Friday, February 28, 2014

Video live-action animated short film "Play" "BRINCAR" directed by community Elders and Youth of Guimarães Portugal


Watch"Play" "BRINCAR" an 8 minute film created by two distinct generations (young and old) to share their vision on the act of playing, and how the act of playing intersects present and past. A reflection on how toys have transformed over time, and what importance play and toys have in the construction of knowledge.

SINOPSE | Duas gerações distintas (jovens e idosos) que partilham a sua visão sobre o acto de brincar. Cruzam-se experiências presentes e passadas, reflecte-se sobre as transformações dos brinquedos ao longo do tempo e, qual a importância que estes têm na construção de conhecimento.

.Prémio Jovem Cineasta Português (-18 anos) - CINANIMA - Festival Internacional de Cinema de Animação, Espinho, Portugal, 2013.

. Menção Honrosa do Júri - KRAFKAFORMA - 2nd International short film festival "Short Form", Milanovac, Sérvia, 2013

. Prémio Yellow Flag - prémio contribuição à não violência - FRFF - 6º Four River Film Festival, Karlovac, Croácia, 2013

. 3º Festival Internacional Pequeno Cineasta, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2013. FRFF - 6th Four River Film Festival, Karlovac, Croácia, 2013

. ANIMA MUNDI - 21º Festival Internacional de Animação do Brasil, seleccionado no programa FUTURO ANIMADOR/FUTURE ANIMATOR, Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo, 2013


. VAFI - 4th International Children and Youth Animation Film Festival Varaždin, Croácia, 2013

. BANG AWARDS - Concurso Internacional de Animação, Portugal/Brasil, 2013

. CLAP - Festival de Cinema de Carnide, Lisboa, Portugal, 2013


Workshop Animation Cinema | Oficina de Cinema de Animação Fotograma 24
Workshop coordinated by Rodolfo Pimenta and Joana Torgal
Support from Guimarães 2012 - European Capital of Culture
Promotion from Saco Azul Association - ON.OFF - Urban Criativity Laboratory

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Video animated short "Separated" directed by Mark Borgions, sung by Stan Lee Cole


Watch the animated 3 minute short music-video "Separated", a short animated music video about love, giving and receiving loving makes us whole. Sung, written, arranged, produced, recorded and mixed by Stan Lee Cole. "Separated" a film directed by Mark Borgions

Winner "Best 2D Film" Animayo 2013
Winner "Critics Choice Award" Blue Plum Animation Festival 2013



Winner “Audience Award” Anima Multi 2013
Winner "Best Music Video" Portland Film Festival 2013
Winner "Best Music Video" Glovebox Film Festival 2013
Winner "Best Music Video” Philadelphia Film and Animation Festival 2013


Official Selection Animation Block Party 2013
Official Selection SoDak Animation Festival 2013
Official Selection Roseville Animation Festival 2013
Official Selection Klik! Amsterdam Animation Festival 2013
Official Selection International Shortfilm Festival Leuven 2013
Shortlisted One Screen, One Show 2013
Official Selection Anima Brussels 2013

All image credits: Mark Borgions 

What we might imagine death feels like 
when a loved one separates from life, 
as we imagine life without them.

Additional vocals by Mira Cole

It's not the climb, it's the toll. 
It's not the fallen, it's the brave. 
It's not the sigh, but the crave.

You swore a vow, and now you break it. 
Separated. 

It's not what clouds, but what fades. 
It's not the spite, it's the hate. 
It's not our doom, it's our fate. 
It's not the catch, it's the bait. 

You swore a vow, and now you break it.
I'm down with love, but I now hate it. 
Separated.

It's the water, not the wave. 
It's the light, not the shade. 
It's the load, not the weight. 
It's moments, not the days. 

You swore a vow, and now you break it. 
I'm down with love, but I now hate it. 
Separated.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Video short film "southwind" ~ a zoomion cinematic journey thru Southeast Asia Directed by Dennis Stauffer



Watch the five minute short film "southwind", a stunningly beautiful cinematic journey thru Southeast Asia Directed, cinematography and editing by Dennis Stauffer a.k.a. zoomion

Music: original soundtrack of southwind was composed by Chris Cutting

Location Map: 
Following one direction ! Ride ! the wind.
Passing the equator. Reach the southern hemisphere.


