REEL 2 REEL International Film Festival for Youth

4/12/2019

Mr. Collins leading the students!

Today, Mr. Collins and Ms. Chohan took over Division 1 and 2 and led the students to the Round House for the REEL to REEL International Film Festival for Youth. The students attended workshops for stop-motion animation and drawn-on/etched-film animation. Later, we all participated in a viewing of several short films - Cat Days, Mahalia Melts in the Rain, Your Mother is a Thief, and the Schoolyard Blues. The sun was lovely for our walk, both ways, today!

1.) MATH: Pg 250-251, Questions #1-10

2.) LA/NOVEL APPROACH:

Work on your visible thinking at home.
Return picture books and Novel Approach booklets (all materials) to school tomorrow.
If you have not yet returned picture book #1, please return it on Monday.

3.) POST A RESPONSE:

Today, we saw several short films.
Please answer the following questions in short-paragraph form:
- Which of the short films were your favourite?
- Why did they stick with you?
- What do you feel was the BIG IDEA behind them? (Use your reading/learning strategies to help support your big idea)
Please provide feedback to your peers (along with the givens — grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.)
Edit/revise your PAR based on the feedback you receive.

VIDEO LINKS/RESOURCES:
Cat Days
Mahalia Melts in the Rain
Your Mother is a Thief
Schoolyard Blues

Mahalia Melts in the Rain (2018) Trailer from Travelling distribution on Vimeo.

Emily

4/12/2019 06:08:07 pm

First!

Emily

4/14/2019 03:23:45 pm

None of the films stood out to me. I didn't feel any... Deep and meaningful connections to them. I don't have a favourite so I guess I'll just talk about any random one.

I guess Schoolyard Blues is now my "favourite" film. I can somewhat relate to the title though. School makes me go to the blue zone. I'm not sad but I am always tired. School makes me very tired, and bored. Schoolyard Blues is my favourite because it put the audience in a position that forces them to infer. To read between the lines...Of a film... An example of that is the two boy's mother. We don't know what happened but we can tell that something went wrong between the mother and older brother. Or maybe they did explain that, and I forgot. A better example is when the older brother wasn't moving after curling up on the ground. Maybe he was getting flashbacks or déjà vu of getting bullied. Maybe that's why he was crying! Or, I think he was crying. So this is why he’s sticking up for the younger brother! Maybe he’s doing this so the younger brother doesn’t go through the same thing he did!

It stuck with me because.... Ah... It didn’t. I thought the swearing and beating up the tree was a little excessive because it made the audience a bit rowdy but... I guess it made me feel more mature, that I didn’t lose control like some of the other kids did. I don’t know, I’m just rambling on right now...

I believe that the Big Idea of Schoolyard Blues is that family comes first. You should do whatever you can to help your family, no matter what. An example of this is when the older brother gives the younger brother little “lessons” on how to stand up for himself. He taught him how to fight back incase other kids bully him. But that might also be because he was also bullied and he didn’t want that to happen to his younger brother. I don’t know, the film was kind of random.

Emily

4/14/2019 03:26:47 pm

None of the films stood out to me. I didn't feel any... Deep and meaningful connections to them. I don't have a favourite so I guess I'll just talk about any random one.

I guess Schoolyard Blues is now my "favourite" film. I can somewhat relate to the title though. School makes me go to the blue zone. I'm not sad but I am always tired. School makes me very tired, and bored. Schoolyard Blues is my favourite because it put the audience in a position that forces them to infer. To read between the lines...Of a film... An example of that is the two boy's mother. We don't know what happened but we can tell that something went wrong between the mother and older brother. Or maybe they did explain that, and I forgot. A better example is when the older brother wasn't moving after curling up on the ground. Maybe he was getting flashbacks or déjà vu of getting bullied. Maybe that's why he was crying! Or, I think he was crying. So maybe this is why he’s teaching the younger brother! Maybe he’s doing this so the younger brother doesn’t go through the same thing he did!

It stuck with me because.... Ah... It didn’t. I thought the swearing and beating up the tree was a little excessive because it made the audience a bit rowdy but... I guess it made me feel more mature, that I didn’t lose control like some of the other kids did. I don’t know, I’m just rambling on right now...

