Citygate Films

Sep 01

A New Face at Citygate: Suzanne Taylor

Filmmaker Suzanne Taylor is joining the staff of Citygate Films, effective September 1, 2010. Suzanne is a Master of Fine Arts candidate at American University in film and electronic media, where she is finishing her thesis film about HIV/AIDS in Botswana, “The Road We Know.” Suzanne’s film credits include production assistance on the Oscar-winning film [...]

Jun 17

Lessons Learned: Filming in South Korea

Continuing the Lessons Learned series on Citygate’s blog, I now have the pleasure of focusing on shooting in Seoul. I took a four-person crew in June 2010, and hired a local gaffer and his lighting gear to join us. We traveled with minimum gear (three Canon T2i cameras, three-mic sound gear and mixer, RedRock camera support and grip gear), but still had to deal with a carnet and excess baggage fees. I set a land-speed record prepping for this shoot.

May 18

The Documentary Forum at Hot Docs

There are two diverse crowds at Hot Docs. The first is the loyal film fanbase in Toronto–the people who queue up in sunshine or rain for more than an hour to see new films. The second are the imports–the broadcasters, distributors, and filmmakers who “speed date” to find willing matches for their varying agendas. As a filmmaker, I was at the bottom of the social strata. I’m not the money. But hey, I’m potentially the content and that’s got to count for something.

Apr 29

International Markets

Toronto’s Hot Docs film festival/conference/market kicks off this weekend and Citygate Films will be there. I am participating in The Documentary Forum next week, as well, and plan to blog some insights from my participation in the 11-day Hot Docs festival shortly after my return.

Earlier this month, Citygate’s film, A NOTE OF HOPE, was represented in Cannes at the 2010 MIPDoc/MIPTV international film market by Stacey Parks of Film Specific.

Jan 21

Second Trailer for A NOTE OF HOPE

The last few months around Citygate Films have been oriented to grant applications. Part of that task required us to produce an extended, work-in-progress trailer for A NOTE OF HOPE, which showcases highlights from our Africa tour last fall. That 11-minute piece is now online at the film’swebsite.