DOCUMEDIA
VOICE EMERGENT
In the heart of Ottawa’s Chinatown district a vocal shaman is helping empower and enlighten others through a series of vocal workshops. In our latest promotional video we sat down with the founder to discuss his workshops and why he believes our culture has stopped singing in community.
“Voice Emergent‘s founder, Barclay McMillan, has a passion for sharing his innovative voicework that was fueled by his own personal experience of the healing power of sound.
Barclay has been creating opportunities for people to discover, or recover, their singing voices and explore them in a context of healing and well-being since 1991. He offers a range of courses and informal singing gatherings in Ottawa and has taken his work to other parts of Canada, the US and Europe.
A graduate of Carleton University and the University of Toronto, Barclay completed doctoral studies in practical Divinity (D. Min.) at UCS, Oakland. His dissertation, “Dancing Voice, Moving Spirit”, is a heuristic study of the transformative experience of participants in his LifeSong program.
He is a former teacher, naval officer and radio broadcaster. He was the host of Mostly Music, the CBC’s classical music flagship. Barclay has contributed many articles to The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada and The Canadian Encyclopedia. An experienced public speaker, he has entertained service clubs, university societies, churches, and medical conventions with his good-humoured, articulate enthusiasm for the human voice and its potential.”
“After doing LifeSong, my singing and ability to express the emotional depths of my songs grew by leaps and bounds. I am head and shoulders above where I’ve ever been before.“ say’s Sue Foley, recording artist and Juno Award winner
For more information on Voice Emergent, the various workshops and how you can get involved go to voiceemergent.com
DJ VELVET
Partus Films has partnered with Ottawa Magazine and Fateema Sayani to bring their popular Sound Seekers column alive in video. The weekly column explores all things audible and lovely in our fair city, investigating the inner workings of the scene and all of it’s popular passerby’s. Our video treatments will provide readers with in-depth behind the scenes privileges, diving into the inspirations, process and philosophies of the artist and their artistry.
In the heart of Ottawa’s Chinatown district is St. Luke’s Church, a staple of outreach and acceptance in the community. Over the course of one week in April, Partus Films and a small crew participated in Holy Week, an annual event involving a Galilean Meal, Good Friday, a special Saturday mass, and Easter Sunday. We took part in the festivities, got to know the community and pieced together two promotional videos from of the footage. The first is entitled, “Welcome to St.Luke’s”; a sort of general invitation showcasing the congregations many sights and sounds. The second installment is”The St Luke’s Community”; a college of faces and anecdotes detailing the many experiences of the people.
A very special thanks goes out to Gregor Sneddon and all the interview subjects!
You can check out the videos at their new home @ http://stlukesottawa.ca/
REEL CANADA
REEL CANADA is an initiative of members of our national film and television industry, designed to bring Canadian films into Canadian classrooms. It is endorsed and supported by our National Honourary Patron, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, a Board of Directors and an Advisory Committee that includes some of our most prominent filmmakers and producers – Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, Norman Jewison, Robert Lantos, Don McKellar, Sarah Polley, Jean-Marc Vallée and many others have all put their personal endorsement on this vital project.
Essentially, REEL CANADA is a day-long traveling film festival that moves from one school to another.
Each event includes films chosen by the students themselves from a curated program of features, documentaries, animated programs and shorts. Special guest speakers such as actors, directors and other prominent personalities present the films and take part in Q&A’s with the students.
With this initiative we are addressing a very serious crisis in our cultural life in Canada.
Canada faces unique challenges in creating and maintaining a viable cultural identity. Movies and television from foreign countries, the U.S. in particular, are ubiquitous and overwhelming. The stories that we consume are increasingly stories told by, and about, others. At a time when screen-based media is at its peak of influence, Canadians are threatened by the prospect of invisibility.
Most dangerously, the points of Canadian identification for young people are becoming fewer and fewer. Without an awareness of Canada as a distinct and sovereign nation, succeeding generations may find it more and more difficult to defend our unique social and political values.
REEL CANADA is an attempt to counteract these trends by creating future audiences and instilling in young people a sense of pride in Canadian cinema, as well as some understanding of Canada’s place in the world with regards to what is, in the 21st Century, the dominant cultural medium.
