A lovely little animation based on a poem by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, “Some” explores the spectrum of emotions in everyday life. See full credits below.
Produced by Wonderlust
Director: Ryan Rumbolt
Art Direction/Illustration: Justyna Stasik
Animation: Juan Pontaroli & Arm Sattavorn
Sound Design & Music: CypherAudio
Earlier this year we named Toronto-based filmmaker Mark Bone’s short film “Rescate” best documentary short of the year for our inaugural Booooooom TV Awards. A multi-talented director, Mark has worked with brands like Nike, Mercedes and Nikon; however, what made his work on “Rescate” stand out the most was that it was more than just well-made.
Following a group of passionate volunteers, the film highlights the dedication and self-sacrifice that has gone into providing emergency services in the Dominican Republic, home to some of the most dangerous roads in the world.
We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Mark to chat a bit about the film and how he got into filmmaking in the first place. Watch “Rescate” above, if you haven’t already, and check out our full interview with Mark below!
Jeff Hamada: Did you grow up in Toronto? Can you tell us a bit about your life growing up? What kinds of stuff were you into?
Mark Bone: I grew up about an hour outside of Toronto in a small town called Grimsby. I was really into skateboarding and snowboarding in my teens. Most summers I would either spend at the skatepark or in my basement on the computer building RollerCoaster Tycoon theme parks. Deep down, I’m a full blow nerd.
I had a good group of friends and family who were always supportive in me exploring the arts. I really got into improv and theatre during high-school. Those years were formative for me discovering that I might want to be an artist.
Jeff Hamada: Was there a specific moment when you decided you wanted to explore film?
Mark Bone: I was always curious with media and cameras growing up. I can recall my family getting our first web-cam when I was about 11yrs old and I quickly discovered that it had a stop-motion setting. I would spend entire weekends building short films with figurines and lego people. They were super bad and had only semi-understandable narratives but I think these were the earliest moments where I realized how much I liked filmmaking and that I could spend hours doing one task it not bothering me.
The first film that I watched that truly sparked my interest in filmmaking would have been Kooyanisqatsi. I was so interested in how much meaning Godfrey Reggio packed into one shot. I also loved that it was all real people, that spoke to me knowing that everyone was truly living their experience on camera.
Jeff Hamada: I read that you worked with director Atom Egoyan on his film Remember — were any of his films (or any other Canadian films) an influence on you?
Mark Bone: It was such a treat to work with Atom Egoyan on Remember. Since collaborating with him on that film he’s become a friend and mentor to me and I’m very grateful for all his advice and encouragement over the years. His work on The Sweet Hereafter was definitely inspirational as a young film student knowing that a Canadian was nominated for Best Director at the Oscars. Atom always showed me from a young age that you could earn the respect of Hollywood as a Canadian Director.
Now there are so many amazing Canadian film directors like, Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario) Xavier Dolan (Mommy) , Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club) that are absolutely crushing it. Being a Canadian doesn’t present a filmmaker as many hurdles as it might once have.
Jeff Hamada: How would you describe your style as a director? What makes a Mark Bone film unique?
Mark Bone: I love real people, real places and real stories, but I don’t like to just capture them “as is”. I want to tell truth in the most engaging and cinematic way possible. I want my films to feel real and raw yet draw the audience into a deeper visual world. With “Rescate” I aimed to show the intensity of paramedics work while still capturing the beauty and rhythm of their lives. I love to tell a real story but make it feel like a narrative film.
Jeff Hamada: What were some of the biggest challenges of making “Rescate”?
Mark Bone: My Spanish is horrible, but the paramedics were very gracious with me so we managed with very rudimentary communication. Certainly the biggest challenge in “Rescate” was actually keeping up my physical and mental endurance throughout the length of the shoot. I would be awake for most nights racing out with the paramedics to car accidents. I would try and sneak in some naps in between emergency calls but your adrenaline often kept you awake. During the day I would spend most of my time reviewing the footage, re-writing the script outline and filming additional scenes. Inevitably the lack of sleep took a toll on me.
