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Moondance Official 2016 Call-For-Entries Opens & Happy New Year!

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written!

Happy New Year!

Et une Très Bonne Année 2016!

~ From Moondance, Elizabeth & Georges

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If you can dream it, you can create it!

If you can dream it, you can create it!

MOONDANCE 2016 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES:

Accepting submissions

January 1 through June 30, 2016

PLEASE VISIT THESE PAGES ON THE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO:

LINK TO SUBMISSION CATEGORIES LIST

LINK TO AWARDS CATEGORIES LIST

LINK TO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

LINK TO OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM

LINK TO AWARDS BENEFITS

LINK TO MOONDANCE SUCCESSES

LINK TO THE MOONDANCE MISSION STATEMENT

The Moondance winners’ star award The Moondance Star Award “I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become!” ~ Carl Jung

The Moondance winners’ star award

Moondance is a unique, world-class venue for bold and visionary filmmakers, writers and composers to present their work to the cinema-loving public who are looking for quality alternatives to all those blockbuster studio movie projects. Our top-quality film screenings are always of entertaining and thought-provoking indie films, and the film festival attracts the cinema-loving public, filmmakers, writers & musicians, but also international talent, music & literary agents, actors, production companies, film distributors, and established producers.

As we prepare for the 2016 Moondance International Film Festival, our 17th annual event, and to make our global goals a reality, through entertainment, film, writing & music, there has never been a better or more important time or place to speak up, stand up, and rise up to help make the world a better place for all. We hope you’ll join us and actively participate in our shared to-do list and this important effort now.

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WHAT IS IN THIS BLOG:

  • MOONDANCE 2016 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES
  • GIRL UP!
  • THE ART OF OBSERVATION
  • YOUR SMART-PHONE…
  • SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT TODAY
  • 7SEAS PRODUCTIONS CONSULTATION OFFER

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MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS & SUPPORTS:

UNF-logo

Campaigns like our “Girl Up”, the movement to empower adolescent girls at the United Nations Foundation, are so vitally important. The Foundation’s global goals reaffirm the simple principle that the United Nations Foundation has believed in and worked for since 2010: when girls are educated, healthy, and counted, they can change the world. With the support and guidance of our incredible network of more than half a million adolescent girl leaders around the world, Girl Up has powered critical UN programs in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Liberia, Malawi, and India – just some of the places where it’s hardest to be a girl. These programs help fulfill vital needs like access to quality education and healthcare, advocacy against child marriage, and making sure that girls’ voices are heard.

UNF 2 GIRLS

Learn more about how Girl Up unites girls to change the world in this short video.

It takes all nations and all sectors to make progress on the most important and far-reaching international challenges. The UN Foundation is an advocate for the UN and a platform for connecting people, ideas and resources to help the United Nations solve global problems. http://www.unfoundation.org

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THE ART OF OBSERVATION:

Learning to Really Look

Active observation, being mindful of our surroundings, is how we make sense of things; it’s an incredibly valuable tool. By taking the time to observe, without judgment, bias, preference or prejudice, by using your previous knowledge, by noticing changes, you can begin to unravel the mysterious, unlock the problem and with your naturally creative and critical thinking skills, you take the consequent correlations and connections, and begin to form understanding. Like any habit worth forming the ability to observe and make deductions can be improved with deliberate practice. With a creative-thinking, engaged and enquiring mind, the power of observation can be developed by cultivating habits of watching. To writers, filmmakers, musicians, artists, ‘people-watching’ is as important as practicing scales is to a pianist.

MEN ASLEEP ON SUBWAY

Take a few minutes each day to focus outwardly at the world around you, and learn from the interactions, the expressions, the movements, the textures and shades of human life. There is no one-way or right way to do it. By developing our visual sense, our visual literacy we are better able to immerse ourselves in our experience of our surroundings. We spark our imaginations when we notice things. We don’t think in a linear fashion, but instead draw on the network of connections we have created over time.

We were given five senses but without attention, any one of these is flattened and is as useless as a deflated balloon. Pump up your visual sense and your day becomes a brighter place. Look up from your smart phone, look out at the horizon, or zoom in to the nook and crannies, climb to tallest building and look down at people scurrying like ants, or lie in the grass and watch the clouds turn into faces. Sit with a small child and see what they see, look through the glass into the gorilla enclosure and wonder what those intelligent eyes are conveying, search out all the public art or graffiti in your area and stop for a while to contemplate what the artist was thinking when they made it. Take a walk through a forest and see how the branches twist and turn from one tree to the next, like scribbles in the sky. Tramp along a beach and see how many colours you can count in the pebbles or grains of sand.

