There’s only 1 more day left till the 17th annual Eyelens Film Fest in Oak Bay here in Victoria! If your not from here I have a few warnings & suggestions. If your arriving early;Beware: today there will be hundreds of freaks, young & old smoking Marijuana in peaceful protest next to City Hall downtown in Centennial Square (or Spirit Square as it’s been calle…d lately) so keep your kids away. The answer is blowing in the wind.

In celebration, there will be various savage events happening all over the city tonight. Deep in the bushes of W. Saanich tonight at a secret location, The Red Door; my friends in their Grind-Core band 6 Brew Bantha will be releasing their new L.P & playing a gig with other local crusty, metal, punks Iskra, No Eulogy & Bungus. This will be the last house-show at the venue as well as the last time 6-Brew plays before they disembark on their insane 2-month tour of America. My friend Dirty Devon is also playing a bar show in Fernwood at Logan’s Pub in his Stoner-Rock band Buzard opening up for Vancouver’s Cocaine Mustache & in Esquilmalt (E.S.Q) The Sweat Hogz are playing at The Cambie.

If your 19 or older my favorite joint to hang out in is Big Bad Johns; forget the clubs like Hush, Boutique, Rehab & 919; I prefer geezer pubs, Monty’s & Soprano’s Karaoke Bar. In B.B.J’s they serve you free peanuts which they encourage you to huck on the floor; there’s bra’s & undergarments hanging from the ceiling & you can graffiti all you want on their dirty walls. It’s a historic Honky-Tonk where they play Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Stompin’ Tom Conner’s, Tammy Wynette & all my other ancient Country Classics I love.

Tomorrow will be record store day too! So before festivities begin go to Wolf & Dani’s Black Raven Records on Quadra St. & my friend’s shop Talk’s Cheap on Pandora Ave. He has vintage exploitative movie posters & art on his walls; with some dirt cheap VHS horror films for sale , hundreds of rock n’ roll records & books. A buddy I met at 2-day film school owns The Absolute Underground Store too beneath Trounce Alley where you can pick up sleazy, gory movies like Brian Clement’s Meat Market 3 & his vile comic books; Champions of Hell, Zombie Jesus & Undead Inbreds. All these dealers sell merchandise from many of the awesome local musicians in the city.

Another place is Old Nicks Emporium on Johnson St. owned by Jesus Bonehead, ex-drummer of Victoria’s Dayglo Abortions; a band that has lasted over 30 years. I’ve known him since I was 10; when I’d skip school & study all his shirts, labeled with unseen band logos, movie posters & demonic explicit imagery. His store corrupted me & led me to listen to many atrocious bands.

Cause havoc within St. Ann’s Academy, Beacon Hill Park, The Whale Wall near The Johnson St. Bridge, Pandora, Rock Bay, The Songhees Rez Trailer Park, The Bastion Square Alleyways, Mt. Doug & as the deceased band D.I.Y sang; Riot on the Causeway.

Enjoy the Festival!

Alex T.

Andrea B.

Sunshine D.

Mark M.

Maria D.

By Erin McCracken – Victoria News
Published: April 17, 2012 1:00 PM
Updated: April 17, 2012 1:24 PM

At just 16 years old, Hannah Kruzel doesn’t aspire to become a filmmaker.

She is one.

In fact, two of the Victoria resident’s films – one she did on her own and another she collaborated on with friends – are nominated for awards, and will be shown along with several other films at the 17th annual Eyelens Film and Animation Festival, April 21.

Films screened at the festival were created by some of the 350 to 400 youth and adults who attended camps offered by the Gulf Islands Film and Television School, on Galiano Island last year.

This year the festival will be held for the first time outside of Vancouver.

Oak Bay High’s theatre was chosen as the venue due to the record number of films created by Oak Bay High students who have attended the film school over the years. The film camps are also popular with Victoria High students.

“It just seemed to make so much sense,” film school director George Harris said of the decision.