As our program grows into new communities across the country in future years, we believe we can not only increase audiences for our films and help move our education system forward into the modern currency of screen based media, but also, most crucially, nurture a sense of cultural identification among young Canadians.
By telling Canadian audiences Canadian stories – we can build a stronger and prouder Canada.
- Excerpt from Reel Canada’s Official Website
For More information on Reel Canada and how to book a festival visit: http://reelcanada.com/
THE LEAGUE OF CANADIAN POETS
The League of Canadian Poets is the professional organization for established and emerging Canadian poets. Founded by six poets in 1966 to nurture the community of poets and the craft of poetry, it now represents some 700 members nationally. The League serves the poetry community and promotes a high level of professional achievement through events, networking, projects, publications, mentoring, and awards; administers programs and funds for governments and private donors; and encourages an appreciative readership and audience through educational partnerships and presentations to diverse groups. As the recognized voice of Canadian poets, it represents their concerns to governments, publishers, and the larger society, and maintains connections with similar organizations at home and abroad. The League strives to promote equal opportunities for poets from every literary tradition and cultural and demographic background.
You can visit The League @ http://poets.ca/wordpress/about-us
BABES 4 BREASTS
B4B is a National Benefit Concert fundraising for a variety of Breast Cancer charities. Built from a desire to do good and unite women across the country, Founder Ana Miura enlisted the help of many talented, female musicians and have raised over $50,000 to date!
In 2003 Ana Miura decided it was time for her to start making a difference in her community. With nothing more than a desire to help, she chose music as her vehicle to raise funds and awareness for those dealing with breast cancer. With family and friends having battled breast cancer, Miura sought out to connect the local Ottawa music community with the women and men whose lives were affected by breast cancer. Inviting four other female singer/songwriters to join her in the first Babes for Breasts benefit concert, the night raised $500 for Breast Cancer Action Ottawa.
It was an incredible evening, but Miura hadn’t planned for an annual event. She was a young, busy student, single mom and musician and at the time happy with the success of the first B4B event. Then in 2005, in what Miura now describes as a turning point in the life of B4B occurred: the mother of a long friend passed away of breast cancer. Says Miura,
“We were standing at the back of the church during the funeral and I had a clear thought: this should not be happening to anyone. We have to do something. I have to do something. That’s when I decided I would start planning Babes4Breasts again.”
From that point in time, Babes4Breasts began to grow. Enlisting the help of fellow Ottawa singer/songwriter Amanda Rheaume the two set out to plan and perform in concerts all across Canada from 2007 until present. Featuring over 40 artists and touring through 21 different Canadian cities, B4B has raised over $50,000 for a variety of charities.
The concert itself is an intimate, authentic and moving evening of music featuring four singer/songwriters performing in a song circle; taking turns sharing songs and stories on stage. They are a beautiful testament to our strength in numbers and the connections we all share.
What has kept Miura and Rheaume going all these years? “We all have a responsibility to help others whether that is shovelling an elderly person’s driveway or putting on a benefit concert. Babes4Breasts has turned into a community in and of itself filled with incredible people and the love and dedication I feel is unwavering,” says Miura.
“Babes4Breasts continues to be an extremely fulfillng experience for me on a philantropy level as well as a musical level. Getting to sings songs with my friends to a huge audience and feel like you are making a difference is incredible,” says Rheaume.
Every BABE has been deeply affected by the stories of audience members who have had personal experience with breast cancer, whether they are a survivor, family member or friend. They are the reason we continue to run these tours, raising funds as well as awareness.
In April of 2012, Founder Ana Miura was informed she was selected to received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubliee Medal (www.gg.ca/diamondjubilee) in recognition of her contributions to her community through Babes4Breasts. She will be presented with the medal in June of 2012 to share with all of the amazing people who have helped Babes4Breasts along the way, from those who buy tickets, to those who work behind the scenes, to sponsors and charities; to friends and family. Says Miura,
“Community means many people working together to do better for the place we live and without your generosity and kindness, this would not be possible. I hope to live up to all of the other amazing recipients of this award – what an incredible country we live in”
Partus Films is proud to be a silver sponsor for B4B 2012! We encourage you to visit http://www.babesforbreasts.com for more info on the charity and its corresponding benefit concerts!
