My girls are 2 ½ and 3 ½ years old, a bit younger than the recommended 5 years old and up, even so, they really enjoyed the Festival. The Puppets station where they created origami birds, and the Claymation station where the kids could make plasticine modeling clay figures to create a stop-go digital animation film were very popular with my little ones.

The Shorts Series film for the young kids (5+) were very well programmed, and actually kept my kids in their seats for the entire duration (a miracle). One film in particular Mashed enthralled my kids, about a little boy doomed to sit at the dinner table until his plate is clean. He imagines a mashed potato villain he needs to defeat. This film may have even encouraged my children to finish their dinner. If that film wasn’t influential to their nutrition enough, the film Broccoli Monster surely will haunt them, a film about an obnoxious 8 year old that refuses to eat his broccoli until visited during the night by an actual Broccoli Monster. I don’t think we will have any issues with picky eating in my house for a while, particularly when it comes to broccoli. All the films were very cute, and captivating, for both my kids and myself, plus the films were accompanied by very tasty popcorn. I highly recommend checking out some of the other programmed films in the Reel Fun Film Festival.

Photo Courtesy of R.I.T. The Rochester Institute of Technology

The Reel Fun Family Festival runs until February 26, 2012, there are lots of great films for all ages screening. Please visit their web-site for more details: www.reelfunfest.com

Special Thanks to CalgaryMovies.com

Me and BINZENTO @ #SCHMANCY

Terry Allen, Jian Ghomeshi and Me @ #SCHMANCY

My view from the Gansevoort New York

Self Portrait

Morning in the Meat Packing District NYC

Chelsea NYC

Morning Outfit (Another Self-Portrait)

Me and James from Milk Studios

Me with the Models for the Ohne Titel Show

Photo courtesy: FASHIONOLOGIE

This was the first look and my favourite look of the show. The model Cora wears a crested cap, checked weave scarf in black and white, checked weave jacket in black and white, knit pleated skirt in black and white, block colour Ohne Titel heel.

First Look out on the runway, note the Satorialist in the Merlot coloured Moncler vest to the bottom right.

Fun in the New York Magazine Photo Booth with Tracy Foster of ONA bags

Me with Ohne Titel Deigners Flora Gill and Alexa Adams

Alexa Adams and Flora Gill Photo Courtesy of Zimbio.com

(Photo above of Kim Flanagan, Annia B., Model and Blogger; Yvonne Jeffery, HERS Magazine Editor; Cara Fullerton, Global News Anchor; Dana Kerford, Girl Power; Cat Oshenak, Photographer & Founder of I’ve Been Bullied Campaign.)

This morning was the second screening of the film MissRepresentation I have attended in Calgary. Todays screening was put on my Church My Style, an organization of empowering events founded by Calgary Stylist, Blogger and Mom, Kim Flanagan. Kim explains that Church My Style is about finding your “it”? Church. She had the idea of Church when she was sick. Kim was tired and not feeling “it” or really anything. She was wiped out, and in the closets of other wiped out women and thought to herself, “this is bullshit!” she wanted a mentor or some release or some something that was missing. Kim also wanted to get or give the feeling of “it” back to more than one woman at a time and also back to herself.

As it was my second time watching this film, it confirmed many things to me I noticed the first time, but nothing came across to me stronger than… I really have my work cut out for myself being the mother (and step mother) to three girls. The media has done a real number on the psyche of North American society, but I watched a documentary last week called The Glass House (2009, Hamid Rahmanian) about girls struggling to find themselves in Uptown Tehran, Iran and suddenly felt so grateful to have grown up in North America where I can freely express my thoughts and opinions . Even though the media makes the plight for women’s success an uphill battle, we have millions of opportunities in this continent that are not possible elsewhere. The problem I have personally with the film MissRepresentation, other than the fact that Gloria Steinem wasn’t in it enough, is that it seems to focus and harp on the negative forces at play, which beats down and takes away from the fact that we have a chance as individuals in this country for equality, but we must become educated and strive to achieve what we desire to become because it is Capitalist system. The same way I have many friends in Calgary who complain about this city, that it’s not metropolitan enough, not culturally enriched enough…etc., but the truth is, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem! You need to go out every day and do something that contributes to it being a better place for yourself and others. Join an organization that is working toward a cause you care about, or has a like minded group of people. I have found that doing these things makes me feel more optimistic about the place I live, and is a great way to meet people with similar passions in life. The world is not going to change by someone accepting it the way it is, we need to question ourselves about the decisions we make on a daily basis. Social awareness is very important and takes huge effort on the part of an individual.

