The Lido

An interview I produced for FBi Radio, with acclaimed filmmaker...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 08:03:00 -0400

An interview I produced for FBi Radio, with acclaimed filmmaker Anna Kokkino’s about her film ‘Blessed’

Every good movie is an autobiography Recently I saw Mike...

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 06:19:00 -0500

Every good movie is an autobiography

Recently I saw Mike Mills’ autobiographical film Beginners. Mills (as played by Ewan McGregor) is a fumbling graphic designer, who frustratingly keeps missing the mark on designs for his clients - because he can’t stop himself from making heartfelt art instead.

His character is sad, grieving because he has recently cared for and lost both parents to illness. But there is also a sense of underlying depression and loneliness about the character. He meets a girl at a party and surprisingly she asks him “Why did you come to a party if you’re sad?”

In Beginners, Mills bravely shares his personal experience of depression with his viewers, a world of strangers. This made me think about Lars Von Triars’ Melancholia.Which is also autobiographical, in the sense that it’s deeply about Lars Von Triar’s personal struggle with manic depression over the last six years. These are two incredibly real and wonderful films, where each filmmaker has given everything.

Does depression make a good filmmaker?

Mike Mills’ blog while making Beginners (his take on autobiographies):
http://www.filminfocus.com/profile/mike_mills?utype=blog&uid=autobiography_is_fantasy#blog_title

An Interlude on Platform 1

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 04:05:00 -0400

It’s 2:19pm on a Monday, the Queens birthday, 2011. I’m sitting on Platform 1 of Bowral...

In the Night Garden was a one-off kaleidoscopic wonderland at...

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 02:02:00 -0400

In the Night Garden was a one-off kaleidoscopic wonderland at Tortuga Studio’s which exploded onto the fringe of the sydney fringe festival two weeks ago.
Transforming a grimy set of laneways into a secret garden of curiosities, In the Night Garden featured video art, sculpture, live performance and light installations. It felt like one big street party, celebrating the bonds of the local artistic community.

‘Home’ - Eora College Art Exhibition returns to Boomalli...

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:23:59 -0400

‘Home’ - Eora College Art Exhibition returns to Boomalli Aboriginal Art Gallery

Filmmakers block?

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:30:07 -0400

Filmmakers block?: So everyone’s heard of writers block … I feel like I sort of have...

AGNSW Kaldor wing opening - Wayne Tunnicliffe, Curator. FBi...

Wed, 18 May 2011 10:02:00 -0400

AGNSW Kaldor wing opening - Wayne Tunnicliffe, Curator.

FBi Radio breaker (1 of 5)

The Stationmasters Sigh Standing on the train platform at...

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:56:00 -0400

The Stationmasters Sigh

Standing on the train platform at Macquarie University station after a long day at work, I wipe a layer of grime from my forehead as a buzz starts humming from the station speakers. The stationmaster makes a brief announcement saying my train back to the city is delayed by 5 minutes, but afterwards … he forgets to hang up the microphone. In-between the static crackling of the microphone, about 100 restless workers and students share this mans world for a brief moment. As he sits in his booth, unaware that he is projecting to the whole station, he gently clears his throat and then unknowingly releases a long heartfelt sigh. Somewhat melancholy. I want more. THIS is his moment to be heard. But maybe that one sigh was enough? It was the most beautifully honest thing I’ve heard all week. I smile behind my newspaper … And look to see if others share my joy.

So I got an iPhone … I resisted from using the word...

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:49:00 -0400

So I got an iPhone …

I resisted from using the word ‘finally’ in the above. Because I realise that the iPhone is a fashion accessory more than it is a necessity.

Recently at SIA’s Enmore Theatre gig here in Sydney, she urged everyone to get off their phones by saying if they weren’t interested in watching the show they should leave. People who had paid approx $60 were lining the corridors of the Enmore Theatre - nowhere near the stage, sitting cross legged on the ground scrolling the pages of their iPhone’s/Androids. Looking severely bored or brainwashed, not sure which. I’m not a huge SIA fan, but if I’d paid to see a gig, I’d at least watch it.

Are iPhone’s a pacifier? Are they numbing us into a comfortable state where all answers are at our fingertips? I read an article recently that suggested that without a break from ‘screen-time,’ our thinking can be altered. We require a certain amount of time to process our thoughts which can’t happen if we never switch off.

Rather than solve or think a problem through using our head, we can much more conveniently get a faster and more reliable answer from Google. We don’t take the time to let our thinking process turn full circle. It’s as if the iPhone/hard-drive is replacing some small part of our brain. Scary.

How I paid the rent throughout my film degree … This is...

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:42:00 -0400

How I paid the rent throughout my film degree …

This is seriously one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. I’ve seen so many amazing international and local live bands, and been paid to do it.

Being a bartender in a live music venue has its ups and downs; dealing with drunken patrons and missing out on weekend fun. But having these things in common, has only made us all that much tighter at The Metro. The good most definitely outweighs the bad. So many fun times.

Radio showreel … extracts from pieces I’ve produced...

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:26:00 -0500

Radio showreel … extracts from pieces I’ve produced for Canvas on FBi Radio 94.5

This showreel features excerpts from:Small...

