Author Archives: Heidi Mueller

World Poetry Celebrates Chris Belcourt!

Ariadne’s Notes: The World Poetry Cafe radio show, CFRO 100.5 FM on Feb. 13 at 1:10 pm PST was honoured to welcome the talented poet Chris Belcourt. He told us about his journey and the importance of new coping skills, his passion for healing and for justice. Chris seems to have a wonderful ability to give others support and encouragement. He also stressed the importance of having a strong support system when things get difficult.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW HERE!

A talented poet With A Passion for healing and fire for justice! lived through drug addiction and homelessness at 16 to tell his story on the radio!

ENIGMATIC EXISTENCE

aids became a potential crisis at sixteen, drugged himself by anger and bitterness until he became cold at nineteen.

friendships fell through the cracks in the floor

and his emptiness became his conscious

for weeks he drudged up the energy and for months resented his entity later on having lost himself completely

foundations for change set in motion turbulence of positive vibration

metamorphosis and maturation

beckoned the boy who lost his innocence

now he lives sunrise to sunset,

knowing he’s responsible for what’s left,

he lives precariously, forever wandering a

path he saw as abysmal and bleak.

Chris Belcourt (C) All rights reserved by the author.

World Poetry Celebrates Wolf Spirit Films!

Ariadne’s Notes! The World Poetry Cafe 100.5 FM at 1:30 pm PST, Feb. 13 celebrated the BC FILMMAKER GORDON LOVERIN WHO SELECTED TO REPRESENT CANADA IN PRESTIGIOUS BERLINALE FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM. We also celebrated his producing director, Pamela Jones for directing his moving film, the Blue Rose. Worldwide listeners also tuned in to hear this remarkable story about the films and the impact that Indigenous films are having. Gordon Loverin also gave an important history in the difficulties of First Nations people over many years. It was meaningful to me because of our family ties with the Yupik Nation in Alaska and the effects that the persecution has had on our family. It is so wonderful to see history being shared thanks to all the indigenous, courageous filmmakers.

Don’t miss the show here!

World Poetry Cafe Team Members: Ariadne Sawyer, host and producer, Victor Shartzman tech and co-host, Diego Bastinutti, co-host, and Sharon Rowe, our special volunteer whose Big Bessie stories are read on the radio every week.

“Breaking news: Vancouver, February 4th, 2020 — It’s not every day you get summoned by the Consul General of Germany, but that’s what happened to BC filmmaker Gordon Loverin. Now he is off to Berlinale, one of the biggest feature film festivals and markets in the world to represent Canada.

“It was surreal”, says Loverin. “We invited Dr. Klaus Schmidt, Consul General for Germany in Vancouver to the screening of the documentary I directed called, Beyond Human Power. Two days later we were in his office, a short time after that, I got the call that I was chosen as one of the twenty-five filmmakers from around the world, and the only Canadian in a delegation hosted by the prestigious Goethe Institute.” Loverin will have meetings set up with German filmmakers and production companies with the goal of sharing information about the film industry in Canada, and to help facilitate collaborations and co-productions.

“I’m excited because two of the projects I’ll be pitching are set in the Yukon,” says Loverin. “It’ll take time, but if we can get funding and roll, it’ll be a boon for the area.”

Loverin, who is from the Tlingit and Tahltan First Nations, has strong ties to the Yukon and was invited to screen two of his films at the Available Light Film Festival in Whitehorse this past weekend. Beyond Human Power, which is now screening on CBC Gem, is a documentary feature that centres on Canada’s anti-potlatch law, and features the Yukon’s Dakhká Khwáan Dancers and the Daghalhaan k’e dance group and features the Yukon’s Dakhká Khwáan Dancers and the Daghalhaan k’e dance group. Loverin’s short film The Blue Rose, directed by his producing partner, Pamela Jones, is about a young woman using boxing to overcome childhood trauma.

“We created Wolf Spirit Films to bridge cultures,” says Loverin. “This is a perfect example of how entertainment can bring people together.”

I also appreciated the kindness shown to the talented Afghan Filmmaker Rahmat Hardari who needed encouragement to start making his films again.

