Sad Sack Serenade: September 27th

What's up you miserable crowd of musicphiles. This is what played today on Sad Sack Serenade on CJSF 90.1 FM from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby:

Jonsi - Boy Lilikoi
Tiny Vipers - Slow Motion
Jon & Roy - It's Gonna' Be Fine
An Angle - Angry Drunk
Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!
Jamie Lidell - Coma Chameleon
The Planet Smashers - Whining
The Replacements - You're Getting Married
The National - All Dolled Up in Straps
The National - Anyone's Ghost
Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame
Architecture in Helsinki - It's Almost a Trap

Mp3 of the show available in two parts: first half hour / second half hour.

As always, thanks for listening everyone. Tune in next week on Monday from 1-2pm PST, and be sure to tell all your friends about the show so they're not jealous of your awesome listening experience.

Sad Sack Serenade: September 20th

Hey radio listeners,
This is what I played today, Monday September 20th, on CJSF 90.1 FM from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby:

Born Ruffians - Sole Brother
Azure Ray - Don't Leave My Mind
Blitzen Trapper - The Man Who Would Speak True
The Microphones - I Want Wind to Blow
Cocorosie - Gallows
Modest Mouse - Dramamine
Nina Nastasia - Cry Cry Baby
Ohbijou - Make it Gold
Michou - Summer Night
Karyn Ellis - Low
The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

Download an mp3 of the show in two parts: 1st half hour  / 2nd half hour.

This was the second show of the year, and I felt really good about the way things went. Last week was pretty rough, you'll notice I didn't even post the links to the show here on my blogspot because it was so bad, so it was nice to have some improvement. Be sure to tune in again next week on Monday from 1-2pm PST online http://cjsf.ca or on the radio device at 90.1FM.

Thanks for listening everybody!

VIFF 2010

I'm going to be volunteering at the Vancouver International Film Festival this year, and while I'm a bit nervous about the work I'll be doing and fitting it all into my busy schedule, I can't wait to take advantage of the opportunity to see a bunch of exciting films. Last year the crowds were huge, which should make the volunteer job a major headache, but it is always a lot more fun to share the cinematic experience with a big group of people. My first impressions of VIFF last year were great, and I hope this year will be just as positive.

These are the movies I have on my radar to see, although I can't imagine seeing all of them. If you think I'm missing a gem, or you want to insist that I not miss one already on my list, give me a shout. If any of my friends reading this wanted to go see something with me, then send me a message and let me know!

• David Wants to Fly
• Fathers & Sons
• Biutiful
• Inside Job
• The Tree
• Certified Copy
• Heartbeats
• Waiting for Superman
• Another Year
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
• The Illusionist
• My Film and My Story
• Snow & Ashes
• Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields

Happy festivaling everyone!

New Film Project - Your help needed!

If you follow my Twitter feed or have spoken to me in person recently you may have discovered that I'm working on a new feature film project. For those of you haven't heard already though, I would like to formally announce that there is a new production in the works and tell you a bit about it. Further to that I would like to appeal to everyone reading this for their help in making the film as well.

The new film is about personal identity. It is an exploration of the notion that we are never truly ourselves, that our personalities are not really who we are in our heads and in our hearts. Who we are can more actually be described as the sum of the expectations other people have for us, and the expectations we have for ourselves. The expression of what we actually think and feel is constantly being mediated against those expectations. We use masks and create personas that do not truthfully reflect our character, but paint a picture of who we think we are or are supposed to be. As Kurt Vonnegut suggests at the beginning of Mother Night, "We are what we pretend to be" and by extension, not whatever identity we keep up bottled up inside. This is, as always, very personal subject matter for me. I often feel confused by the person I have grown to be, how I got to be that way, and how faithful I am to my inner self (whoever that is).

We hope to explore these ideas through the study of one individual going through a bit of an identity crisis of his own. This individual is, or appears to be, the unpleasant stereotypical choch (also known as a chach, chauch, chongo, etc). I think we're all familiar with some variation of a choch and carry our own preconceived notions of what they're like. But the protagonist choch of our film has no feelings of love for himself. He hates all those choch qualities he exhibits that we have all come to be familiar with and despise, and it feels to him that this choch persona is a betrayal of who he really is inside his head. The film follows this character over the the course of six days as he confronts his own reflection in his aviator sunglasses.

As of now the script is prepared and all of the main parts have been cast minus one. Right now we're trying to cast this last part and assemble costume pieces, props, and a few locations before we get shooting. It's going to be a difficult test to see if we can shoot the whole film before the end of August when I leave to go back to Burnaby for school, but I'm very excited to delve into the material and get filmming in a manner that is going to be very different from my previous projects. I've already enlisted the talents and time of a number of actors and crew members, but I still need help pulling together some resources. If you or anyone you know can loan us or help us in any way with acquiring any of these production requirements please let me know via email (brendan.prost@hotmail.com).

Cast:

• One male, 18-25 years old. Significant speaking role. Skilled at character improvisation. Available on the evenings and weekends. 
• Lots of one-line roles, walk-ons, background work for males and females of all ages.

Crew:

• Always looking for willing helpers to hold the boom, lights, etc.

Props:

• Posters and other paraphernalia that a choch might have in his room.
• DVD seasons of Entourage. 

Locations:

• Restaurant patio
• Gym
• Restaurant interior
• Bar/club/pub interior 

Costume pieces:

• Anything a choch might wear (jeans, t-shirts, muscle shirts, shorts, shoes, etc)
• Gold looking necklace
• Large garish belt buckle
• Aviator sunglasses
• Black rimmed hipster glasses (preferably with no prescription lenses)

Thanks everyone for reading and passing the word along.

Generation Why - DVD Promo Video

Check out this video I made to help promote the wide release of my film, Generation Why, across three different platforms.

Buy it on DVD for $10 at http://generationwhythefilm.com
Rent a digital stream at http://www.indieflix.com/film/generation-why-30482/
Host a screening for free at http://openindie.com/film/generation-why

We need your help now more than ever. Please spread the word, and consider buying a copy of the film.

Generation Why - Opening Titles

This is the opening title sequence from Generation Why, which we've released to help promote the recent release of the entire film across three platforms:

Get the DVD here: http://tiny.cc/genwhydvd
Rent from Indieflix here: Indieflix
Host/request screenings here: http://openindie.com/film/generation-why