I am grateful for the people who work hard on a daily basis to make this a better place to live as a woman,an artist and a civilian. I have big shoes to fill in this world, starting in my own home.

The Thrilling Discomfort of The Skin I Live In (Le Piel Que Habito) Pedro Almodovar (2011)

Most brilliant people have quirks, Pedro Almodovar’s direction in The Skin I Live In is no exception. A film about a plastic surgeon, obsessed with the memory of his wife who commited suicide. Written and directed by Almodovar, it makes you wonder where these twisted ideas of brilliance are born.  Almodovar adapted the story and wrote The Skin I Live In based on the novel Tarantula by Thierry Jonquet.

In many of Almodovar’s films, the director attempts to relate in some ways with the female perspective, but none deal with this perspective quite the same way as The Skin I Live In.  This film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival this year (2011), screened at TIFF and also here in Calgary at CIFF.  The film stars Antonio Banderas who is a veteran actor in Almodovar films, having worked together 21 years prior in the film Tie Me Up Tie Me Down (1990). In The Skin I Live In Banderas plays Doctor Robert Ledgard, the limitless plastic surgeon lamenting over the death of his deceased wife and tries to replicate her on the surface of another person’s body for revenge of the rape of his daughter. Genius and experimental in his work, his approach at creation, or rather recreation of human flesh, exposes his power driven god-like approach to modern medicine.

This film deals with contemporary issues of gender identification, which have never been addressed in Almodovar’s previous works.  Gender identity is a current topic in popular culture and has become increasing popular because of the plight for equality of LGBT people in Western society. Aside from gender identity as a social issue, the character of Vincente played by Jan Cornet, was a boy who worked in his mother’s consignment store and loved to work with textiles. He rode a motorcycle and experimented with pills. He wasn’t eluded as being the most masculine of characters. Vincente’s transformation into Vera Cruz, this ultra feminine and delicate character seemed so well embraced by the character after the sexual reassignment surgery he under went.  The transformation of genders by the character emphasizes the power shift from male to female, and the subsequent domination of the masculine gender by Dr. Ledgard, Banderas’ character who confines, penetrates and admires Vera Cruz as a woman in a possessive sexual nature.

The complex narrative of this film, which Almodovar is infamous for, is sorted out through the many beautiful flashbacks, which help the audience empathsize with the Psychopath character Banderas play as Dr. Ledgard. But however beautiful, the discomfort is inevitable as you watch many uncomfortable situations dealing with rape from a boy to a girl, a man to a boy and over again.

Although this film would be classified in the genres of Horror or Psychological Thrillers, it deals with Gender, Power, Tragedy and Love, which make’s it so much more than you expect from a Festival Film.

This film is loaded with innuendoes and social commentary on our current sentiments on not dealing with our past in Western culture. This Must Be the Place is a clever combination of the film feel brought about by Ghost World, Garden State and Somewhere. It compasses this searching, an inner search for meaning in a lonely world. Penn’s character, the melancholic Cheyenne, goes about his journey through the United States, stopping in Michigan, New Mexico and Utah, all the way with a voice over of his father reading through a journal he keeping during his time in the concentrating camp in Auschwitz, sounding very similar to Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning.

When Cheyenne goes to see his father on his death bed there is an extreme close up of his father’s numbered tattoo on his forearm from Auschwitz, further into the film in a small town in Michigan,  Cheyenne sits next two a man who is littered in tattoos mainly of Jesus. Cheyenne has a dialog with the man about whether he likes tattoos or not. His response is that he is undecided. The response seemed profoundly diplomatic considering the earlier footage of his fathers tattoo, when he is faced with someone who embodies characteristics of a neo-nazi.

There was a scene in this film where a large native American man in a suit gets into Cheyenne’s truck at a gas station and silently hitches a ride into the middle of the dessert. This may have been some social commentary on white washing society, or perhaps it was a random occurrence, either way, it stuck out in film randomly, as did the massive pistachio, Cheyenne’s truck engine spontaneously combusting, the story about the revolution of wheels on luggage and the buffalo chewing its cud as viewed through a window.  Cheyenne was constantly drinking from a tall soda bottle straw, a thirst for something, but never seemed to be quenched?

There was a quote from Cheyenne in this film which was really moving and stuck pretty hard: “We go from an age of where my life will be that, to that’s life”. Basically we go out on our journey in life with things to accomplish, but at the end of the day it is written for us and we accept our fate or destiny. This may have been a way of Cheyenne’s character rationalizing the atrocity of the holocaust and the role it played in his fathers life then subsequently his upbringing and present state of depression.

