in the news

I leave for Canada and the RIDM festival tomorrow.

I googled our film, the ballad of vicki and jake, to see if anything was posted after our screening on Saturday in Copenhagen. Couldn't find anything in English regarding the CPH:DOX screening, but here's a few postings from Canadian sources.


The Canada.com website, in an article titled Really Real Lineup of Films, offers this quote about us:

First Camera shines a light on new directors, with fresh points of view. Ian Thomas Ash's "The Ballad of Vicki and Jake" looks at the documentary form itself.

While the RIDM festival press release Look Harder. See for Real. has this to say about us:

First Camera presented by Planète is all about discovery— emerging filmmakers, original viewpoints and narrative innovation. It’s an invitation into the unknown where tomorrow’s documentary greats are hard at work. Newcomer Ian Thomas Ash’s "The Ballad of Vicki and Jake" is a pointed investigation of the nature of documentary itself. It begins by capturing every detail in the life of a recovering heroin addict and her pre-teen son, and ends with the viewer wondering just who is manipulating whom.


In Highlights of the City’s Ninth Annual Doc Fest, the Montreal Mirror says:

Thorny questions about the relationship between the documentary filmmaker and their subject are raised by "The Ballad of Vicki and Jake". In this British entry by Ian Thomas Ash, the director sets out to capture the rehabilitation of a young junkie and single mom. The bond between filmmaker and junkie subject soon becomes tortured and their manipulations back and forth entangled.


An article from Hour called Getting Off on the One-off says:

Things get troubling in "The Ballad of Vicki and Jake", when the very green filmmaker, Ian Thomas Ash, spends a large chunk of the film convincing his subject - a cracked-out mom and her son trying to make good - to sign release forms that give him and his producer the rights to their story.

And perhaps the strangest piece linked to our film comes from our very own website's guestbook:

Drug Information for Prescription Drugs. Free information about buying meds online, alumogur, tramadol. Canada Drugs is your online Canada pharmacy for xanax. Order from an Online Pharmacy.

How ironic.

Will try to post while I am away. Wish us luck!

three years ago this week

We met Vicki three years ago. The weather was cool and the leaves were changing. This photo was taken in Novemeber during one of the first interviews we had with her.

It is so hard to believe all that has happened in the time since this photo was taken.

castle park, 5 november 2003
photo: ken kwek

I have been busy with preparations for the festival in Montreal. I leave on Tuesday and can't wait!

first date without a chaperone

oneill's pub, 3 November 2003
photo: ken kwek

Our baby, the ballad of vicki and jake, is having its first showing without one of us holding its hand tonight when it has its Scandinavian Premier at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.

We're thinking of you, baby!

burst my bubbles

Feeling a bit stressed lately? Yeah, me, too.

You know how good it feels to pop bubble wrap between your fingers? Well, thanks to my friend Bullfighter6.2 who pointed me in the direction of THIS website, now that feeling of release is only a click away.

Almost as good as the real stuff. Pop away, stressballs.

Update:

The voice that you hear when you push "fresh sheet" sounds just like Anthea, our assistant editor, when she hasn't had enough coffee. Scary.

what they're saying about us 2

The English version of the CPH:DOX site is now up, so now I can finally tell you what they're saying about us in Copenhagen.

'The Ballad of Vicki and Jake' is a film about the omissions, manipulations and compromises involved in making the film...improvised interviews and choleric conflict resolution dominate the film. A meta film about the negotiation of power relations and the human decency demanded in every form of documentary.

If you have a degree in Film Studies, maybe you could explain the above to the rest of us. (Perhaps you, Matt?). In the meantime, I'm just glad they're talking about us.

For the full synopsis from CPH:DOX, go here.

babtists for "ballad"

I would like to thank all of my friends at the First Baptist Church back in upstate New York* for their lovely send off. Only a week to go until the ballad of vicki and jake premiers in North America and Scandinavia!


*Actually, I would like to thank my new friend, Bullfighter6.2, the vibrating blogger, for making me laugh with his tomfoolery and shenanigans.

posting poster

This is what the new posters look like that we ordered for the festivals in Copenhagen and Montreal for our film, the ballad of vicki and jake.

rob him!

Well, actually it's free.

