Watch Our New Animated Film: The Mountain of SGaana

Every once in a while, a film comes along that sweeps you off your feet. The Mountain of SGaana is that film.

Magical and lyrical, this animated short tells the story of a man swallowed by a killer whale (SGaana, in the Haida language) and his lover’s attempts to rescue him. We, as an audience, hear the tale as it’s being told to a young fisherman. It’s an intricate story filled with beauty and symbolism; the incredible thing is, there’s not one word of dialogue.

The film opens with a young fisherman glued to the screen of his phone while out at sea. He fails to notice anything going on around him. It takes a mouse dressed in traditional Haida dress tapping on a tea cup to get his attention. The mouse then spins a yarn, literally, about the young man, his lover, and their voyage to the Mountain of SGaana. He knits each scene into a long blanket, which our young fisherman interprets without issue. Perhaps due to his proficiency with emojis.

Inspired by a traditional Haida fable, this film has everything. Action, adventure, romance, and a strong female lead. What else could you ask for? It seamlessly blends traditional animation with formal elements of Haida art and music. The music alone is simply amazing – spare, haunting, and incredibly evocative.

The Mountain of SGaana is filmmaker Christopher Auchter’s first film, which makes it all the more impressive. It was an official selection at festivals across the country over the past year and won the award for Best Animated Film or Series (YA 6 – 12) at the 2017 Ottawa International Animation Festival.

It’s a beautiful film. I cannot say enough good things about it. Enjoy.

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How People Got Fire

The Mountain of SGaana may have been Auchter’s directorial debut, but it’s not the first time he’s worked with us. Back in 2008, he did the animation on the film How People Got Fire, a film about a village grandmother who tells the tale of how Crow brought fire to their people.

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Youper: AI Therapy

Youper is your emotional health assistant.

Mental health professionals and patients who have benefited from therapy or psychiatry probably do not like to hear that the entire field could one day be replaced, as every field is threatened to be, by artificial intelligence.Of course, the probability of that occurring anytime soon is unlikely. But Youper, an “AI Therapist” you can keep in your pocket, is the first step in that direction. Despite the tech dystopian vibes that an AI therapist conjures, Youper is actually an interesting, useful technological tool for people who want to keep track of their mental well-being. It essentially is a robotic therapist, having quick conversations with users about their emotional health.

Youper has a variety of useful features, such as the ability to track and improve your mood with quantifiable data, the option to “calm down with mindfulness sessions,” and to set and reach goals for your own emotional health. Like the most effective forms of therapy, Youper is based in science, constantly updating itself in order to adhere with the industry’s best practices. The app can help make personalized treatments for people suffering from depression and anxiety, using the collection of anonymous in order to refine and tailor results. The AI is always learning from the data people input into the app, so it should only improve with time. For now, if you want to have a conversation with a robot about your mental health, with the goal of making tangible improvements in your overall mood, Youper is worth a look.

Youper: AI Therapy posted first on http://film-streamingsweb.blogspot.com

SpotAngels: Free Community-Based Parking App

SpotAngels helps you find parking spots.

Avoid Parking Tickets

SpotAngels is one of the simplest apps that also has incredibly useful features. There’s no fancy homepage, no complicated explanation about the product, and no unnecessary information whatsoever. There’s simply a map of a city, and a comprehensive list of parking spots available in whichever location you select. According to the site’s About page, the company has offices in both San Francisco and Casablanca. It’s goal is to “fix parking” worldwide, by showing you all your options, saving your parking location, and sending you reminders in order to ensure that you won’t receive a ticket. If you live in a congested city like San Francisco, New York, or Los Angeles, the site can be a huge help.

All The Parking Info You Need

SpotAngels‘ team is transparent about their business model, claiming they “make money by licensing [their] parking maps to car companies.” The app is currently free, and, according to the founders, “always will be.” The site lets you enter the city in which you need parking, as well as the dates and times that your car will be left alone. The map then displays several different options, including parking garages and meters, each with the amount of money that parking would cost for the amount of time desired. There’s tons of additional useful information on SpotAngels, such as street cleaning days and other parking restrictions by date and time. Parking can be a miserable experience, but SpotAngels at least makes things a little easier.

SpotAngels: Free Community-Based Parking App posted first on http://film-streamingsweb.blogspot.com

Explore the World of Martial Arts

I would bet that just about everybody reading this has done, or knows someone who’s done, some form of martial arts. People come to it for a variety of reasons, but it’s a practice that has become so commonplace that martial arts schools are ubiquitous across the country.