The imagery of this film is so strong on the surface which really contradicts with the rather ambiguous dialogue, and folky emo music. The film is contrasty and saturated, really full of colours and shadows. The stylistic slow motion walking sequences feel very familiar and foreign simultaneously.  Cheyenne’s wife in the film is Frances McDormand (best known for her role of Marge Gunderson in Fargo (1996, Coen Bros.)). Her character, although the wife seemed the masculine energy in her marriage, where Cheyenne wore make-up and painted his nails, was emotional, and was a stereotypically a more feminine embodiment in character. Both Penn and McDormand are such incredibly talented actors with amazing repertoires that their performances in This Must Be The Place were no exception to what audiences have come to expect with their work.

The conclusion of this film was very light hearted, leaving the audience with a good taste in their mouth after some of the more more complex issues dealt with prior.

To view the official trailer please click on link below:

This Must Be The Place Official Trailer

Images courtesy of Weinstein Company USA

Here is the Special Feature Thanks to my dear friend Binzento Vincente:

2012 NEW YEAR Special Feature
Meet Katrina Olson-Mottahed (Calgary, Canada)
Mixed media artist, Film review writer, Binzento Vincente Correspondent
Photography by: Kristin Whiteley

Sincerely,

Miss Representation (2011, USA) is a documentary film about how the American Media misrepresents women. The screening tonight was hosted by the Calgary Sexual Health Centre, and had a spectacular audience turn out. The screening SOLD OUT and had a wait list, in the Globe Cinema downtown Calgary, on a -30*C Wednesday night. (Shocking)

The screening of Miss Representation was 85 minutes followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with the Calgary Sexual Health Centre’s board members, prominent editors and Professor in Gender & Popular Culture from UofC.

The film Miss Representation as a documentary was from the perspective of the Director, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is a former actor, new mother of a daughter, questioning the negative portrayal of woman in the media world around her. The opening of this film was a quote (“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any” –Alice Walker).  The film introduces the narrator with her own voice explaining why she is working on the documentary, she is pregnant with a baby girl, she has begun to reflect on her own struggles in growing up as a woman and how they have impacted the person she has become. There is footage and photos of her as a child, some Tree of Life (2011, Terrence Malick) type imagery with sun gleaming through trees, but for the most part the edits are to dreadful statistics about how woman are affected by eating disorders, rape, depression…etc. Very sad stuff. The film then transitions to a mix of statistical information being addressed by the likes of awesome women, Gloria Steinem, Condoleezza Rice, Rachel Maddow, Katie Couric, Margaret Chow, and Jane Fonda to name a few. Their interviews are edited with more dismal statistics and graphic images in the media of women being subjectified by the male gaze. This documentary focus’ mainly on television media, and because of that seemed a little Michael Moore-ish when the message was being delivered. The musical arrangements (done by a man, Eric Holland) seemed about as sincere and hopeful as a late night infomercial for the Bowflex Treadclimber… the really inspiring, gonna change your life melody.

Miss Representation premiered at Sundance Film Festival, and then was picked by  OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. The message in the film is one that is very relivent and important, we need to teach our children about equality, and to be analytical about what we see/hear in the media, we especially need to teach our daughters their worth in society before the media gets to them.

This documentary was very American in how, just like in News Broadcasts like Nancy Grace or Anderson Cooper, it sensationalizes the issue, so the message ends up softer or perhaps not as clearly stated as it needs to be, that being said, it is still an important message that is brought to the forefront to be addressed.

www.missrepresentation.org

Image: Dawn Johnston PhD, Sarah Ivany and Shelley Youngblut

The panel discussion following the film was very straight forward and delivered the message the film more graphically divulged, but by locally successful woman connected to local media and society. The panel consisted of Sarah Ivany, (Managing Editor of Freehand Books, an award-winning literary publishing company based here in Calgary, former board member of the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, teacher of creative writing to teenagers through the Writers Guild of Alberta), Dawn Johnston, (a faculty member in the Department of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary, holding a PhD in Communication Studies with a specialization in media constructions and representations of queer Studies and Contemporary Queer Cinema), and Shelley Youngblut, (the Globe and Mail’s Western Editor, former editor-in-chief of Swerve magazine, founder of SwerveCalgary.com, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Western Magazine awards, and mother of twin 11-year-old daughters).

In the panel discussion the message that was clear is that, we as parents, or as woman need to teach children to be media savy, to engage them in a way that isn’t intimidating to them, to ask them questions, model our behavior, dialogue and vocabulary in a way that teaches children to identify what is media and what is the correct way for woman to be represented. We need to teach individuals their value in our society and how we all contribute as a whole. Special thanks to the Calgary Sexual Health Centre for hosting this screening and for the work you do in our city.

