and themes that are chosen for each issue. This latest one, Issue #85, had "Slow Film" as one of its topics, which prompted me to plan out and submit an essay on one of my favorite filmmakers, Tsai Ming-Liang. The finished result, entitled Slow Fuse: The Cinematic Strategies of Tsai Ming-Liang, can now be read in this latest issue and specifically focuses on the story structures of The Hole (1998), What Time Is It There (2001) and I Don't Want To Sleep Alone (2006).

The journal should be out on newsstands for the remainder of 2011 - here is its table of contents. If you're interested or a fan of the filmmaker, please check it out if you can!

Also remember that I will be appearing on the VCinema Podcast to talk about Tsai's 2003 film Goodbye, Dragon Inn sometime in the coming months.

P.S. Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

Music News: Ultimately Always by Kemek

Hello all. Today marks the release of a new record from a music artist who I've been really digging recently - Kemek, also known as Adam Douglas. Besides teaching in South Korea and occasionally writing for the VCinema Blog, he makes music that ranges from ambient to electronic to dubstep and beyond. I've been listening to his thoroughly relaxing album Itsuka quite a bit these days, and was glad to learn of this latest release from him. If you're at all into soothing and/or experimental music, check him out!

Click on the links below to:

* Sample and purchase Ultimately Always (pay what you want) at the Architects + Heroes website.

* Visit Kemek's blog to check out more info on his other music releases.

New Trailer for Edmund Yeo's Exhalation

Hello all. I just wanted to share the release of a brand new trailer for the 2010 short film Exhalation, which was directed by Malaysian filmmaker Edmund Yeo. I've followed Edmund's remarkable progress for some time now and written about a number of his admirably crafted films, including Exhalation, The White Flower and Kingyo.

If you're in or around Tokyo in late October, you can catch it at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival on the 23rd along with Lim Kah Wai's Magic and Loss. Check here for more information on the screening.

Plus, you can check out a short interview I did with Edmund about Exhalation over at the J-Film Pow-Wow.