“After 30 years working in media, I know that the ground beneath us is always shifting. If you choose to make documentaries you commit yourself to living – or dying – by your wits. What you gain is a life of adventure. For me, it’s an excellent trade-off.” – Kevin McMahon

Last week, the CBC, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) all announced major cuts – including cuts to the Filmmakers Assistance Program, which provided crucial funding for The Sticking Place.

John Kastner’s calling these terrible cuts to Canadian arts and culture the “Tory Chainsaw Massacre” which seems unfortunately appropriate.

All this is breaking my heart. But I do appreciate Kevin McMahon’s critical optimism.

Read more: Canadian doc makers slam cutbacks: “We are dropping like flies”

The wheels are turning at The Sticking Place film HQ. The most recent exciting news is that we’ve been invited onto a panel called New Frontiers: Online Documentary at DOXA Documentary Film Festival. I’ll be representing our Sticking Place team alongside two women we admire deeply, Nettie Wild & Leanne Allison. Feeling a lot of love for my filmic partner in crime, the extremely talented Brittany Baxter, and a lot of unbridled excitement for Leah’s story. (In case you missed the big news, Leah Callahan recently officially qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games). More soon. For now: coffee.

Love,
Josephine

Oh man, being featured on Vancouver’s most awesome blog, Vancouver is Awesome, is just way too cool. Lindsay Jackson does a killer job in this interview, where we chat about “the good ol‘ days at film school, the godsend that is crowdfunding and how (we) are sticking it to the old school way of documentary film.” My Thursday just got awesome.

January 2: Jog, brunch in dirty diner, clean the house, music.
January 1: 2012 is here. bicycle to wooden house, strangers, then acquaintances, eggs benedict, romcom, kraft dinner, sleep.
December 31: A terrible schism, heartache, clearer clarity, love, beer, dancing, sleep.
December 30: Housesitting, talking, tears, ridiculous laughter, silliness, clarity, sleep.
December 29: The Sticking Place reached its funding goal of $20,000 on Kickstarter.

To be frank, things are crazy.

This weekend, Leah, our Sticking Place star, earned a spot on the Canadian Olympic Team. I watched her wrestle from a walkway above, where I’d set up my camera to film a master-shot of the epic fight unfold between Leah and Canada’s ten-time national champion, Ohenewa. I tried to stay composed, but as my tapes will prove, I couldn’t stop from whispering under my breath and then screaming my head off as Leah fought with body, mind and soul. I talked with a man named Randy on my flight to Winnipeg before the big match. He said “My advice is love what you do, and do what you love,” and I said, “So far so good” and meant it.

Now I’m just trying to stay human in the middle of the kind of explosive personal growth that leaves organized thoughts in shatters… Making this film has stretched me wide and far. At 25 years old, I’m in the middle of a project that inspires and challenges me in a way I’ve never experienced. I’m feeling mighty tired right now, and our push to raise $20,000 on Kickstarter has another 11 days of life yet. But the world is full of good people who are willing to lend a hand, and I believe we can make it.

This evening we also saw that our Kickstarter Project passed the 34% funded mark!

Going to hit the sack for a full day with WFF’s Digital Media Lab tomorrow. For your viewing enjoyment, a couple of videos that are a part of our Kickstarter campaign!

Suplex from The Sticking Place Film on Vimeo.

The Active Life of Leah Callahan from The Sticking Place Film on Vimeo.

Tomorrow afternoon Brittany and I will be heading two hours North to begin our journey at the Whistler Film Fest where The Sticking Place has been accepted into the Digital Media Lab (workshop program). We are super psyched! When we’re not busy meeting other imaginative film folks, we’ll be live tweeting via @thestickingdoc and @MooseStashFilms! Join us for the adventure??