Best Documentary, ClujShorts Film Festival

I am honored that my latest documentary, "Portrait of an Urban Beekeeper" was chosen as Best Documentary at the ClujShorts International Short Film Festival, in Cluj Romania. You can see a list of the other winners and the reason for the jury's decision at this link. I really wish I could have been there for the festival. I have traveled to Romania twice in the past and it is truly one of my favorite countries.

In addition to playing in Romania, Portrait of an Urban Beekeeper also screen here in DC at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital. The film was screened in a track of 4 other excellent film and the audience was excellent. It is always so pleasing to see something you have made on the big screen. I want to thank both festivals for their hard work and organization. Also, another well-deserved "Thank You" to all of the Kickstarter Backers who made the film possible.

"Portrait of an Urban Beekeeper" will be available for viewing on YouTube in the near future. Keep your eyes open for it.

Legacy of the Great Aletsch

The film I made with Nick Brandestini about the world's most notable glacier is now available as an online rental or to buy as a instant download. Just click the appropriate button below, or watch the preview.

I became very attached to the Great Aletsch Glacier while making this film. Like Martin Nellen, one of the characters in the film, I often refer to it as "my glacier". I hope by watching this film, others will feel the way that I do about this amazing phenomenon of nature and realize that if it is going to exist in the future, we need to drastically change our habits as humans.

You can learn more about the film at www.aletschfilm.com, where it can also be purchased or rented.

Got My Jailcard.

We just finished production of the Jailcard music video which will be the first single from Jane Lui's new album Goodnight Company. Check out these cool kids:

Pictured: Myself, Angela, Anthony, Sonali, Kayla, Matt, Marc, Jane and AppaThe video features a really cool dance sequence choreographed by Matt Gutierrez. The people pictured are the core dancers who did an amazing job. In addition to the dance scene which took place at night, we also filmed near the LA railyard around sunset. The cinematography in both scenes was done by the very talented William Eubank.

I'm really happy wth what we came up with and am excited for when it's done and everybody can see it. I'll start cutting it together as soon as I return to Switzerland. Look for it soon!

If you read my last film update about the video for Goodnight Company, its still coming but just a bit after Jailcard. Stay tuned.

New Music Video In Progress

I have known Jane Lui for a long time and it has been my pleasure to collaborate with her on two music videos: Freddie Goodtime from her first album, Teargirl and Libra Armor from her second album, Barkentine. A few weeks ago Jane came through Zürich for a visit. While she was her we shot a new music video for a song called Goodnight Company which is also the title for her upcoming third album. I am now in the process of editing the video and it is looking great! Stay tuned for the video's release soon!

AUS.LAUF Images

This weekend's film shoot was a success. AUS.LAUF, directed by and starring Nadia Migdal, is now in post-production. Expect to see in in film festivals in the near future. As director of photography, I was very happy with how the images turned out. We did the whole thing in one giant 35 minute steady cam shot. Here are some samples images:

Special thanks to my excellent camera and light departments: Urs Schmid, Julie Fischer, Fabian Gamper and Monica Amgwerd.

AUS.LAUF

Next weekend a friend of mine is directing and starring in her master's thesis project from the ZHDK. I will be the Director of Photography. We are doing several experimental things in this project, the most obvious being that it will all happen in one take -- all 30 minutes of it. We will be shooting on a Sony EX1 with a 35mm adaptor. The whole thing will be done on a steady cam rig. Luckily for me, we have a pro steady cam operator which will add polish to the shot and save my back. It should be an interesting shoot, with all kinds of lighting and camera problems to solve. I will report back when the shoot is over. Here is a still from our pre-vis which I shot on my little FlipMino HD. What a great pre-vis tool!

P.S. AUS.LAUF is the name of the film.

Back from D.C.

Pre-screeing at the Swiss EmbassyI just got back from a great trip to D.C. We premiered "Legacy of the Great Aletsch" at the Swiss Embassy as part of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capitol. I was very impressed by this festival. It was huge, taking place in 52 venues and screening 141 films. Even with these huge numbers, most of the films had great crowds. I have been to "big" festivals where this was not the case. I am also impressed by the history of the festival. I don't think you can find another environmental film festival that has been running as long as this one -- it's in the 17th year. I had the pleasure to meet Flo Stone, the founder of the festival. I think she had a lot of foresight to start this festival at that time.

On top of our sold out screening (nearly 200 people), my trip was packed with other events. I visited family, had various festival related meals, saw a film about cuttlefish, shot some time lapse footage(coming soon), stimulated the US economy, and had not one -- but two -- mini high school reunions.

D.C. is a great town. I recommend visiting.

Here is a little write up aout the screening on the film's website.

Legacy of the Great Aletsch Premiere

On Friday I will be hopping on a plane and flying on over to Washington D.C. My new documentary, Legacy of the Great Aletsch, which I co-directed with Nick Brandestini, is premiering at the DC Environmental Film Festival.

The Great Aletsch GlacierThis film started shooting back in October 2007 quite suddenly. We were doing some research around the area when we met one of the film's main characters, Art Furrer, by accident. We were eating lunch in Rieder Furka when a man in a cowboy hat began introducing himself to all the diners. We recognized his face from the tourism newspaper sitting on our table. We struck up a conversation with him and the next weekend we were shooting with him in the area around the Great Aletsch Glacier. Scenes from that shoot are peppered throughout the film.

Steve and Nick shooting on the Glacier.After that, we returned to the Valais many times to shoot interviews and film footage of the area. The bulk of the story was shot in June 2008 when we hiked from the Jungfraujoch to the Märjelen See. If you haven't hiked with 1000 meters of ice below your feet -- its a breath taking experience.

This film encompasses what I love about making documentaries: spontaneity, education, and new experiences. When we began this project, I knew nothing about the Great Aletsch Glacier. Now, the area feels like home to me. It is the same with Gruyères and the H.R. Giger Museum.

If you happen to be in the DC Area on March 16th, come check out the film. The entry is only three dollars. You can reserve your seat by following the instructions on this page.

(by the way, if you enjoyed the trailer, feel free to pass it around to friends. It is on Youtube and Vimeo.)

Legacy of the Great Aletsch - Trailer

Here is the trailer for my new documentary:

You can also watch it on Youtube and in HD on Vimeo.

If you get a chance please leave a comment and rate the video on Youtube and Vimeo.

Festival Entries

Nick, my directing partner and the producer of Legacy of the Great Aletsch just informed me the film has been entered into 10 festivals for the beginning of the year. Here's hoping. I am working on a trailer now -- stay tuned.

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Steve Ellington

an independent filmmaker based in Washington D.C.