The car rolls swiftly on the Manhattan bridge. I’m looking at the multitude of light dots that are scattered in the semi-darkness of the city: the field of skyscrapers extending to infinity… and I’m wandering; ” Gosh! what a huge city…” At this very moment, a wave of insecurity hits my mind. The idea of being one tiny grain of sand among millions scares the shit out of me.

With the years, I taught myself to be an ambitious, self-confident, and very driven young woman, which, to a certain extend, I am… However, some times… For a very brief moment (sometimes not so brief), I look at myself and try to be objective. Where am I? What am I doing? What it is that makes me believe so strongly that I have a place in this crazy world that we call show-business? It’s been a while I decided to jump off the cliff, without any parachute or the like… with the only certainty that I could fly.
Hard bet isn’it?

There is one good new though.. I found out that I can fly indeed!
Bit by bit.. I hop, flutter a few seconds ( just enough to reach the next branch).. Of course, sometimes I fall off.. Then I always say:
” shit, not only do I have to start all over again, I am one branch below!”
I’m angry now.. I don’t like to do things twice. I look at the next branch, and suddenly, it seems way too high! But what can I do? there is no way for me to get off the tree (falling to the ground is not an option.. it’s way too painful).. Plus, I see this big tasty worm that sleeps comfortably on the branch above. It teases me, and since I’m a voracious little bird, there is no way this worm doesn’t find its way to my stomach. No way!
So I hold my breath, close my eyes so I don’t see what’s beneath me, and I jump. ( I never learn my lessons do I?)…Then, as I crease my eyes with apprehension, I see my bird mother, comfortably settled in the family nest, looking at me from the side. Her gaze is tender yet cautious. She blows a joyful whistle at me… She knows too well that my little heart is probably beating a hundred miles an hour right now.

I’m walking along the 6th avenue now. I’m looking at the skyscrapers, at the stores, at the people. It is a very windy evening…
I am somewhere submerged in the grandiosity of New York city, with a script under my arm and a seemingly good short film under my belt. I meet people.. so do hundreds of other up&coming filmmakers around the country. Some of those industry folks could not care less, some of them welcome my work with fierce interest. There is absolutely no way of knowing what is my true place in this hubbub. It is indeed very scary. But I have to go forward. What you have to know however is that, at this very moment; as I’m feeling completely lost, it is of you that I’m thinking… and suddenly I feel lighter. The winds might be strong and my wings might be sore, you are the one who gives me the strength to face the storm.

Je t’aime Maman
xxx.

For the fresh “out of film school” peeps, the 30 panels mean, not only a good stack of very useful information about how to make their way within the crazy film world, they are also an enlightening revelation about the business reality behind the art of film making, which is, I am sorry to say, the most critical aspect of the game.

The 2009 edition of the Filmmaker’s week has been focusing mainly on the state of film financing as well as on the new trends of distribution; two aspects that undergo significant changes these days due to the economic crisis in which the industry is plunged. Some discussion were also targeted at the state of digital film making and its role wihtin the independent film scene.

What’s a very interesting thing about the filmmaker’s conference week is that it gathers a diversity of film professionals; from up&coming producers and directors trying to attract the attention of big studios to the first timers who are looking forward their first film work. It is a very friendly happening where people meet filmmakers from around the continent and share their thoughts and opinions.

to everybody who aspires to make its way into the international film business, I really suggests you to attend this event… It is not that much expensive (a week pass cost 250$ USD) and it gives tremendous tools to face the chaotic industry in which we navigate these days. I especially target my Canadian fellow filmmakers, who I think, could benefit from a broader perspective on film financing. Public funding is melting like ice cream under the sun. Opening our perspective to private investment and international partnership is certainly a reality that we will have to face at some point, and the IFP is the first step to this whole new world.

While the fight for body diversity  is, without a doubt,  a noble one, it raises a tricky situation for many female media content creators.  Personally, I have the desire to propose alternative ways to portray women characters on screen. I have indeed a different perspective and a different sensibility that I hope will clash with my male counterparts’. However,  on the other hand, I cannot ignore my own vision about femininity. I still want to praise Its beauty, its richness and complexity.  I crave for this idealized thin and soft body, those deep blue eyes and those perfect bubbly lips…  As a matter of fact, I think that characters are solely the product of an artist’s fantasy. A fantasy that I, as a filmmaker, want to share, and, to a certain extend, sell to the audience.  No matter where we stand, I feel like, as women, it is impossible not to be jeopardized : If  we strongly uphold the women condition, we are automatically   considered  feminists (which has a rather negative meaning nowadays); and if we don’t embrace it, we are accused of not taking our social responsibility as female artists.  Therefore, we are not caught between ‘’right and Wrong’’, but rather between ‘’wrong and wrong’’. How are we supposed to evolve in such conditions?

Nowadays, it is not rare to see fashion designers  asking their female models  (raging from  5’’9’ to 6’’ feet )  to wear  size 0. This statement gains a lot of meaning when we recall that, 15 years ago, the average size for high fashion clothing was about size 6. This drastic situation led, a couple of years ago, to the death of three south-American models who were brought to pursue excessive diets by their respective talent agency.  By the end of their ‘‘treatment’’, the three women were exclusively eating tomatoes, lettuce, and apples…

What Mrs St-Pierre is ultimately looking for is to introduce to the consumption mass, the notion of body diversity. Some efforts have already been made, notably by the cosmetic company ‘’Dove’’, with their commercial campaign ‘’For Real Beauty’’, in which they were showcasing women with different shapes and ages.  The commercials were innovative and very catchy. For the first time, women selling the products on screen were matching the actual clientele of the products. However, despite the success of the campaign,  it didn’t  succeed yet to bring a significant shift within the current social conceptualization of beauty.  As the minister clearly stated to her audience during the meeting, the fight against weight craze will be an extremely long and  difficult journey. The results of this discussion will be revealed this fall as a list of recommendations given by the Minister. I’m very curious about what measures the government will be willing to take against the critical state of the women representation in the fashion industry.

What else is to be said?

Well.. for those who don’t know yet, I have the pleasure to tell you that the SODEC  (société de développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec) was reported with an annual transportation fees of 390 000$ for CO, Jean-Guy chaput, for attending industry events throughout 2008-2009. However, the minister Christine St-Pierre doesn’t find her ministry guilty of anything. As she said, after all: ”the Canadian film industry has to be well represented abroad”!

So if I understand well, public agencies don’t send films in festivals, but they do offer somptuous trips to their executives so they could promote our industry in those same events.

Wow.. Am I the only one to see the irony in there??

When fiction surpasses reality…

Another very interesting approach is the genuine advertisement in buses stops. If you had the opportunity to use the Los Angeles public transport  this summer, you probably noticed the governmental signs posted on the backs of the benches prohibiting seating for Non-Humans.  The posters were sober and  so plausible  that many people I saw were perplexed towards them!

Not only this commercial campaign is the first of its own; it really seeks to  recreate the fictional reality of district-9 into our own reality, (which reinforces the documentary approach of the film), but it also genuinely introduce a social comparison of the racist behaviors that were heavily advertised and encouraged in America throughout the 20th century.

Congratulations to Jon Weber and everyone from the Key Creatives Agency for their hard work. You guys rock ;P

As many Majors are experiencing difficulty in the actual economic conjoncture,  Paramount Studios officially announced, this July, the abolition of their independent branch: Paramount Vantage.  this news reiterates the problematic state of the independant filmmaking within the  American industry. By doing so, the studio is dropping off many productions put on  standby since the begining of the year. The last project being financed by the studio? Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A love Story”…

funny and somewhat paradoxal, don’t you find?