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:07:00 -0500

This showreel features excerpts from:
Small Hours
Passengers
Undercurrents
Fierce Friends

Two new exciting projects are on their way:

‘Arthurville’ - A surreal documentary about a mysterious, living and breathing Newtown manor that literally consumes its tenants.

‘Hotcakes’ - A short fictional film based in 1984, where Sydney based cock-rock-glam band ‘Hotcakes’ are determined to ‘fake it til they make it.’ It’s ‘excess all areas’ as they pout their way to top.

Also, I am looking for production experience and/or work within the Sydney area, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

emmalsanderson@gmail.com

This week for Canvas on FBi Radio I visited two of the boys...

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:48:00 -0500

This week for Canvas on FBi Radio I visited two of the boys from Chunk Design, Andrew Bezzina and Hugh Worthington.

Chunk design are 3 local young designers who won a couple awards recently in ‘The Edge’ furniture design competition at the Australian International Furniture Fair.
More info www.chunkdesign.com.au

MS Sandersonnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:37:48 -0500

Misssss Searesssssssssssssss!!! x

A wild new short film is in the works between myself, Tessa...

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:41:24 -0500

A wild new short film is in the works between myself, Tessa Ramsey and Liam O’Shea. We’ve recruited two local bands with glam-rock leanings and the result will be something like a WWF existential-musical. We’re excited.

Stay tuned for upcoming screening dates around Sydney.

After a brief and studious hiatus, I’m happy to be...

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:31:00 -0500

After a brief and studious hiatus, I’m happy to be volunteering as a Field Producer at FBi Radio once again. Last week I interviewed James Stevenson, exhibition manager for Mirazozo, Architects of Air’s latest inflatable walk-in sculpture.

For more info: http://www.architects-of-air.com/luminaria/mirazozo.html

Video

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 02:13:00 -0500

(photo courtesy of Mike Spurrier) Private Laws in Public...

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 07:45:00 -0500

(photo courtesy of Mike Spurrier)

Private Laws in Public Parks

As I sit here writing this blog, there is a religious group of about 50 people gathered outside my window, taking turns singing and yelling down a screeching microphone in Hollis Park, Newtown. I can still hear them through my industrial strength earplugs. They’re fund-raising with a raffle, jumping castle and selling candles which they’re all lighting. They’ve been there for hours and the event seems to be gathering momentum as they repetitively break into song to celebrate their faith. As distracting as this may be to me right now, I have to accept that Hollis Park is a public space. And that public space will continue to push and pull us as we struggle to share it.

In ‘Sitings of Public Art,’ Miwon Kwon talks of ‘failed’ public art works by John Ahearn and Richard Serra, which where ultimately rejected by the public. Where did they go wrong? Richard Serra’s steel sculpture ‘Titled Arc’ annoyed some simply because they had to walk around it. It was a daily interference, which was actually Serra’s point, yet irritating to the public nonetheless. Ahearn’s life-size bronze cast portraits were read in varied ways by the local community, but the majority saw them as inappropriate and containing negative connotations. Generally casting the local community in a poor light. With this in mind, what makes a public artwork successful? Can art be made for everyone? If not, who is it made for?

Kwon states there are three ‘distinct paradigms’ of public art; ‘art-in-public spaces,’ ‘art-as-public-spaces’ and art-in-the-public-interest.’ Another recent happening in Hollis Park fits under the ‘art-in-public-spaces’ paradigm. I haven’t been able to find any official documentation for the artwork, so this is a personal account … But in the late hours of Saturday 11th September 2010, I saw a large fortress-like structure had been built out of milk crates (with cable-ties) at the top of the park. You could stand inside it … imagine a large colourful igloo. Yet, by morning an interesting move was made by the council to surround the ad-hoc sculpture with council branded metal barricades. Therefore, the public could no-longer enter the fortress and it was rendered dysfunctional - I’m assuming it had been deemed a safety hazard by officials. By afternoon vandals had completely torn the fortress down. The crate Fortress was gone within 24 hours of its initial creation, thus essentially an ephemeral work. All the different stages and apparent obstacles of this specific instance reflect the fact that public art will always be contested. But maybe THIS is the essence of a successful public artwork after all? If it doesn’t challenge people, trigger impulses or reactions, make people think, bring them into the present moment … Why put it in peoples paths in the first place?

So that noise keeping me awake at night … turns out...

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 02:43:00 -0400

So that noise keeping me awake at night … turns out it’s mice making halloween costumes in my fridge. Seriously.

The Rise and Fall of the TV Journalist: Adam Curtis I’ve just...

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:29:42 -0400

The Rise and Fall of the TV Journalist: Adam Curtis

I’ve just been introduced to the work of Adam Curtis, a BBC TV journalist/documentary maker. He creates short films from BBC footage archives. His work consists of fast paced collages, cleverly linking random threads and exposing conspiracies in a playful style. Earlier this year, I had decided that I was going to make experimental documentaries for my major projects at Uni. The other night Mike asked “who else makes experimental documentaries?” I said I didn’t know. But now after viewing Adam Curtis’ film ‘It Felt Like a Kiss’ … I have an answer.

You can view all his films online at his blog: http://adamcurtisfilms.blogspot.com/