Meanwhile, here’s this CALL FOR ENTRIES from the Bike Film Festival:

Bicycle Film Festival | Trailer from casagrafica on Vimeo.

NINTH ANNUAL BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL
Deadline For Entries Is March 7

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com

We are looking for films with a strong theme or character of bicycles. This includes all mediums and styles such as animation, experimental, narrative, documentary and music videos.
The BFF is held in over 17 cities around the world including Tokyo, New York City, Los Angeles, Milan, and London. In 2008 the total BFF attendance was over 110,000 people.

BFF is a celebration through film, art and music. Past BFFs has been have included works from legendary artists such as Jonas Mekas, Michel Gondry, Mike Mills and Jorgen Leth.  The emerging artist is showcased as well.

The Bike Film Fest will be the most fun yet in 2009.

For more information and entry forms, visit the BFF website: http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com

Thanks
Brendt Barbur

I’m posting this in a bid to get the jump on my competition by seizing the search-engine high ground.

I wrote a science fiction short called “Pangea’s Edge” which takes place in Surrey 2040.

You, my fellow travellers, will help me win – by voting for Pangea’s Edge in a series of one-on-one deathmatch rounds on Broken Pencil’s website.

If you’re reading this, you can help – I’ll update this posting when the finalists are announced, and you can click me to the top!

What never made it into the issue is the fact that this was Spooky’s first and final ride.  We were taking her to the vet to be put down, after the terrible surprise of cancer that grew behind her right eye and couldn’t really be solved.  That’s a long story which I don’t need to blog about – suffice to say the kitty loved the adventure of riding a bike, in the safety / concealment of her cat carrier.  Oh, the things we learn too late.

In case that crazy issuu.com viewer doesn’t work, it’s on the Momentum site as well (without the picture, though).

-Flick Harrison

(get it!)

I still need to get a waxer – this issue feels a little too perfect for me, I only did one drawing and the rest was laid out in Indesign.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Interviews with

Reg Harkema on Leslie, My Name is Evil
Jeff Carter on Inside Passage
Tom Scholte on Crime
plus Waiting for Sancho and more!

I created it to try and rekindle some kind of underground film thing in Vancouver that I think is, well, just a bit TOO underground. This year’s Vancouver International Film Festival was the kicker for me, I finally felt like taking part again, having worked on two of the films screening, and a recent visit to a Zine fair / comics show at the Vancouver Art Gallery reminded me that it is really all about just getting it done.

An outsider might not see the connections between these films – but “Waiting For Sancho” was colour-corrected by myself, after “Leslie, My Name is Evil’s” Reg Harkema hooked me up with Mark Peransen. Mark used the same post sound mixer, Mark Benoit, as Tom Scholte used for “Crime”, and Jeff Carter, the sound recordist / designer for “Crime” was the filmmaker of “Inside Passage” – for which I also created a title shot.

This is the kind of intimate network that makes film thrive. And I love hanging around the fest with a bag full of Zero for Conducts, spreading the word on stuff I dig.

Zero for Conduct is available in hardcopy or as a pdf download.

To get the zine harcopy:

location

Canada $2.50 USA $3.00 International $4.00

The Wheels of Chance
by HG Wells

and

Urban Biker’s Tips and Tricks
By Dave (Mr. Bike) Glowacz

Both pretty awesome books! I could go on about them here, one being Wells’ (surprisingly) non-sci fi about adventure and romance in the early days of cycling (they were the fastest thing on the road!) and the other, Mr. Bike’s handy guide for maximizing your bike awesomeness.

But the reviews are much more complete than whatever short blurb I write here, despite how useful it would be to draw google hits by saying Hoopdriver Hoopdriver Hoopdriver!

Check them out with the links above.

-Flick Harrison

Bill C-10, an amendment to the income tax act which runs hundreds of pages long, has 13 words in it that give the government the right to cancel tax credits for film productions unless

“(b) public financial support of the production would not be contrary to public policy.”

In a Conservative majority situation, this could cut out films that depict violence, homosexuality, underage drinking, etc. Are the Conservatives really more interested in protecting Canadian morality than Canadian jobs?

The phrase itself recalls Hays-code puritanism; i.e. if a gay character gets married – fictionally! – that might be “contrary to public policy.” If a teenage drinker doesn’t die or go to jail before the end credits roll, perhaps this is contrary to public policy. Maybe even a bank heist would be “contrary to public policy?” (Here’s the parliamentary web page for the bill, with status updates and full text).