ZEBRA MOM & FOAL

Peer out of the airplane window when you go on holiday and marvel at the patterns below, then look at the lines on the palms of your hands and see how the DNA of the planet and ourselves are interconnected. Keep a visual journal with you to scribble down what you see, in doodles or notes, and question the make-up of your observations. What more can you learn from what you have seen? How can you use these observations to improve and deepen your writing, filmmaking & music composition? ~ Lou Hamiltion (article condensed & edited by EE)

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YOUR iPHONE IS RUINING YOUR POSTURE — AND YOUR MOOD!

By AMY CUDDY, DEC. 12, 2015, NYT

There are plenty of reasons to put our cell-phones down now and then, not least the fact that incessantly checking them takes us out of the present moment and disrupts family dinners around the globe. But here’s one you might not have considered: Smart-phones are ruining our posture. And bad posture doesn’t just mean a stiff neck. It can hurt us in insidious psychological ways.

TEENS ON iPHONES

If you’re in a public place, look around: How many people are hunching over a phone? Technology is transforming how we hold ourselves, contorting our bodies into what the New Zealand physiotherapist Steve August calls the iHunch. I’ve also heard people call it text neck, and in my work I sometimes refer to it as iPosture. When we’re sad, we slouch. We also slouch when we feel scared or powerless. Studies have shown that people with clinical depression adopt a posture that eerily resembles the iHunch.

So, the next time you reach for your phone, remember that it induces slouching, and slouching changes your mood, your memory and even your behavior. Your physical posture sculpts your psychological posture, and could be the key to a happier mood and greater self-confidence. READ MORE

Amy Cuddy is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of the forthcoming book “Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges.”

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SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT TODAY:

photo: venturebeat.com

photo: venturebeat.com

“We are each of us angels with only one wing. The only way we can fly is by embracing one another.” ~ Luciano de Crescendo

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“Let our New Year’s resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.” ~ Greg Persson

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occasionalplanet.org

occasionalplanet.org

“If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you back! Much of the best work in the world has been done despite seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.” ~ Dale Carnegie

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EGG SPROUT

“Let the one who would be grateful think of repaying the kindness while it is being received.” ~ Seneca

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Kids on path

“Love has nothing at all to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give, which is everything.” ~ Katherine Hepburn

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CHARM BRACELET

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” ~ Babtunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist

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CHAMBERED NAUTILUS

7SEAS PRODUCTIONS LOGO TEXT

PROFESSIONAL COVERAGE OF YOUR SCRIPT OR FILM!

Ready to get your screenplay or film on the right track? 7seas Productions now offers script reading services, critiques, coverage and edits to all screenwriters, playwrights & filmmakers, and to production companies and agencies, at special discount prices!

Focusing on the elements crucial to creating a compelling and readable script, and/or a winning, marketable film, our helpful comments will allow you to concentrate on solving the problems that will make your material move toward receiving a CONSIDER or a RECOMMENDED from a studio or production company reader, and will assist in advancing your script or film up toward WINNER in screenwriting competitions & film festivals.

An advantage of this low-cost critique service is that we will help you prepare your screenplay before sending it to screenwriting competitions, film producers, agents, managers and others who may have requested it. READ MORE

7seas Productions annually produces theMoondance International Film Festival, and also offers film festival start-up consultations!

~ ELIZABETH ENGLISH ~

[email protected]

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Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

CONTACT US TYPEWRITER

[email protected]

 HAPPY NEW YEAR IN SAND

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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No trees or natural habitats were harmed in the creation of this news-blog!

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Moondance Holiday News & Call-For-Entries To Open January 1st!

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Wishing you a joyful holiday and peaceful new year!

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Moondance!

