Village Gamer

Actor and director Adrian Grenier will walk the Ottawa red carpet with co-producer Evan Ferrante for the screening of his documentary “Teenage Paparazzo“.  The documentary film turns the camera on the paparazzi, exploring celebrity culture through the eyes of 13-year-old photographer Austin Visschedyk. The evening’s time frame is as follows:

The Press Conference will take place at the Lobby Nightclub, which is located at 158 1/2 Rideau Street. This will be followed by a screening of “Teenage Paparazzo” and Question & Answer with Adrian Grenier at the Rainbow Theatre, 1200 St. Laurent Blvd.

Directed by Grenier and co-produced by Evan Ferrante and Matthew Cole, Teenage Paparazzo documents the true story of a relationship between a 13-year-old paparazzo (Austin Visschedyk) and Adrian Grenier, the star of the HBO series Entourage.  Inspired by a chance encounter with Visschedyk during an evening in Los Angeles, Grenier turns the cameras on the paparazzi in an effort to document this unique teenager’s world.

One of 20 stops on the Teenage Paparazzo Experience’s North American Tour, the Ottawa event features a film screening, Q&A with Grenier and Evan Ferrante, an art show featuring Shepard Fairy, Banksy, Adrian Grenier and more.  Also included is a post screening party at Lobby and Mansion Nightclubs in the ByWard Market.

“The Teenage Paparazzo Experience brings a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience art, film and the Hollywood culture alongside one of the biggest celebrities in the entertainment industry today,” says Michael O’Farrell, Marquis Group. “We get the chance to explore the conception of “fame” firsthand as Ottawa becomes star struck with the anticipation of the film screening.  We are thrilled with the buzz and excitement surrounding the Ottawa stop of the Teenage Paparazzo Experience tour”.

Adrian Grenier will host a single Ottawa screening on September 10, 2011 at the Rainbow Theatre located at 1200 St. Laurent Blvd, as well as a post screening party at Mansion and Lobby nightclubs located at 400A Dalhousie Street and 158 1/2 Rideau St. respectively.  Tickets for the film screening and post screening party are $20.00 and can be purchased online. The Teenage Paparazzo Experience tour is presented by the Marquis Group, Projekt Events, A-List Entertainment, Urban Male Magazine, 105.3 Kiss FM, Madflower Creative Group and Area 32a.

Four Canadian architectural illustrators have had their artwork chosen to be part of Architecture in Perspective 26, the International Competition of Digital and Traditional Architectural Illustration. Marie Eldridge from Calgary, and three Toronto-area illustrators – Roberto Ou, Michael  Ouzikov (Forrec) and Michael McCann – will all have their work featured in the exhibition, which opens on September 26 at the Pola Gallery in Tokyo. Architecture in Perspective (AIP) is presented by the American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI), whose annual convention and exhibition will be held this year in conjunction with the UIA 2011 World Congress of Architecture, also taking place in Tokyo, from September 24 to October 2.

“Winning the ASAI Award of Excellence was extremely gratifying; there is nothing more professionally satisfying than the recognition of your peers,” says Marie Eldridge. “Attending the conference in Japan will be the icing on the cake.”

From among the 56 pieces selected for the exhibition, Michael McCann’s illustration received two major awards: The Formal Category Award and The Members’ Choice Award. The preeminent award, The Hugh Ferriss Memorial Prize, was awarded this year to Swiss illustrator Marcel Schaufelberger.

With 10,000 people expected to attend the 2011 UIA Conference, ASAI President Masaaki Yamada stated that “This year’s exhibition Includes the largest international exhibition of architectural illustration ever assembled, featuring AIP26 (ASAI) and exhibitions from Japan (JARA), Korea (KAPA), Australia (AAAI) and China.”

The Free Thinking Film Society kicks off its 2^ndannual film festival to celebrate liberty, freedom and democracy on November 11th in Ottawa. The Free Thinking Film Festival will feature three major events, two panel discussion and over 20 films, between November 11-13, 2011 at Library and Archives Canada and the Bronson Centre.  There will also be a Free Thinking Alley where attendees can buy books and DVDs, and enjoy food and drink.

“I love celebrating liberty, freedom and democracy,” says Free Thinking Film President Fred Litwin. “Get ready for three days of challenging films and discussions with no political-correctness.”

The Festival opens at 6:30 PM November 11^th with History Wars, a debate between Jack Granatstein (Historian and former director of the Canadian War Museum) and Michael Byers (Professor of Political Science at UBC) on the future of the Canadian military, moderated by Michael Bliss. This event is co-sponsored by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and will take place at the Bronson Centre.

