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This is why I love Errol Morris.

It’s a three part essay written for the New York Times in which Errol Morris tries to figure out (through fact alone) the order in which two Robert Fenton photograhs were taken. The photographs in question are 150 years old, taken from the same angle a couple of hours apart during the Crimean War. The inspiration for this project came about after Morris read two sentences in Susan Sontag’s book Regarding the Pain of Others.

Not surprisingly many of the canonical images of early war photography turn out to have been staged, or to have had their subjects tampered with. After reaching the much shelled valley approaching Sebastopol in his horse-drawn darkroom, [Roger] Fenton made two exposures from the same tripod position: in the first version of the celebrated photo he was to call “The Valley of the Shadow of Death”(despite the title, it was not across this landscape, that the Light Brigade made its doomed charge), the cannonballs are thick on the ground to the left of the road, but before taking the second picture – the one that is always reproduced – he oversaw the scattering of the cannonballs on the road itself.

The photographs in question:

A quote from the essay:

It is insane, but I would like to make the claim that the meaning of photography is contained in these two images. By thinking about the Fenton photographs we are essentially thinking about some of the most vexing issues in photography — about posing, about the intentions of the photographer, about the nature of photographic evidence — about the relationship between photographs and reality.

It’s a fascinating read.

I did an interview with a Spanish journalist, Omar Ruiz-Diaz, who writes for the Spanish paper Diario El Popular. Here’s a link to download the full article. I’m going to try to get someone to translate it.

We had the second screening yesterday afternoon. It went just as well as the first night. The audience really seemed to like the overall spirit of the film. The question and answer period was really nice as well.

Someone who went to one of the screenings sent me this email, so I thought I would share it…

I wanted to let you know I saw your film Birthday Girl last night and it was truly a solid piece. A zany story that was tight, short, to the point, well- written AND entertaining! Crazy! Great job!

The week flew by but I had an amazing time.

We had the premiere last night. The screening was sold out.

It was surreal to see 250 people give their undivided attention to the film. It was such an incredible experience. The audience seemed to like the film. We got tons of laughs - even during scenes that have never gotten a laugh before. There’s another screening this afternoon so it will be interesting to see how it will go over with a different audience.

I was really impressed by the other films that screened last night. They were all well crafted, entertaining films. I was honoured to have Birthday Girl play alongside them.

I met Gonçalo Tocha yesterday - a very nice filmmaker from Portugal whose feature film Balaou has its international premiere at VIFF. Balaou took home Best Portuguese Film and Best Cinematography in a Portuguese film at Indielisboa this past April. The photo above is the promo material he gave me for his film. Probably the most unique promo material I have seen so far. I hope I get a chance to see the film before I take off.

Got a chance to see Hank and Mike this afternoon. It’s a very funny film about two easter bunnies who get fired and try to figure out what to do with their lives. The two main actors have been playing these characters for over ten years, they then decided to make a short film based on the characters - so the feature was the next logical step. I hope it does well internationally - Canada doesn’t have enough home grown comedies - let alone good comedies to promote.

To top off a great day, Matt and I got tickets to see Marjan Satrapi’s Persepolis. (we only had to wait in line for an hour). It was as brilliant as the book. The film is honest, funny and insightful. The animation is unlike any film I’ve seen. So glad I got a chance to see it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just found out that the Cloud Seeding program (which Birthday Girl is playing in) is sold out. Very exciting news, except for those who wanted to come to the screening and didn’t buy tickets in advance. Gabe Gilker, who plays Lindsay in the film is flying out for the screening as well.

I met Thomas Michael, the actor/writer/producer of the Canadian film Hank and Mike which has its world premiere at VIFF tonight. The film has a great premise and looks really entertaining. I’ll see if I can still get some tickets.

Went to see Brian de Palma’s Redacted on Thursday night. Can’t say I was very impressed.

Friday I went to see Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly which is wonderful. Schnabel won best director at Cannes this year for the film. It was beautifully shot, well acted and the story is incredible. I highly recommend seeing it when it comes out in the theatres.

On our way.

We arrived 10am sharp. Someone from the festival picked us up at the airport and brought us straight to the hotel. The organizers of the festival are wonderful and incredibly friendly. We picked up our guest passes and program guide. I couldn’t resist a photo in front of the VIFF poster.

I was interviewed by BC Institute of Technology yesterday afternoon. The show will air Friday morning 9am (PST).
You can listen to it from their site: Evolution 107.9 FM

Also saw a British film that’s been getting some great reviews called London to Brighton. It was excellent. Very well written and thrilling from beginning to end. A great way to start off the festival.