Jeff Hamada: How much of it was planned before you started shooting? Did you already know the specific characters you were going to follow and focus on?
Mark Bone: Before I had ever decided to make this documentary, I had spent a day or two with the paramedics and this experience was very helpful in my initial formation of the narrative for the film. With this experience I was able to decide who might be good characters to focus on. Ultimately who or what you use in the film is dependant on what unfolds once you start filming.
I wrote a small script for the film and then created a list of 25 small scenes or moments that I wanted to capture. When we weren’t rushing to accidents I would attempt to shoot two or three of these scenes per day. I always knew I wanted to focus on Reynaldo, the leader of Rescate Ambar, since he embodies the vision and ethos of the paramedics. I also ended up including a bit about another paramedic, Hector Luis, because he the next generation of paramedics.
Jeff Hamada: Did you feel conflicted at all shooting those guys riding the bikes knowing that the shoot itself could put them in danger?
Mark Bone: Everywhere you go in Dominican there is youth pulling wheelies or racing their motorcycles, they don’t need a camera filming to inspire their stunting. I actually decided to use some of the motorcycle riders because they happened to whip past me in a small village doing wheelies. It was so insane watching them dodge people and traffic on one wheel that I knew I needed to capture it. We made sure though that when we filmed them we took them to closed neighbourhoods. My local Dominican fixer was very nervous that someone might call the cops because we were filming in a fairly affluent neighbourhood. Luckily the cops aren’t too quick to respond in the DR.
Jeff Hamada: I tried to watch as much of your work as I could find and I feel like “Rescate” is your best work — do you feel that way?
Mark Bone: Absolutely. “Rescate” came from a realization that I wasn’t making my own films. I was always hoping that the commercial work that I was doing would become the stories and style that I truly aspired to create, but it sort of has to happen the other way around. You create the personal projects that align with your long term vision and the work you truly want often begins to present itself.
Jeff Hamada: Do you feel like what you’re doing now is what you were born to do?
Mark Bone: Absolutely, I love filmmaking. I’m a bit OCD and you’re rewarded for this as a filmmaker, it really suits my personality. I love what I do. I’m so grateful for people like my parents who pushed me to pursue filmmaking.
Jeff Hamada: What’s next?
Mark Bone: I’m currently developing some short films and documentaries, so the aim is to have those shooting in the near future.
Great concept and energy to this video for Russian rapper Husky by Moscow-based director and screenwriter Lado Kvataniya (previously featured here). Warning: Things get a little bloody!
Written and Directed by Lado Kvataniya
Director of photography | Andrey Krauzov
Photography and Titles | Igor Klepnev instagram.com/klepnev
Producers | Ilya Stewart, Murad Osmann, Ilya Dzhincharadze, Lado Kvataniya, Andrey Krauzov, Andrey Samsonov
Starring | DRO | Noli Hil | Tornike Urushadze | Nikusha Gagua |
Nika Qutelia | Alexandra Kuhelbliz |Lasha Prazdnik | Revaz Kharchilava | Giorgi Shakaia
Casting | Tamuna Karumidze
1st AD | Marina Kulumbegashvili
Service producer (Georgia) | Mamuka Chikhradze
1AC | Alexandr Budarin
2AC/Film Loader | Alexey Alenichev
Set Designer | Dmitri Arsanis
Key Grip | Giorgi Metreveli
Editor | Vlad Yakunin
Color | Timofey Goloborodko
This is just one of the many exciting submissions we’ve received in the past week. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!
An experimental exploration of solitude and human isolation for Belgian future-soul outfit Up High Collective’s track “Extract Pool.” Directed by Brussels-based filmmaker Lars Bauwens and featuring dancer Joffrey Anane.
A beautifully shot short by filmmaker Jesse Kreitzer from Marlboro, Vermont. Inspired by Kreitzer’s maternal ancestors, “Black Canaries” is a haunting yet poetic portrait of the love and losses experienced by an isolated coal-mining family in 1907.
