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October 17, 2013

This week’s blog post is filled with musings on nostalgia for, appreciation of and the preservation of history – so grab a coffee and a fellow Film Studies student and spark a conversation.

Over the long weekend I travelled home to Windsor, Ontario to spend time with the family. The coolest thing I was able to do over the holiday was visit a historic film landmark, and it got me thinking about our talk with Larry Kardish last week – film preservation and archival is integral to the vitality of Film Studies. On the same note, where does the preservation of artifacts of exhibition history fit in?

Here in Ottawa we are so lucky to have places like the Mayfair Theatre, living and thriving tributes to the classic exhibition style of the early 1900s. The debate of big-screen vs. small-screen can be heard again and again anywhere cinephiles spend their time. We are constantly questioning our changing mediums (film vs. digital) and somewhere in those discussions we ultimately arrive at the question of the way we choose to exhibit them.

It’s also common to hear shouts of joy when an opportunity to watch anything as it was originally seen arises. For example last week in Malini Guha’s 3505 class we were able to watch a near pristine 16mm copy of The Lonely Villa. What is it that makes us feel the appreciation that we do? Nostalgia? The admiration that comes with knowing aspects of film history? Does the experience transport us back in time to the early 1900s?

What I was able to do over the weekend was attend a “walk-through” of The Olde Walkerville Theatre in Windsor and learn about its’ past and its near future plans. It has an interestingly similar history (though slightly less successful) to the old Imperial Theatre on Bank St., now Barrymore’s. The Olde Walkerville was built in 1920 and was a very popular film exhibition and vaudeville venue for years. At some point the theatre closed up and the long period of vacancy has been sprinkled with a few years as a bingo hall and a few years as a dance club.

But this past summer it was finally purchased after many empty years by the owners of the restaurant next door, who are planning to revive the entertainment venue as exactly that, a venue meant for exhibition. There is a LOT of work to be done, including plenty of restoration to the original building. Luckily not many major changes have been changed except for the levelling of the sloped floor which will remain empty so that seating can be arranged as needed (tables for some events, just chairs for others, etc.) There were also some drop ceilings put in over the reception area which could be easily removed to show the original ceilings, and a paint job will be a big help eventually.

The theatre is working on being recognized as a historical site, hoping to preserve as much of the original theatre’s atmosphere as possible. They have a wonderful team of volunteers and staff ready to roll up their sleeves and work hard (shameless plug – this includes wonderful theatre manager Angelica, my sister!)

So a couple things to reflect on here:

Remember that I’m always ready to take part in the conversation and would love to hear your thoughts on the matter! Twitter: allyoxenfree

Speaking of the living in the past, keep in mind it’s a great weekend for nostalgia with the Mayfair hosting their Home Movie Day at 3:30 PM on Saturday as well as Invisible Cinema (Lisgar @ Bank) taking part in Video Store Day 2013! Check them out and make it a film-filled weekend!

Until next time,

Alex

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October 3, mini update

The majority of the festival are independent productions and most filmmakers are in attendance! The events are easy to access and cost only $10 each or $75 for the weekend pass. Thursday, Friday and Saturday have screenings pairing a short film with a feature for a two hour block. Make sure you check it out!

www.oiff.ca

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October 1, 2013

Hello! And welcome back to the Carleton Film Studies blog!

This is my second post for the blog, and just to recap: my name is Alex Haggert, I’m an upper year student in Film Studies also learning French and Sign Language, and I drink a lot of tea / watch a lot of Netflix. That’s pretty much me in a nutshell. Oh, here’s a picture as well! If you ever see me around campus (I pretty much live in St. Pat’s building) and want to talk film, just say so!

One of us was sent to TAC – The Animation Conference, held this year at the Museum of Nature, which acts as a professional industry-specific addition to the festival, where people can network, pitch ideas to producers and executives, learn more about recent advancements in the business and enjoy getting to know their competition.

Myself and the third student ‘intern’ were assigned the role of Jury Coordinators – a wonderful upper-year student named Caitlin was given the Feature Films Jury, and I was given the Short Films Jury. The entire festival was going to be more stressful for the juries and the staff for two reasons: one of the highest film entry counts ever seen and selected from by the OIAF, and the closing ceremonies were moved up an entire day from the usual Sunday evening to the Saturday evening, meaning the selection of winning films had to be finalized by Saturday morning! This was of course due to the second last episode of Breaking Bad airing on Sunday evening. Just kidding! Or am I?

