Europa Filmfest

"Europa Filmfest"
Munich

Nov 28 - Dec 5, 2007
@ Gloria Filmpalast!

I enjoyed the movie yesterday evening and maybe I´ll find the time to watch another few movies of the fest. Maybe on Monday? We´ll see...

You can download the time table and the programm for the fest here.




(Copyright for all images posted here by Europa Filmfest)

European Filmfest - Venus (2)

The movie yesterday was sad, lovely and funny too. Two aging actors and close friends lives are turned upside down when Ian´s niece's daughter Jessie moves in to his flat to care for him. The provincial girl turns out to be a nightmare for Ian. But Maurice develops a romantic love for the girl fifty years younger.

Maurice: I will die soon, Venus. Can I touch your hand?
Jessie: That's one chat-up line I haven't heard.
Maurice: I'm impotent, of course.
Jessie: Thank Christ.
Maurice: But I can still take a theoretical interest.
Jessie: Have you been thinking about me?
Maurice: All the time I was in hospital.
Jessie: What did you think about me?
Maurice: I saw your body.
Jessie: Which part?
Maurice: Your hair. Your feet. Your legs, your behind, your eyes.
Jessie: My eyes?
Maurice: Your elbows. Your cunt.
Jessie: Oh, shut up. You can touch my hand.
(He kisses her hand)
Jessie: Only with your fingers. Anything else will make me vomitous.
Maurice: Can I ask you, have you ever been in love before?
(She smiles)

European Filmfest - Venus

Yesterday was the first day of the Europa Filmfest in Munich. How could I possibly have missed the opening movie yesterday evening?
Anyway, I still prefer the Asia Filmfest and the Fantasy Filmfest. While I try to watch as many movies as possible at these fests, I´m pretty content with watching maybe only one of the movies at the European Filmfest tonight: Venus.

My Art Will Be Published!

Well... at least one of the portraits I drew. :)

Rama Hughes sent me a note. The Artist´s Magazine is going to write a story about The Portrait Party and they want to print the portrait I did of Christine and the one she did of me. What a wonderful surprise and boost to my self-esteem. It is my first piece of art which is going to be published. And it was the fourth portrait I ever did in my life. It is still one of my favorites. I need to get a copy of this magazine.

My portrait of Christine Castro (Maganda.org, Darling Design) (original pic) is on the left and on the right you can see her portrait of me (original pic):

"The Artist’s Magazine celebrates the creative life and the creative act, the artist as well as the art, by showcasing the best work—in all media and in all styles—of the best artists working today. With beautiful color reproductions, engaging interviews, lively discussions of timely issues, practical lessons in craft, and news of exhibitions and events, The Artist’s Magazine inspires, informs, encourages and instructs so that an artist’s creative life will be filled with success as well as pleasure." (taken from their website)

100 Tage Bücher - 100 Days Of Books

By chance I discovered another blog some weeks ago. "Hundert Tage Bücher" (100 Days of Books) is a nice blog about 100 days at a Guerilla- or Pop-up-Book-Store* with readings and exhibitions. I enjoy reading the short posts with lots of pics. As I love books and as the owner (Dorin Popa) said he´s specially proud of his selection of books in the sex and fetish corner I just had to go there.

© (2007) by Dorin Popa

So Saturday evening, I hurried out to drive across town to this little book store . Just as I reached the store, the owner came out and locked the door. You know what? When I asked him whether he had already closed the store for that day, he opened up again and let me browse through the books for half an hour. Thanks for that! I really appreciated it.
Actually I didn´t find anything in the sex and fetish corner but I did find some great comics (100 Bullets Samurai, Neil Gaiman: Sandman, etc.), novels (Truman Capote: Summer Crossing) and art books. Though the store is tiny there is quite a selection of books and I´m sure everybody can find a good deal.

© (2007) by Dorin Popa

*The store is opened only for about 100 days in the whole.
Only 35 more days are left!!! So in case you want to have a look you should hurry there.
The number of days how long the store is still open is displayed in the window. I think this is a great project and I would love to do something similar. It gives you the chance of trying out something new for a certain period of time without commiting yourself for years. Anybody needs a partner? Here I am!!!

Four-Letter Words (WTJ)

This one was an interesting task. The results somehow show the way I am and the way Benjamin is imo. My pages are filled with simple fun little pictures. I just enjoyed doing them. And Benjamin thinks a lot more about the things he does and is a lot more complicated. At least that is my opinion. Any thoughts, Benjamin? ;)

"A page for four-letter words (WTJ)"

Mine:

I didn´t write down words, but drew four-letter words in German. I´m surprised how many of them are four-letter words in English (marked in red) as well.