Endless bus journeys, jungle trains, boats, ferrys, tuk-tuks, bicycles, mopeds and hikes. Freedom, chaotic cities, awesome food, friendly people, history, rich culture and new friends. Bangkok, Poipet, Siem Reap, Kampot, Kep, Shianoukville, Phonm Penh, Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands, Perhentian Islands, Kota Bharu, Denpasar, Ubud, Gianyar, Toya Bungkah, Mount Batur, Candidasa, Kuta, Jatiluwih, Dreamland, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, Darwin, Nightcliff, Jabiru, Nourlangie Rock, Jim Jim Falls, Twin Falls, Garanamarr, Banyuwangi, Ijen, Probolinggo, Cemoro Lawang, Mount Bromo, Surabaya, Yogjakarta, Borobodur, Jakarta and Singapore.










Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Video short documentary film "Puffins" by Sonja Phillips


Watch "Puffins" a 3 minute documentary short film about children, who help baby Puffin birds, find their way to the ocean, when they become disoriented confusing street lights bulbs for the orb-glow of the Moon.
Directed by Sonja Phillips


Saturday, February 15, 2014

Video short doc film "Reindeer" by Sonja Phillips (Relationship Between Souls of the Sámi Indigenous People and Reindeer)

Watch "Reindeer" (two minute documentary film) "Everything in Nature has a Soul", says a young Sámi herder. The relationship between the Souls of the Sámi indigenous people, and Reindeers, they live and work with, is explored in this short film by Sonja Phillips.


Friday, February 14, 2014

Video documentary film "Hi-Ho Mistahey!" "I Love You Very Much!" directed by Alanis Obomsawin ~ the story of Shannen’s Dream


Watch "Hi-Ho Mistahey!" "I Love You Very Much!"
In this feature-length 60 minute documentary, Alanis Obomsawin tells the story of Shannen’s Dream, a national campaign to provide equitable access to education in safe and suitable schools for First Nations indigenous children. Strong participation in this initiative eventually brings Shannen's Dream all the way to the United Nations in Geneva. The movement was named in honour of Shannen Koostachin, a young child peace activist from the Attawapiskat First Nation in Canada, and a nominee for the 2008 International Children's Peace Prize.


 Hi-Ho Mistahey! (which means “I love you very much” in Cree) is an inspiring look at Shannen’s Dream, a grassroots youth movement that calls for fairness in education for all, named after Shannen Koostachin, youth education advocate from the Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario, Canada. Shannen had a dream: safe and comfortable schools and culturally-based education for First Nations indigenous children and youth. Tragically, Shannen died in a car accident in 2010 at the age of 15, but her dream lives on in the tireless advocacy portrayed in the film. This movement of people's hearts has created many transformations including "Have A Heart Day"


Hi-Ho Mistahey! had its world premiere this past fall at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received an honourable mention for the People’s Choice Award for best documentary, and has been featured at festivals and screenings across Canada and around the world. Obomsawin originally set out to make Hi-Ho Mistahey! in 2011, but ended up releasing the film The People of Kattawapiskak River first, as the devastating housing crisis hit the community of Attawapiskat while the filmmaker was there.

Watch this "Shannen's Dream" 7 minute video created for educators, children and youth interested in learning more about Shannen's Dream for "safe and comfy" schools and quality education. It features six students, aged 8 to 11 years, speaking about the Shannen's Dream campaign, what they have learned, and how others can get involved.




About Alanis Obomsawin
Alanis Obomsawin is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker, she was born in New Hampshire in 1932. When she was six months old her family moved to the Odanak reserve near Sorel, Quebec. Théophile Panadis, her mother's cousin taught her the songs and stories of the Abenaki Nation. At age nine she was uprooted to Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Having grown up speaking only the Abenaki language, she had to learn French and, as the only aboriginal child at school, was taunted and beaten regularly. As a young woman she learned English and trained as a beautician before moving to Montreal, to become a folksinger and storyteller. Once she started to work with the National Film Board of Canada, she continued making films with a strong focus on social justice and aboriginal people. Her most acclaimed work was the 1993 documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, about the 1990 Oka crisis. In 2009 Obomsawin was selected to be honoured with a retrospective of her work and an outstanding achievement award from the Hot Docs documentary Toronto Film Festival. Her work has been honoured and shown in festivals around the world.

Other related post links with her films to watch:

Watch 1993 interview of filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin "Behind Mohawk Lines"
The filmmaker describes some harrowing moments in the making of her 1993 documentary of the Oka crisis. Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance: National Film Board of Canada.