I believe that the Big Idea of Schoolyard Blues is that family comes first. You should do whatever you can to help your family, no matter what. An example of this is when the older brother gives the younger brother little “lessons” on how to stand up for himself. He taught him how to fight back incase other kids bully him. But that might also be because he was also bullied and he didn’t want that to happen to his younger brother. I don’t know, the film was kind of random.

Emily

4/12/2019 06:11:01 pm

Mr. Hong or Collins, in the LA/Novel Approach you put return book #1 tomorrow but tomorrow is Saturday.

Mr. Collins

4/12/2019 07:16:21 pm

@Emily
Thank you! Fixed it.

Adrian

4/12/2019 06:43:45 pm

I really like this field trip today. I learned a lot and enjoyed it. Especially when we are doing the stop motion video? I guess. I have tried to be the picture taking one on the mac book pro to cop each picture to a short video. ‘Is it end yet?’ My head kept asking it when we were keeping doing each movement and motions. It seems like a miracle after you watch the video that we kept on doing each movement. The result of what we did is how patient and great we were when we were making this video.

Every second, each picture flew across our mind, became a video. We all experience each picture, those are all our effort. When we watch the video, I think everyone also could feel the effort they did for about 1 hour, for a 56 seconds video. If you ask me if I enjoy it because if it will waste my time of doing it for not even a minute. I will say, I will think about it the opposite way. If we put all of our effort on it and just got a less than a minute video. I could think of how difficult did the actors have done for a movie. 1 hour? 2 hours? Even 3 hours? I think we should treasure and remember today's experience. We will always remember it. How difficult will it be? Every second, every picture, they are all unique, unreplaceable.

Here is the hardest part to think. Every short film has its own unique story. If I had to choose one. That will be the Japanese short film, the cat kid. I chose that, of course, I must have my own reason. Of course, that movie is literally ridiculous! A cat kid? It could be the most ridiculous and the funniest thing that I have heard of. And, they didn’t even make jokes in the movie. They are like, taking it seriously, and making jokes! I am sure a lot of students will explain this reason if they chose this short film. However, what I look, is not just that easy, not the surface of the film. I know it is funny. However, something we have to think about that is the Big Idea of the story.

I think this story’s Big idea will be everyone could do anything they like, they can follow their passion for being what, of being who. I know it is kind of confusing. But, don’t you also think the film is confusing too? I will think of that is because the kid is a cat. I know it must not be possible in reality. But, what if it would. Even if he is a cat in the film, so? I remembered a sentence from his father. ‘Do whatever you want, just go.’ This moment is after the report is out--99.45% is a cat one. Even when his father knew that, that still doesn’t matter. Nothing could stop his son from doing anything.

What if there’s really a person who is a cat? Or even if there’s any cat which is a person? So, I think it won’t matter. Just do whatever you want. You are who you want to be.

Emily

4/14/2019 03:34:38 pm

@Adrian, I like that you came up with a fitting Big Idea using the reading strategies but you made a few grammatical mistakes. Maybe you could try proofreading your par before posting it. I mean, I don't really do it but it helps... Kind of.

Kaden

4/12/2019 08:48:36 pm

3rd

Miranda

4/12/2019 10:57:59 pm

Fourth

Miranda

4/13/2019 01:29:24 pm

"Wow, this place is giant"! That was basically the first thing I thought when I walked into the Roundhouse Community Center. Yesterday, we went on a field trip to participate in the 21st annual Film Festival, where we had many new experiences. We made stop-motion animations, and watched films that other people had made. However, the films were the best part about this festival.

First, we watched "Your Mother is a Thief", which had themes about family problems and alcoholism. The dad used to be supportive of his family, but later on he got fired, lost his job and couldn't support at all. This made him become an alcoholic and become cruel and abusive. Basically, never drink alcohol and always maintain support for the people you love.

The second film was "Schoolyard Blues" and it showed themes about family negligence and sibling bonds. We didn't know anything about what happened to the parents, but I'm inferring that they don't care about the kids at all and leave them to fend for themselves. That means that the two brothers get closer but have to survive on their own.

