Nowa Cumig

Just finished the new Nowa Cumig Institute promo film, featuring excerpts from the Sacred Run 06, Longest Walk 08, Clean up Mother Earth Tour with Mary Sano, Tony Chapman & Dennis Banks, as well as the feature du jour, the Great Anishinabe Canoe Race Yamamoto Cup.

Amidst the waves of the Leech Lake in Ojibwe territory, Minnesota, then into the wonder land of Tokyo Japan and the Chiba prefecture where the master canoers, if that is a word, were taken for their grand prix.

Once the film has been screened in Japan in the coming week, a link to the video will be posted.

Photo below : yours truly on the roof of Omote Sando Hills, with M. Yamamoto, benefactor absolute of Nowa Cumig and namesake of the Yamamoto Cup. Photo by Takeo Koshikawa.

Montréal

Rë/Discovering the joys of maple trees in the spring + the smell of firewood

Wonder Chamber no. 1 : Japan

This is my very new piece,

 the first in a series i had been dying to do for years - the Wonder Chambers. 

This series was inspired by a museum exhibit I saw years ago with my beautiful friend Eri, one fresh night of August, at the Museum of Art and Science in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

The exhibit reminded me of the Renaissance experiments with shadow boxes, and highlighting/dissecting/studying little microcosms rather than just the big picture - focusing on the detail of the wing of a dragonfly, for example, and making a whole painting out of it. 

So there was born my wonder chambers, little video pieces meant to be opened like a treasure box, with a tiny piece in there - in this case, the piece being my respectful hommage to the monks and temples of Japan, and to nam myoho renge kyo, the mystic law of the Lotus Sutra. 

enjoy :)

here she is ... my ferris wheel

L.A. love

A quick note to say I have been living/breathing/creating in Santa Monica upon my return from the U.K. early January, where I am working on two portraits for Evolvement Productions. 

These projects have been intensively rewarding, being very 'value-creating' as we would say in Buddhist terms, as we are depicting the lives of two men, in all their simplicity, grandeur, happy and sad memories... highlighting, under the keen eye of Evolvement's founder Karine Petit, the life lessons and guidances weaving their way out of these men's stories. It has been a real pleasure to gather music for their soundtracks, from traditional folk music of Quebec (Vigneault, etc) to great classical composers, and a little escapade towards some Gershwin and vintage Fantasia footage ... These are the first two pieces I am doing in my own language, about my people, my roots, my land, and my music. Quite the comeback ... 

Stay tuned for more news. Coming up next : the 2009 reel, and a MFA application on the way

montreal, 1+T

back in the island-city, covered in snow, choir children and wallpaper. I am working hard on a National Geographic proposal for The Longest Walk, with ambitions of finishing an 8mm short film I shot years ago at the same time, and visit old friends in every neighborhood of the town. the night is young, montreal lives on

Tokyo Fever

A 15 day business & cultural adventure in Japan. Filming of the events, cultural exchanges and various activities that the delegation took part in; Native american youth, two fellow documentary filmmakers, M. Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement, and my dear friend and collaborator Tashina Banks. We were welcomed by our Japanese counterparts, major sponsors of the Nowa Cumig Institute's initiatives, under the generosity of eco-business man of the year, M. Yamamoto, and his general manager, M. Koshikawa. We took part in sweats, drum circles, mingled with very young Japanese students in a sweet potatto harvest festival, stayed at a Buddhist temple, and got to become part of the local landscape through both heart and flesh. Here are a few images, some extracted from the footage I shot :

Longest Walk post-production moves on

Week spent in Sausalito revising budgets, proposals and such. The Longest Walk promo video was revised. We await a kick-start funding effort to move on to the next step : the first funding round, an official press kit being on the way, and a potential showing of the trailer at Sundance film festival January 2009.

In the meantime, the preview WILL be premiered at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco between November 7th and November 15th. Detailed information to follow on schedules and tickets.

Here is the new version, with added commentaries by Harry Belafonte and Daryl Hannah during the Washington D.C. celebration :

September in Montreal_ la rentrée culturelle

8:51 creative headquarters

it's time for some good old adobe walls, to be ready for winter .... calling all Corrales residents for input ... ;)

Back in New Mexico

The Longest Walk ended triumphantly in Washington D.C. on July 11th. On that historical day, the end of a chapter was written, and the . Although... 'The Longest Walk never ends'.

Indeed, it did not. As I settle back into my fiery desert sun, a new blank scroll unfolds. The ultimate creative challenge : plunge into the depths of a 100+ hours of footage, swim, storm and breathe through it, and emerge at the other end, 9 months later, with a new born of a son, a 90 minute documentary to encompass both 1978 and 2008 Longest Walks. THE Longest Walk documentary. In all its humble, raw, extroverted, dramatic, slow motioned and wild moments. ETA to be announced shortly.