Miss Representation will be screening again in Calgary on Sunday February 5, 2012 at 10:30am in the Plaza Theater in Calgary hosted by Church, My Style (for tickets click on the link HERE) I highly recommended buying tickets immediately based on how fast this film SELLS OUT!

Aside from the amazing beaches and sunsets here on Maui, there is also great shopping and water activities. We come here to relax, so we don’t go for any of the extreme excursions. We did the helicopter tour of the island last year, which was breath taking, but this year we are trying to unwind as much as possible, spend time with friends, and family.

For shopping close to the resort area the Shops at Wailea have everything a girl needs, a Tiffany, A Louis Vuitton and many other luxury shops and boutiques. Everything in Wailea is very family friendly, which makes shopping a lot easier with my posse of little ladies.

My two favorite guilty pleasure snacks here have definitely been the Maui Style original onion flavored chips and the COCONUT m&m’s! You can buy bags that look like a sleeping bag for my 2-year old daughter and easily polish them off in one sitting at the beach. These chips are SO yummy!!! I also tried the salt and vinegar flavor, which were also delicious, but took second place next to original onion. The coconut m&m’s are so perfect for Maui, they still have the goodness of original m&m’s but with a fabulous tropical twist.

The cutest accessories and in my opinion the BEST NEON nail polishes for their value in the universe are these ISLAND GIRL nail polishes from ABC stores. ABC stores are all over the island and aside from the best nail polish, they also have just about every other souvenir, basic and essential anyone could require while in Maui.

For swimwear, cover-ups and locally made accessories, driving to the small surf town of Paia is really the coolest place to go. Paia is home to famous restaurants, art galleries and local designers boutiques that give the small town (population less than 3000) a really great feel. For the best bikini’s and cover-up I recommend two shops, the first to check out is Letarte. The iconic Maui-based label – created by sisters Lisa Letarte Cabrinha and Michele Letarte Ross – debuted the elite designs of swimwear, coordinating cover-ups and sportswear in 2000. The Hawaiian authenticity and exclusivity of the Letarte label have blended a bohemian island essence with chic global aesthetics that the sister duo have made recognizable around the globe. Designer Lisa Letarte Cabrinha, who lives in Maui, infuses her jet-setting island lifestyle and the spirit of Aloha into Letarte’s signature trademarked prints, intricate adornments and lavish detail. (Photo courtesy of www.letarteswimwear.com)

The second shop to check out is Maui Girl. Maui Girl & Co. has been a landmark on the North Shore of Maui for over 30 years. Located in the heart of Paia, Maui Girl & Co., has been voted the “Best Bikini Boutique” of Maui for the last 5 years. Designer and boutique owner, Debbie Kowalski Wilson, has been designing and selling her pieces since the 70′s. Aside from her own creative designs, Wilson carries a line of bikini’s from Colombia which are officially my new favorite bikinis called Agua Bendita. They look like something that Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali could have put their brains together and ended up with. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! I will definitely be acquiring more Agua Bendita in my lifetime, I can assure you of that. Maui Girl carries a great collection of Agua Bendita as well as an assortment of Wilson’s designs, which are unique and colorful. Paia is a great place to spend the day in Maui when you have had enough sand in your bathing suit. (Photos courtesy of http://maui-girl.com/ and www.aguabendita.com.co )

Other things that really made my vacation… aside from the amazing breakfast sandwiches my husband made me with love every morning, there is a Blockbuster video here that had a clear out of new DVD’s and I found a Collector’s Edition of Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and the Centennial Collection of Breakfast At Tiffany’s!!! I love watching the director’s commentaries and cuts so these were extra special finds. I also found my “lost” underwater camera that had photos of the enormous sea turtle I saw while snorkeling. This turtle was as big as a standard kitchen table and had the most adorable frowny face, so needless to say, I am very happy the underwater camera turned up in the cupboard with the wine glasses (?!?!). Anyway, Happy New Year and Mahalo for reading. <3 KO

Here is a short video clip of the Turtle. He was just chillin’ on the bottom of the ocean here.

If you blended Strike (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925), Gold Diggers of 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933), some Busby Berkeley choreography, The Hollywood Review of 1929 (Charles Reisner), the class and sophistication of Casablanca, Citizen Kane (Orson Wells, 1941), and Celebrity (Woody Allen, 1998) you would most definitely end up with The Artist (Michael Hazanavicus, 2011).