The Festival will end with “Unmasked: Judeophobia and the Threat to Civilization”, the Canadian premiere of a documentary about the current political assault against Israel.  Producer Gloria Greenfield will be in attendance.

A sample of other scheduled films include:

• “Angryphone,” about English language rights in Quebec
• “The Biases of the CBC,” a film and panel discussion on CBC bias against Israel and conservatives
• “The Power of the Powerless,” a look at the velvet revolution that toppled communism in Czechoslovakia
• “The Living,” a film about the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s
• “Freedom of What?cott,” a documentary about free speech in Saskatchewan
• “Freedom Fighter,” Rev. Majed El Shafie’s campaign against discrimination against religious minorities around the world
• “The 10 Conditions of Love,” about Rubiya Kadeer, the leader of the Uyghur people and their fight to save their culture
• “Cool It,” why we should ‘cool it’ when it comes to global warming
• “3 Billion and Counting,” tells us why we need DDT to fight malaria in Africa

Last year’s Merging Media Conference+Masterclass marked the first time that the $10,000 BC Film Development Award was awarded to the best cross-media project presented at the annual event. Merging Media will once again offer this wonderful opportunity to cross-platform content creators at its Merging Media Pitch 360 sessions during the upcoming 2011 event on October 27th and 28th.

Andrew Williamson of Off Island Films and Audrey Mehler of Paperny Films each won $5,000 last year to develop their projects. Andrew came to Merging Media with the Spiral, a web based interactive drama series that went on to become a part of another local media initiative called Melting Silos. Audrey pitched Eat St. Tweet, an innovative way to bring a Food Network show about food carts to life online as well as in a mobile app. The series and app launched earlier this year and more goodies are in store with their fall season that premiered on September 2nd. Audrey’s team offers viewers an unparalleled culinary experience by revealing new culinary carts around cities in North America, with access to information across three media platforms.

Now here’s your chance to take your project to the stage and win this year’s award! If you have an innovative transmedia or cross-media project in the works, apply before September 30 to be one of 8 participants to present at Merging Media’s Masterclass and Pitch 360 sessions and you could be the next one to win that $10,000 award! For more information, contact: coordinator@mergingmedia.ca. If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late to take advantage of Early Bird rates.

The Toronto International Microfinance Summit announced today The MasterCard Foundation is providing 100 college and university students with financial assistance to attend its conference at Toronto’s Allstream Centre September 17, 2011. In its third year, the Summit is comprised of two events, a fundraising Gala on September 16th and the micro way Conference with a new MicroMarketplace September 17th. This year the theme is From Microfinance to Financial Inclusion: Making a Difference in our World. Topics include:

• Financial Literacy, Youth Programs and First Nations
• Mobile Banking, Technology and Investment Funds with impact
• How microfinance enables global health initiatives
• Rating Microfinance Institutions and Risk Management
• Microfinance in conflict zones

“The Toronto International Microfinance Summit brings together thought leaders in the sector with both international and domestic expertise,” says Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the MasterCard Foundation.  “The Summit is an important platform for knowledge-sharing and The MasterCard Foundation is proud to support students’ attendance.”

“Microfinance is the place where business and international development objectives intersect and social impact is achieved,” adds Jim Louttit, Vice President of Toronto International Microfinance Summit and Rotarian Action Group for Microcredit Secretary.  “For the second year, The MasterCard Foundation is partnering with us so more students can learn about this powerful poverty reduction tool, interact with experts and get involved.

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will attend the Gala and offer official greetings. Forty Summit speakers from thirty organizations on five continents are scheduled to make presentations,  including:

• Bob Annibale – Citi Microfinance
• Vidar Jorgensen – Grameen America
• Kadita (A.T.) Tshibaka – Opportunity International
• Philip Smith – philanthropist and author
• Joyce Lehman – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Michael Bowles – Aga Khan Foundation
• Damien von Stauffenberg – MicroRate
• Jeff Rayman – Secutor Capital
• Dr. Tanjina Mirza – Plan Canada
• Howard Weinstein – Solar Ear
• Charles Belanger – FINCA
• Francois Montour – CIDA
• Tess Bayombong – CARE Canada
• Deborah Lindholm – Foundation for Women

Computer Using Educators of BC will be holding their annual fall conference at Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam on October 21st. This conference, which focuses on technology in the classroom, is open to both educators and non-educators.

The conference’s keynote will be presented by North Carolina writer, speaker and instructor David Warlick, and this year’s conference theme is Embracing Emerging Technologies. As of this writing, there are 40 speaker sessions being offered at the conference, including presentations on how to use Blender 3D, Twitter for the Classroom, Supporting Online Learners, Digital Game Development, Digital Storytelling and there are also several sessions on ways to use the internet and technology tools to inspire learning and creativity in today’s students.