"Glas (Glas), Herz, Dach (Roof), Ofen (Oven), Rose (Rose), Wein (Wine), Auto, Nuss, Salz (Salt), Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier (Four), Acht, Neun (Nine), Zehn, Mann, Frau, Kind, Mond (Moon), Erde, Welt, Ball (Ball), Igel, Hose, Buch (Book), Mars (Mars), Baum (Tree), Nase (Nose), Boot (Boat), Hemd, Rock, Hand (Hand), Fuss (Foot), Mund, Cola (Coke), Fass (Cask), Topf, Bart, Auge, Kamm (Comb), Maus, Geld"

Benjamin:

Benjamin: "When I opened up this page for the first time I immediately knew what I would have to do. I would have to fill it with letter combinations of one particular four letter word. This four letter word is actually a name, and it is a name that nobody can articulate. There are two reasons for this mystery. First: It is a hebrew name, written without vocals. In order to vocalize the word you would have to know how it has to be pronounced. But second: For thousands of years it has been deemedinappropriate to pronounce this name aloud in order to obey the biblical commandment Nr. 3.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

If you don't use the name - the four letter word Y''H''W''H - at all you cannot make wrongful use of it. That's why only synonyms where used, and the real vocalization got lost.

Making use of the divine name has nevertheless always been an integral part of mystic exercises. One of the most influential books of jewish mysticism - Sefer Yetzirah (Book of the Creation) - "explains" the meaning and powers of every of the 22 letters in the hebrew alphabet believed to be the very source of the creation. The three letters within the divine name are special in many ways. And the mystics committed to the exploration of the powers within the letters would sooner or later try write down all possible combinations of those 3 letters in four letter words - all of them names, all of them unpronouncable. And they would do it in order to connect to the strong powers of the creation and in order to feel close to the creator of their longing souls.

I'm not in a state to make an exercise like this. And if I would, this page of the journal would have to be buried afterwards like everything holding the divine name. In fact: I did make the exercise and I felt connected and inspired. But it all happened inside of me. I did not touch the page. I did not take the pen. I did not write. And that's why this page in my journal is intentionally left blank."

The Gulmohar Tree

Mim´s favorite tree is a pine, but she lists a lot of different trees she liked at the place she used to live before. And suddenly all these trees popped up in my mind which I always looked at in awe. So beside the Weeping Willow you can count the Gulmohar tree (Flamboyant tree), Orange trees, Magnolia Trees, and Neem to my list of favorite trees. Except for the Orange tree, I remember all of them as a common sight in India.

The last 5 years of our stay in India we lived in a very dry place along the border of the Thar desert. Except during the short Monsoon the landscape used to be brown and dry. So imagine driving hours along the road, barren earth, scarce vegetation, scorching heat... and suddenly this bright tree flames up right in front of you. It´s amazing!

Search Terms 7

More search words which led to my site:

• poet way to say goose bumps (I love this one. Any ideas?)
• eat the ones you love (?????)
• snowflake nude (You won´t find any nude pics of me on the net. You´ll have to come and ask for it! ;))
• german vampire
• pink vampires (Never heard of a pink one.)

The Human Behind The Avatar

I was invited to contribute to the fuelmyblog book "The Human Behind The Avatar". The book is to show that bloggers are real people. And the 15% commission the community would earn on each book will be donated to the charity Doctors Without Borders/ Medicins Sans Frontiers.

"If you want to know why I started blogging, then you better check out www.postsecret.com :-)
You´ll find art in various forms at my blog snowflakes & blackvampires: my art, your art, movies, journals, music and a lot more. Most of it is black or white, light or dark, pleasant or weird. Basically it forces me to be more creative and I really do need that."

A Letter For The Future (100 Ideas 2)

Of the first few tasks Mim and I agreed on doing, I kept postponing this one. I had an idea what I would like to do, but didn´t feel like starting it. But I did buy a nice red envelope and two beautiful sheets of paper with a watermark.
Today I finally wrote the letter. It was easy once I started writing.

3. Write a letter to yourself in the future.

I plan to open it on New Year´s Eve 2009. The content means a lot to me. Of course I had to blur the text. It is too personal to show it to everybody.

Link to Mim´s post
100 ideas

Ponderosa by Tricky

Here´s a song I found by chance on youtube. It talks about a weeping willow in the lyrics.



