Monthly Archives: February 2014

When I Walk

WhenIWalkJason, a young filmmaker, who studied at Emily Carr College in Vancouver, was on holiday with his family when he fell on the beach and was unable to get up. He is diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Unable to continue with his film projects, he begins to film the progression of his disease. Jason’s family is very supportive and, while attending an MS support group, he meets Alice who will become his wife. Although there are times when Jason is despondent, his strength, and the strength of his family, make this a very uplifting film. By the end of the film Alice has become Jason’s hands in the editing room, and they are expecting a child.

The filmmaker’s mother and brother were in attendance at the screening. She says that Jason’s baby has just celebrated his first birthday, and that Jason is now a quadriplegic but his cognitive skills are undiminished.

Oil Sands Karaoke

Oilsands

 

This documentary film follows five people who work in the oils sands and, in their off time, sing at a Karaoke bar in Fort McMurray. I didn’t connect at all with the characters, and only one of them indicated she had qualms about the environmental issues of the project. All of them, and most of their colleagues, were there to make a lot of money in order to get out of debt and then move on with their lives.

Desert Runners

Desert RunnersSometimes when I see an adventure-type film I will say “That would be fun”, or “I’d like to do that”. Not so in this case! The movie follows four runners as they attempt to run across four of the most inhospitable deserts in the world – the Atacama in Chile (the driest desert in the world), the Gobi in China (the windiest desert in the world), the Sahara in Egypt (the hottest desert in the world) and the Antarctica (the coldest desert in the world). Now imagine running each of those 155 mile legs in one calendar year. These were not professional athletes, but folks who were meeting their own personal challenges. Of the four runners, two of them (the youngest woman and the oldest male) completed the Grand Slam.

In a Skype interview with the director we learned that her original intention was to film one specific runner in the event. When her crew arrived to begin filming, the runner confessed he hadn’t really trained for the event. She quickly advised her crew to start filming anyone and everyone because she was certain “her” runner wasn’t going to make it!

Lights, camera, action

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Lights … I have my purse light with me today so I can read my book between films.

Camera … I have my camera so I can pop over to take some photos at the Guild’s Scrappy Quilt weekend.

Action … This will be hard to find as we sit through four films today!