Since we didn’t have other responsibilities on Wednesday before 5 pm, Caitlin and I also got the opportunity to run a “Fast Track” networking and pitching session at TAC all day. This consisted of setting up stations where the executives and higher ups that had agreed to participate would sit and be approached by earnest animators and storytellers who were trying to get their ideas out there. Mostly our responsibilities were: ringing a bell every 9 minutes and making sure those eager creators got a move on so the next nine minute session could take place. It was a lot tougher than it sounds! In return, however, we had an incredible chance to watch a pitching session first hand and see a bit more of the business side of film.

Now, on to the role I played for the rest of the five days! The juries each consisted of three wonderful animators with varied tastes – which led to some interesting discussions about the prize winners… Our jobs as Jury Coordinators essentially consisted of taking these six out to breakfasts, lunches and dinners (and drinks and desserts!), calling cabs, giving walking instructions, setting meet-up times for the screenings and of course, attending said screenings with our juries. There wasn’t very much pre-festival work to be done, aside from setting up binders in which the jury could take notes at the screenings, so the real work was over the entirety of the festival.

Caitlin and I met our jury members for breakfast each day at the hotel, and planned the rest of the day. In the Short Films Competition, there were 5 separate screenings to attend over a 48 hours period, from Wednesday evening to Friday evening. This sounds daunting but it was nothing compared to the Feature Films Competition, which had 9 features to screen (meaning 1 film Wednesday, then 4 on both Thursday and Friday!). Then you add in deliberation time to compare notes and choose winners, as well as other interesting festival events, talks and meet & greets, and a wild party each night, and you’ve got a VERY packed weekend!

It was so rewarding to see the inner workings of a festival play out – how the competition is structured and how the jury works together to select the best of the best. Both juries were chalk full of insightful commentaries on the films they saw, both in their merits and downfalls. I had never before been exposed to that much animation and artistic talent all in one place. The size and structure of the OIAF makes the entire weekend feel like one big family laughing and watching films together.

I definitely think that this experience opened my eyes to the world of film festivals and I now realize just how important the festival atmosphere and programming can be to the world of Film Studies. If you like being a part of the discourse in your classes – if you enjoy seeing films and hearing or reading about the filmmakers who made that happen – if you find yourself dreaming up (or actually hosting) themed nights or weekend movie marathons and getting really excited about choosing the perfect films to screen, then thinking about a career in the realm of film festivals might be a great place to start!

If you have any questions about the festival or the practicum I completed, feel free to send ’em my way and I’ll do my best! Tweet me! https://twitter.com/allyoxenfree

Other great places to continue your “cineducation” or even get started thinking of careers in film studies:

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September 25, 2013

Welcome to the official blog for Carleton University’s Film Studies Program! This blog will be updated weekly and is intended for Film Studies students whether it’s a major, minor or simply an elective). I hope to write about various topics that are affecting the Film Studies community here at Carleton, within the Ottawa area or simply events that have affected ‘cinepheliacs’ worldwide.

To start with, I’d like to use this first short post to introduce myself and the Film Studies department. My name is Alex Haggert, I’m a student at Carleton majoring in Film Studies, with a minor in French. I also enjoy sign language, Netflix and my 7-8 daily cups of tea. I grew up in Windsor, Ontario until 17 years old when I picked up my life and thought that the capital would be a great place to study politics. I was dreadfully wrong – not about studying politics in the capital – but about myself, studying politics. Thankfully I took Introduction to Film as an elective and by the time the winter break came around, I had already changed my major.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of studying topics ranging from film technology to national cinemas (I’ve taken both Mexican and British) to genres of film (example: horror, musical and science fiction) to the act of spectatorship and the role of a filming location. Carleton’s Film Studies Department makes sure that there is a course for an extremely wide array of interests.

This year I was able to partake of a fourth-year practicum, which is a sort of placement/internship done locally that you can receive a class credit for here at Carleton. I’ve just completed my practicum with the 2013 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It was an incredible opportunity for me to get more involved with the local festival scene as well as meet filmmakers and artists from around the world.

Over five days the festival consisted of 9 feature films and 98 shorts, all various styles of animation. If you have never been to the festival before, it is extremely worthwhile and an eye-opening experience. A great way to see it on a student budget is to become a volunteer, which gives you access to all screenings and workshops!

In my next blog post I’ll be discussing how exactly a practicum works and telling you in much more detail all about the 2013 Animation Festival! Stay tuned! To keep up with me personally and to get updates about this blog and its posts, follow my twitter account: www.twitter.com/allyoxenfree

Things to watch for in the coming weeks:

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