In the meantime, looking for new 8:51 creative headquarters, with sunlight, horses and a dance studio nearby. Good coffee too, and maybe even a sunport (or makeshift sunport, like a big old cottonwood tree) to shade my classic car, or my 4Runner. That, also, is TBD. ;)

MM is 8:51

Longest Walk official promo video by 8:51

Produced by Takeo Koshikawa, Tashina Banks Moore and Marie-Michele Jasmin-Belisle. Cinematography/editing Marie-Michele
Additional footage by Glen Chalk and Stephen Carthwright (1978 footage). ©2008 Nowa Cumig Institute

The Southern Route

Still walking>filming>running>dreaming as we walk across country... Here are some photos taken on the Longest Walk's passage through New Orleans and the Louisiana bayous, Mississippi and currently in Alabama www.longestwalk.org

Video premiere in Harajuku, Tokyo

For those in Tokyo please see the below invitation, for the opening of Navajo jeweler Ray Tracey's latest collection, 'Earth & Sky'. 8:51 created the video which will be premiered at the opening next week in downtown Tokyo _ Harajuku.

The Longest Walk

The newest 8h51 project, a historical Walk to be captured on video : The Longest Walk 2008. See www.longestwalk.org. More details upcoming. Call for funding is out, and available upon request.

Los Angeles

Following the premiere of "Angels Nest" at the Kodak Theatre on September 15, 8h51 moved its headquarters to L.A. to work with HDXD Cews as an editor through intensive shoot+edit gigs for television through satellite feeds for clients and events such as the Salvation Army emergency services - covering the fires in San Diego-, the celebration of Italian culture at South Coast Plaza, David Beckham and his Soccer Academy, the Simpsons premiere of their new video game, the Electronic Arts newly released "Need for Speed" game released at Les Deux on November 13, and the Los Angeles auto show at the LACC, also happening this month.

Elevate at the Kodak Theatre

Lastest project, 48 hr film competition between Australia, India, Mexico and the USA, representing the latter under the direction of Otis Mannick, cinematographer Isaac Rodriguez and editor Marie-Michele Jasmin-Belisle. The piece is an 8 minute documentary on Angels Nest, a sustainable earthship-like research center in Taos, New Mexico. Narration by Kevin Costner, music by Chris Brinkler. Presented September 15 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles as part of the 2007 Elevate Film Festival.

Wounded Knee Video Launch

july

In Production :

Hiphop music videos - the latest from Project Babies

About to Launch :

A tentative August 7th online launch for 8h51's latest piece, 'Wounded Knee intro" for indigenous hip hop group CULTURE SHOCK CAMP. See www.cultureshockcamp.com / www.myspace.com/cultureshockcamp

Upcoming Collaborations :

A soundscape video for bassist extraordinaire Tanya Nunez (www.tanyanunez.com ; see "Train")

Pending :

Acceptation for NYC's "Drift" exhibition, November 2007 :)

mai

Wrap-up of live dance version of Readymade Dance Theatre Company's Version 2.0 (see www.readymadedance.org) Next shows at at NYC's famed P.S. 122, July 9-12

Now booking Culture Shock Camp (myspace.com/cultureshockcamp) and post-production soon to start on the music video for Micco Rebels from the Sun ... hau !


White Sands video loop submitted to the Gary Farmer Gallery of Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe

Video piece for Keva Juice owner "Somewhere between heaven and las vegas", a momentum from a recent - and very wild - private party, is done

Departure for YUL May 22nd - montreal -; I return on June 5 and jump straight into the Digital Bootcamp, where I will guest lecture on my work and give workshops on video editing, as well as assisting of the production teams on their cinematic venture :)

More to come ... bon printemps !

Nouvelles d'avril

April news and events :

April 13-14-15 ; Video shoot for Readymade Dance Theater Company at White Sands National Monument

April 20 ; Premiere of the RMDTC dance piece (see above) "Version 2.0" at Cake studio (4011 Silver avenue SE 505.980.5273)

April 27 ; "First Vision Filmmaker Forum". This one-day event is free and will be held at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque on April 27, 2007, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The University of New Mexico will broadcast the Forum from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on streaming digital video from a link at: www.nmfilm.com.

April 26-27-28 ; Gathering of Nations powwow to be held at the Pit, Albuquerque's basketball venue

To be wrapped this month :

Coo-contrast - short promo for fiber art Eri Imamura

In active pre-production :

'Demonic Lovely', a music video for gypsy swing band Le Chat Lunatique, to be shot on location at the Yucca Lounge, Pucini's Golden West and in a white cube studio TBD