The third film was named "Cat Days", and it mostly revolved around family and embracing yourself. Throughout all of the events and problems in this film, I saw that the dad stuck by his child and never let any differences get between their bond. Even if you are different and unique, you should always be proud of yourself.

Lastly, we watched "Mahalia Melts in the Rain". The themes in this film are racism and self-reflection. After seeing the white girls in Mahalia's ballet class push her around, it felt that it wasn't very fair. Everybody is technically the same, it's just that we are different colors. When an event happens, you should also try to think about the problem and stand up for what you think is the best.

There were four films, and they all caught my attention some way or another. However, my favorite would be Cat Days and for various reasons. First of all, the pictures really dragged me in because they were bright, smooth and colorful. Sometimes there were scenes that swirled the colors around and that made it seem magical. Secondly, it tells you to embrace yourself no matter who or what you might be. Even if Jiro in the film was almost all cat, it doesn't matter. You can be a boy, a cat or even an elephant if you wanted to. Also, your family and friends will always support you no matter what events come into your life. They are the people that you can hold onto and make memories with. Lastly, I like how much work was put into this film and all the other films. They were all meaningful and showed morals.

In conclusion, all of these films have a message or lesson to tell and they were all both fun and meaningful. We should take notice of what we learned in these films to make our own lives amazing.

Lucas and Jafeth

4/13/2019 12:11:44 pm

Fifth

Zarif

4/13/2019 04:10:44 pm

@Mr. Hong- can I make my paragraph small because my mom will use my laptop soon.

Mr. Hong

4/13/2019 06:18:18 pm

@ Zarif - There is no requirement for the length of your par. As long as you follow the criteria, I'm sure yours will be fine.

Zarif

4/13/2019 10:29:16 pm

@Mr. Hong- Thank you for your help, very much appreciated.

Mr. Hong

4/14/2019 10:12:11 am

@ Zarif - Anytime! :-)

4/13/2019 07:04:30 pm

So we went somewhere and we watched some films the took about an hour. So most of them was okay but one of them was very decent. I was called cat days. It was pretty funny how Jrio got a cold and the doctor said it is cat flue. And the doctor also said, only cats get that so he is a cat. I'm like "just because someone said that boy is a cat does not mean he is one. I don't know the big idea to any of them because, really, there just kind of random films.

Mr. Hong

4/14/2019 10:13:04 am

@ RZ - Thanks for your post. I think you may be missing an engaging hook and a conclusion? Proofread your paragraph for the givens. :-)

4/13/2019 08:57:16 pm

On Friday, Mr. Hong + Mr. Fisher's class went on a field trip to roundhouse to see films and make them. At one part we went to s mini theatre and watched mini clips. I liked the cat days video. It was kind of funny and we think that the doctor is going to say he isn't a cat at the end when she says" He is a cat, wait... no... I mean...yes" It also has a mini moral that you can be anyone you want to be so you don't have to be something specific, for instance a cat. In the "Your mother is a thief", it tells you that words can be very hurtful and will stick to you, and not leave unless something strong happens. In Mahalia melts in the rain, It tells you every type of people are the same, and they should be treated the same. In Schoolyard Blues, the older child is probably like a bad kid, and is rumored around the city as a bad person.

Mr. Hong

4/14/2019 10:14:21 am

@ CW - Thanks for your post. I think you may be missing an engaging hook and a conclusion? Proofread your paragraph for the givens. :-)

Zarif

4/14/2019 01:08:45 pm

Last time, we went to a really exciting field trip and we picked up and learned many things.
In the field trip, we watched different types of films and most of them were very fun to watch. I understood about many things from the films we watched, like the brown girl who did ballet. The people in the film were very racist when they said that if she'd go to the rain, she will melt. The main point of the movie would be not to be racist and not to bully other people.
In conclusion, i understood and learned from those films. Not only did I enjoy them, but I could also apply the good values into real life.

PKM

4/14/2019 04:56:43 pm

On Friday. Mr Hong and Mf. Fisher class went to the roundhouse see to learn how to make films and see films. Watching films were fun to watch. Also making films was cool.

