Guess this is the personal part of the blog... was out at a pub/bar near my apt tonight for a little do for a friend who is leaving the city for a short time and a girl on her bike stopped by the patio to say, "Hey! Aren't you the kung fu guy?" Wow. It will be the end of that shortly. Maybe replaced with, "Weren't you the kung fu guy?" Sadly she was with a boy on a bike, but that is besides the point... an event that I have been running for 10 years is coming to an end. I say the end because the announcement of the closure of the Toronto rep houses has been so sudden, I have had no time to be able to move to another venue. This is the busiest time of my year with the film fest and all that that entails. Wish I could continue, but it just doesn't seem feasible or even to have the possiblily of keeping the same spirit of what I have been trying to keep alive. 10 years. I get my Fridays back. I loved sharing these films and offering an alternative to big box cineplex fare, but in the end it has always been a hobby and one that I often lost money at. That never mattered, but maybe it is time to move on? A sign perhaps, with the darkening of the cinemas that meant so much to me? This has been a boozy entry but I end it with a thought from my cinema sifu in HK:
"It dies, slowly. Not just HK films. Or repertory cinemas. But 35 mm as a medium. See it within the largest context and it may make you feel better.
In the end, everything will be made beautiful when it becomes nostalgia. Beyond death, there will always be memory, and then nostalgia."
5 comments:
Cheers Colin!
Your passionate pusuit of your "hobby" has always been an inspiration to me.
I have always admired your dedication to your love of film, and your desire to share it with everyone else. So few people take what they truly love, and make a living from it.
From Camden East backyard summer movie parties -- to a fanzine -- to Golden Harvest Cinemas -- then Kung Fu Fridays and Midnight Madness -- I have watched you move forward regardless of obstacles, and do what you want to do.
I have thought of you often as I've tried to follow my own passion, and make a career out of it.
But taxidermy fizzled out -- so now I make cartoons.
Love ya man! Best of luck in whatever the fates bring you.
Cool... And you even get a good shot at jumping TV waves... :D Not bad.
TV waves? Huh? Look again, that is off a projected 35mm print. no video here ONLY PURE FILM!
the passion, the persistence of fascination and delight...
these things carry forward.
moments, nostalgia is stronger than the now,
but those moments are transient,
then you're caught up in it again.
you'll never stagnate.
xoxo
Major bummer... Kung Fu Fridays rocked... so does The Royal.
Hey Colin I just found this blog, had no idea you had one.
I've met you a few times at the Film Fest, and I am also a former employee of Jerry, having worked at the Fox for a few years in the early 00's.
Anyways, I had some questions for you... if you wouldn't mind dropping me an email I'd really appreciate it.
roninkengo@gmail.com
thanks
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