My friend, Rob, who I met back when I was living in Bristol, has since moved to Japan and is making music up in the mountains of Toyama prefecture. OK, his journey has been a bit more complex than that, but let's talk FREE MUSIC!

He has just made his newest 10 tracks (a pop/techno album of music called 'Jigs for Jobots') available for free on his website. His music uses a lot of natural sounds that have been mixed together into a hip soundtrack that would be at home in any music lover's collection.

blog my vlog

In case you missed my blog entries about my new vlog, you can find parts 1 and 2 here on the RIDM website. Part three will be cross-posted soon.

Thanks, RIDM!

scandinavian premier for "the ballad"

In addition to our North American premier next month at the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM), our film, the ballad of vicki and jake, will also have its Scandinavian premier at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival in Denmark.

The festival in Copenhagen runs from November 10-19, while the RIDM runs from November 9-19. I had been planning to go to Denmark for the first half of the festival and then travel to Montreal for the second half of that festival; so that I would be able to accomplish this, I requested screening preferences to both festivals. Unfortunately, the Copenhagen schedule wasn't announced until last week, and it is no longer possible for me or anyone from our team to attend either of the screenings in Denmark. I am disappointed I won't be there to accompany our baby to Scandinavia (a place I would love to visit as well), but we are very greatful and honoured to have the opportunity to be shown there.

We will be in competition in the New Vision category. Dates and times below:

SCREENINGS

Cinemateket
		11.11. 19:00
Cinemateket
		14.11. 20:00

Drop me a line if you or anyone you know are living in Copenhagen and are planning to attend the festival. I would love to hear first-hand how our film is received!

I spy something in me eye

When I spent a few days in the mountains last week, it seems that I brought home more than just some waffles. I woke up last Thursday with a pain in my left eye. The lower eyelid was swollen- so much so that somehow it had caused a wrinkle to appear(!). The wrinkle was almost cause for more concern than whatever was behind this pain.

I have been unable to wear contacts since, and because of work and the weekend have been unable to go to the doctor. Now that the worst seems to be over, I finally have a chance to go to the eye hospital today to find out what is going on.

My guess? It is something to do with the hotspring at our inn. I bet somebody didn't wash every nook and cranny before getting into the public bath. The baths are just the right temperature to turn those healing waters into a bacterial soup that takes down dozens of elderly each year. Gee, when you look at it like that the onsens don't seem so inviting.

update:

Just back from the eye hospital and it was most probably from the hotsprings. I'm all set now and even the wrinkle seems to be on its way out. Good riddance!

my new my suits, update

My suit just arrived from Hong Kong- yes, at 9 on a Sunday morning (thanks, Japan Post!).

A lot of the clients of my friend's tailer are older men, so I really stressed that I wanted a young-looking modern cut. The tailer said that recently the trousers are being worn lower. But he also said that with my "kick boxing legs" that he should put a couple of darts in. Wearing the trousers low may look good with slim-cut trousers, but combined with the dart...

I don't look like I'm wearing a trendy tailer-made suit from Hong Kong. I look like I'm wearing a hand-me-down from a retired kickboxer from the Mainland. Dammit.

what they're saying about us

The website for the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal is up and running. Complete with links to our film, the ballad of vicki and jake, to this blog and to my vlog, the site also carries a synopsis for our film.

Festivals always ask for a synopsis when a film is programmed, and the readers of a catalogue could easily assume that whatever is printed has been written by the producer of the given film. However, more often than not the blurb included in the festival catalogue has been adapted, edited or completely created by the festival itself.

No matter how much I agree or disagree with it, I really enjoy finding out how a festival is describing and promoting us by reading what they have written themselves. For example, when we were in competition in the Visions du Reel, the catalogue description of our film included the following:

...it isn't only the social tragedy of the drugs and poverty that emerges... but also what we suspect is a romantic relationship (between Vicki and Ian), spoilt by clumsiness and a lack of understanding.

OK, not exactly how I would have described it, but I see their point. And what is RIDM saying about us?

Some will find The Ballad of Vicki and Jake poignant, and others, simply repulsive.… In this pointed investigation of the nature of documentary itself, The Ballad of Vicki and Jake is both troubling and troubled. How far can a filmmaker go? The answer is left up to the viewer.