Kruzel, a Grade 10 student at Victoria High, likely won’t be able to attend the event due to a prior commitment, but she said watching her films on the big screen would be an incredible experience.

“I’d really like to be there (and think) ‘I can’t believe I did that,’” she said.

Kruzel is leaning towards a future career in the military rather than one in the film industry. Still, her passion for filmmaking is evident when she speaks about the projects she created last year, including the documentary Me, which she made with two friends.

“It’s talking about people’s insecurities with themselves, and how it actually makes them who they are,” she said of the five-minute piece.

For her second work, Kruzel wrote, edited and directed Story of the Accused, which tells the story of a boy accused of murdering his family.

“I like working with people, but I just thought it would be neat to really see how (the process) worked – to do it by yourself,” she said of the experience. “It was definitely fun.”

In creating Story of the Accused, especially editing five hours of material down to six minutes, Kruzel gained a greater appreciation for professional filmmakers.

“You see how hard they work to do it,” the teen said.

It’s this hands-on experience that attracts students from across North America to the Gulf Islands Film and Television School each year.

“It’s not a standard school where you do a lot of classroom stuff. You learn how to actually make a movie,” Harris said. “And that’s, we find, the best way to teach how to make a film – you make one.”

Event line-up

Admission to the Eyelens Film and Animation Festival is free.

Films will be shown Saturday (April 21), from 1 to 5 p.m. at Oak Bay High’s theatre, 2151 Cranmore Rd.

Watch Hannah’s nominated Documentary “Me” on YouTube…

Watch her nominated Drama “The Story of the Accused” on YouTube…

Also watch Hannah’s 2010 EyeLens winner “Almost Super” on YouTube…

Read full article…

Adam Kleaman had to wash a lot of cars, mow a lot of lawns and save up a lot of birthday and Christmas money to buy his first video camera.

But when the Clayton Heights Secondary student finally had the $700 he needed, washing cars and mowing lawns took a back seat to making movies. Adam immediately teamed up with classmate Devan King and they have since made about 15 short films.

One of those films, Adult Beverage, has been named a finalist in two categories in the annual EyeLens Film & Animation Festival taking place April 21 in Victoria.

“Usually, we’re in front of the camera, but this time we were 100 per cent behind it,” says Adam of the process. “It was the most fun we’ve ever had making a movie.”

Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy and Outstanding Achievement in Youth Dramatic Filmmaking, Adult Beverage follows the story of four young campers terrorized in the woods by a pair of chainsaw-wielding hillbilly brothers, complete with a twist at the end.

Just over seven minutes in length, the film was shot last summer on Galiano Island during a week-long course at the Gulf Islands Film & Television School (GIFTS). Adam and Devan wrote, produced, directed and edited their film with a student from Langley Fine Arts School.

Adam and Devan, both 16 and in Grade 11, have been making movies together for the last couple of years and their chemistry is obvious. While they admit to sometimes having “creative differences,” a resolution usually follows some 30 minutes later and the film is always better for the discussion.

“We’re proud of what we’ve been able to do and we’re always learning, so we feel like we could really have something here,” says Devan.

Watch “Adult Beverage” on YouTube…

Read full article…

The 17th Annual Eyelens Film & Animation Festival

sat. april 21

oak bay secondary theatre

2151 Cranmore Road @ Oak Bay High in Victoria

View the nominees here!

GIFTS’ Nominees are getting some good press in the Surrey Leader, Victoria News, and Canada.com!

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY BANANAS!* PRODUCER BART SIMPSON
and star of Big Boys Go Bananas!* just back from Sundance.

Vote for the BEST OAK BAY STUDENT FILM PRODUCED AT GIFTS SINCE 1995!

EYELENS FILM FESTIVAL
Winning GIFTS’ student films from spring, summer & fall 2011

Reserve your FREE TiCkEts (max 10 per Group): e-mail info@giftsfilms.com or call 1-800-813-9993.

We also have bursaries available for students in financial need. Check out our Scholarship and Bursary page and tell us why you want to come to GIFTS!

Limited quantity available… Don’t miss out!