Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a poet? “The Colouring Book”, a collection of poetry and prose exploration of race and identity, was self-published in February 2006. Now writers from the book are putting on the director’s hat and turning their prose and poetry into short videos. Find out about their creative journey as they embark on a one-week intensive digital storytelling workshop to shoot, direct, and edit stories that document their growth, struggles, and power as young adults of colour.
A message below from the multi-talented visionary and head Project Coordinator of the original Colouring Book, Gabrielle Martin. Check out the links to Gabe’s performance-based art work and her message below! Enjoy!
-Hedy
***
Hello friends! I have just graduated from Concordia’s contemporary dance program and I have compiled all my choreographic work from the last 3 years on you tube. If you are at all curious as to my work, please view it at the links below. I have included more indepth desciptions in the write ups posted with the videos on the you tube pages. Please also feel free to share observations, especially in terms of themes you see within the body of my work, or how you interpret the work in terms of concepts, etc. Or just check it out. Not suprisingly, I am most proud of my most recent work. Of special note is the 16mm film made by Ivan Rubio of my december 2008 choreography, ‘Axial and the Plane’. Thanks for being part of the network I would like to share my work with!
‘In Deluge We Quell’. Live Performance. April 2009. Choreography and production design: Gabrielle Martin. The vocabulary and supporting production elements revolve around the theme of the individual drive for progress in the immediate, and for liberation in the ultimate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfiG3SL38IM
The CB team of artists & our mentors brainstormed the following 6/7-word poetry at one of our late night workshop dinner breaks - it was fun - here it goes:
*black and white flashes of colour (by Indira Dutt)
*cupcakes dancing between two worlds translates happiness (by Catrina Longmuir)
*Sharing our energy in Quicktime (by Naomi Horii)
*Resonance draws rings around the world (by Rusty Beach)
*I’d elbow the waiter for you (by Nadia Chaney)
*Nobody else ever talks like this (by Hari Alluri)
*Y’all inspire me thank you (by Anisha Abdulla)
*Making art is very good medicine (by Marge Lam)
*Thank you for colouring my world (by Hedyeh Bozorgzadeh)
All in all, a looong but fun night at the Leo Awards on Fri May 8th. We missed Marge & Nadia who couldn’t be with us. We didn’t take the Leo Award home with us but it was great being recognized by the film community and festival as a community initiative project. It was fun dressin’ up for the ceremony at Hotel Westin Bayshore and partying some more after the show to Reggae music at Cassis Bistro.
I think we cheered for everyone nominated that night even though we didn’t know half the filmmakers. Nothin’ but love & support from table #11.
Enjoy the photos!
Hari, Naomi, & Rusty all dressed up
Anisha and Naomi in b/g, Indira & Hui-Ling on the right...lookin' colourful & beautiful
Check out the Shameless Magazine article that was published about our big turn-out Toronto screening in February. It includes an interview with our poet-turned-filmmaker, Indira Dutt, who organized the screening together with CB artist, Marge Lam.
Congratulations to all the talented artists of “The Colouring Book: Digital Stories by Artists of Colour” for receiving the prestigious Leo Awards nomination for best screenwriting in an Information and Lifestyle Series program category.
Here are the dates and location for the upcoming Leo Awards ceremony:
CELEBRATION AWARDS CEREMONY - Friday, May 8th, 2009
GALA AWARDS CEREMONY - Saturday, May 9th, 2009
Westin Bayshore Vancouver
I’d like to take this opportunity to send special thanks to our extended team of artists, friends and supporters, and mentors who helped to make this special community initiative project possible:
*Gabrielle Martin
*Emma Curtis
*Hejar Berenji
*Kathleen Jayme
*And of course our lovely talented NFB mentors: Lisa Nielsen, Catrina Longmuir, Elisa Chee, and Michael Hey
Congratulations to our Colouring Book artists, Hari Alluri and Nadia Chaney, for getting their short film projects greenlit to enter the next stage in filmmaking at The National Film Board.
Good luck to you both, Hari and Nadia! We can’t wait to see the films on the big screen!
Here are the great news details:
Approved for production: “Pasalubong (Gifts from the Journey)”, by Hari Alluri
Approved for further development: “A Taste of Life”, by Nadia Chaney
This past Thursday marked the Toronto premiere of The Colouring Book, Short Digital Stories by Artists of Colour. I’m pleased to say that the night was a great success, with a fantastic turn out and great participation from the audience! Special thanks to moderator, Ryerson University School of Journalism Professor Vinita Srivastava for guiding such a great discussion and to artists/panellists Marge Lam, Indira Dutt, Anisha Abdulla and, Hari Alluri for sharing your thoughts on what this whole experience has been for you.
The following video is just a snippet of the panel discussion but be sure to stay tuned for photos and more video coming soon!
CITIZENshift is cookin’ up an evening screening of shorts dealing with identity politics at the Vancouver Public Library’s Cinema Politica. This will include videos from “The Colouring Book: Digital Stories by Artists of Colour”. The event is set for early April 2009.
Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a poet? “The Colouring Book”, a collection of poetry and prose exploration of race and identity, was self-published in February 2006. Now writers from the book are putting on the director’s hat and turning their prose and poetry into short videos. Find out about their creative journey as they embark on a one-week intensive digital storytelling workshop to shoot, direct, and edit stories that document their growth, struggles, and power as young adults of colour.
descendant: son brother grandson cousin nephew friend kasama, love.
brown: pnoy desi luzvimindanero south asian pangasinan telugu southvan visitoronthisland.
migrant: strive support enjoy uplift learn getdown workplay. storyteller: write perform en/re/vision
because I love to, because it might ignite, because it heals.
Hedy is a graduate of the UBC Film Program, has a passion for storytelling and is thrilled to be coordinating The Colouring Book Digital Storytelling Workshop at the NFB.
Hui-Ling Lin is originally from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. She is very interested in the experiences of migration/immigration, and spatial issues related to race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. She is fascinated by alternative ways of story-telling and hopes to make films about incredible women who are currently invisible and deserve more recognition.
Marge Lam, born on unceded Coast Salish Territories- Vancouver, is an artist, freelance journalist and community worker. She is an emerging writer for Diaspora Dialogues and has also co-hosted for Stark Raven Radio and freelanced for CKLN and CBC Radio One. Marge is currently making home in Toronto.
Rusty Beach is a sometimes goof waiting for his life to light up. Other times, he just goes ahead and shines it up, whether with shoes, moons, tunes or cartoons.
