Double Bill Mini Musings: Chainsaw Brides and Flesh Addicts...

Rec 3: Genesis:
What's it about?
A beautiful wedding reception is torn to bloody shreds after an infection turns the guests into undead ghouls possessed by fallen angels.
Who would I recognise in it?
Leticia Dolera.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Ditching the found footage format of the first two movies inside twenty minutes, the bulk of the film unfolds in a traditional cinematic style while retaining the 'religious zombies' angle that helped define the franchise. The central characters - Groom Koldo and Bride Clara - bring a 'love conquers all' vibe to the gore-soaked proceedings, with Clara kicking a particularly impressive amount of arse, at one point wielding a chainsaw in her blood spattered wedding dress. Suffice to say, she's a heroine you'll be rooting for from the get-go as she attempts to find her broad sword-wielding husband amidst the carnage. Everyone else is cannon fodder, and the film lacks the nerve-shredding frights and infection paranoia of the first two films - opting for more of a gung-ho action horror vibe - but it's plenty of fun for the duration. Good, albeit on the lower end of the scale.

Click "READ MORE" below for Michael Fassbender rodgering his way through New York...

"Gaia: Greek Goddess of Earth" wins award!

"Gaia: Greek Goddess of Earth" - an alternate version of one of the films found in the "Gaia & Genesis" Environmental Ethics DVD - has won an Australasian Best Environmental Film Award. From a field of 85 entrants, our film (Joe Jenkins of Ethics Online wrote the script and directed, while I was in charge of the camera work and editing) was chosen as the winner by the Australian Film Critics Association.

It screened last night (May 12th 2012) at the Campfire Film Festival in Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia. The film is also in general competition at the festival, and is one of the finalists.

Many thanks to Campfire for this award!

Dead Genesis - watch the opening scene now!

Follow this link to see the first scene from new indie zombie flick Dead Genesis.

PLEASE NOTE - the clip contains scenes of strong violence and gore, and scenarios that some may find disturbing (this is a zombie horror flick after all).

http://vimeo.com/15054393


I've been following the progress of this flick since Reese announced it over on HPOTD and it looks like properly good stuff. Well done to Reese and the whole DG team!

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650516/

Website: http://web.me.com/reesterfx/Dead_Genesis/Dead_Genesis.html

Gaia & Genesis review...

Check out a review (that I've just come across) for Gaia & Genesis via this link:

http://www.reonline.org.uk/mm_resources/reviews.php?787

Belmont Abbey screening...

Last night there was a screening of Gaia & Genesis at Belmont Abbey just outside Hereford city, so naturally I went along. Same format as the Kilpeck screening a while back, splitting the film into two parts and then closing the evening (after discussion time - which proved very fruitful last night) with Doing Our Bit.

It was interesting to watch it through again, now that I've cut together the third Zombie Man short, as well as Just War (the latest educational project I've edited), as I was able to see all the areas in which I've improved my editing skills since doing Gaia & Genesis, and how I now employ the NLE software.

So all-in-all it was another positive screening of the film.

Borderlines Film Festival 2010...

Find out more about the festival here:

http://www.borderlinesfilmfestival.co.uk/

On Saturday February 27th we had our screening of "Gaia", "The Rapture", "All Things Are Connected" (three of the five portions that make up "Gaia & Genesis") and "Doing Our Bit" (our entry for last year's One Minute To Save The World filmmaking competition).

From the website concerning locally produced films:

"Shell Shock is just one among a cluster of films showing at Borderlines this year that were made locally. Still Life is a strikingly ambitious drama made by The Rural Media Company with members of the community in Bromyard while Gaia: all things are connected consists of two thoughtful and visually exciting short films on the future of our environment from Herefordshire film-maker Joe Jenkins."

The drive there (the screening was at the Hereford Courtyard theatre) wasn't much fun being that it was torrential rain and the roads are all still littered with potholes after January's hellishly cold bout of persistent snow ... and then the parking ticket machine had the cheek to take my £1.10 and not give me a ticket, and the other one (that actually worked) wouldn't give me change, so it stole a further 10p from me ... my guess is that the ticket machines are working for the government, stealing money from innocent civilians so that it can go towards paying off our nation's ludicrously gigantic debt.

Anyway, the night before the screening I'd be thinking "oh geez, please let there be more than two people there", so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the theatre had been almost sold out!

The screening itself went well, having already met the nice folks we'd been liasing with in the lead-up to the screening, and there was lots of positive feedback after the show when we met members of the audience and discussed the films and the filmmaking process behind them in some depth.

So it was a positive atmosphere with the audience all enjoying the films on show. It's always nice to get a boost like that as a struggling filmmaker, because at times it can appear bleak - in this early stage in one's career - however, it's really a nice boost to your confidence when you get a good turn-out at a screening and the people respond positively.

As for the drive back, there wasn't so much rain, but there was hellish traffic leaving Hereford - which is notoriously clogged with traffic most of the time - and of course having learned the layout of the potholes on the road driving towards Hereford, the drive back would naturally have an entirely new layout of potholes to avoid, ha!

You can also view the festival's Flickr photostream here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41085820@N04/

Borderlines Film Festival 2010 screening...

Saturday 27th February at 2.15pm, Hereford Courtyard Theatre, tickets are free.

http://www.borderlinesfilmfestival.co.uk/gaia.shtml

Updates...

There was another screening of Gaia & Genesis earlier this week, this time for Kleen Energy Week in Kington, Herefordshire.

http://kingtonblackboard.org/2010/01/film-gaia-genesis/

...

I have also updated the Credits Highlights section (down there on the right hand side with tons of other info about me and my filmmaking), with an updated list of Film Festival and TV screenings of my work.