This wasn’t always the case.

It’s fascinating, through the progression of these films, to see how martial arts have become so engrained in our society. It went from being under the radar to one of the most popular activities for kids. I know this because my own kids have gone through Taekwando and Kung Fu.

So if you’ve ever wondered what Kung Fu really means, or how hard it is to train to be a black belt, or maybe you just enjoy watching the grace and poetry of such a disciplined art, sit down and enjoy these 5 films.

Judo – Jinks

Filmed in 1954 Hull, Quebec, this short doc – part of the On the Spot series – takes a quick dive into the history behind Judo, one of the more popular martial arts. Unlike Judoka (see below), it’s full of white faces. Grit your teeth through the first minute. Trust me.

The doc takes us inside a Judo Club, where we watch a class in action while host Fed Davis interviews the instructor, Bernard Gauthier. Turns out Judo means the way of gentleness. You’d never guess it from watching these guys. But the interesting thing is that they’re trained to protect each other while sparring to avoid injury. They throw onto the back, not the neck. The whole thing is pretty impressive.

And wait until you see these guys going from downward dog into cobra, on their fingertips.

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Judoka

Honestly? I was exhausted by this film before the credits even came up. Look closely, people. They’re running. Outside. WITHOUT SHOES.

This film amazed me on so many levels. First of all, it’s beautifully shot so it’s a joy to watch. It’s about Doug Rogers, a young Canadian athlete who excelled in Judo at a time when only a handful of westerners were giving the Japanese a run for their money in the sport.

Shot in 1965, it shows Rogers going through intensive training (see above: WITHOUT SHOES) while also showing his life in Japan. It’s quite different than it would’ve been in Canada. His mother wanted him to play piano, while his father expected him to be a professional in a suit. Well, he did end up a professional – competing at the Tokyo Olympics and the Pan-American games.

Despite Judo being a combative sport, this is an incredibly poetic film.

oehttps://www.nfb.ca/film/judoka/

Spirit of the Kata

I loved this movie. I’ve been working with the Board for 10 years and I’d never seen this before and wow! What a treat it was.

Filmed in 1985, this short doc (only 27 minutes!) introduces us to 5 women, all of whom are black belts in Karate. Each woman tells us what they brought to the table, and what they’ve gained from practicing Karate.

I tend to think that people come to martial arts with some spiritual or philosophical consideration. These women seem to be on the same page. They speak of discipline and self-confidence, and throw out lines like, “Black belt isn’t the end. Black belt is where you start your learning.” It reminded me of the instructor in Judoka, who said, “If you’re training 3 hours a day and winning championships, you should be training 6 hours a day.”

Discovering that you can achieve, and in fact surpass, your goals is a life-changing realization. These women have taken the lessons they learned in the dojo onto the street and into the boardroom, facing down male peers with confidence. As one woman put it, Karate changed her position from reactive to in control.

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Legend of a Warrior

If we’re going to get technical, the term Kung Fu refers to the learning of anything that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. Not necessarily martial arts. In fact, it’s only recently that the Chinese have used the term in relation to martial arts inside the community.

You’d think that anyone who practices Kung Fu would have these qualities, and that they’d be indicative of overall character. But in fact, this film demonstrates that they’re not. At least, not when it comes to family relationships.

In this feature documentary, mixed-race filmmaker Corey Lee leaves behind his own family to spend time with his estranged Chinese father, renowned martial arts champion, Frank Lee. Apparently, despite being a Grand Master of White Crane Kung Fu, Frank did not have the patience, energy, or time to raise his son. But now that Corey has his own sons, he’s recognizing the value of familial bonds.

Attempting to bridge the gap and encourage his own kids to hold on to their ¼ Chinese heritage, Corey decides to meet his father on his own grounds. He heads to his gym in Edmonton so that Lee Senior can train him and have him compete with his own proteges. There’s a lot to unpack here, but while you’re doing it, you get to watch some excellent Kung Fu.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2JnEHUb

Kung Fu Elliot

If you’re looking for something a little more… out of the box?.. check out this feature-length doc that follows 2 years in the life of Elliot “White Lightning” Scott. His goal? To become Canada’s first martial arts action hero with his very own low-budget Karate flick.

It’s one of those truth-is-stranger-than-fiction deals, as we meet Scott’s partner, Linda, all of his wacky friends and family. Everyone’s rooting for him, and while it’s really funny to watch, it’s also a pretty deep look at the lies we tell ourselves.

