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The long silence since our last blog entry may cause the reader to think Site Media has been in hibernation: not the case.

Festivals, conferences, shooting on location on Fogo Island and in France, plus numerous deadlines have all come and gone as the last six months 2011 have flown by.

In March David and Director Annette Mangaard attended Montreal’s Festival International du Films sur l’art where Kinngait: Riding Light Into The World was screened as part of the official selection. They also attended the inaugural market event sponsored by FIFA that brought together producers, potential buyers and financiers interested in supporting films on art.

In May, we attended the 2011 edition of Hot Docs where we received encouragement for Site Media’s new project about Canadian/Norwegian architect Todd Saunders.

June saw us in historic Lunenburg, Nova Scotia attending a series of lectures organized by architect Brian McKay Lyons’s Ghost Laboratory.  Keynote speakers included architectural scholar Kenneth Frampton and architect Juhani Pallasma.

From Lunenburg we went to Fogo Island, Newfoundland to witness the opening of three new Todd Saunders studios commissioned by the Fogo Island Arts Corporation and the Shorefast Foundation.  Architectural critic Trevor Boddy, who had also come to see Todd’s work, accompanied us on our tour and provided witty repartee and informed commentary. We also attended Re:mode, a conference organized by the Fogo Island Arts Corporation that presented an inquiry into the nature of art and art making in remote locations. Presenters included Marc Meyer, Director of the National Gallery of Canada and Robert Sirman, Executive Director of the Canada Council.  Even the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honorable David Johnston, made an appearance.

The most eloquent interlocutors were residents of Fogo Island such as Susan Osmond who summarized what was said over the course of the day. Referring to the locally made quilts lining the conference room Susan commented: “What some call Art, I call necessity” http://twitcasting.tv/fogoartscorp/movie/1894011

Seeing Todd’s buildings for the first time was breathtaking. The much documented, award winning ‘Long Studio” did not disappoint, it exceeded expectations. Dwarfed by its setting on the barren shore, the weight and scale of the building does not become apparent until you are quite close. Hefty yet airy the structure is elegant as a chapel.  In fact, all of the commissioned art studios have an atmosphere of ceremonial contemplation that belies their purported function as workspaces.

Unseasonable cold, rain and high wind made filming a challenge. After a busy week of events, meals and festivities, we left Fogo Island and began the long drive from Gander to the ferry.  At 10 p.m., just 20 kilometers from Port Aux Basques, a yearling moose leaped out of the dark and fog, onto the road and into our car.  Miraculously, no one was hurt. The moose was not so fortunate and neither was the vehicle.

Moose impact

Undaunted, Katherine headed back to Fogo Island to be joined by filmmaker Jared Raab where they spent another two weeks filming.

What we were now calling the ‘Fogo film’ was turning out to be as hard and flinty as the island itself. Everything about the place is extraordinary. Not just pretty pictures; the Saunders buildings are tangible objects in a real place with real people. Life on Fogo Island may appear laid back but survival there remains a high stakes gambit. The more we researched and experienced the more complicated and thorny the storylines became.

The project and, well, everything increasingly appeared a high stakes gambit.  Shaken by the moose and by the challenge we were facing we were again shaken when we received news that we received funding from the Canada Council. We were overjoyed to have this vital support and now we know there will be a film.

Katherine and Marcia Connolly traveled to France in August to document artists Arnaud Maggs and Spring Hurlbut at their stone cottage near Toulouse. This will be an important chapter in the film portrait of these two artists and partners in life. Katherine was spurred to commence filming on the conviction that an important moment was forming in the creative lives of these distinctive characters.  This instinct was validated and supported with the news that the Ontario Arts Council had awarded the project a production grant.

It is impossible to emphasize enough what this support from two arts councils means to Site Media, especially given the current environment of so many talented filmmakers competing for dwindling sources of production funding.  Such support literally keeps us, as filmmakers, alive.

Written by David

Site Media’s newest film project about Canadian artist Wanda Koop will open the 2011 edition of Toronto’s Reel Artists Film Festival.  Working to a tight schedule, the film has been has been in the capable hands of editor Jared Raab for the past eight weeks.  After several stages of refinement and revision following test screenings and feedback from trusted colleagues the edit was locked on February 11.  It immediately went to sound wizard Alan Geldart who added sonic texture and oversaw the 5.1 mix that was completed on February 17 at Kitchen Sync.  The final colour corrected output will be completed the day before the gala premiere on February 23rd.

It used to be said of film that the print was still ‘wet’ from the processing laboratory when it arrived just in time for the premiere screening. There doesn’t seem to be an analogous description for the arrival of a digital film at the projection room straight from the post production process. There is something romantic about the notion of the film still ’setting’ as it awaits its inaugural screening. But whatever romance may be missing from digital delivery, there is nothing lacking in the craft required to bring image and sound to full potential for the screen in this relatively new medium. And being a collaborative medium we are extremely grateful to everyone who exerted their talents to make the film as rich an experience as possible for the audience . The final stage of completing “Koop” was demanding but exhilarating.  So while the digital medium may be dry, chemically the filmmakers are still ‘wet’ and looking forward to having the film ’set’ in the minds of those first to see it.