"Gaia", and "All Things Are Connected" - Borderlines 2010...

Saturday 27th of February at 2.15pm at the Hereford Courtyard theatre for the 2010 Borderlines Film Festival.

http://www.borderlinesfilmfestival.co.uk/programme.shtml

And the page on their website for the film:

http://www.borderlinesfilmfestival.co.uk/gaia.shtml

Gaia & Genesis screening...

I've received word that a couple of the chapters from Gaia & Genesis ("Gaia" and "The Rapture") will be screening at the Borderlines Film Festival 2010 on the 27th February.

Good news to start the year then.

http://borderlinesfilmfestival.blogspot.com/

http://www.borderlinesfilmfestival.co.uk/

"Gaia & Genesis" and "Doing Our Bit" screening...

Last week Friday we had a screening for these two films (the former in a joined-up 63 minute cut) in one of the nearby villages. The event was a fundraiser for the Climate Justice Fund, and proved to be very successful indeed (plus it got my name in the local paper for the first time in years, which was nice).

The hall was packed out with people who came to see the screening, so much so that we had to cram in some extra chairs so everyone could get a seat. As for the films themselves, they were received with rapturous applause - something which you're obviously rather chuffed to receive, but which also makes you go all a bit "aww shucks".

A number of people even came up to personally congratulate me on the quality of the films themselves, with which they were very impressed - so that was rather nice too. It was also very interesting to hear from other people who were also involved in the project itself - by means of providing additional voice overs and so on - and it was great to see that everyone 'got' the film. They understood the intention, and they really responded to the style and construction of the film, the aim of which was to help draw the viewer in and keep them constantly interested - mission accomplished on that front, I'm pleased to report.

The event itself had a very strong community vibe to it. Lots of people chipping in to help out, lots of people making tea, a whole table of home-cooked goodies, and a variety of home-made crafts on sale, so it was great to see first hand a rural community coming together under one roof to sit down and watch films I'd put together.

Sex & Ethics, and Gaia & Genesis reviews...

A couple of reviews for these educational DVDs - as found at www.ethicsonline.co.uk:

Sex & Ethics:

"The DVD is extremely well presented and addresses sexual ethics in a clear and concise manner. The links between sexual ethics and Natural Law, Utilitarianism, Kant and Situation Ethics are particularly good as they encourage pupils to make links between the ethical theories which is absolutely crucial at A-level. The DVD is not only visually stimulating but, more importantly, current for those who are watching, and is a must-have resource for any RE Department, especially for those departments providing A-level Philosophy and Ethics courses."

Emma Brambell, Teacher of Religious Education

Gaia & Genesis:

"This is an outstandingly engaging and timely resource that will grab the attention of students and persuade them of the significance of environmental ethics like never before. The narration and content presentation includes concise quotes from key thinkers that add depth and academic rigour to a stimulating and intelligent exploration of the main issues in environmental ethics. It would stretch the brightest at GCSE, engage the vast majority, and, inspire AS students to personal curiosity. It is visually impressive, content rich and well produced - overall a great resource."

David Potter, Teacher of Religious Studies, Ashby School

...

And here's some more short & sweet comments on the Sex & Ethics DVD:

“Lovingly crafted by Joe Jenkins, a master at producing workaday resources for hard-pressed teachers at both GCSE and A Level."
RE Online

“Highly recommended.”
Judy Grill, Churcher's College, Petersfield

“Well worth the price of a few text books."
Andrew Pearce, Principal Religious Studies Examiner

“Accessible and stimulating.”
Christine Chalstrey, Wychwood School, Oxford

“Absolutely fantastic.”
Hannah Williams, St. Helen's School, Middlesex

Gaia & Genesis online clips, and Sex & Ethics review...

Click your way in this direction:
http://www.ethicsonline.co.uk/pages/environmental.html
And you'll find five clips, one from each of the five films that make up the Gaia & Genesis DVD.

...

Then head over here:
http://news.reonline.org.uk/article.php?34
And you'll find a review of the Sex & Ethics DVD, an excerpt of which is below.

"‘Neat’ is an expression that was perhaps overused by students when I was at university, but it is one that I am more than willing to use for this DVD. It is not only neat but it is also simple, user-friendly and self-contained. You have everything needed to enliven your teaching of one particular unit from the A2 Religious Ethics syllabus, namely ‘sexual ethics’..."

Sex & Ethics has had a lot of positive feedback since its release, so hopefully Gaia & Genesis will follow suit.

Gaia and Genesis (2009)...

Following on from 2008's Sex & Ethics, this educational DVD focussed on the environment from religious, philosophical and scientific viewpoints - covering five topics over five films (Gaia, Genesis, Stewards & Slayers, The Rapture, All Things Are Connected), with a follow-up group discussion with A-Level students for each of the main films.





This was a great opportunity to expand and improve on what we achieved with Sex & Ethics, and I am very proud of the final product, which we also cut together in a feature-length format for festival purposes.





I acted as editor and lead cameraman on this project.





N.B. Click the images to go to see full size versions, and to see the rest of my Flickr Photostream.

"Gaia & Genesis"...

That's the official title for the new educational DVD - all about the environment from philosophical, religious and scientific perspectives all rolled into one jam-packed DVD, replete with student discussion on each of the five separate films.

We're also going to cut the five films together to form one full-length version, which we're then going to submit to film festivals.

Video clips coming soon (they'll be found on www.ethicsonline.co.uk, naturally), and of course I'll be pimping up a film summary with screen shots for this 'ere blog you be readin' ... oh yes indeedy.

Of course, I'll keep on updating info about this and other projects as-and-when.