BCPVA Meeting – Jan 25th 2022 – Anne Wheeler – Taken by the Muse

Hello Members & Guests;

 We are so fortunate this month to be able to meet with Director, Producer, Writer Anne Wheeler. A master storyteller, and seminal creative force in Canadian film and TV, suffice it to say that if you live in Canada then you have experienced her work, for those not fully versed here is some further background on Anne.

 If the stories we tell each other, the stories we pass down are the fabric of our lives and of our culture, then Anne Wheeler is a supreme weaver and treasurer for all the diverse stories that make up the Canadian experience. Born in Edmonton Alberta Anne’s background began unconventionally for a filmmaker – in mathematics, and music, and then with some money saved from teaching a free form exploration of Europe, Asia, and Africa that lasted several years. Eventually back home in the early seventies serendipity struck and she stumbled into the joys of creating short films. Anne soon joined the Edmonton collective FilmWest, a group committed to creating films that addressed issues with indigenous rights, women’s rights, and western politics. After several years spent creating with the collective, and participating in the multitude of crafts that make up a film production crew Anne began her long association with the National Film Board. It is with the NFB that Anne began to realise her signature talent for drawing on personal stories to illustrate universal human themes.  What followed were Canadian classics like A War Story based her father’s experience as a doctor in a Japanese POW camp, and Bye, Bye Blues, based on her mother’s wartime experience as a musician, and ultimately to outstanding and often ground breaking features like Cowboys Don’t cry, and Better Than Chocolate.

 With innumerable awards for her work including the Order of Canada, seven honorary doctorates, and a DGC Lifetime Achievement award, Anne has become one of the most sought after director/producer/writers in Canada, and continues to be a prolifically active in major film and TV productions. Most recently Anne has written a novel titled Taken By the Muse: On the Path to Becoming a Filmmaker. The book contains three self-contained stories, stories that in her words, “just simply need to be told so they won’t be lost.” Anne’s commitment to us as a story teller is palpable, in fact she has a whole box of stories labeled “Stories, I’ve been Given”   At this point I think we can all say – the gift is ours Anne, please don’t ever stop.

 No matter what your specific film making interest is this meeting has something for you as Anne is truly a renaissance woman of film. Read her new book prior to the meeting if you possibly can, this will be something special!

Additional Links:

Book info… https://www.annewheeler.com/new-book

Web site …   https://www.annewheeler.com

IMDb link…   https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0923768/

 Articles on Anne Wheeler from The Vancouver Sun

Award-winning Canadian writer-director Anne Wheeler talks about how she got started in filmmaking and what drives her films.

https://vancouversun.com/Entertainment/Movies/award-winning-canadian-writer-director-anne-wheeler-talks-about-how-she-got-started-in-filmmaking-and-what-drives-her-films

Muse you can use: Filmmaker Anne Wheeler dips into a past that helped guide her future

https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/muse-you-can-use-filmmaker-anne-wheeler-dips-into-a-past-that-helped-guide-her-future

Directors Guild of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award winner Anne Wheeler still going strong

https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/movies/directors-guild-of-canada-lifetime-achievement-award-winner-anne-wheeler-still-going-strong

Meeting Details:

People can start joining the meeting at 6:30 pm for informal networking. The main program will start at 7pm and run until 8pm with Q&A and discussion of new and shared work to follow until 8:30.

If you have never used Zoom before, please join early to download and troubleshoot.

How it will work: You can connect with both Windows and Mac computers / laptops, Apple and Android cell phones, and tablets with the Zoom video app. This link will give you a prompt to download and run Zoom if you have never used Zoom before. If you have used Zoom, it will open a box with Zoom Meetings highlighted – click the Open Link button. When you connect you can test your headphones, webcam, and microphone with Zoom, before you join the talk.

Audio: This is the most important part.  We want/need to avoid feedback -so wear headphones. If members don’t wear headphones, the audio from everyone else will feed into their microphone and this can cause a feedback loop.

Microphone: Most laptops and mobile devices have built-in microphones (and webcams).  These will work just fine. Your mobile devices likely shipped with headphones with a built-in microphone – this works great too.  If you have and headphones with three rings on the connector then your headphones have a microphone built-in.  If you are using an external USB webcam, then it probably has a microphone too.  If you haven’t used it in a while, you may want to plug it in and possibly update the driver. Webcam: If you are joining with a mobile device then take the time to mount your device on a stand at eye level.  The same basics that apply to videography apply to webcam usage: add some soft front-light, avoid back-light, and be aware what is in your background.

Topic: BCPVA JANUARY 25 MEETING

Time: Jan 25, 2022 06:30 Vancouver

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87282119216

No Password Needed

Work safe, stay well and see you all online on Jan 25th!

Sincerely,

The BCPVA Exec Committee