"Simply repulsive"? I love it.

For the full synopsis, please visit the RIDM website, click on the list of films, then on "the ballad of vicki and jake".

update:

Thanks to Claire at the RIDM, I have updated all the links to the RIDM on this blog and on my vlog to lead straight to our listing on the festival site.

what's in a name?

Thanks to Matt for the following activity that will add a few fleeting seconds of fun to your day at work. Just click on the following icon and it will take you to a website where you can see how many people in the US have the same name as you.

There are 8 guys named Ian Ash. Good thing I have that whole Thomas thing working for me.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 8 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I forgot to pack the maple syrup

I am back from the moutain convent where the nuns have a waffle factory. The waffles are really good, they just don't serve them with maple syrup. Or warm.

There more like little waffle-taste, waffle-looking cookies.

They're nuns. Cut 'em some slack.

the sounds of music

I'll be away until Thursday visiting a Catholic convent in the mountains of Japan where the Sisters make and sell waffles.

Seriously.

The next post will be when I get back. Have a good week!

throwing money away

Throwing something away in Japan can be quite a task. It isn't that Japan isn't a wasteful country; Japan, the home of the individually wrapped sweets in a paper wrapped box which is gift wrapped, put in a decorative paper bag and then placed in a plastic bag to protect the... you get the point.

When I lived in the countryside for three years there was more space and therefore more of the separating was left up to people to do curbside. In Tokyo, the streets often aren't wide enough to accommodate separate bins for each of the categories of garbage, so we're allowed to mix some types of rubbish which will be separated out at a processing facility.

"How many categories of garbage can there possible be?", you wonder. Well, where I used to live there were sixteen. Yup. Sixteen. 16. Let's see if I can name them.

1. Raw. (kitchen waste)
2. Aluminum. (soda cans, canned goods)
3. Steel. (some foods/ drinks are packed in steel)
4. PET. (plastic drink bottles)
5. Cardboard. (boxes)
6. Paper. (newspaper)
7. Dangerous. (batteries, light bulbs)
8. Clear glass. (drink bottles, etc)
9. Brown glass. (beer bottles, etc)
10. Other colored glass. (green bottles, etc.)
11. White Styrofoam. (food trays)
12. Other non-burnable. (misc. plastic, metal)
13. Over-sized. (appliances, furniture)
14.
15.
16.

I can’t remember the rest right now (it was a lot to keep track of then as well). The pick up days of the different categories varied- some once or twice a week, some once a month and some only a couple of times per year. It seemed like I was always preparing some type of garbage for disposal and running it to the collection site. Yeah, each of these categories even has a certain way the items have to be cleaned and bundled.

The real kick in the face has to do with the timing of the disposal. One has to bring the items separated and prepared appropriately to the collection site (usually one or two per neighbourhood) by 8:00 in the morning on the day of the collection. “Oh, I’ll just drop it off on my evening walk so I don’t have to bother with it in the morning” , you suggest. Don’t even think about it. It must be dropped off on the morning of collection and by 8:00. In addition to appearing to want to make the process of taking out the trash as inconvenient as possible, the powers that be also have fears of animals getting into the rubbish during the night. (When was the last time a crow had a go at a washed and regulation twine bound white Styrofoam food tray?)

Night before garbage drop offs are a declaration of war.

People in this peaceful country have been KILLED by neighbours in disputes over garbage. I guess tentions run high when keeping track of the garbage is such a pain and then some ne'r-do-well comes along flaunting his rebellion by casually tossing his unbound, unwashed and unregulation cut milk cartons before the appointed time when you are some housewife who is going bald due to the stress of keeping in line with all of the trash rules.

Why am I going on about garbage anyway? Right. When I moved into my new place here in Tokyo in June, I had to buy a couple of essentials- refriderator, washer... what wasn't essential was the cutest three-bin stacked garbage can that cost $240 that I saw in a department store. Needless to say, I did without. Since I moved in I have had two garbage bags sitting in a cardboard box next to my fridge serving as a trash can. Classy.