Ponderosa by Tricky

The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The mind's a crowd -- search for the the spaces
And turn around time's gone, take ten paces.
Been up ahead - can't make head or tale of it
I drink till I'm drunk, and I smoke till I'm senseless.
You see in black and white, feel in slow motion,
I drown myself in sorrow, until I wake up tomorrow.
The illusion of confusion is not from where I am sat
(Tricky: recycle resemble me)
Different levels of the devil's company
[Primera.]

They lead us outside, take us out quietly
To the cage through the bars
You see scars: results of my rage
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
the mind's a crowd -- search for the spaces
And turn around time's gone, I take ten paces.
Been up ahead - can't make head or tale of it
I drink till I'm drunk, and I smoke till I'm senseless.
You see in black and white, feel in slow motion,
I drown myself in sorrow, until I wake up tomorrow...
(Tricky: The illusion of...until I wake up....)

EDM #145 - Weeping Willow (100 Ideas 18)

My favorite tree has always been the weeping willow. The curtains of drooping branches that sweep the ground are beautiful and make the tree a great hiding place. They are pretty common here in Germany, but I have only once been under one. In Autum they have a special golden glow due to the then yellowish leaves.

34. Draw your favorite tree.

At our last parting
bending between
boat and shore . . .
That weeping willow

by Masaoka Shiki (1866-1902)

Link to Mim´s post
100 ideas

Stick Boy And Match Girl In Love by Tim Burton

Stick Boy liked Match Girl,
He liked her a lot.
He liked her cute figure,
he thought she was hot.

But could a flame ever burn
for a match and a stick?
It did quite literally;
he burned up quick.

Burn! (WTJ)

Today, I´m not adding anything to this post. It is Benjamin´s text, who is doing the project with me.

"Burn this page (WTJ)"

Benjamin: "Many years ago I also burned a page. It was a love letter and the burning was part of a ceremony. I was sure by burning the letter my words would find their way straight to the addressees heart. Sending it, getting it read - that's at least what I thought - wouldn't transport my feelings in an adequate way.
I used a glass ashtray and lighter petrol. I put it on a small metal plate on my bed and set the letter on fire. It was a light blue sea of flames. And while the paper turned brown then black I was still sure I would have done the best thing I could. Until - the fire made the ashtray burst into two pieces. The rest of the petrol flew onto the plate. It got hot, so hot, that the quilt on my bed started melting. I panicked, tried to extinguish the fire. But it got worse. The plate slipped from the bed and what was left from the fire burned a serious hole into the carpet.
I thought that being sick from love would be a disaster. In fact it was. But the marks of the fire left on my bed and the carpet were disastrous, too. I didn't even try to make up a story in order to explain the clear signs of my voodoo game to my mother. I've played with the fire, I said. And that was exactly the truth - before and after I had lit the match.
This time I took more caution not to burn down the flat. But what I thought, when the journal page burned down was exactly the same as those twenty something years ago: Burn my love right into her heart!
Looks like I don't grow up. She was standing right next to me. But I lit a fire instead of turning my head and telling her: I carry your heart, would you carry mine?"

This is how Benjamin burnt his page:

And this is my result:

Sushi (100 Ideas 4)

Dinner time is always very busy, specially with the kids around. No chance of being able to draw my dinner then. So I decided to draw my lunch. Usually I only eat something small at home. But yesterday I saw this delicious box full of sushi waiting for me right there on my way back home from an appointment. I decided to treat myself as I love sushi and haven´t had it for about 5 years! I´m sure I was also inspired by a sushi drawing done by The Renaissance Chameleon. I saw it the first time about 10 months ago and I really like it very much. It also got me to do more Moleskine drawings.

4. Draw your dinner.

You can´t imagine how difficult it was to draw the sushi instead of eating it. So I had to do a quick illustration... always eating the parts, which I had already completed drawing. Give me more!



You can find a lot of sushi drawings in Moleskines at flickr. I guess, it is easier to draw your food when it won´t get cold while doing so.

Link to Mim´s post
100 ideas

Pour, Spill, Drip, Spit, Fling Your Coffee Here (WTJ)

Last week finally I started Project 1 "Wreck this journal" (WTJ), which celebrates creative destruction, with Benjamin. I was surprised he wanted to do this with me as it takes some time and who´s got spare time?
But then we did the first few pages of the journal together and I could see how much he enjoyed destroying his copy of the journal. You can´t imagine how much fun it is to fill/destroy the book in a messy kind of way.
Before we started I had to get a third copy - just because it looks lovely without our messing around and because I really felt sorry for this wonderful little book. So now I have got a clean and empty copy of the journal and one which is already brown and messy after filling the first page.

"Pour, Spill, Drip, Spit, Fling Your Coffee Here (WTJ)"

Benjamin made his stains this way:

Benjamin: "I hate those unavoidable coffee stains on my white office table. So I decided just to sprinkle some tea onto this journal page. Stupid me: Those sprinkles were hard to notice.
Well, if you really want coffee stains you'll get them. I brewed my coffee making sure to spill a lot all over. Nice result after all. Like it."

And I made myself a very strong cup of instant coffe and just could not stop...

dripping the coffee with a straw...


on to the page. The whole book smells of coffee now.

Moo Holiday Card Competition

I´m a great Moo fan. They´ve got new stuff available and now they started holiday card competition.



Make a MOO Greetings Card with this image and help raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières. Click on the link and you'll be taken straight to a page on MOO with my image selected, ready for you to customise and buy.
Or find out more about the MOO Greetings Cards.

Surprise!

It´s after midnight and Benjamin just presented a box to me. I immediately guessed the right content: Chocolate from my favorite Chocolate store in town! I have a weakness for special chocolates and these are just delicious. Each and every piece is made by hand in the store, using only organic ingredients. Delicious! That already made my day. Thanks Benjamin.


Update:
More nice things today: breakfast with a very good friend (she also gave me a Moleskine sketchbook), snow, browsing (and buying) books in the comic shop next door with Benjamin (I have never been there before, because I knew I wouldn´t be able to stop buying comics), flowers from another friend, Plasticine figures from my daughter, movie coupons from my MIL, sister and Benjamin, an anonymous present (I have no clue from whom) etc.

Munich City Night - My New Blog

I love taking pics of anything I see - at night, when I´m alone and everything around me quiet. I´m posting my favorites here:

100 ideas 1 - part two

Covered:


Partly Uncovered:


Uncovered:

Link to Mim´s post
100 ideas

Collecting rubbish (100 ideas 1)

The next assignment was to collect stuff from the sidewalk. I did this together with my kids on the way to the kindergarten and back. It was strange walking all the time with the head down on the ground and at first it was also very strange to pick up all the rubbish (specially cigarette stubs or dirty stuff). But you can´t imagine how happy the kids were to pick up all these colorful bits and pieces. It´s going to be hard to get them away from this again and they still keep finding wonderful things.

1. Go for a walk. Draw or list things you find on the the sidewalk.

What a variety of things we found! Usually I don´t see so many different kind of colors when I rush along.

Full page:


Right side:


Left side:


When I completed the drawing I went to have another look at andrea joseph´s sketchblog.
She has a picture showing stuff she found at a church yard. I was surprised how many similar things we found. You should take a look at her blog. Her crosshatching is just amazing.

Link to Mim´s post
100 ideas

100 Ideas By Keri Smith Has Started (100 Ideas 3)

The Asia Filmfest is finally over and I can get back to other stuff. The whole week was rather busy... watching as many movies as possible. But I did have a lot of fun doing so.
A while ago I started two new projects. "Wreck this journal", which I will be doing with Benjamin and a second one "100 Ideas" which I will be doing with Mim.
Mim and I agreed on doing the first few assignments in no special order and just try to do complete all 100 ideas.

3. Buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create, (new pen, a tea cup, journal).

I started with this easy task. No difficulties for me to go shopping for nice stuff! :) So I bought this wonderful red water color journal (along with a set of pencils) for documenting the 100 ideas on this list.

The lower pics shows the 100 things on the list.

Update:
Mim started with the same task and we even bought similar things. Check her post out here.

100 ideas

Asia Filmfest - Soo

After the two movies yesterday afternoon we went to get the kids from friends. Back home they were put to bed and off we went again. My mom and I went to watch the last blood-splattered movie of the Asia Filmfest: Soo.

About the movie:
"It's bloody and brutal, and harrowingly so. Japanese-born Korean director Choi Yang-il (Yoichi Sai) brings the Korean audience a hardboiled vengeance film with a slightly different flavor. When you think of blood-splattered retaliation, Park Chan-wook’s vengeance trilogy or Quentin Tarantino’s "Kill Bill" series may come to mind. But imagine such a film stripped of fancy cinematographic techniques and devoid of stylishly choreographed action sequences. Every gesture and grimace is meticulously planned, according to the director. But Choi keeps the camera at a certain distance to portray the no cut skirmishes. The product is heightened realism, and you believe in the brutal violence and the raw human instinct for survival." (The Korea Times)

Asia Filmfest - Dasepo Naughty Girls

Right after "Breath" we saw this crazy movie: Dasepo Naughty Girls, based on the popular Internet novel, "Multi-Cell Girl".