The organizers of Web-In, presented by the Canada Media Fund, are proud to announce the first series of speakers who will present their vision of the Web of tomorrw, on October 31^st at the Hilton Montréal Bonaventure hotel, as part of MTL DGTL.

Web-In is a one-day event, featuring micro-conferences that aim to drive industry professionals to break new ground and create the Web of the future by encouraging them to be a step ahead of common observation, leave their comfort zone and question their certainties. Take advantage of the Early Bird 30% discount on the regular price by registering online before September 16.

Brief and Inspiring Speakers!

• Jonathan Bélisle: Ux, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll: From Divergence to Exploration to Convergence
• Olivier Bruel: La viralité gratuite
• Alexandre Ekerli: Le Web comme rituel
• Geoffroi Garon: Le phénomène du «Selftracking» et le concept de «Quantified Self»
• Luc Gauvreau: Le «Montréalscope»: histoires données au futur
• Alex Lauzon: L’obsolescence (non planifiée) des logiciels de courriels
• Laurent Maisonnave: Comment le buzz des médias sociaux rendra enfin sexy votre TV connectée
• Véronique Marino: Création transmédia: la compréhension de l’autisme est-elle la clef de la réussite?
• Sébastien Paquet: Le futur est collaboratif et ouvert
• Patrick Tanguay: Post-numérique et l’Internet des machins

“Web-In will be the perfect opportunity for Web enthusiasts to find inspiration for their next projects,” says François Légaré, Coordinator of the event. “We are proud to welcome close to 20 speakers who are willing to share their vision and passion, in order to push Quebec’s Internet community to excel, and move forward creatively.”

The BC Chapter of Wired Woman will be holding a 15th Anniversary party on September 22nd at the Jewel Ballroom on West 8th in Vancouver. The doors open at 6pm for an evening of networking, door prizes, hors d’oeurves and drink tickets.

The Early Bird ticket price of $20.00 per person is in effect until September 8th. After September 8th, tickets are $25.00 for members and $30.00 for non-members. Membership in Wired Woman is free, so sign up today and save money on tickets for all future Wired Woman events, including the Anniversary Party.

Vancouver Film School has announced the dates for the 2012 version of its annual Game Design Expo. Day One of the expo, known as Industry Day, will be held at the Vancouver International Film Centre on Seymour on January 21st. Industry Day is filled with speaker and panel presentations in the theatre, with displays and networking opportunities held in the lobby area.

Day Two of the Expo will be hosted at the new VFS Game Design Campus at 88 East Pender on January 22nd, where those interested in attending VFS as a student can speak with instructors and admissions counselors as well as participate in hands-on workshops or try out some student-developed games.

The Games Design Expo has also put out a Call For Speakers and Panels. Deadline for submissions is October 16, 2011. If you or your company are interested in becoming an event sponsor, please see the information on the Expo’s Sponsor page.

The Directors Guild of Canada is delighted to join TIFF 2011 in celebrating Canadian cinema. The over 30 feature films and close to 50 short films selected for screenings at TIFF 2011 represent 16 DGC director members nationally.

Among the hundreds of international films selected for screenings at TIFF 2011 are several outstanding Canadian films created by guild members from across the country. The work of DGC members appears in multiple TIFF programmes including:

• Contemporary World Cinema
• Special Presentation
• Canada First
• Galas

“It fills me with a great sense of pride and optimism about this country’s film, television and digital media industry when I see the quality of work and the commitment of its creators,” said Gerry Barr, National Executive Director & CEO, “TIFF is a great way for the DGC to highlight its mission to advance member interests as a creative and labour force and as an advocate on behalf of our industry.”

DGC president Sturla Gunnarsson has been invited to sit on TIFF’s prestigious Canadian feature film jury this year, “I look forward to the opportunity to screen the best of this year’s Canadian cinema.  As a filmmaker, I understand the challenges and think of every film that gets made as a kind of miracle, and will approach the process with the respect it demands.”

In anticipation of the myriad of exciting screenings at TIFF, DGC’s publication, Montage hits the stands today, featuring in-depth interviews with Canadian directors whose films will premiere at TIFF, including Sarah Polley (dir. Take this Waltz); Leonard Farlinger (dir. I’m Yours) and Ingrid Veninger (dir. i am a good person/i am a bad person).  This issue of Montage also presents interviews, editorials and in depth reports on a variety of timely topics of interest to Members, the industry as well as those interested in learning more about this country’s cultural landscape.