My two favourite short films are Your mother is a theif and Mahalia melts in the rain. Your mother is a theif stick with me because words that the father to the mother was hurtful to me. Mahalia melts in the rain stick to me because Mahalia is getting bullying and the girls were be very racist. The big idea for your mother is a theif is be kind to your wife, husband, or anyone. Treat others the way you want to be treat.
The big idea Mahalia melts in the rain is don’t be racist and treat people the same because one of the girls said “ are you going to melt to the rain” so that is straight up racism. Don’t be racist.

In conclusion, I understand and learned a lot from the films. Also I enjoy watching and see the films, but I saw what some people were through. Some films made me a little emotional inside me.

4/14/2019 07:32:37 pm

I didn’t have a favourite short film, so none of them really stuck with me. Although if I had to choose one, I think I’d choose Mahalia Melts in the Rain.
The themes in “Mahalia Melts in the Rain” was about racisms, self-reflection, embracing yourself, and bullying.
In the beginning, Mahalia was bullied for being different, for having a different skin tone, for having different hair. Later, her mother took her to the hair salon to get her hair straightened for a photo shoot. When the other girls saw her hair they slightly accepted her, saying they liked her hair. Right before the photo shoot, the other girls went outside to play in the rain. I think Mahalia didn’t want to play in the rain because the rain would make her hair curly again. Seeing Mahalia reluctant about going in the rain, the other girls were racist towards her, calling her chocolate.

4/15/2019 08:55:26 am

Who are you?

Breanna

4/14/2019 08:06:25 pm

What was the most motivating film to you?

All the short films were touching and moving. If I were to basic it off of most moving film it would be “Your mother is a thief!” It was very moving to me, because it showed how many mothers have to stand out for themselves to get their own children who they love and care for more than the people taking them away. It showed how confident the mom was, and it showed how actual parents act and feel. Some parents might not even have enough courage to do what she did. That will stick with me, because I never want to be in that situation. It showed a lot of emotion, and it was just really moving to me.

I think the big idea was that not every family is happy. At first they were such a loving family. The dad became depressed and started drinking. It was sad because the dad didn’t even care his wife anymore. It showed us how alcohol can affect our lives, and the people around us. It showed the dad trying to turn her child against her, even thought he was the bad guy. It’s so sad to think about these things because this does happen all over the world.

In conclusion I enjoyed all the films, I just really loved the first filmed we watched :)

Anita

4/14/2019 08:39:18 pm

This Friday, we went to Round house community centre!!! First, I thought it would be very bored, because it’s just a community Centre, onto some famous place, but I was wrong. The Round House community centre is very big and it was doing a film festival. We did a lot of activities that connected to the film, the best activities we have done was watching the short films.

All the short films was great and had effected about our life. However,I think these four short films really touch my heart. The best film I’ve watch is: Cat day. You might not agree with me, but this film is really good, let me first tell you my reason! The first reason is: the main character is very cute, and the background is very creative and colorful. The second reason is: the film is very funny, I like the short film that can make people laugh, I don’t like the film that thought us a lot of big idea or make us sad, it can effect your happiness. The third reason is: it tell us we can be whoever we want to be, in the film, the doctor said the main character is a cat, but the character don’t want to be a cat, his father or his friend didn’t tell him to be a cat, they tell him to be whoever he want. It tells us, no matter who we are or who we want to be, our family and friends will always support us and be our back.

Overall, Cat day is the best best film I watched on Friday. I am not saying that other film is bad, I am just saying, all the film has their own messages that they want to tell us, we have to love films, not hate films! :)

Wendy

4/14/2019 08:40:35 pm

Eventually, division one and two are going on a field trip to the Roundhouse Community Center today. I gotta say it was super hard to have a chance for field trip these days since the spring break was just over and there are lots of assignments to get done. So honestly, I’ve set high hopes for this field trip. As expected, it turned out to be an amazing experience after all.