Garbage disposal is much easier in Toyko. All you have to remember is three days (burnable, non-burnable and recyclable) and separate the trash accordingly. To help me with these three catagories was a lovely garbage can in a department store. But, alas, I have had to give up my dream of a life together with that lovely, sleek, designer receptical. I broke down last week and bought a cheap plastic number who called my name as I walked by in a discount store. I feel like I have cheated on my true love, but alas, she was in a class above me.

And anyway, I was having guests for dinner and the thought of them being welcomed by my cardboard box and trash bag contraption pushed me into action.

Happy tossing. I'm talking about throwing away the trash, Brits.

how NOT to make a documentary, part 3

Click to Play

The last part of this series brings lessons 9 and 10. Click here for part 1 and part 2.

I would like to thank everyone (and expecially Gaelle!) at the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal for giving me this assignment. It was really fun, and I have learned alot as well.

We are really looking forward to the RIDM where our fim the ballad of vicki and jake will have it's North American premier.

From now on you will be able to find my video blog entries on my new vlog. I'll post alerts here on my blog when I add a new video. Thanks for watching!

my new my suits

Since I will be attending the RIDM film festival next month, my friend decided to buy me a present I could wear to the reception.

My friend's tailor from Hong Kong was going to be in town on business. If we went to his hotel, he could measure me, make the suit when he got home and then ship it to me in time for my trip. How would I like a new suits?

Lesson #1. In Japanese, every single word that doesn't end in the consonant "n", ends in a vowel. Every other word in the entire language ends in a vowel. This may clear up something you've wondered about for a long time... how come when the Japanese speak English they pronounce words like:

KATO= cat
DOGU= dog
KA= car
and the above example:
SUTSU= suits

This is all fine and not a problem once you get used to it. The problem comes when you start bringing the japanified words back into English without realizing it. "I bought a new suits". My brother-in-law thinks I sound like a non-native English speaker in my e-mails from time to time. He so funny.

Back to my new suits. We went to said hotel to get measured for my first my suits.

Lesson #2. The Japanese import tonnes of English words into their language. This should make speaking Japanese easy, right? No such luck. Before they put the words to use, they change the meaning so completely you can hardly recognize what the word was to begin with. Take the English word "my", as in the above example, my suits. "My" doesn't mean "my own" in Japanese. It means "one's own". It may sound subtle, but take a look at these examples:

Will you take my car? means: Will you take your own car? (ie, or will you take the company car?)

Do you have my room? means: Do you have your own room? (ie, or do you share a room with your sibling?)

Hey! That's not my drink! means: That's not just for you! (ie, it's for everyone to share.)

This then gives the grammatically-challenged my suits a meaning equivalent to the English phrase "order-made suit". When you've lived here long enough, it all starts to make sense and even begins to seem so much more simple and economical when speaking.

We're in the hotel room, and I am being measured for my first my suits by a lovely bloke from Hong Kong. He measures my neck, waist, chest and so on. Those who know me know that while I am fairly tall, I have a fairly small build and don't weigh all that much. According to the American height/ weight ratio I am underweight. Yet compared to the average Japanese guy, I have slight love handles and a way bigger butt and legs.

I bring this up because a lot of the trousers in Japan are "stove pipe" cut, which is quite fashionable if you have chopsticks for legs. I would have to buy XL just so my legs could fit into the most fashionably cut trousers, but then two of me could fit into the waist.

The tailor has finished taking my measurements. He's measured just about everything on my body, except one important part. No, not that. He hasn't measured the circumference of my legs. I know he has been lulled into a false sense of security by my small waist and the deceptively well-cut trousers I am wearing. I suggest he measure my legs, but he insists there is no need. I insist that, in fact, there is. He sighs and begins the big measure.

"Oh! You are kick boxer?!"

But no, sorry, I am not a kick boxer, and that is not muscle, but what amounts to fat.

"I put dart in pants or your leg no fit!"

Lesson #3. Beware of having your thighs measured by a Chinese guy in a Tokyo hotel room. It could very well ruin your day.

my new vlog

I have decided to create a new blog to hold the videos I am making. Don't worry, I'll post the final segment, part 3 of the how NOT to make a documentary series here on my blog to join part 1 and part 2. After that, I will be posting videos directly to my new video blog (vlog), documenting ian, vlog. From today, this blog will be called, documenting ian, blog.