The man taking credit for the new rule is a Christian evangelical who also led a charge against gay marriage when that issue was on the table. Is this the guy writing legislation for Harper? Is this the kind of news Harper needs to secure his coveted majority?

You’ll notice the bill received ZERO (!) days of debate in the house of commons. Talk about sneaking one past us! What are the opposition parties for, again?

In the Senate, Conservative senator Marjorie Lebreton somewhat deviously announced the bill in the following ho-hum manner: “This bill proposes measures regarding the taxation of non-resident trusts and foreign investment entities. It also implements certain amendments to the Income Tax Act that are technical in nature and, for the most part, serve to accomplish a number of housekeeping objectives. Rather than getting into the technical details of Bill C-10, I would like to make a few general remarks about tax fairness…”

Insert Conservative rhetoric here.

The censorship of bill C-10 happens after the film has finished shooting – in other words, after the money has been spent, the producers could find themselves millions of dollars in debt, based on a political reading of their films by a closed-door panel of bureaucratic, Conservative appointees. Obviously, no investor would fund a film under such uncertain conditions. Producers’ only alternative would be to vet scripts politically at each stage of production – before shooting, during the edit, and then before release.

Let me squash the first argument that conservatives will throw up: “Your freedom of speech does NOT extend to the right to receive a cheque from the government.” This is wrong-headed for many reasons. First of all, if the government is handing out cheques, they CANNOT discriminate as to WHO gets money based on the prohibited categories in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I.e. religion, gender, race, ethnicity etc. So, if “promoting homosexuality” is a criteria to refuse tax credits, then of course, that WOULD be a Charter issue, and the government would get their arse handed to them in court.

Think of it this way: imagine if a documentary producer was counting on Tax Credits to repay their production loan! Then, when the film is finished, some conservative flunky decides he doesn’t like their final product. Let’s say Nettie Wilde’s documentary Fix: The Story of an Addicted City, which promoted the debate about a safe-injection site, was considered “contrary to public policy.” What a great tool for the Conservatives to quash hot topics! And this isn’t a free-speech issue? Give me a break.

And to be absolutely clear – the rules apply ONLY, it seems, so Canadian productions. Foreign productions can be as immoral and debaucherous as they want – their tax credits will still flow like sweet wine.

Secondly, this is an industrial issue, as much as a censorship issue. Having some wonky priests declaring certain films immoral behind closed doors is not exactly a solid economic policy. Tax credits are rebates on Canadian labour used in the making of the film. It results in a net gain for the Canadian economy. Get it? It’s NOT a free cheque from the government. It’s a tax credit that stimulates local jobs.

So Conservatives want to RAISE taxes on film production? I thought they hated taxes! Especially corporate taxes!

If you want to pull the rug from under Canadian production companies, then by all means support this legislation.

Moreover, the proposed rules seem MUCH stricter than ratings board criteria; the reason is that ratings boards rate content scene by scene, whereas the new rules seem to be more theme-based, i.e. the film as a whole is judged and so slight edits after rating might not be enough to alter the outcome. For example, Atom Egoyan’s new film Where The Truth Lies has a threesome scene which earned him a killer nc-17 rating. If he wished, he could have removed the scene to lose the rating. But a film like Exotica might be unsalvagable, because the main character is a stripper dressed like a schoolgirl. Certainly schoolgirl strippers are “contrary to public policy!”

The little provision in C-10 was only discovered by the public on 2nd reading in the senate (and we wonder why Harper insists on ramming bills, like the Violent Crime Bill, through the senate without deliberation or committee work).

Hidden Harper agenda?

There’s a facebook group opposing the bill which got 12,000 members in the first weekend.

Man’s lack of co-operation necessitated force

I wrote him this email in response:

Mr MacPherson,

Your definition of resisting arrest is novel. Walking away = violent.

Once in a while, people behave irrationally. Should we all carry tasers so that we can zap anyone who makes a false move?

That old lady who shoves into you on the crowded bus, then refuses to back off, because she doesn’t understand your english? Taser her! Immediately! She might have a pocket full of hep-C aids needles! Shoving is violent – at least, more violent than walking away.