Dramatic video for The Weeknd’s track “Call Out My Name” directed by Los Angeles-based filmmaker Grant Singer (previously featured here).
Some lovely shots in this video for Berlin-based duo Yeah But No’s track “My Secret Beating” by Los Angeles-based director Patrick Mattes.
Directed and Edited by Patrick Mattes
Cinematography and Color by Joshua Pausanos
Produced by Patrick Mattes and Jessica Perez
Starring: Ty Wells
Still Photography: Jessica Perez
Make Up: Arina Izadi
Gaffer: Conor Soules
Special Thanks:
AC Sico
Erick Maciel
Drew Bienemann
Stephen Nguyen
This video was submitted by Patrick Mattes and selected by our team. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!
Beautiful video for Florence and the Machine’s breathtaking track “Sky Full of Song” by director AG Rojas (previously featured here).
Stunning work by Los Angeles-based filmmaker Merlin Camozzi for critically-acclaimed composer and multi-instrumentalist Julian Scherle aka Són (previously featured here). Coming off Són’s debut EP, “Woods” continues to explore the theme of modern day rituals through a striking mix of sight and sound. In fact, after signing onto the project, the track became part of Camozzi’s own daily routine, as he shared with us:
“I set the song as my morning alarm and for about ten days I woke to it each day. What began to form was a vision of a cult-like group, sitting around a table, eating dinner, but doing so in an incredibly specific and ritualized manner. In my mind, the story was about needing something and being required to conform in order to get it. In this imagined system of conformity—which of course isn’t so far from reality—I imagined that everyone had to learn the social rituals in order to get what they were seeking—food, of course, but also social acceptance and a sense of belonging—and that, while that would work for a while, eventually the system would break down because it was inherently based on behavior rather than emotion.”
Camozzi’s collaborator, Brigid Abreu, helped take the movement-based concept even further by creating a series of gestures (based on an afternoon spent observing people at a café) effectively eliminating the need for a literal dining table. Other friends and performers like Marcus Patterson and Reshma Gajjar came on board what Camozzi describes as a “no budget passion project.” Although you’d never guess given the result!
Check out “Woods” above and full credits below.
Director: Merlin Camozzi
Choreographer: Brigid Abreu
Cinematographer: Marc Patterson
Editor: Marcus Chan
1st AD: Zack Walker, Kelly Pike
1st AC: Jensen Chambers, Kevin Lee
Gaffer: Kevin Lee
Key Grip: Alan Albert
Grip: Katelyn Patterson
Performers:
Reshma Gajjar
Brigid Abreu
Claudia Keener
Laura Richardson
Lila Gavares
Nada Jawad
Sarah Lyddan
Tanya Flynn
Annette Bizal
Isa Espy
An epic pixelated animation for indie four-piece Wasuremono. Inspired by the current proliferation of Afrofuturism in popular culture, director and animator Junaid Faiz highlights other communities whose destinies were similarly altered by the effects of colonialism, imagining instead an alternate reality where they were able to make their own way in the world.
A unique fashion piece by director Daniel Iglesias Jr. for California-based modeling agency Margaux. Approached by friends and founders Faith Bouchard, Megan Behnke and Regina Annotti, Iglesias mixes iconic photography, fashion and posing with modern design aesthetics and effects to create something that feels both classic and contemporary.
Agency: Margaux the Agency
Director: Daniel Iglesias Jr.
Cinematographer: Juan Sebastian Baron
Production Design: Haley Appell
VFX: Andrew Finch
Sound Design: Jackie Zhou
Makeup: Francie Luxe
Hair: Sylvia Stankowski
Models:
Trystin Hall
Katie Johnson
Jackson Sato
Amanda Davis
Jasmine Candias
Daniel Iglesias Jr. on Instagram
An absorbing animation for Kemialliset Ystävät’s track “Pujottelua” by Jules Guérin of Folklore Studio (previously featured here). Inspired by the words of Jan Anderzen: “Once I zoomed infinitely into a single pixel and felt a path open, leading to the source of an unnamed nutriment.”
