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CAPTURE 8 is a virtual exhibition and presentation of new Super 8mm works done in collaboration with VUCAVU.

CAPTURE 8 will see the creation of new Super 8mm film based works from six exciting Canadian independent filmmakers. The selected filmmakers are free  to create works rooted in their own ethos and experiences.

Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa

VUCAVU and the Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa (IFCO) presents:

CAPTURE 8

Curated by: Mukarram Ramadan

 

ARTIST TALKS

Live streamed artist talks will be held on February 17 and 24, 2022 from 6 PM -7 PM EST.  

Moderated by Marie-Hélène Villeneuve. 

Watch by clicking the video links below !

PANEL 2 >>  February 24, 2022 6 PM -7 PM EST.   with artists:

Tasha Brown
Miryam Charles,
Matthew Rankin



PANEL 1 >>  SEE VIDEO BELOW 
Originally broadcast on February 17, 2022 with artists:

Alexandra Gelis,
Ariel Smith
Malena Szlam,
 


CAPTURE 8

Essay by Patrice James


CAPTURE 8 is a program which allows filmmakers to capture a mood, a thing, a space, an essence, an act; each artist working with the magical aesthetic of Super 8mm has an opportunity to simply CAPTURE! In this time of a once-in-a-century pandemic which seems to be without end, and as The Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa Inc. (IFCO’s) doors remain physically closed; we reached out to six amazing filmmakers beyond our local boundary, to invite them to create exciting new Super 8mm film-based works. Through these talented artists we have an opportunity to show that analogue, emulsion art making can still exist beyond the physical realm, and within a hyper digital/virtual reality. We wanted to allow these filmmakers a rare opportunity to create film-based works in a time when it seems that access to creating such work would be nearly impossible. Their enthusiasm and excitement to shoot on Super 8mm was inspiring. Not one invited artist wavered. And so, this is a true testament to the passion and commitment of filmmakers who love working with emulsion. 

CAPTURE 8 is also a celebration of the rich diversity of artists who are willing and interested in working with FILM within a contemporary media art context. Some of these artists strictly work with emulsion, while others use a variety of media for their storytelling. They all however greatly enjoy the opportunity to SHOOT on Super 8mm. 
 

Through these talented artists we have an opportunity to show that analogue, emulsion art making can still exist beyond the physical realm, and within a hyper digital/virtual reality.

Still image from "MAIPO", Malena Szlam, 00h 07m 10s, 2022

Super 8mm is a medium that is at once both serendipitous and exacting. You can plan and plan, and things don’t turn out as you anticipated, or you can plan and plan, and things turn out exactly as you intended. Either way the anticipation of waiting for your film to come back from the lab, never grows old. It is always so satisfying to see your motion picture film come back and fill you with awe! For whether the CAPTURE is perfect or not… the grain and the colours of the film have such a timeless feel; your footage looks like a movie at the outset. And that… is the magic and wonderment of the aesthetic of Super 8mm FILM!

Five out of the six artists involved in the program are IBPoC, which is ever more important in these times when our society is being compelled towards truly embracing cultural pluralism. Diverse voices, diverse experiences and equitable cultural representation should be the true gauge of a healthy and inclusive society. It is the artist, the filmmaker who are often tasked with being the arbiters of truth. This is not to say that the filmmaker is responsible for constantly examining social issues, but film as an artform does often mirror what is happening in society past and present and will sometimes be critical about, and challenge social inequities. Perhaps the films created by CAPTURE 8 filmmakers Tasha Brown, Miryam Charles, Alexandra Gelis, Matthew Rankin, Ariel Smith and Malena Szlam will do this? If not, these incredible artists will still create films rooted in their own ethos and experiences.

We look forward to you joining us in 2022 to celebrate 30 years of supporting filmmakers, filmmaking and FILM!

- Patrice James
 

For whether the CAPTURE is perfect or not… the grain and the colours of the film have such a timeless feel; your footage looks like a movie at the outset. And that… is the magic and wonderment of the aesthetic of Super 8mm FILM!

Still image from "In-between-the-lines", Alexandra Gelis, 2021, 00h 08m 27s 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ALEXANDRA GELIS

 

Alexandra Gelis is a Colombian-Venezuelan media artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. Her studio practice combines film, video, installation, and photography with custom built interactive electronics. Her projects incorporate personal field research as a tool to investigate the ecologies of various landscapes through examining the traces left by various socio-political interventions. She uses data capture techniques, video, sound, and spatial and electronic media to create non-fiction based immersive installations; single and multi channel films and videos. She has exhibited internationally in North and South America and Africa. 

ARTIST WEBSITE
VUCAVU PROFILE 

MATTHEW RANKIN


Matthew Rankin studied Québec history at McGill University and Université Laval before burrowing into the artistic underclass of his native Winnipeg to become a maker of art films. 