I feel very privileged to have experience the Calgary pre-screening of the film The Artist. The Artist is a silent, black and white film, set in 1927-1932 about a silent film actor named George Valentin (played by the very handsome French actor Jean Dujardin who won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his role and has a striking resemblance to old Hollywood actor John Gilbert).  George crosses path with a young, beautiful aspiring actress who as fate has it changes his destiny. George falls on hard time with the transition of the silent era into the talkies era of film during the depression.  The Artist has a full line-up of recognizable American actors from my generation, like John Goodman (who everyone who grew up in the 90’s remembers as the Dad on Roseanne), James Cromwell (Bad Cop in L.A. Confidential), and Missi Pyle (who I see most frequently as the crazy Mom when my kids watch Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

This film has simplicity that everyone needs right now. It is no surprise how many nominations it received.  For Jean Dujardin to carry an entire feature length film on expressions and body language alone in a day in age where he is competing with the technology of 3-D and HD in the theater, this film brought an element of audio unity I have only experience in university theaters watching the silent films. For the first time in a public theater, the acoustic environment was determined by the reaction of the audience to the visual presentation of the film. It made me feel rather nostalgic towards the late nineteen 20’s, where going to see a film, although silent, would be accompanied by an orchestra and the sounds of the engaged viewers who dressed in their latest and greatest formal attire.  The Artist was the first film in Canada I have ever seen where the audience clapped at the end (with the exception of special screenings where actors and directors are present). That felt very special.

Technically, the low-key lighting made the actors expressions all the more believable. When the plot thickened, so did the musical accompaniment and the use of canted framing gave the audience an unsettled feeling until both the situation and framing was restored. The dissolves between frames were so authentic and lent to the genuine film going experience before splicing became the norm.

The Artist is the perfect date movie, perfect anytime for anyone who wants to be in a better mood movie, and definitely a fantastic film for movie buffs. I highly recommend going to see this film, just for the audience engagement alone.

Photos courtesy of The Artist- The Weinstein Company http://weinsteinco.com/sites/the-artist/

Special thanks to Calgary Movies http://www.calgarymovies.com/

An Insignificant Harvey

The main character Harvey, a lonely resort caretaker, adopts a Husky dog, named Inca, who follows him home. Inca helps Harvey with his confidence and introduces him to the very lovely Dakota (Kristin Adams), an exotic dancer, who luckily is very knowledgeable about Husky’s.  Dakota and Harvey spend time together, she is enchanted by his hobby of film making in an American Beauty sort of way, and ends up taking his virginity. Harvey’s best friend Lucas (Steven McCarthy) questions Dakota’s motives with Harvey. Harvey’s life spins out of control when he quits his job with his verbally abusive boss at the resort and Inca get’s badly injured due to his best friends stupidity. Harvey learns through these challenges that love changes him and restores order in his life.

An Insignificant Harvey is a very feel good movie. It was well written, however the opening  dream sequence involving a raccoon seemed ambiguous. Harvey’s character was well fleshed out, and felt familiar. Dakota’s character wasn’t as well digested. The Actress who played Dakota, Kristin Adam’s seemed very sweet and too girl-next- door to be a stripper. In the heightened reality of the film world, her characters boundaries seemed too soft and easy going to be charming patrons on the pole of the Fox & Fur (the Strip Bar she worked at). Adam’s as an actor embodies the likeness and character of a cross between Elisha Cuthbert and Greta Gerwig, but leaning more toward Gerwig.

There was a technical simplicity to this film that was just experimental enough to not distract from the solid story. The camera seemed handheld and was more expressive in scenes where alcohol was involved. The lighting was mood driven by the story. There was a scene where Dakota, Harvey and his jovial friend Lucas were at Dakota’s house partying,  in the scene there is a dialogue between Harvey and Dakota where the focus is racked back and fourth between the two, the lighting is a little over exposed, but very subtle and creates a loving tension between the two characters. The soundtrack accompanying the film was acoustic and soulful with delicate vocals that do not add any extra drama.

For a first feature length film, director Jeff Kopas played it safe in just about every aspect of this film, except for the most important and obvious fact, that Harvey was anything but “insignificant”, the lead character in his feature is a little person. It should be noted and applauded that Kopas, a fellow Canadian, developed a strong and independent Protagonist for his film. Especially considering the film industry often portrays little people as stereotypes.

Something about this film kept making me think of a quote from the film Examined Life (2008 Astra Taylor, Canada) where Judith Butler was discussing the social implications of disability with her sister Sunaura “Sunny” Taylor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0HZaPkF6qE ).  “Physical access leads to social access and acceptance”.

Photo courtesy of http://www.aninsignificantharvey.com/