Video Film: "Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance by Alanis Obomsawin - Kanehsatake, 270 ans de résistance"

Video: Documentary on Alanis Obomsawin, the activist

Video: "Telling Our Stories" by Alanis Obomsawin

Video documentary film "Hi-Ho Mistahey!" "I Love You Very Much!" directed by Alanis Obomsawin ~ the story of Shannen’s Dream

Video documentary film "Our Nationhood"

Video Documentary Film: "Is The Crown At War With Us?" by Alanis Obomsawin - "La Couronne Cherche-t-elle à Nous Faire La Guerre?"

Watch her various documentaries made with the National Film Board of Canada





Friday, February 7, 2014

Video short films of Andrés Amador: beach muralist, Playa Painting, esoteric fractal Patterns in Nature. Featuring the short film "Earthscapes" by Mike Kepka


Video "The City Exposed: Earthscapes" a profile of Andrés Amador

Video flyover of an Earthscape artwork in Point Reyes State Park California




Video "Patterns in Nature" Artist profile by Ovation TV

Video Andrés Amador documentary and interview by Canadian Discovery Channel




Artist's Image Credits, Copyrights and Website and google+ link

Artist's Statement
In the beach mural exploration (aka: playa paintings, beach art) I use a rake to etch designs onto the beach during the low tide. Raking exposes the wetter sand, causing a color difference between the raked and unraked sand.


For the geometric designs I use a rope as a compass. the rest is geometry in motion- and its perfection is a thing of beauty to participate in.


For the organic designs, the pattern in 'grown' using principles of growth. For them, perfection is a state of such complete integration that the entire artwork seems to 'exist' as its own entity.

The best unintended compliments I have received were from folks thinking the pattern was somehow naturally occurring.


The unanswerable question! Its fun. I get to be at the beach.

There is an esoteric fractal quality of being within the pattern that is being made- it feels to have relevance in other aspects of my life, of building a larger pattern from the inside, not fully knowing what is resulting. And I enjoy wowing people with the creations, of bringing wonder and beauty into the world.



I have never officially measured my pieces. But judging from the size of people in them, they can go up to 300' or larger (90,000 sqft.). Generally, I go as large as possible given tide and beach constraints. I usually give myself about 2 hours of working in the space of the low tide.



For me it is more about the process and less about the result. I can be a stickler for getting something the way I think I want it- which is more goal-focused. But ultimately, when it is finished, I let it go.

For me the energy and draw is around the act of creation. I know this because even on days when everything goes wrong and there's no way a 'finished' piece can result (rogue waves wash away a huge section prematurely, the sand has washed away leaving only pebbles, a parade of dog walkers shows up (yes all these have happened!))




I still appreciate the act of being at the beach doing the art. Then there's the aspect of impermanence that has been so valuable for me to have had the opportunity to experience in such a creative way. The only constant in this existence is impermanence.


In the end our lives are about the experiences we've had, not the things we have held on to. And in the face of certain erasure, in the face of our own personal, inevitable demise, the act of rallying forces on behalf of creation and beauty is a declaration of one' existences in the face of a seemingly indifferent ocean of reality. I really like that metaphor- it encourages and propels me." Artist's website

Most of Andrés Amador's work is in Northern California, Southern California's Channel Islands off the coast of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara and México.


He is an artist-for-hire world-wide for individual commissions, education teachings, team building exercises, special occasion event art creation (for example beach weddings), ceremonial and transformative workshops.

Art prints and postcards of his work are for sale.





Video Timelapse of a beach mural "Kelp III" by Andrés Amador


Video timelapse Playa Painting "Cells III" by Andrés Amador at Stinson Beach California

Video timelapse Playa Painting "Cells at Stinson Beach" by Andrés Amador at Stinson Beach California



Video timelaspse "Mandala- guided group Playa Painting" by Andrés Amador at Ocean Beach, San Francisco






Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Video animated short "Four" directed by Margherita Premuroso


Watch "Four" a tribute to nature and in particular to the passing of seasons that gives rhythm to all living beings lifetime and nourishes wishes and hope.


Director's Description: "Four is set in a forest that represents one of the places that is mostly influenced by the changing of colours and shapes, when moving from a season to another.


The happening of a new season is described as an awakening and is symbolically represented by the character Spring’s waking up. Spring is a kind of elf and personifies spring."


