Community Creativity

 

Not only have I been feeling more inclined to create.

But I have also been feeling more inclined to see what others have been creating.

Whether it be in artwork, plays, movies, books, or whatever creative medium you prefer. 

Its been really inspiring getting to hear what makes others do the amazing life full filling 

projects that they do.

Luckily for me I am a generally open person to engaging in these sorts of adventures,

and my only problem is having enough time to fit them all in.

Tonight my friend David invited me out to the Pacific Cinematheque for a book launch,

which seems odd for a movie theatre,

but it was a book on film locations in Vancouver.

David has been recently very intrigued but film locations and has posted two blogs on the subject :

- His recent trip blog to the states

- His Ghost World film location blog

Both have inspired me to keep on track with a project

 I am thinking about launching in the next year online which actually doesn't have anything to do with movie locations, but its all about using the Internet as a medium for sharing information about creative endeavours.

Back to the book launch :

The night brought up some interesting thoughts in their panel :

1.) When did we lose the "desire" and "realness" of film? We have become so incredibly removed from films. For when they were first conceived they were used to capture the essence of life,

and the real day to day feeling of being in someone else's shoes. 

Now blockbuster cinema is jam packed with explosions and fantastical stories,

which don't get me wrong have their place in this world. 

But whatever happened to seeing pure real emotion on screen,

and capturing real looks that people share with one another at our basic human level.

2.) The producer of 1999 Canadian film "Better Than Chocolate", was part of the panel and talked about the trials of trying to film a film about living in East Van, in East Van. Apparently they could only manage to film on Commercial Drive (in Grandview Park which I eat my lunch in every day the I am working) for one scene and then had to recreate "Commercial Drive like shops" on Victoria a couple of blocks away to actually get the shots that they wanted without breaking the bank on a low budget film. Which is an utter shame that a film showcasing an aspect of the culture of the community doesn't even have the ability to film at locations familiar to the community.

 (This is the park)

I loved this film in High School, and still do. Maybe even more now after touching on it in my recent Canadian film class, and because of my love for living in East Van in the last 3 years. 

 The producer was talking about how location plays a huge part in the films that she has worked on,

and how this movie was no exception as it really speaks volumes about East Van culture.

I'm really glad that I attended tonight's launch,

and that I have been actively seeking things like this to see in my city.

One of my friends lately said that I must be really in sync with my surroundings lately

because there are so many signs that just point in the right direction of what I am talking, thinking, doing, craving, seeking for... but I think its just because I am open to the signs.

 I believe that the universe in constantly giving us clues to 

what we are supposed to be doing with our lives... all we have to do is look.