One of my favorite films was definitely “Cat Days!” When we started watching this film, it caught my attention right away with its really adorable animation characters. Imagine one day, your parents just walked into you and started to have a conversation with you like: “My son, you’re actually a cat...” Yes, although it doesn’t seem real at all, I still like the overall message from the story. In my understanding, the story was about it’s ok to be different! Because everyone is special, we don’t have to be the same. We all have our own experience and background knowledge. In the end, the main character, tells the little girl that he doesn’t want to be a cat. Guess what, the little girl decides to encourage him to become what he wants to be. What a sweet story!

In conclusion, the “Cat Days” would be my favorite one after all. This field trip was a very valuable experience and lessons for me. It increases my background knowledge of films. In addition, I had a better idea of how the film was made and so on... I can’t wait for the next coming up field trip.

Max

4/14/2019 09:06:25 pm

“The next station is: Yaletown-Roundhouse.” On April 12th, the students of Mr. Hong and Mr. Fisher went on an excursion to the Roundhouse Community centre to see the Reel 2 Reel international film festival for youth.

We learned about pixelation and related stuff and watched four short films. They were called: Cat Days, Mahalia Melts In The Rain, Schoolyard Blues, and Your Mother Is A Thief. Out those four films, none one them were my favourites. There were a few moments that I actually enjoyed, such as where Jiro asked his friend what she was doing and she replied: “I’m destroying nature! Want to help me?” And Jiro was like “sure!” Also when those scumbags called Mahalia a chocolate cookie, was in the Red Zone. Those bastards were being so racist; I wanted to teach them a lesson and let my fists do the talking.

The film that was less mediocre than the rest was Cat Days, because it made absolutely no sense and was extremely illogical, but it had humour, at least. Therefore, this shall be my favourite film for now.

Oh wait! There is a Big Idea! After SYNTHESIZING AND EVALUATING, I realized that the message of this film is you can be whatever you want and do whatever you want.

In conclusion, the field trip was decent enough, but next time maybe I recommend somewhere with lots of entertainment (Cineplex). On the other hand, at least there was a field trip.

Justin

4/14/2019 09:19:08 pm

“Wow!” I really didn’t expect the films to have such a deep meaning. I expected them to be funny and simple, but not carrying a message behind. On Friday, Division 1 and 2 had a field trip to the Roundhouse Community Center to participate in the Reel to Reel International Film Festival for Youth. I really enjoyed watching the workshop and the films. It was surely a great experience!

First, I really liked the cartoonish, appealing art style of “Cat Days”. It catches my attention and really makes the theme colourful. It tells the audience that it doesn’t matter what others say you are. You can believe whatever you want to. I also liked how the protagonist’s dad was always by his side, even when he knew that his child could have been a cat. Being unique and different isn’t wrong or bad at all because everyone is special in their own ways.

Another film we watched was “Schoolyard Blues”. It talks about the relationship between two siblings. I like how it shows how connected the two are, even when there are difficulties for them. Though the film doesn’t talk about the story behind the family, the audience can assume that there are problems. Yet, the two brothers stay strong with each other.

The next film we watched was “Mahalia Melts in the Rain”. It talks about racism and self-acceptance. It doesn’t matter what race, culture, nationality, gender, or anything you are. Everyone shall be treated equally, and you shouldn’t look down on anyone. It is a very good topic to be talking about, especially in a world we live in now. There are still unfairness on these things. What surprised me the most is the fact that even children are involved in this. It is important for us to tell children what’s right and wrong to prevent these issues.

But in the end, I think that my favorite one is “Your Mother is a Thief”. I liked how the illustrations were simple with only black and white but could still deliver a lot of details. It talks about alcoholism and family. I felt very sad watching it because of how hurtful the father is, especially when the harsh words stay on the baby and mother. It tells the audience about how the harmful actions of parents can affect the child. The child can sometimes become their parents and treat their child the same.

To summarize, this is the films we’ve watched on our field trip to the Roundhouse Community Center. My favourite out of all of them was “Your Mother is a Thief”. All the films bring up serious topics in the modern world. It is great for us to see these films in order to change the future and solve these issues because we are the ones who are going to be handling the world next.

Dennis

4/15/2019 07:52:02 am

In past field trips, I've had have all been to site seeing places, and those I got a little tired of, but the field trip division 1 & 2 had on Friday was a very exciting one because I haven't been to Yall town roundhouse, and this is may first time at a Canadian film festival.

