The Top of the Box

Over the course of the past six months, Boxtop Studios has been actively involved with Projections and Ear to the Ground to bring stories from residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to the screen, big and small. The Carral Street Greenway, a proposed city project that will see considerable changes to Carral Street and the DTES, was the catalyst for residents to come forward and to tell their stories. With crews from both Projections and Ear to the Ground, there will be an installation showcasing the final pieces at The InterUrban located right on the corner of Carral and Hastings, the heart of where these stories were told. Three indoor screens, one large outdoor screen, and Hip-Hop with the proper breakdancing (not to mention tons of food) will round out the entire evening.
Call us or go to www.projections.ca to learn more about what it is that we do.

The 35mm Short Film by Claudia Medina has locked at Boxtop. It is now on its way into the sound sessions as music and sound design become the next step in this beautifully shot film about a girl who is out to discover what it means to sing the songs of sorrow and lost from her country of old Mexico.

Originally shot on 35mm film, transferred to SD and cut in Final Cut Pro, the film will have a negative cutter confrom the film to a 35mm print to be screened at festivals around the world using the Cut Lists generated in Final Cut Pro. The process is exactly the same as one would conform a feature length film for theatrical distribution and if you would like to learn about our process feel free to contact us here at Boxtop.

info@boxtopstudios.com or (604) 220-2280

Over the past year, Boxtop Studios has donated its time and equipment to the not-for-profit organization Projections, a film mentoring program for at risk youth within Vancouver. On July 11th at 8pm, you can witness the premier of the short film “A Long Night”, a film our youth wrote, directed, starred in, and produced. This particluar piece incorporates what street youths go through as a young professional is asked to take the spot of a girl who has been living most of her life on the streets of Vancouver. The film  shows how certain perceptions have been ingrained in non-street related citizens and how easy it has been to forget the problem that exists today. Be sure to check it out!

From June 19th to the 23rd, Boxtop Studios worked the World Urban Forum with great success. Accumulating over 230 interviews from delegates from around the world, Boxtop has posted all of them at Sustainablity Corner making the whirl-wind event larger than anticipated. Mayors from around the world, UN representatives, and World Leaders gave us two minutes of their time to let us know what sustainability means in real terms. The event gave many perspectives on the state of affairs in the world today as well as some very exciting and innovated solutions to the problems we face as a planet. Have a look and tell us what you think.

Boxtop Studios will be producing a speaker’s corner at the Sustainable Condo held at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver from June 19th-23rd. Through the UN-Habitat, The World Urban Forum at its core is a dialogue toward solutions for sustainable living and work environments. This event is held every two years around the world and this year - it is in Vancouver. Together with sponsors VANOC and EcoSmart and production partner Flourish Media, Boxtop Studios will be producing 1-2min pieces of delegates who wish to express their concerns, wishes, and practices for sustainable economies pertaining to five areas: health, materials, water, land, and energy.

The voices will be broadcasted over the world wide web via our good friends at Raincity Studios. Stay tuned for updates of all kinds.

Boxtop Studios just received word that Nilesh C. Patel’s documentary Brocket 99: Rockin’ the Country won Best Documentary at the First Peoples’ Film Festival in Montreal. Boxtop’s own Arthur Maughan was the editor which took nearly 10 months of his life to complete the feature length film that saw screenings is Toronto, Vancouver, and at the Calgary International Film Festival. Shot on both Digital Video and 16mm film, Brocket 99: Rockin’ the Country continues to capture the attention of audiences through out Canada as they embark on a road trip through Alberta in an effort to discover people’s views on the tape.

In the mid-80’s and audio tape began circulating around Canada and parts of the U.S. called Brocket 99. The tape, made in Lethbridge, Alberta, is a parody portraying how a morning radio show would sound if it was made by Aboriginals. The tape utilizes the stereotypes of Aboriginals as drug, alcohol and physical abusers to induce laughter, anger, and controversy.

The discussions that occured in the film about the infamous ‘B99′ tape raised many questions and opinions about humour, racism, identity, and Canada. At times angry and at times funny, the film is a wild ride through not only Western Canada but also the psyche of what is Canadian.