Petals at Guelph

In addition to recent news that Petals will be released on DVD in Blockbuster and Rogers stores across Canada by Mongrel Media:

We are very honoured to be the only film presentation of one of the largest international sexual health conferences in the world.

www.GuelphSexualityConference.ca

Movie Premiere and Discussion 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Tuesday, June 22

Petals – Journey Into Self-Discovery is a remarkable 50-minute documentary that both questions, and then examines, the many unspoken myths about the appearance and nature of women’s sexual organs. The essence of a woman’s sexuality--her vulva--has been a taboo subject for cultures locked into fears of our basic physical nature. These deep-seated beliefs directly affect female sexual self-esteem. The movie records the reactions of sex educators, women’s health professionals, art critics, female activists, as well as the man/woman-in-the-street as they confront the physical mystery of womanhood.

Photographer Nick Karras has composed intimate images with an unusual visual and emotional sensitivity. The documentary follows his personal journey as he produces a book of artful photographs. The subtle black and white photographs discover the delicate beauty in the infinite variety of female genitals, inspiring a profound sense of wonder and awe. Quite unlike the frenzied exploitation of sexuality common in media presentations, the frank honesty of Petals is intensely revealing. Unforgettable women, some who become guides and teachers in the quest, join in confronting both the current fears and timeless beauty found in a woman’s most basic sexual nature.

Dr. Nick Karras is a photographer and the author of Petals. The varied range of his erotic photography has been exhibited in many venues and media. Nick has received a prestigious Sexual Intelligence award by Dr. Marty Klein. His Doctorate degree in Sexology was awarded by the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS) in San Francisco. He also teaches photography.

Man on Wire on Fire

Oestre weekend saw many films pass in front of me (thank you rainy weather) and I am still thinking about www.manonwire.com .  Superb filmmaking.  Absolutely superb.  James Marsh is my new idol.  He's crafted a film unlike many in terms of form and content, reinventing storytelling for the documentary genre, and with relatively few credits to his name.   I feel my theories about instinctive filmmaking are being proven by Marsh.  Or maybe it's the editing background that lends to a director's eye?   I can hope...

Now Religulous on the other hand...

I had high hopes for this film, as it is a topic obviously of interest to me, and full of potential.  Lazy jump cuts, lousy journalism, and absolutely zero verisimilitude.  Larry Charles took the words of his subjects and contorted this film into a one-sided narrative that rarely lets anyone speak but Maher.  Only in a few moments is anyone actually allowed to discuss any of his points and the one time he was stooped (by Jesus, no less) he rebutted in the car the next day.  Hardly fair?

Not that anyone can really disagree with his rant, but in this medium there are many more ways to make a point more powerfully than with an approach that can only be aimed at audiences already on side.  And what's the point of that Bill?  They wondered why they didn't win an Oscar?  I'd say it was because their egos and budgets were too high to allow for the creative spirit to run through.

And so last week's announcement of the implementation of the plan for the Great Bear Rainforest was not smothered all over the news as it could have been.  Yet we have now completed revision of the previous video we produced on the project 3 years ago for www.bcfii.ca .