I recently stumbled upon photographer Fred Levy’s “Black Dogs Project” and immediately started googling and reading and clicking to understand Black Dog Syndrome. Black dogs are often overlooked at shelters and rescues, so Levy has photographs these dogs in a stunning matter to show their personalities and how light still shines through them.
The project’s starting to get quite a lot of traction, especially from pet owners and their adopted black dogs. Seeing as Mom sent me this photo yesterday, I just couldn’t resist. This Summer marks the fifth anniversary Nixon Oscar joined the family after being rescued. And lucky for us, this Black Lab mix always looks like a puppy, no matter his age.
Film Fest season has quickly arrived and taken control of my life. Though I must say, the 48th Chicago International Film Festival has provided lots of surprises, lots of guests and lots of fantastic films. Every day I’m there, at least three shows are sold out. And the films I’ve had the chance to see are simply magnificent, two in particular:
1.) Numbered— A documentary about Holocaust survivors today and what the number they received in camp means to them. Not nearly as depressing as I thought it would be, I often find myself drawn to any book or movie dealing with this topic. It was jarring, heart warming and saddening all at the same time. One of the directors is a still photographer and his images are so very poignant, they move the doc along without actually moving. Film clip here.
2.) The Sapphires–Mark my words, this film is going to do wonders when it’s released. Picked up by the Weinstein Company, it tells the tale of an Aboriginal girl group that plays for the US troops in Vietnam. Based off of a true story, I sat in my seat dancing and singing along to these tunes. You’ll surely tap your foot along. Chris O’Dowd (of Bridesmaids fame) is stellar delivering one-liners every where you look. No one left that theatre unhappy.
I also would recommend checking out Opening Night’s Stand Up Guys, Any Day Now, King Curling and Off White Lies. We’ve completed our first week and have one more to go with this weekend’s Junior Board event featuring Helen Hunt and her film The Sessions. It’s been exhausting, trying to keep up with Cardinals baseball has proved at times difficult, but so very worth it. Meeting various directors and other filmmakers is inspiring. They walk around the theatre wearing their passion for their film and industry right on their faces–everyone’s smiling and eager to talk. It’s very catching.
Come see the world…
Fellow Junior Board Member (and Volunteer) Marcella and I spreading the good word
Awhile back, I started following this blog, 365Q, where a photographer (Julian Bialowas) took shots and put inspirational sayings over them, unveiling one each day. This year, he’s doing something different and turning the project to the public. 52mmnts provides a different task each week to capture on film and upload to the site. It just kicked off last week, so project #2 is coming tomorrow. And every Friday, another Moment comes to light, as if we needed another reason to be psyched for Friday. It seems like a simple enough idea and at the end of the year, you’ll have 52 photos that speak to dreams, wishes and desires to reflect on.
Hanna (Non)Tana 