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A few years ago at the VIFF I took in a great German documentary called Höllentour (Hell On Wheels). It followed Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag during the incredible 2003 edition of the Tour de France. Both were amazing cyclists in their day, key members of former powerhouse T-Mobile, and Zabel is indisputably a legend. Upcoming on February 2nd is the Vancouver showing of Chasing Legends,a documentary that follows HTC- Columbia during the 2009 Tour. It will be interesting to compare the two films, as both feature the pressure of sprinters on the biggest stage in the world, and both expose a sporting event like no other. Young, cocky, and at the top of his game – Mark Cavendish could be the best sprinter ever. However, he still doesn’t have a green jersey, and his Directeur Sportif, none other than Aldag, is no doubt trying to groom him to follow in the footsteps of the only man to win the maillot vert six times: Zabel.
No matter what you think about cycling, cyclists, or the controversy that surrounds them, the sport is gruelling, the athletes incredible, and the biggest race – the Tour – is a spectacle that has no rival anywhere, at anytime.
I will be going to the sole Vancouver showing on February 2nd. If you are interested in attending you can find information here, or contact me. I encourage you to watch the trailer below, and see what some of the featured personalities have to remark. How do you think you would fare flying down some of the descents they show? How many times do you hear the word suffering?
It can be a wonderful thing when people go on adventures that involve both personal and professional passions. I am fortunate to have some close friends who pursue their passions with care, creativity, and enthusiasm. One of these, Loren McGinnis, has taken these qualities on his latest adventure. Loren is a premier story teller, and is currently pursuing that passion while documenting Alex Debogorski.
Debogorski is a famed trucker from the History Channel’s series Ice Road Truckers. He is currently traversing the United States promoting his new book, King of the Road, and personifying the expression “larger than life”. Loren is a part of the team documenting Debogorski’s experiences and encounters with American culture on the road. Debogorski appears genuine and gregarious, and he certainly brings a wealth of kindness and positivity from Canada’s North to the highways, truck-stops, towns, and cities of the United States. To follow how Loren is pursing his passion of storytelling, and the encounters of Debogorski you can check out http://alex-debogorski.blogspot.com.
I recently read the September 20TIME article about the forthcoming documentary Waiting For “Superman”. The trailer for this film about the United States education system is below. The trailer alone evokes a number of thoughts and emotions, but combine it with the article and the realization there is much more on all sides than the preview and the entire film could possibly show, and I go “hmmm….”
The 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival opens today and runs until October 15th. I’m a bit late on my film fest planning this year, but after reading dozens of film descriptions last night I’m beginning to look forward to some of the offerings in store. I suggest you check out the listings by visiting the VIFF website. Break away from cookie-cutter Hollywood fare and enjoy some funny, or philosophical, or sexy, or twisted, or compelling, or fresh piece of film. The VIFF has it all, especially lots of good documentaries.
If you’re interested in doing some film-festing together, drop me a line. It’s always good times to choose a film or two with someone else and hash it out a bit.
What are you doing on July 24th. Ridley Scott is asking the world population, including you and I, to film something from a day in their lives on July 24th, 2010. More information can be found on youtube here. Check out the videos below. I think I’ll mull this over for a bit and perhaps a post might come together in the near future. There’s something to be thought about and said here. Any reaction from you? …Any interest in grabbing a camera? …How about that Vampire Weekend? …Who wants to go to Sundance? …This is most definitely a hmmm…
Are you kidding me? They’ve gone and mashed a bunch of my favourite things into 1 minute and 32 seconds:
An iconic children’s story;
ground-breaking film techniques;
Spike Jonez;
Wake Up by Arcade Fire;
key themes I write about, and in life, written in big scrawly letters;
cool editing;
and just some general wildness and mayhem as we find ourselves.
I really like all of these things, I really like this trailer, and I really hope this movie is pretty much the cat’s pajamas. Be hopeful, be adventurous, conquer fear, watch this trailer, Wake Up, and be… WILD! I will go see this. I think you should too.
… and in a related story. The upcoming Vancouver International Film Festival runs from October 1st to 16th. I am still searching for a film fest buddy. If you’re a local reader let me know if you’re interested in attending anything. We can choose together, (website here) or you can trust my judgment. It’s what S. always did Film fest – good times.
A couple of nights ago I finally got to see a Pepe Danquart documentary that I’ve been trying to find for a few years. It was playing as a part of a limited special run at the VIFC, and it turned out to be well worth the wait. Heimspiel is amazingly well shot and edited. The on-ice action is captured in a unique quality that displays both the beauty and the speed of ice hockey. This film truly wins you over though with its examination of East vs. West in Early 21st century Berlin.
I will write more later, but just wanted to put a quick post out there, and say there is one more showing of this film. Check out the VIFC website for the details
“You must love Arrested Development”. It was kind of interesting to hear how often people would throw this comment my way in the past, back when I couldn’t really get into the show. Initially I thought it a bit of a poor take-off on one my favourite films of all time. Perhaps others saw this as well, and therefore often tried to engage me about the show. They ended up surprised that I really didn’t see what all the fuss was about during the little I watched. Then, I avoided watching more of it because there seemed to be this big assumption that I would “love” it. When it was picked up in syndication late at night I finally fell into watching a few episodes on my own terms, and admittedly laughed consistently (although maybe not as much as people felt I should have been ).The point? Well, with so many people thinking I’d be a big fan, I noticed that there are a lot of big fans of this show amongst friends. Thus, if they haven’t already heard, they’ll be excited to hear what Ron Howard has to say:
Autumn means it’s time to head to the film fest. If you are interested in catching some Vancouver International Film Festival flicks together please let me know (comment or email). If you are interested in catching some VIFF flicks without me, I’ll encourage that too. It’s a great festival and however you want to be a part of it, I say go for it. It begins Thursday the 25th, and runs until October 10. The selection of documentaries (a favourite genre of mine) has gotten better each and every year. VIFF also brings in a healthy dose of both French and Asian films which are usually great for a change of pace.
Check out the schedule, on the website, (usually I read the write up for each and every film – but not so much this year) and take in a film or two that interests you. You can also just let me know if you want to team up and I can just pick for both of us. I know ‘S’ would say this is what I always end up doing anyways through “facilitation”.
Film fest – good times.
).The point? Well, with so many people thinking I’d be a big fan, I noticed that there are a lot of big fans of this show amongst friends. Thus, if they haven’t already heard, they’ll be excited to hear what Ron Howard has to say:
