KQEK.com Digital / Big Head Amusements / ArtScopeTO - Podcasts
Toronto based journalist & filmmaker Mark R. Hasan interviews artists & producers for the film / video / filmmusic media site KQEK.com and the filmmaking site Big Head Amusements.com.

Filmmaker Zach Weddington discusses the making of Viva Amiga (2017), his affectionate chronicle of the beloved home computer that evolved from a game machine to a pioneering multimedia system for musicians, filmmakers, gamers, and artists.

Available digitally from Vimeo, we also discuss the extensive bonus interviews (many free) and the Amiga's impact, including the iconic video editing system the Video Toaster from Newtek, plus vintage computing and video gear.

Visit KQEK.com for a review of Viva Amiga and the lightly discussed Stinking Heaven, and my ongoing blog (Mis)Adventures in Video at Big Head Amusements, which includes a link to Newtek's award-winning Video Toaster demo Revolution 1.0 + 2.0.

Special Zach Weddington, whose next project is Arcadia, a history of arcade games. Visit his production site www.rocksteadymedia.com for more info.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please read the Editor's Blog at KQEK.com, and connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and myself on Instagram.


Following the April 18, 2018, screening of I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) at Toronto's Revue Cinema for National Canadian Film Day, writer-director Patricia Rozema discussed her feature film debut with cléo journal’s Kiva Reardon.

Topics include the casting of Sheila McCarthy, developing the story, filming in Toronto, a short bit on Harvey Weinstein, Calvinist self-discipline, and Rozema’s latest work, Mouthpiece.

Bookending the podcast are some thoughts on my shifting tastes since 1987, and at KQEK.com I've posted additional thoughts on the film, related links, and reviews of Rozema's first two features, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing and White Room  (1990).

If you enjoyed this bonus podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Direct download: 2018-05-23---KQEK_Digital__RevueCinema_PatriciaRozema_320_kbps_MP3.mp3
Category:Film -- posted at: 1:43am EDT

In this month's ArtScopeTO podcast, I interview photographer Andre Vittorio, whose current series Abstractions on Metal is showcased from April 5-28, 2018, at Toronto's Urban Gallery. Topics include the aesthetics of shooting architectural subjects, especially Brutalist forms in Toronto.

Further info and stills from the exhibition are available via the Editor's Blog at KQEK.com.

If you enjoyed this podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Visit www.andrevittorio.com for more info on the artist.

Special Thanks to Andre Vittorio for his time, Urban Gallery's manager Calvin Hambrook and curator Allen Shugar, and Glenda Fordham at Fordham P.R. for facilitating the interview.

Direct download: ArtScopeTO_2018-04-15__AndreVittorio__2-track_stereo_MP3..mp3
Category:Painting; Photography -- posted at: 11:35pm EDT

Jazz composer & improviser Marilyn Lerner discusses performing her score live for Frank Borzage's silent classic Street Angel (1928) at Toronto's Revue Cinema in November of 2017.

Also discussed are Lerner's prior scores, including Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), and the nuances of improvising music live for cinema audiences.

Visit KQEK.com for additional film reviewssoundtrack reviewsinterviews, and read the Editor's Blog by Mark R. Hasan for additional info and related links.

Special Thanks to Marilyn Lerner, the Revue Cinema's Eric Veillette, and Silent Revue series programmer & curator Alicia Fletcher.

Visit Marilyn Lerner's website for more info on the composer and music samples.

If you enjoyed this podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Direct download: 2018-02-21---KQEK_Digital__Marilyn_Lerner__MP3_320_kbps.mp3
Category:Filmmusic -- posted at: 4:49pm EDT

2018's first podcast features a conversation with Peter Roffman, who edited and authored Dear Guelda: The Death and Life of Pioneering Canadian Filmmaker Julian Roffman, newly published as an ebook and available from Amazon.

The nearly hour-long program has son Peter reflecting on the incredible career of Julian Roffman, best known for producing & directing Canada's first feature-length 3D and horror film, The Mask (1961), which I profiled separately in a May 16, 2016 podcast, archived on this channel.

The elder Roffman was invited by John Grierson to join the then-new National Film Board of Canada organization, then became a WWII correspondent, documentarian, and after being blacklisted by Hollywood, Roffman returned to Canada where he established the country's first commercial video post-production house.

Our conversation also includes Roffman's involvement with David O. Selznick, Flipper's Ivan Tors, and much, much more. Reviews of Dear Guelda and related film reviews will follow, but please visit KQEK.com for more info and book links on this podcast.

If you enjoyed this podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Direct download: 2018-01-11---KQEK_Digital__Peter_Roffman__MP3_320_kbps.mp3
Category:Film;Books -- posted at: 1:27pm EDT

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