And one of the films I understood the most was a film called ” Your mother is a thief ” I felt k understood this story because I could see that having someone important in your life drunk all day can also affect your daily health and mood, and in that short film the father had super high expectations of the entire family because he was so depressed at the time, and when the mother tries but fails to comfort him sometimes he will swear and use physical action such as punching slapping and much more and that's only to give them a reason to work harder.

And In conclusion I believe all films were great, but just the technical difficulty that the screen had were just a little annoying, but other wise it was a great experience for the whole class.

Kevin

4/16/2019 03:42:04 pm

"Wow, a train!" On Friday, our class went to the International Flim Festival. the first thing I saw when we got there was the gigantic dormant train. Furthermore, the inside was more impress due to the size of the building. We were separated into two groups. Our group was learning how to make stop motion films. I thought that it as very cool how smooth the final copy was, even though it was made of numerous pictures.

After, we were instructed to eat lunch. Furthermore, we when to a movie theatre that showcased numerous short films. The most memorable film described how a boy was told by his doctor, "you are a cat". Moreover, it showed how much it changed his life. Surprisingly, his dad actually believed the doctor who gave a hypothesis that his son was a cat. This film stood out in my memory because it was unique. This film's big idea revolved around being who you are. I made this inference due to the following facts; it showed how much influence a simple sentence has on someone's life. Secondly, when he was told that he was a cat, it also affected how everyone else thought of him. Lastly, at the closure of teh film, the doctor told the little child, "you can be anything you like". I made an inference that he felt free, he was able to be himself.

The moral of the try is to not allow anyone to tell you how you are (and not to go to any Japanese doctors if I have the flu). Some other reasons this story stood out was because of how smooth the transitions were. I also loved the pictures of the story as it was colourful and neatly designed. At times the film seemed miraculous since of the special animations. I also liked how much effort was put into this story.

In conclusion, my favourited film was the Cat Days film, but all these films had good morals and were made with effort.

shannon

4/16/2019 08:01:01 pm

Yay, a field trip! on Friday we went on a field trip to the roundhouse. When we got there we were split into two groups and went to go observe stop-motion animations. This was fun and interesting to see. It was lots of fun making the animation and exciting to see the end result.

We then watched a few short films. I never thought that the meaning behind the films would be so deep. personally, I like watching more whole-hearted things. I enjoy watching light films. Personally, my favourite film was cat days. I found it very amusing and enjoyed the whole film. I liked how it wasn't based off real scenarios and the animation was quite creative. Who would've thought that a boy could be a cat?

I think that the big idea of this film is, “it doesn't matter what you are, we should all be accepted into society's standards”. I think this film is also about accepting and embracing who you are. Jiro was not keen about being a cat. I think that he wouldn't have friends anymore. His friends didn't care whether he was a cat or not, but it was simply Jiro.

In conclusion, my favourite film would be cat days. I really enjoyed the film and was quite amused by it.

Ben

4/16/2019 09:39:10 pm

At Friday we saw several good films and all of them were in other languages and we went to a place called “ Roundhouse “ which I think is located somewhere close to downtown. All of the films on all together were about 1 hour or probably just a bit more and I think all of the classes were grade 7s and the only school that went there was the ones that is close to were we go to school. After all of that we got to chat on 1 of the films actors and we got to meet them which was a cool experience and we just asked them types of questions. Then after all of that we got called 1 by 1 to go back to school but we couldn’t because we haven’t even eat lunch yet so what we did was we went outside and eat then after that we just went back home. We also walked all the way up to the train station and it was a very long walk then when we got to the train we went and get on the train then when we were coming back we did the same.

4/25/2019 04:32:24 pm

I liked the frist film because it reflects the real life if some normal families.

It stuck with me because of what happened in the story. The parents of the boy divorced and he got trapped with his father and he found out his father was lying and his mom was good. It stuck with me because they used s simple way to use to show it. The simple way to show it was with stick men but it showed what happened

The big idea is to give other people chances because they may not be who you are. The main characters father told her that her mom was s theif but in real life she was not.

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