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[Fantasia 2022] More Than Just a Sneak Peak at José Luis Saturno’s La Melodía Torrencial

José Luis Saturno’s La Melodía Torrencial is more than just a fairy tale, and we got to interview this filmmaker about it’s deeper meaning.

José Luis Saturno Monsters and and Humans Shorts
July 23 at 9:00 PM at the Cinéma du Musée

In Fantasia’s 2022 list of animated shorts, not only did José Luis Saturno’s poster for La Melodía Torrencial catch my attention for its artistic design but also the trailer looked fabulous! The art design had a touch of Tim Burton’s design aesthetic which I adored, and I had to know more. I mentioned this film in my top animated picks list, and got a chance to see this short film ahead of its premiere.

This story about a rainmaker going by the name of Fluvio has a lot of layers tucked into its narrative. When a township sought him out to bring them rain to their arid community, what they get–some may say–was their just desserts. But there’s a lot more going on in Saturno’s latest work than meets the eye.

This filmmaker studied Film Animation at Concordia University in Montreal and started producing even before finishing his degree. He didn’t submit for film festivals until his third year in school, and instead of working for the big studios, he decided going independent was the way to go.

Thus, Enjambre Hexagonal was born. A few of their works can be found on YouTube, but to see them as they’re intended, on the big screen, is a must so the detail can be appreciated. He hires freelance artists as part of the staff to do this work, and the people on call include Yann Ben Alluch who does the storyboards and helps animate (“El mimo y la mariposa negra”). Robin Servant handles all the music and is the talent behind the sounds in La Melodía Torrencial.

He said, “I never felt compelled to work in the industry from the bottom in the hopes of one day being hired as a director. I simply wanted to make films as quickly as possible.”

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Four Years Later, Shirobako is Back with a Movie!

Having some prior knowledge of Shirobako the animated series is best before viewing the movie.

SHIROBAKO The Movie - Blu-ray/DVD :: Shout! Factory Shout! Factory
December 7th, 2021
Available to order on Amazon USA

Having some prior knowledge of Shirobako the animated series is best before viewing the movie. While there’s a brief reintroduction to get viewers up to speed on what has happened to the staff of Musashino Animation, life is not always going to be easy to those who busted their chops to get to where they are at. This anime studio is home to five best friends working in different departments.

Aoi Miyamori (Juri Kimura) is the leader of the pack. They are Ema Yasuhara (Haruka Yoshimura), Shizuka Sakaki (Haruka Chisuga), Misa Tōdō (Asami Takano), and Midori Imai (Hitomi Ohwada) and the drama that unfolds is mostly about them dealing with the everyday hustle and bustle of producing a weekly animated show. The strain that shows is when they’re finally off the clock and trying to have a regular life or question why they’re still at it. The series nicely spends the time to show the stress they face. And when they overcome those personal obstacles in their climb to the top, we have to appreciate everything this team accomplished.

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In Search for Sesame Street’s Fantastic History on VOD

Street Gang is a retrospective that brings fond memories of Sesame Street. It shaped the landscape of family entertainment and learning.

Coming to VOD on May 7
Pre-order on Amazon USA

Nearly everybody has watched the educational program Sesame Street, and it’s pretty much in everybody’s childhood for some length of time. It was a product of Joan Ganz Cooney and Carnegie Foundation vice president Lloyd Morrisett. Through many meetings with child educators and psychologists of the 70s, they had a solid idea on what to construct. Many talents worked behind the scenes–namely puppeteers Jim Henson, Caroll Spinney, and Frank Oz (to name a few) and important to this series success is writer/director Jon Stone. In front of the camera, the list is enormous.

Marilyn Agrelo‘s excellent documentary, Street Gang, is a fascinating look from this series humble beginnings to where it is now. The breadth of information compressed to 107 minutes is very comprehensive. If there’s anything missed, it’s only because it didn’t fit into the narrative about what made this show special to children and adults alike.