The film is not available for free streaming, but it’s only a few bucks to rent. It’s definitely different.

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The Masters Series: Michèle Cournoyer

When you think of the word “Masters” and all it implies, and you tend to think of someone older, someone from the past. That’s not the way I think. This series was created to shine a spotlight on the filmmakers who have been influential, and are renowned for their work. Besides, I didn’t call it The Old Masters Series.

This week, we’re looking at animator Michèle Cournoyer, who first came to the NFB as part of an emerging filmmaker program in 1992. She remembers those days fondly, having worked side-by-side with Jacques Drouin, Co Hoedeman, and other artists of that caliber. It was an exciting time to be at the Board, and Cournoyer flourished.

Twenty-five years later, and she’s being featured as a Master. Her work brings something unique, something raw and authentic, to the table. The animation world is a better place for it.

Making Movie History: Michèle Cournoyer

Before diving into her collection of films, take 6 minutes to learn about Michèle Cournoyer, the filmmaker. In this interview, she talks about her early days at the NFB, what it’s like to learn from the masters, and how her animation style evolved.

If you haven’t seen the entire series, Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts , you should check it out. It’s a film lover’s dream.

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A Feather Tale

This was Cournoyer’s first film with the Board and was made as part of an emerging filmmaker program. Even though it’s done using rotoscoping, it still gives a good indication of both her future style, and the subject matter that will dominate her work. It’s a strong film, but it’s heavy – it looks at the repercussions on both sides when a woman succumbs to her lover’s demeaning fantasies.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2mOaZyw

The Hat

The first time I tried to watch this film my daughter was only nine months old. Maybe a minute into it, I had to turn it off. I sat at my desk, trying to catch my breath and realized how powerful it was, to have had such an effect on me. It was the first one of Michèle Cournoyer’s films that I’d seen, and it introduced me to her signature style.

Watching it never got easier, but it’s an incredible piece of work. Not for the faint-hearted.

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Accordion

Up next is this film, which explores the relationship between love and technology. Or sex and technology. Or all three. It’s a definite statement on relationships in general. It also revisits the themes of women, sexuality, and some very demeaning situations. There’s no denying by this point that Michèle Cournoyer has made her mark and established herself as one of the great animators at the NFB.

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Robes of War

This film, made almost ten years after The Hat, shows how Cournoyer’s work remains consistent and true, but can still evolve. The film looks at the impact of war on women, their bodies, and on their families. Cournoyer brings a feminist eye to the subject, looking at war through a whole new light. The story, as always, is told through a series of fluid drawings, using a metamorphosis technique to tie the elements together.

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Animation Techniques: Pinscreen

If animation, by its very nature, is defined as a painstaking process, how on earth are we to describe the pinscreen animation technique?

Created by husband-and-wife team Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker, the pinscreen is a board with 240,000 holes, each of which has a retractable pin that goes through it. By lighting the board at an angle, the pins project shadows in tones from black to white, depending on how deep into the board the pin is placed.

If you’re following along, you’ll realize by now that images are created through the placement of the pins. Each pin is pushed in using a special tool, in order to create an embossed picture. A photo is taken of the board, and then the design is modified before another photo is taken. One second of animation is comprised of 24 photos.

Needless to say, not every animator who came through our doors made a film with the pinscreen, but there are two  who did: Jacques Drouin and Michèle Lemieux. For three decades, Drouin was the only one using the pinscreen. After his retirement, Michèle Lemieux took up the mantle. It’s their work that we’re sharing to demonstrate the incredible Alexeieff-Parker Pinscreen.

Pinscreen

In 1973, Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker gave a workshop at the NFB on the pinscreen technique they invented together. Luckily, Norman McLaren filmed that workshop, and it serves today as a great historical document that sheds light on this mysterious tool.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2LKt3nL

Mindscape

When you understand how this film was created, the first 15 seconds are enough to blow your mind. And that’s only 360 of the 10,800 designs required to create this 7-minute film. Mind-boggling. The film itself is pretty meta – about a man who wanders into his own painting and has a look around. You may have seen the film before, but watch it again, knowing now what you didn’t know then.

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Imprints

Once again, Jacques Drouin sits down with the pinscreen to create another mini-masterpiece. This time, he takes his experimentation further, playing with colour through the clever use of lighting, and turning the screen around after each composition, so that we can see what the other side looks like. It’s almost reminiscent of those nail boards, where you can make an impression of your hand.