Wolf Spirit Films is going to The 70th annual Berlinale – Berlin International Film Festival which is scheduled to take place from February 20th to March 1st, 2020.

Source: Nicola Pender penderpr.com

For More Information on Wolf Spirit Films:
www.wolfspiritfilms.com

World Poetry Celebrates Michelle Muldoon!

Ariadne’s Notes: The World Poetry Cafe, CFRO 100.5 pm PST Jan 23, at 1:30 pm PST was honored to feature the award-winning filmmaker Michelle Muldoon! It was a wonderful interview, giving tips and insights on filmmaking and answering questions about her latest short film. When she was describing the making of her last film The Last Stand to Nowhere, I almost felt I was there. Also, her comments about creating western women characters and departing from the stay at home wife or the harlot typically cast in many Westerns. This radio show also included Raman Mander who could not reach us due to technical problems but included the beginning of our new program for the special heroes and promoters of shows on CFRO. Our super tech, Victor Schwartzman kindly agreed to talk about his own show, Soapbox Radio which airs on Wednesdays from 1-2 pm PST and features specially-abled hosts and guests sharing their stories and tips. Please check out his show! A new story from Sharon Rowe which will be in her next book and more poetry.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW RIGHT HERE!

Michelle Muldoon is a Vancouver based writer/director who marries her love for action films with a commitment to female-driven stories. She’s written and directed short films and music videos that have aired around the world, most recently in Zagreb and Almeria, in Spain. A former Board Member of Women in Film and Television Vancouver, Michelle focused her tenure on the Board to create and build the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Screenplay Competition. Her latest project was inspired by the Western films she grew up watching with her father.

It is a short proof of a concept film that re-imagines the Gunfight at the OK Corral as a power struggle between sisters, not brothers. Michelle Muldoon currently teaches the Introductory Screenwriting Workshop for Raindance Vancouver. Vancouver writer/director Michelle Muldoon’s film Last Stand to Nowhere which has been selected for this year’s Vancouver Short Film Festival and will be screening on January 25th at 4:30 PM. The film is an all-female re-imagining of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. It has traveled the world on the festival circuit winning countless awards and accolades, but this is its first screening at home in Vancouver. Michelle just returned from a festival in Almeria, Spain; the birthplace of the spaghetti western where the film received rave reviews. The film stars Chelah Horsdal, Julie Lynn Mortensen, Johannah Newmarch, Luvia Petersen, Sadie Silcock and a who’s who of amazing women.

Not only is the all-female cast unique, particularly for a western, but the film was also made primarily through crowd-funding. The premiere was on Saturday, January 25th at 4:30 PM, and was sold out! For more information: https://michellemuldoon.wordpress.com/

Here are her tips and more information for filmmakers in a letter to publicist, Nicole Pender and to host Ariadne Sawyer.

“Thank you for the wonderful experience on the radio.

Tips:

Be brave, take the leap.

— Taking risks is important for growth to happen, and for your project to be seen in a crowded content market.

Create or join a creative community.

— Film isn’t made in a bubble. Support and help from a like-minded community is important.

Work together with others.

— Very few people are great at everything. Bring each other’s best skills to each other’s projects.

Find your unique voice and follow it.

— If you follow trends then it will be over by the time you finish your film. Create something that resonates with you and it will resonate with others.

— Film is unlike any other artwork, you need people to see your vision and make it come to fruition with you and then you need a means to exhibit it. It isn’t an easy journey, but the collaborations make it rewarding.

I’m currently working on putting together the details for funding for a feature screenplay I’ve wanted to make for a number of years. It’s a murder/mystery that exposes the dark side of a family and the people that make up their circle. As with many of the projects I make, women are at the heart of it, and in Birthday Blues it’s three generations of women in a family. I’m also working on a pilot script for Last Stand to Nowhere. At every festival I hear the same comment, people want more. I hope that those voices will eventually reach higher circles.

Thank you again for spreading the word. The support is greatly appreciated!”

Warm Regards,

Michelle.”

Source: Nicola Pender.