No show is without some controversy; maybe the play on a Beatles song was too much. At least it’s humorously addressed.

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The Deep Ones with Chad Ferrin on H.P. Lovecraft and One Filmmaker’s Vision…

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Coming to DVD, Digital, Video On Demand, and Redbox Kiosks on June 15

Chad Ferrin‘s The Deep Ones will soon get a limited theatrical release in the United States beginning April 23rd and for fans of H.P. Lovecraft, the themes this film dives into are faithful to the ideas this seminal author conceived long ago. But there are a lot more works which have can be seen in this film.

He grew up watching the classics–namely The Twilight Zone, Hitchcock Presents and The Outer Limits. and some of that style is visible in this b-film. But in order be able to make any film, he had to work hard to get where he’s at. Not only did it mean moving to Los Angeles, but also knowing the right people. Mike Leahy of Phantoms and Pulse fame gave him his break, and when the call came, he was ready! He started work as a production assistant in Back to Back with Michael Rooker and as also a body double.

“I had to have a smile and be wide-eyed every day,” acknowledged Ferrin. His hands on experience in various departments would help him understand how a film comes together, and by the time he was ready to produce his own material and direct, he knew how to manage everything.

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All-in Madonna & Secrets Behind the Set, an Interview

All-in Madonna is a character study, a drama, and de Lara said these locations, including where it was filmed is a significant element in establishing the tone of the film. Lim wanted to show off a diversity of what the city of Victoria represents. Film analysts can interpret this subtle layer of meaning in this movie as however they wish.

All-in Madonna

Streaming Online
at the Victoria Film Festival.

Get your pass here to view beginning Feb 5th, 2021.
Facebook Watch Party on Feb 6th, 6:30 PST

Note: Available to residents in British Columbia

All-in Madonna marks Arnold Lim‘s (pictured left) directorial debut in making a feature length work. After its virtual (world) premiere at the Whistler Film Festival and limited online availability last year, its next screening is at the Victoria Film Festival!

This filmmaker’s visual style evolved from how he likes to communicate, which is through the camera. He made a career out of it. In Victoria, BC he’s very well known because of not only his role at Black Press Media as a photo-journalist, but also as a talent whose heart is big. He is the official photographer to various local charities. At the Victoria Film Festival, he’s involved with programming (handling the Asian film content), act as juror and be a member of the board.

Lim revealed, “Different films from different countries look, feel and smell tonally different because of a combination of the different actors and locations and cultures that exist in combination with the perspective of filmmakers whose voices tell the story.”

As part of the CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers team, this photographer soon became a filmmaker after doing a story about them, about the Reel to Reel program. He joined, learned the craft and wanted to make movies. After making the short film version of All-in Madonna–about Maddie going to public school for the first time and hearing rumours that her dad is a thug–he and Susie Winters, the screenwriter, knew it needed to be feature length!

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An Interview with Paul Leyden about Breaking Bad with Chick Fight

Paul Leyden’s Chick Fight is not only about empowerment but also feeling good too.

All-in Madonna Quiver Distribution
Coming to Digital & On Demand Nov 13th
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Paul Leyden‘s transition from actor to director was relatively easy. Part of his experiences can be seen in how he made Chick Fight into this year’s best underdog movie to see as it hit VOD this week. This Australian’s good looks landed him in a lot of soaps early in his career and having an education at National Institute of Dramatic Arts no doubt helped prepare him for what’s to come.

“I originally got into acting through writing and rewriting the material that I was appearing in,” says this filmmaker. He also feared being typecast. After many years appearing in soaps, it’s natural to worry.

“So being a bit of a control freak, I decided not to take a step back. The first film I wrote was The Factory (for Dark Castle Entertainment), which sold and had a 30 million dollar budget. I thought, wow, this is great; it was never that easy ever again,” concludes Leyden.

He directed an independent horror film called Come Back to Me afterwards, and perhaps it was the Cleaners (for Sony’s online service Crackle) where he decided this side of the industry is where he wanted to stay.

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