The Frozen Goose, Canadian Film - One Year Later

One Year Later - Final scene location for The Frozen Goose film

 

 One year ago today, after nine months of rehearsals, the local cast & crew dove in for an intense 6 days of film-making in North Burlington, Milton and at Westfield Heritage Village in southern Ontario, Canada.

One year later, this completed 25 minute Canadian film, about the psychic devastation that World War One wrought on one rural family, is a Reel Keeper! - Thanks to a superb cast: Leslie Gray as 'Leslie', John Fort as 'Tom', Rod McTaggart as 'Uncle Harry' - with youngsters Hannah Ralph playing 'Bella' & Cameron Brindle as 'Charlie! - Plus, a shout-out to local film champion, Nathan Fleet for keeping me rolling in the right direction during all aspects of production.

Clockwise: Two young stars, Hannah Ralph as 'Bella' & Cameron Brindle as 'Charlie', ruby red mittens made for the shoot, Cover Shot from The View Magazine review in December, 2016, plus DVDs on display at Canadian library.

(Here are some additional  'behind-the-scenes' from the 1st Day of the shoot.)

Releasing on September 11th, 2016, with a World Premiere at the Art Gallery of Burlington, it was very gratifying to see & hear audience's reaction, (from 2 sold-out screenings), for all the hard work all had put in. Overall, since 2014, there have been 18 pieces of PRESS written about this film.  The First Edition DVDs also sold out within the first two weeks of release.

Slowly but surely, as Producer, Director and Writer, I am now planning the BEST way to carry this small, yet timely, project forward ... Two distributors have offered Contracts. But, in the current topsy-turvy world of internet broadcasting, their EXCLUSIVE 5 to 7-year terms may not be, in fact, the best way ahead ... While I weigh out the pros and cons of this aspect of production, this wonderful family-friendly film is now Available ON-LINE  - GIVE A GANDER!

Cameron Brindle, as 'Charlie', getting ready for Take 4 at another private location in Halton County.

 Watch & Share The FROZEN GOOSE on-line 

at: https://thefrozengoose.vhx.tv/

Telling Tales Festival 2016, at Westfield Heritage Village

Main Stage Audience at Telling Tales Festival 2016 - Photo by M.L.Holton

I had the good fortune of attending my first Telling Tales Festival (now in it's 8th year) at Westfield Heritage Village this past Sunday. What a joy-filled & brilliant event this is!

The Festival convincingly engages & entertains on multiple levels, all geared towards developing and encouraging interest in literacy for youngsters. The focus is 'story-telling' at its very finest.

A 'Good Book' gives so much, much more then just 'a story'. Converting a child to read in this current age of 'screen dominance' is, seemingly, an up-hill battle. But, as the author, Dr.Daniel Coleman, rightly explains in this video, literacy can OPEN a child's IMAGINATION in ways unimaginable by just vision-based content. It creates complex synaptic associations that build the ground-work for future constructive & creative thinking. It envelops the MIND in worlds outside of one's own experience or knowledge. All told, a Good Book nurtures a profound love of the essential 'code' of language - WORDS. 

What follows are my own impressions from my first visit to this heart-warming Festival. It's like nothing I've ever seen or heard before.  I truly wish 'Telling Tales' would SPREAD nation-wide like wildfire ...

Much credit must go to the Festival founder, Susan Jasper: a woman with a clear & well-developed innate literate VISION ... KUDOS to the WHOLE 'Telling Tales' team!!

And, next year, For Sure, GO with your Children!

Impressions of Telling Tales Festival 2016 from canadada on Vimeo.