Hotel Harabati is the debut feature of writer/director Brice Cauvin. The film tells the story of Philippe and Marion, a French couple who while waiting for a train pick up a bag left behind by a polite, Middle Eastern man. Inside, they find neatly bound bundles of foreign currency; on the tag, it reads ‘Hotel Harabati.’ The couple’s sense of reality begins to blur as the obsession to find Hotel Harabati turns their world upside-down.

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In an effort to spread our wings and discover more of the fabulous films out there, (A dog barks) blog is including the Toronto film scene in its coverage. We’re also hoping to include the Brazilian film scene in the near future, with our sights set on Sao Paulo. You can look forward to coverage of the Hotdocs Festival from April 17 - 27 in Toronto as well as the ongoing Node London Media Art Festival in London that runs till April 30.

So, if you’re a film fan with some writing chops to boot, please contact Laura at lauratrethewey@adogbarks.co.uk with story ideas. We’re interested in London and Toronto stories, as well as writers who’ve worked directly in any aspect of film making. Intelligent and witty discourse on techie issues, new projects and ongoing issues in the indie film world is the aim.

Let’s get cracking!

I’ve found both a wonderful blog and a wonderful short. “Short of the Week” is a blog with a fairly self-explanatory title but I’ll spell it out for you. Each week, a fav short film is posted. This week’s choice was Luis Cook’s “The Pearce Sisters.” The film is based on a short story by Mick Jackson about two sisters who hold tea parties with a motley crew of corpses they pull from the nearby sea, smoke and then dress up for tea and cakes. For some reason, smoking your dining companion as one might a salmon is a must for the Pearce sisters, but perhaps you’d have to read the story to find out the theory behind that.

Anyway, watching the short reminded me of the oddly prevalent image of a group of skeletons sitting down to dine. Very Beetlejuice. But also, there’s some sort of “serves you right” gesture in this image. These supposedly complacent diners are too busy with social etiquette to acknowledge their own impending death until it’s too late. The dead tea party also hints at the inanity of these gatherings as the invited have quite possibly died from boredom. In “The Pearce Sisters,” the image is used differently to symbolise the sisters’ loneliness. There’s still a hint of all these other suggestions though as the sisters are clearly so out of touch with reality and society that they still imitate a long dead past-time.

Related links: Short of the Week Blog, Aardman Animation

www.shortoftheweek.com

www.aardman.com/

But there’s no sigh of relief just yet. The Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) is also considering a strike for similar reasons, involving royalties for online and DVD sales. Regardless though, SAG is ensuring that independent productions already in the works will go on untouched as guild members will continue working after their contract expires on June 30. That means any production without financing or distribution from a studio or company represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers qualifies. The reason being that many guild members relying on income from indie productions would be affected. Thanks for making that differentiation, SAG.

Read more at the LA Times and The Guardian Links below.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-sag5mar05,1,4710871.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2262301,00.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTiOgZ9iOVo

Each year the Academy Awards seem to take another dive in credibility. This year about five films got nominated, sharing all the big awards betwixt them. Yup, the Oscars believe There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, Atonement, Juno and No Country for Old Men are basically the only films worth seeing in 2007.On the fringes of the red carpet though are a few independent, alternative films that may genuinely be the best of the year. Scrounging around at the tail-end of the nomination list in the Animated Short Film and Best Live Action categories can bring up some gems.”Madame Tulti-Pulti” up for Best Animated Short Film is one. It’s a stop-motion, animated film using puppets. Instead of googly, plastic peepers for eyes, human ones flicker in their stead. This was accomplished by merging an actor’s eye movement with a puppets. The film is devoid of dialogue, but the eyes accomplish the subtle art of subtext perfectly. This choice makes sense considering “Madame Tulti-Pulti” takes place on a train, where passengers are usually silent, yet still curious, sussing each other out with brief, furtive glances.The plotline features woman riding a night train with all her earthly possessions. The film actually scared me in its similarity to an experience I had on a night train from Florence to Venice. Just before boarding my boyfriend related, quite nonchalently, how he heard about a night train from Berlin to Zadar, Croatia on which the passengers had been gassed and stripped down to their undies unawares. I spent the next five hours with my passport stuffed down my trousers and one eye trained on the four other Italians sleeping around us. This film could possibly depict one of the many nightmarish scenes I imagined on that trip. The first half of the video is posted here, while Youtube has the other half. “Peter and the Wolf”, another stop motion animated short, won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. The story comes from Sergei Prokofiev, a Russian composer, who crafted the original piece in 1936. At that time, it featured both narration and music, but this version is silent except for the Philharmonie Orchestra that interjects at certain active or crucial points. The music fits the storyline well, as it alternates between playful moments - when Peter and his friends horse around, doing things they shouldn’t - and darker ones, when the boy is in quite serious danger of being eaten. While the story itself has a touch of the Brother Grimm about it, when Peter’s best friend is eaten by the wolf. Rather than slicing the wolf open and pulling out the consumed friend, which appears to be possible in other fairy tales, Peter forgives the wolf instead. This ending seems to me a little more instructive for an actual child viewer, than the cruel lessons of the Grimms or make-believe, Disney fluff. ”Peter and the Wolf” and “My Love” - another animated short - can both be found on Youtube! 

But, we’re so much more than that! (A dog barks) provides support to a variety of artists and projects that revolve around the film medium in either a distant or direct way. We put on frequent film screenings at Roxy Bar and Screen, the Tate Modern and other locals festivals. And we also solicit script and project proposals from directors and writers. Whether you’re a visual artist, a writer, a director, a VJ, hosting a film screening yourself or simply wanting to get involved in film, (A dog barks) is very interested in hearing from you.
And our new blog is the place to voice thoughts on all other film related minutiae. Over the coming weeks, you will see upcoming events posted here, discussions on screenings around town, mainstream and independent film culture and trends, technical and practical tips surrounding independent film shooting… and the list is infinite so we’ll end it there. Don’t just pass on by or lurk in the background, share your thoughts. We’re eager to listen and respond!

On February 21st, (A dog barks) will screen a new selection of short and amazing films at the Roxy Bar and Screen. In preparation for the event, we will post information and small reviews for some of these films to get you acquainted with the evening’s fare. After the event, please come on back to the blog and share your thoughts with other film-goers here. On Thursday night, after the lights go up, try and retain all those impressions you’ve saved up to tell the person next to you and bring them to (A dog barks) new blog space. We want to hear from you!
Adieu! And happy film watching!