“Kinngait: Riding Light Into The World” will screen at Montreal’s Festival International du Film sur L’Art ( http://artfifa.com ) on March 24th.  Director Annette Mangaard and Producer David Craig will be present at the screening for a Q and A.  This will be the 28th edition of FIFA and the festival was the first in Canada to focus on films about art and artists.

“Kinngait’ will be screened in Toronto at the Female Eye Film Festival on March 17 at 2:30 p.m. at Rainbow Cinemas Market Square, 80 Front Street East along with another Site Media production, “Pretend Not To See Me” also part of the official selection.  In April, “Kinngait” will be screened at the first Docs North festival to be held in North Bay, Ontario.

Work is progressing on Site Media’s online, interactive documentary “Memory Factory: Caribou Harbour”. The project was developed at the 2009 Hot Docs Festival as part of the Documentary Organization of Canada’s DOC Agora.  Work began in earnest in January with the development of the web architecture by the design firm Foxhound (who also developed Site Media’s home website). Editor, Almerinda Travassos, who has been with the project from the outset in 2007 has completed work on videos to accompany various chapters of the project. We aim to have the initial proof of concept design by April, in time for the 2011 Hot Docs Festival.

Stay tuned for more information about Site Media’s exciting new project with architect Todd Saunders ( www.saunders.no )

Written by David

Katherine’s film about performance artist Colette Urban screened on October 10 at the Offshoot Film Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, (http://seedlingfilm.com/offshoot/index.php). On Sunday, October 17th, Pretend Not To See Me screened at the Citizen Jane Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri (http://citizenjanefilmfestival.blogspot.com).

The film will screen at two European festivals in November 2010. The Globians Documentary Festival, Stuttgart runs from November 12 -14, (www.globians.com) Note: the Stuttgart festival is different from the Berlin edition of the festival. Temps D’Image festival runs concurrently from November 11-14 in Lisbon, Portugal. Both are artist driven festivals that have responded to the creative vision of the film.

All of these festivals offer distinctive and enthusiastic audiences for independent films and we filmmakers feel fortunate to have these screening opportunities.

Written by David

On Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 7 p.m. the Art Gallery of Ontario will host the Toronto premiere of “Kinngait: Riding Light Into The World”.  The screening will take place at Jackman Hall.  The film screening will coincide with the  launch of the catalog “Inuit Modern” featuring work from the Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection of Inuit Art.

The Art Gallery on Ontario has a major collection of Inuit Art including important works by Cape Dorset artists.  Curator of Canadian Art, Gerald McMaster has contributed greatly to the study of Aboriginal and Inuit art and appears as a commentator in “Riding Light Into The World”.  The Art Gallery of Ontario is a highly appropriate setting for the premiere public screening in Toronto and Site Media is thrilled to launch the film there.

Written by David

Site Media is proud to participate in the 2010 edition of Cinefest, the Sudbury International Film Festival.  “Kinngait: Riding Light Into The World” will screen at noon on Friday, September 24.  This is the 22nd edition of Cinefest which is a significant member of the Canadian film festival community as well as an important cultural event in northern Ontario.  Here is the link to information on the screening and festival: http://www.cinefest.com/films/kinngait-riding-light-world/

Director Annette Mangaard and Producer David Craig will be in Sudbury for the screening.  On the same program will be “Ghost Noise”, Marcia Connolly’s film about Cape Dorset artist Shuvinai Ashoona. Marcia was a cinematographer on “Riding Light Into The World”. She will also be attending the festival.

Written by David

June 28, 2010:

Special Mention in the Medium Length Film category was given to the film “Pretend Not To See Me” by Canadian director Katherine Knight: “The house, the personal space of the artist close to nature as a reservoir of life but also as an engine of personal and collective memory that can be turned into a tool of conquesting internal balance and an enlarged creative search for truth that energizes the truth and our relationship with the natural hierarchy of existence.”

The award was received on behalf of Katherine Knight by the Canadian Embassy’s representative, Mr. Christos Michalakis, while the director sent us a message saying: “I am thrilled that my film found a home here at this festival. Cinematographer Marcia Connolly, artist Colette Urban and I entered a magical zone during the month we filmed in Newfoundland. In making the film, I wanted to open a window into Colette’s world and her commitment to her art. To feel deeply is a gift and I think that Colette does that. I want to thank you for believing in this film. Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for financially supporting the project and to Sam Shabali for his great music. Congratulations Ecofilms for this fantastic festival and thank you for this special mention, which I treasure.”

Written by David

Filming began on June 1st on Site Media’s new film as Winnipeg artist Wanda Koop, director Katherine Knight and cinematographer Marcia Connolly embarked upon a week long voyage on the freighter Birchglen as it journeyed along the St. Laurence River from Quebec City to Port Cartier. The trip ended on June 7 when the team disembarked at Welland, Ontario. The team was hosted by Captain Robert Wilkie. Katherine reports that the trip was ‘amazing’ and that she is very excited by the footage captured by Marcia. Travel is often the inspiration for Wanda Koop’s work and the voyage provided a shared experience for the artist and the filmmakers as they traveled along one of Canada’s most significant and fabled waterways.

Written by David

We are pleased to launch our new website. Check back to our blog often for current updates!

Written by admin