The Taser is meant to be an alternative to deadly force. NOT an alternative to NON-DEADLY force, i.e. dealing with a cranky but otherwise innocent person. It wasn’t a bank holdup or hostage situation. It was an angry guy at the airport. Your suggestion that he might have had a weapon borders on immoral fantasy. A weapon! In the secure international arrivals area after clearing customs!

Four police officers with guns and tasers are a very formidable force. This so-called violent person showed some rationality by NOT confronting them. The pro-police argument, constantly used, that police feel endangered and threatened by harmless individuals is really quite sickening.

Sure they felt threatened. And teeny little George Bush couldn’t sleep because he was so scared of big bad Saddam Hussein.

As a filmmaker, I’ve worked with footage of the VPD harrassing people, publicly strip-searching women – yes, publicly strip-searching women on busy street corners, and you guessed it, these were drug-addicted street prostitutes with no way to defend their bodies or their rights – and personally witnessed cops beating a handcuffed man’s head against the hood of their car. Not all police officers are corrupt brutes, but unlike you I don’t defy rational interpretation of clear events because of some automatic trust in police motives and behaviour.

Co-operating with police, by the way, is difficult if you have no idea what they’re saying.

Flick Harrison.
Vancouver

That’s all, I haven’t blogged in a while ‘cos I’m too busy.

I’m calling it: The Bloc pulls the ripcord (rejects the budget) within 24 hours either way of the Quebec Election. I.e. before the vote to throw the race and take a free news-cycle on No-campaiging-allowed final day, OR, after the race to destabilize the Quebec Parliament and keep the PQ in permanent war mode – provincial vote, federal vote, second provincial vote, referendum.

(BTW, as I type, I wish there was a way to make myspace playslists so I can listen continually without calling up that window and clicking all the darn time).

Anyway, here’s a few pics. This is me with Cathy Falkner, filmmaker David Vaisbord and Sheril Gelmon. Man, his hair is getting fabulous, like some movie star in a cartoon. Notice I took one more kick at the “I fuck the man” / Monkey Warfare t-shirt can.

Alright, moving along, I’m tiring of the blog life, let’s get this over with! Let’s show you just how much FUN this party was. FUN FUN FUN!

This is Suzanne Ward, who assisted with video setup at the opening and closing VIFF galas. She is clearly having too much fun!

That machine was making enough smoke to scare people away. I wish i had got video of the wafting dance that Suzanne and i had to do to spread the smoke around… it was hilarious to us at least. We almost fell over, from the combo of the actual tricky wafting dance itself, with our laughter, plus the free booze.

Alright, it was a great party, the Rocky Mountaineer is a great space (it’s a big cavernous room but there are a few surprising nook and crannies which make a party interesting). I’m glad the VIFF is over, simply so I can get some rest, although I only saw 5 films (and I think two of them were Monkey Warfare, since I was doing Q & A). Dang, it’s hard to watch media while you’re too busy making it.

Le Petit Lieutenant was my favourite film this year. It’s a classic policier, with good character drama, an interesting murder investigation, and procedural shenanigans. I liked it when the rookie cop in homicide walked down to the narcotics office and found them playing with seized AK-47′s, drinking and taking pictures. Jalil Lespert is a new cop, fresh from the provinces, excited to hit the Paris streets, but leaving behind a hot, loving wife who wants to keep her old job instead of following his.

Nathalie Baye is absolutely amazing as the ex-alcoholic commanding officer. Her performance is very subtle, without the cigar-chomping that American cop bosses need to engage in. She takes command of crime scenes simply by her strong presence, and she has a relationship sub-plot that feels very real and intense. Lespert is good in his modern, charming French way, not like a gimmicky Jean-Paul Belmondo cool but smoother and more earnest. I really like his choices; the cocky, drunken bar scene is particularly good in relation to his more serious moments. He’s a versatile dude.

There’s also some politics – the mystery evolves among homeless immigrants, there’s a bar (!) in the police station that cranks up the alcohol issues, and one of Lespert’s co-workers is often singled out for being Muslim (France has like a million muslims). As I’m writing this it sounds maybe like art-film formulaism but it really was a lovely flick. It’s all in the mise-en-scene, the chemistry between the performers, and the shooting / editing choices, all made with an understated realism and style that really made me happy after seeing, for instance, Lenz, the Swiss / German drama which played too heavily on the hand-held-camera / improv / documentary thing, i.e. creative gambling, rather than sticking to a clear vision.