The Genie Awards were held here in Ottawa last Thursday evening and { First Kiss Films } was busy the entire week preparing, creating, presenting and enjoying the filmy festivities. Here’s a recap of the exciting days past:
~ SYNOPSIS ~
{ First Kiss Films } was invited to screen a vintage film in the Starfish Celebrity Gift Lounge so I decided to create something custom just for the event. With only a few days to finalize the film, I had to come up with a concept, select talent, costumes, and locations in about 24 hours.
The black and white film was shot in few hours and all the footage was handprocessed and handprinted by a local film artist. I then edited the 16mm film on a flatbed editing suite and a film loop was custom-built so it could play continuously over the two days. The film, inspired by the fact that this was the 31st Annual Genie Awards, was simply titled “31”, ran for 31 seconds with the number 31 appearing multiple times in vintage-style throughout. It was a hit!
~ CHARACTERS ~
Twenty-one retailers were selected to be part of the official Genie Awards swag bag which was valued at over $1,200. The bag was filled to the brim with goodies and included amazing products from Pook, Stella & Dot, iStyle Originals, Valley Girl Naturals, Geek Sweets, Lisabel Gallery, MAC Cosmetics, Kania, We Vibe, Bode Spa, Little Cakes, Lilac Lingerie, Green & Black’s Organic, John Frieda, zip.ca and luckily for us, { First Kiss Films }. Our contribution was of course cinema inspired: stylish bags of gourmet caramel popcorn. Thanks to Sara from Inky Design for such a quick turn-around with the labels.
~ SPECIAL APPEARANCES ~
Many celebrities saw the “31” film loop when they dropped by the lounge to pick-up their swag bags. A few familiar faces included Bruce Greenwood, George Stroumboulopoulos, Mia Kirshner, Don McKellar, Shannon Tweed, and Kardinal Offishall. But meeting Gordon Pinsent, star of Away From Her (one of my most favorite Canadian films of all time), was definitely a highlight. We chatted for a bit when he arrived and then he actually made a point of coming up to me before leaving to tell me he “loved my work”. Hearing such a nice comment from one of Canada’s most beloved and well-known actors was such a thrill!
~ COMING SOON ~
Wish you could have witnessed it all? Well you can – 16mm film footage of the Starfish celebrity gift lounge, the cocktail reception, the awards gala, and the after party will be made available late spring.
Wishing you all a lovely week!
Bridget
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