"Fun, sex and lunacy. All hell's been let loose at No Use High School! Director E. J-yong puts a whole new curriculum together for his brilliant adaptation of an internet comic. Whilst the couple that run this somewhat unusual boarding school indulge their sado-masochistic longings, their multi-confessional pupils are busy educating themselves primarily in all kinds of sexual practices. Just as unorthodox as the love life of this crew of bright young things is the colourful look of this bizarre teenage comedy, that takes the audience on a high-speed romp through a highly unpedagogical realm." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Berlinale)

"Shot with a candy coated color scheme and leaping from a song and dance number featuring a fetching swarm of pink clad go-go dancers to a mass exodus for the doctor's office on news that a teacher has tested positive for syphilis to clandestine video game prostitution to ... well, you get the picture. "Dasepo Naughty Girls" begins as a rapid fire candy fluff spin on high school life that is every bit as absurd, high energy and sketch oriented as Cromartie High School, only this film boasts much higher production values." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Twitchfilm.net)

Asia Filmfest - Breath

What a wonderful movie. This was the first one we (Benjamin, my mom and myself) enjoyed today. Right after that we watched a second one.

"Removing any pretence of reality for yet another of his existentialist essays on human nature, Kim Ki-duk’s bare-boned new film pairs a married woman with a man on death row, for an impossible love affair. But as this is, after all, Kim Ki-duk territory, the affair does materialise in a manner of speaking, even offering a deserved relief to two tormented souls, before it drops the curtains. Kim’s followers will embrace this and festivals couldn’t possibly miss exposing such a bemusing item. Kim, whose international reputation was based for many years on the excesses he indulged in films like "The Isle" or "Bad Guy", doesn't quite achieve the same heights he climbed in "Spring, Summer…", but he doesn't need to shock anymore and works wonders within the minimalist conditions he imposes on himself. Visually, this is as eye-catching as any of Kim's films, from the muted pastels of Yeon's home, to the stark realism of the prison cell, and down to the brilliantly sharp universe created by Yeon's vivid imagination inside a the prison room. Finally, there is effective use of incidental music, like the mechanical-sounding version of "Moonlight Sonata" played by Yeon's husband, or the ironically utilised "Tombe la Neige" which wraps up the entire picture." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Screen Daily )

Asia Filmfest - Carved - The Slit-Mouthed Woman

The second movie was a horror movie called "Carved - The Slit-Mouthed Woman". Even though the movie was frightening at times it isn´t a movie which you have to have seen.

About the movie:
"Legend holds that thirty years ago, a suburban town was terrorized by the spirit of a woman whose beautiful face had been grotesquely disfigured by a jealous husband. Roaming the streets wearing a long coat and surgical mask, the spirit would approach young victims and, while removing her mask, ask "Am I pretty?" The victim's response would almost always lead to their violent death.
Now, one by one, children are disappearing again. As teachers and officials desperately begin to investigate, a panic begins to build as the woman's spirit returns for some unfinished business and the town's dark secrets are exposed. “Carved - The Slit-Mouthed Woman“ reminds me of Clive Barker’s “Candyman” in spirit with perhaps Wes Craven’s “Nightmare on Elm Street” thrown in for good." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Twitchfilm.net)

Asia Filmfest - Eye In The Sky

Halloween evening Benjamin took care of the kids again so that I could watch some more movies. (Thanks, B.). Tomorrow is the last day of the Asia Filmfest and then I can get back to my usual blog postings. Hopefully with more art again.
The first movie I watched today was "Eye in the Sky". Nice one!

About the movie:
"Eye in the Sky" is engrossing cat and mouse stuff – riveting entertainment that gathers an undeniable momentum as the chase rachets up notch by notch. Oozing with style and gripping throughout, Yau’s movie heralds an exciting new talent. (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via firecrackermedia.com)

“A Hong Kong police surveillance unit finds itself caught up in the rough-and-tumble of underworld violence in smart action-thriller "Eye in the Sky," helming debut of longtime Johnnie To scripter Yau Nai-hoi. Well-received at its world preem in Berlin's Forum, and stuffed with To regulars on both sides of the camera, this looks to have a similar fest and distribution arc to the best of To's own signed movies, and will be welcomed by the same aficionados.” (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Variety)