Working in video and photo-chemical hybrids of documentary, experimental drama and animated abstraction, Matthew’s films have been the object of both international acclaim and outraged corporate attack. An alumnus of the Sundance Film Festival, Matthew was a 2013 artist-in-residence at the McDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and is the first Winnipegger in film history to be nominated for Québec’s coveted Jutra award. Matthew works in French, English and, increasingly, Esperanto.

VUCAVU PROFILE

TASHA BROWN

Tasha Brown is an independent Canadian filmmaker with nine film credits to date. She has been a part of the Canadian media arts scene for the last fourteen years. Tasha is committed to creating film and digital works that capture various human experiences. Tasha is a renaissance woman; she directs, shoots, and edits her film/digital works. 

ARTIST WEBSITE

MALENA SZLAM

Malena Szlam (Chile) is an artist filmmaker based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Her films, performances and installations examine the relations between cinematic practice, embodiment, temporality, and perception. Engaging the affective dimensions of analogue processes, Szlam’s work gives material form to kinetic and lyrical approximations of the natural world.

Szlam’s work has been showcased at leading festivals including Wavelengths at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), New Directors/New Films Festival, Media City Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and CPH:DOX. Her latest film, ALTIPLANO received numerous awards, including 25 FPS’s Grand Prix, Melbourne International Film Festival’s Best Experimental Short Film, and TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten 2018.
 
Recently, INFRA— a retrospective of her work was presented at SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art in Montreal. Other international group exhibitions include Time Machine, Palazzo del Governatore (Italy); Expanded Plus, Factory of Contemporary Arts Palbok (South Korea); and The Moon: From Inner Worlds to Outer Space, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Denmark). 

ARTIST WEBSITE
VUCAVU PROFILE

MIRYAM CHARLES

Miryam Charles is a director, producer and director of photography living in Montreal. She has produced and photographed several short fiction films as well as feature films . She is also the director of several short films which have been presented in various festivals in Quebec and internationally. She is currently working on her first feature-length documentary Cette maison (Talents en vue, SODEC) on short fiction film Au crépuscule (SODEC créateurs émergents), a fantastic series X (Banff/Netflix Diversity of Voices + Trio Orange) as well as a feature-length fiction film Le marabout (La forge Québec cinéma/Netflix + Voyelles Films).

ARTIST WEBSITE

ARIEL SMITH


Ariel Smith is an award-winning filmmaker, video artist, curator, writer and cultural worker, currently based in Dish With One Spoon Treaty Territory on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. Having created independent media art since 2001, much of her work has shown at festivals and galleries across Canada and internationally. Ariel is largely self-taught, but honed many of her skills through artist-run centres and her passion for artist-run culture has become an integral part of her practice. She has previously worked as the technical director of Saw Video Media Arts Centre and as the Executive Director of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. Ariel is currently the Artistic Director of Native Women in The Arts and is completing an MFA in film production at York University.

ARTIST WEBSITE

A film still image of a park bench in a field of grass

Still image from: "Municipal Relaxation Module" by Matthew Rankin / 6:02 / 2021 

ABOUT THE PROGRAMMER

PATRICE JAMES

 

Patrice James is an Ottawa based filmmaker and media artist with eight film credits and two digital credits to date. Patrice is presently the Executive Director of the Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa Inc. (IFCO) and has been responsible for much of the Co-operative’s artistic programming over the last approximately seventeen years.

Ms. James is recognized as one of Ottawa’s senior filmmakers. In May 2019, her films Ba-Bye Mammy Ba-Bye; Meh Brotha & CRACKED became part of The Ottawa Art Gallery’s - Permanent Collection Acquisition - Firestone Collection of Canadian Art. Her film Ba-Bye Mammy Ba-Bye was additionally recently featured in The Ottawa Art Gallery’s group exhibition Sheltered in Place: Portraits of Self, Family and Community.
OAG Collections Story: Filmmaker Patrice James

ABOUT THE CURATOR

MUKARRAM RAMADAN 


Mukarram Ramadan is an Arab Canadian independent media artist. She has an Honours BA in Political Science and Communications and MA in Film Studies. She has created short films which have been officially selected for screening at local and international film festivals, including Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, New York, London, Moscow, and Beirut. She is a two-time recipient of the City of Ottawa’s Youth in Culture award, providing funding for two short film productions. 

She held positions as the Events, Communications and Film Festival Coordinator for the One World Film Festival, Ottawa’s longest-running documentary film festival raising awareness on social justice, human rights, and environmental issues. Since 2017, she has served on the Board of Directors for One World Arts, a charitable arts organization with a focus on the media and performing arts, designed to engage and educate through the arts. She is also the Artist Support Coordinator at The Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa (IFCO) and is currently the curator for IFCO’s CAPTURE 8 project, a virtual exhibition of new Super 8mm works in collaboration with VUCAVU. 

ARTIST WEBSITE

IFCO would like to thank their funder, the Canada Council for the Arts.

      


 

This curated program is part of the VUCAVU Expanded project.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.​