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Here and the Great Elsewhere

Given how intricate a process pinscreen animation is, it’s fitting that Michèle Lemieux would tell a philosophical tale about the particles that make up the universe. It’s a semi-abstract film, told in 4 parts, that explore the thoughts of one character. It’s unbelievable to watch.

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Ella: The Human Kindness App

Ella helps you discover the charities and causes that speak to you.

Making Charity More Transparent

There are tons of charities—both with strong online presences and without—that purport to do good for the world. Simply due to the vast amount of charities in the world, it can be difficult for people to find organizations that support the causes about which they’re most passionate. Because charity websites inevitably only talk about the good things they do for the world, it can be similarly difficult for people to find organizations which they can trust with their donated time or money. Ella aims to solve all of those issues. The site’s goal is to make charity more transparent, by highlighting charities that support various causes and reporting statistics and ratings of those organizations.

Dive In And Learn

Ella displays the publicly available financial information of the charities listed on its site, including income and expenditure over several years’ time. It’s a wonderfully useful tool for determining whether you’re going to be putting your money to good use before making the decision to donate. The site also describes several of the most common problems that charities around the world have been formed to solve. Each issue’s page contains a description of the problem, as well as the solutions that have been attempted. You can then browse the various charities contributing to that particular cause, and, again, view their ratings and financial history. There aren’t quite enough ratings yet, but for those interested in donating or contributing to charities, or just keeping track of what’s going on in the charity world, Ella is an incredibly useful tool.

Ella: The Human Kindness App posted first on http://film-streamingsweb.blogspot.com

Wilson FM: A Podcast Magazine

Wilson FM is a podcast magazine.

Human Recommendations

Since the explosion in popularity of podcasts a decade or so ago, many apps have tried to improve the listening and discovery experience. None of them, aside from maybe Laughable for its comedy-specific focus and Anchor for its inventiveness, have usurped the regular iPhone podcast app. Wilson.fm, however, has achieved something no other app has even come close to accomplishing: approaching podcasts in a completely original, entirely human manner. Wilson’s selling point is as follows: “No onboarding,” “No registration,” and “No algorithms.” The company describes itself as a “podcast magazine,” offering an editorial experience rather than an engineer-produced, algorithmic one.

An Editorial Experience

Unsurprisingly, the podcasts available to stream on Wilson are much different than what avid podcasters have come to expect from most new apps. The app contains several playlists of audio, each centered around certain themes. The latest, for instance, compiled and written about by Ben Pieratt, is called “Mind Breaks.” It contains an “Intro to Zen” by Alan Watts, a roughly 30 minute speech about Eastern religion. It then goes deeper into the subject with podcasts like Buddhist Geeks, even featuring a mainstream podcast like Paul Stamet’s guest spot on The Joe Rogan Experience. Each playlist on Wilson is tailored in a similarly thoughtful manner. Wilson doesn’t prioritize newer episodes over older ones, but simply better content over all.

Wilson FM: A Podcast Magazine posted first on http://film-streamingsweb.blogspot.com

All in the Family: 5 Films on Family Dynamics

Family relationships are some of the most complex and difficult relationships we’ll navigate in our lives. It only makes sense – there is so much more at stake when it comes to family dynamics. You can’t just cut ties with someone. Blood is blood. And even if you do just walk away, that affects you, too.

Some of us come from close families, some of us don’t. Some of us grow up never knowing who our family is. But the one thing we all have in common is that our experience with family shapes who we are to a large degree.

In looking over the films included in this post, I have to say it’s a great selection of films. They each touch on this topic in a different way, and each film is highly enjoyable in its own unique way. Enjoy.

Unveiled: The Mother Daughter Relationship

Sometimes, I think of a topic I want to write about and then go and find the films that fit the theme. Other times, I watch a film and think, I must write about this movie. This was an “other time.”

Unveiled is a feature documentary that has the balls to take a close look at three sets of mother/daughter relationships. These are relationships that are already complex and emotionally-loaded, so just imagine what happens when you throw in a wedding. That’s right, it’s about three sets of mothers and daughters preparing for the big day.

It is bold. It is funny. It is cringe-inducing. There were scenes I had to watch from behind my hand, fingers spread horror-movie style because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing unfold.

And then I picked up the phone, called my mother, and told her I loved her.

You want to talk about family dynamics? Let’s start right here.