Direction, Character Design, Script, Storyboard and Compositing by Margherita Premuroso

Video Animatic and Concept Art




Winner 2011 1st Prize View Conference Turin
Selection 2012 View Conference Turin
Selection 2011 Mr Hyde Tube festival
Selection 2011 Rushes Soho Shorts
Selection 2011 Bristol Encounters International Film Festival
Selection 2011 Hyde Tube festival
Selection 2011 OneDotZero Festival
Selection 2011 Aesthetica Short Film

Another animated short short video: Paper Plane directed by Margherita Premuroso

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Video documentary trailer "#standwithme" by Stillmotion (storytelling with heart, powerful stories change the world)


Watch the trailer for the documentary film #standwithme. Filmmaker's description, "Feb 1st was coined "National Freedom Day" in 1865 when Lincoln signed the resolution to abolish slavery in the United States. Most Americans think of it as the day we put slavery behind us. #standwithme explores modern day child slavery through the eyes of Vivienne, a 9 year old, who decided to take a stand. This film has taken us from Vivienne's home in Fairfax, California to Namibia, Nepal, Ghana, and the Dominican Republic. An incredible journey that has brought us face to face with those enslaved, and taught us so much about perspective, gratitude, and the power in our craft."

Stillmotion Video: Storytelling with Heart

Winner of 4 Emmy’s, this is Stillmotion's first feature length documentary, 8 months in production, 8 years in the making, and countless hearts dreaming. #standwithme is told in their signature style of captivating visuals while always putting Story First.

Stillmotion Video - "When Less Gear is More. A Case Study in Namibia"




Filmmaker's Statement:
"It all started with a phone call. A one hour-long call with a man I’d never met and a story none of us will ever forget.

24 hours later, in a van packed with gear and too many crew members, we arrived in Northern California from Portland. We were exhausted but excited to hear more about this 9-year-old girl who had started a lemonade stand with the goal of freeing 500 children from the grips of slavery.

As amazing as Vivienne Harr’s story sounded, we couldn’t wrap our heads around the idea that children could actually be enslaved somewhere in the world today.

Wasn’t slavery abolished a long time ago?

Nine years ago, in a dorm room in Toronto, Canada, we started our journey as filmmakers with the single goal of telling stories that truly mattered.

We had always wanted to make a documentary that would make a difference, and in those first few moments with Vivienne and her family, something inside us screamed that this was going to be a defining moment.

After spending that day with Vivienne, still a bit unclear about how this would all come together, our entire Stillmotion team joined hands and began fulfilling a dream that began nearly a decade earlier.

As our first day with Vivienne came to a close, we realized that she’s so much more than a cute little girl in a ruffled, pink outfit. Although she could be playing with her little brother Turner at one moment, she could effortlessly transition into an in-depth discussion about child slavery in the next. Her compassion for children half way around the world was genuine and moving, and her understanding of the issue far exceeded ours.

With Vivienne as our inspiration, we learned about a world of exploitation and deception, but also one of hope and action.

Through our journey, we met so many extraordinary people who, like Viv, had devoted their lives to the eradication of an evil so many of us never even knew existed: Lisa Kristine, acclaimed humanitarian photographer, travels the world documenting the front lines of slavery to bring awareness to the issue. Paul Rice shows us how poverty is intimately tied to the issue of slavery and introduces us to the power we each have to cast votes with every dollar we spend when we shop. Maurice Middleberg, Executive Director of Free The Slaves, educates villages and communities around the world how they can protect themselves from the chains of forced labor.

But for us, talking about people who had been victimized wasn’t enough. We needed to talk WITH them.

And so, we continued on our journey. Many vaccinations and flights segments later, we found ourselves talking with currently enslaved children in Ghana, slaves who had been rescued in Nepal, farming communities with sustainable practices in the Dominican Republic, and the noble people of the Himba tribe in Namibia.

We came home changed forever.

We created this film because we believe that this story can really make an impact.

It’s a story that enlightens, yes, but it also inspires action. And even small actions can make a big difference when we come together.

As a team, we have devoted the last 8 months to bringing this story to life. Now it’s your turn to join us.

We are taking this film on the road, to 30 cities across North America, where our team will be at each and every premiere, in the hopes that you will become part of our journey.

We’re a small collection of curious, loud, trouble-making Souls who believe that powerful stories can change the world."

Videos about "The Making of" #standwithme


Click here for more information about Lisa Kristine's child and adult slavery photography and TED Talk