By BRIDGETTE WATSON n a studio in South Vancouver, a small collective is doing big things for film. The Iris Film Collective is an eight-member group of filmmakers and film enthusiasts that supports and screens work exclusively on celluloid film. The collective currently resides at Falaise Park Fieldhouse studio as part of a two-year initiative by the Vancou- ver Park Board that provides work- spaces for artists in exchange for com- munity engagement. “This stuff is weird and it’s arcane,” said member John Woods, referring to the filmstrips and assorted equipment packed into the tiny studio. “T enjoy the chemistry aspect, the mechanical aspect and the optics, those are all part of what makes it fun.” A keen interest in ‘all things analog’ keeps the collective busy hosting screenings, touring their work to festi- vals, and teaching workshops to kids who learn to paint on filmstrips. “The kids love the colouring aspect, they actually get it very quickly,” said Woods. BRIDGETTE WATSON photos; Centre photo SUBMITTED (Left to right) Alysha Seriani, SFU film student, screens a film; An example of 16mm film frames; Iris Film Collective founding member Alex MacKenzie. Artsy film group is keeping it ree! Iris Film Collective manipulates old-school filmstrips to create avant-garde cinema The collective encourages experi- mentation. Members themselves have used paint and even bleach to manipu- late frames in their own projects. Founding member Alex MacKenzie has screened projects with multiple projectors and screens to play with frame speed and image layering. Last Sunday, the collective screened 16 mm ‘oddities’ pulled at random from their collection of 1,500 films. Among the gems was an original soundie, which were short musical films produced in the 1940’s on 16mm film that were viewed in coin-operated film jukeboxes. Member and screening attendee Zoe Kirk-Gushowaty praises the opportuni- ties the collective provides to produce and screen film projects. “On a day to day basis I work in digi- tal, but this is what I like to do.” Currently, the collective is on tour across the United States screening eight of their original films. The group remains in residence at Falaise Park until 2017 where they will continue to create projects and “spread the good gospel of celluloid.” IRIS events LOOP COLLECTIVE SCREENING Saturday, Oct. 24, 7:30p.m. Cineworks Studio, 1131 Howe St. END OF THE WORLD TOUR 2015 Oct. 6 - Nov. 14 Source: irisfilmcollective.com Innovative storytellin New writing courses offered at Langara incorporate unique themes such as collective healing By NANCY PLECHATY ing instructor is going beyond teaching students how to write. Creative director of The Story We Be, mia susan amir—who prefers her name not be capitalized—wants to send a message to the community through crafting collective stories. Her courses, Fiction Writers’ ER Clinic and Stirring the Embers, Fan- ning the Flames — Memoir, are offered as part-time continuing education classes and will embody SWB’s specific approach to creative writing. “The common thread between all of the classes I teach is that we’re in an examination of aesthetics, ethics, poli- tics of the social aspect of writing,” amir said. “The role of storyteller has never been more important in helping us to vision beyond what we can currently 0: Langara College creative writ- see,” she adds. “We need new stories, better stories. The skills to be able to tell those stories in compelling ways.” In amir’s classes, students learn cre- ative methods that incorporate collec- tive healing, transformation, justice, liberation and other themes typically not covered within institutional cours- es. Indu lyer, a former student of amir currently studying creative writing at UBC, says other writing courses she’s taken tend to lack the unity of amir’s teaching style. “There’s no sense of community, there’s no sense of belonging, and it’s so alienating,” she said. Iyer said she appreciates how amir puts her heart and passion into her coursework. According to writing student Sou- mya Natarajan, amir’s courses also provide a collaborative style of learn- ing. “She invites people of all ages to come in and write with her,” she said. “She touches on our ancestors’ work and there’s a strong connection of com- munal memory and wisdom from el- ders in all our works.” aimir’s next course begins Oct. 24. MIA SUSAN AMIR The Story We Be creative director 66 Podcasting picking up steam Langara’s next English forum rides the wave of podcast popularity and user-friendly accessibility The role of storyteller By SEYEDMOSTAFA RAZIEI has never here is a resurgence in audio en- b tertainment that is finding its way een more into the public’s eardrums as the important subject of Langara College’s upcoming in helpi English forum. in neiping Voices in Your Head: Podcast as us to vision Form, Narrative, and Genre will @X- plore how interviewing, storytelling bey ond and narrative fiction is attracting wide- what we spread audiences to enjoy up-to-date personal stories through podcasting. currently Allison Sullivan, Langara librarian see and co-creator of the S.S. Librarianship podcast, will direct the conversation by posing questions and encouraging au- dience participation. “T think that podcasting really has an interesting format, because it is part of this whole revolution happening in term of user-generated content,” Sulli- van said. “We are actually physically taking this medium, this audio, these people’s thoughts and opinions and we are physically putting them into our heads.” Podcasts became popular in the ear- ly 2000s, with the release of portable MP3 devices and iPods. Now, it is easier than ever for users to create their own podcasts with software like Audacity, which allows people to edit audio files for free. However, Barry Link, Langara jour- nalism instructor and organizer of Gla- cier Media’s new podcast initiative, be- lieves that regardless of the ease in creating podcasts, it is difficult to get good quality sound. “TIt is] a bigger step between what you might consider acceptable and what is professional,” Link said, adding that he still considers podcasting to be a new medium, despite having been around for about 10 years. Sullivan encourages those interest- ed in podcasting to try to create their own, so long as they remember to have fun with it. The forum takes place on Oct. 22 in- side the Co-op & Career Development Centre from 3:30p.m. — 5:30p.m.