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Let the Daylight into the Swamp

This is a fascinating film about family dynamics and well worth watching, despite the unfortunate title. It’s about the filmmaker’s search for answers about his grandparents, who separated in the early 1900s and relinquished custody of their children. As in, the filmmaker’s father and his siblings.

The film is labeled as experimental, and it is in form, but it still has a strong, clear narrative. It’s in no way abstract. Using both fiction and documentary, Jeffrey St. Jules tries to piece together his family’s history.

It was interesting to me how affected St. Jules is by events in his grandparents’ past. Affected to the degree that he made a film about it and interviewed others about what it was like to give up their children. I know so little about my grandparents, all of whom are long-deceased. Yet here’s a man whose grandparents’ past is a profound part of who he is.

I loved this film. When looking for titles to round out this post, I came upon this one and instantly remembered how moved I was the first time I’d seen it. When I watched it again, it didn’t disappoint. Highly recommend.

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Stories We Tell

I have written about this film before, and it’s no secret that I think it’s an absolute masterpiece. Sarah Polley created such powerful, engaging story world that it was easy to get lost in it. It was so beautifully constructed that the moment it was over, I wanted to start again from the beginning. The only comparison that comes readily to mind is John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. You finish that book and you go, “Holy cow.” Then you turn back to page one and start again.

Once again, this is a film about trying to uncover hidden truths from the past. Polley goes on a quest to learn more about her mother and her family history. Throughout the process, we meet all the members of her family, as well as close friends and even strangers. We get to know them and hear their stories.

If you still haven’t seen this film, watch it now. It’s like a masterclass in family dynamics.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2Gx69OH

Canada Vignette: Stunt Family

This seems like a good place to lighten the mood a little and throw in this 3-minute short about a family of stunt drivers.

The Fourniers are a French-Canadian family of 12 who all work in the film and television industry as stunt people. By accident. They were discovered by filmmaker Gilles Carle while engaging in one of their ritual smash ‘em up derbies and the rest is history.

A family of stunt drivers. Think about it. There’s got to be real trust between siblings and parents to get into a car knowing the person behind the wheel is about to intentionally crash it. But this film is worth seeing even if we put the family dynamics aspect aside, just to watch the Father Fournier crash his car… with a cigarette dangling from his lip.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2O6WJxj

Nobody Waved Goodbye

This classic from 1967 tells the story of a suburban kid who rebelled against his parents, and all their middle-class conventions. First intended as a short documentary on juvenile delinquents, filmmaker Don Owen decided to up the ante and shoot it as a feature film.

The film was unscripted and completely improvised, and turned out to be a huge success, winning over audiences and critics in the US, though it took a long time for Canadian audiences to warm to the film. Not bad for something that was shot in three weeks.

Rather than exploring family dynamics, this film is more about the lack of them; what happens when someone feels isolated and apart. Young Peter comes from a typical, middle-class family with two parents and a sister. He acknowledges that they have all they need and are comfortable, but he’s not comfortable. His urge to rebel supersedes everything else, denying him the family relationships that are meant to support him.

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The Incredible Journey of Hedgehog’s Home

Kapwing: Creativity Made Easy

Kapwing lets anyone create and edit videos online.

Make Memes

It has always been easy—too easy, perhaps—for people to create and share GIFs or memes online. As the “artform,” if it can be called that, has evolved, however, it requires some video editing skills in order to create the types of sharable content of which social media users around the world are so fond. Kapwing, an online video editing platform, aims to simplify the process. It’s an extremely rudimentary video editor, and can’t accomplish the tasks that a program like Final Cut, iMovie, or Adobe Premiere, but it offers the tools that the most casual users will need in order to create memes or other short bits of sharable online content.

Quickly Create And Share Unique Videos

Kapwing has several tools displayed on its homepage, including “Meme Maker,” “Add Text To Video,” “Loop Video,” “Reverse Video,” and “Video Montage Maker.” You can even add subtitles to a video. After clicking one of the tools, Kapwing asks you to upload a video or paste a link to the video you want to use. It then displays a relatively intuitive video editor (depending on the tool selected), in which you can accomplish whatever it is you set out to do before downloading and sharing the video across your social media platforms. It’s incredibly simple to understand, and fills a void that’s long been missing in the online video creation market. If you want to make a short, fun video without learning how to master a complex editing software, Kapwing is the best choice for you.

Kapwing: Creativity Made Easy posted first on http://film-streamingsweb.blogspot.com