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RAINBOW ON OCEAN

MOONDANCE 2016 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES:

Accepting submissions, starting:

January 1, 2016 through June 30, 2016

¡BIENVENIDO AL MOONDANCE! • BENVENUTO AL MOONDANCE! • BIENVENUE SUR LE MOONDANCE ! • WILLKOMMEN BEI DER MOONDANCE! • BEM-VINDO AO MOONDANCE! • ΚΑΛΏΣ ΉΛΘΑΤΕ ΣΤΟ ΤΟ MOONDANCE! • ЛАСКАВО ПРОСИМО НА MOONDANCE! • WELKOM BIJ DE MOONDANCE! • VELKOMMEN TIL MOONDANCE! • PŌWHIRI KI MOONDANCE! • رحبا بكم موندانسي! • WELCME TO THE MOONDANCE!

WHAT’S IN THIS NEWS-BLOG:

  • CALL-FOR-ENTRIES INFO LINKS
  • ABOUT MOONDANCE
  • NEWS ABOUT WOMEN IN FILM
  • ~ Gender Equality in Media
  • ~ The Women of Hollywood Speak Out
  • ~ The Wave of Change
  • SCREENWRITING INSIDER ARTCLE
  • INSIDER TIPS FOR ACTORS
  • CLIMATE ACTION NEEDED NOW!
  • RACING EXTINCTION FILM
  • DANGEROUS PESTICIDES IN OUR FOOD CROPS
  • POPCORN’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
  • SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT TODAY
  • TIME OUT: LIFE’S BIGGEST LUXURY

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PLEASE VISIT THESE PAGES ON THE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO:

LINK TO SUBMISSION CATEGORIES LIST

 LINK TO AWARDS CATEGORIES LIST

 LINK TO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

LINK TO OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM

LINK TO AWARDS BENEFITS

LINK TO MOONDANCE SUCCESSES

LINK TO THE MOONDANCE MISSION STATEMENT

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The Moondance International Film Festival is dedicated to providing the local community and international festival attendees with a diverse array of top-quality films from the US and around the world. In addition to showcasing the most important new indie narrative, documentary, animation, multi-media music videos and, new this season: drone films, Moondance provides unique multi-cultural experiences, professional networking opportunities and events, participatory workshops and pitch-panels for filmmakers, writers and music composers. For additional information, updates, announcements, insider articles, and inspiration, please subscribe to our popular news-blog at: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog and visit: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

GENDER EQUALITY IN MEDIA: FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION

Sophia Coppola

Sophia Coppola

Think about it. When was the last time you went to see a movie directed by a woman? Please check out & consider supporting these vital organizations that are making a difference: Women’s Media Center, whose mission is to increase the visibility of women in media and the numbers of women in decision-making positions, The Sundance Institute, and Women in Film, on the status of women filmmakers, and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender Awareness: http://seejane.org, which illuminates institutional bias in favor of male directors in the studio system. Naming the gender gap in media is the first step, but, of course, it’s not enough; we must go beyond raising awareness of the problem to taking action to solve it. One example of this is SheSource, an online resource that the Women’s Media Center created in the U.S. that links news producers looking for experts to women experts across a broad range of subject areas. SheSource also provides a training program that prepares progressive female voices to be media-ready. “Women Filmmakers Fare Much Better in the Indie World – But It’s Still Not Good Enough” READ MORE:

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The Women of Hollywood Speak Out

NYT article by Maureen Dowd, Nov. 20, 2015

Mimi Leder, photo by Amy Kellner

Mimi Leder, photo by Amy Kellner

Female executives and filmmakers are ready to run studios and direct blockbuster pictures. What will it take to dismantle the pervasive sexism that keeps them from doing it?

Female directors are in what ‘‘Girls’’ creator Lena Dunham calls ‘‘a dark loop.’’ If they don’t have experience, they can’t get hired, and if they can’t get hired, they can’t get experience. ‘‘It’s kind of like the church,’’ notes the actress Anjelica Huston, whose father, John Huston, helped set the template for macho directors. ‘‘They don’t want us to be priests. They want us to be obedient nuns.’’ Manohla Dargis, co-chief film critic for The New York Times, wrote a three-part series on the plight of female directors, calling the imbalance ‘‘immoral, maybe illegal.’’ When I began reporting this article several months ago and asked some male moguls in the entertainment industry for their perspectives, they shrugged the issue off as ‘‘bogus’’ or ‘‘a tempest in a teapot.’’

Penny Marshall, the director and actress, told me in that hilarious nasal whine: ‘‘All they like is ‘Superman,’ ‘Batman,’ those kinds of things, because it sells foreign, because it doesn’t have a lot of dialogue. Even the comedies are sophomoric. Lena Dunham laments that, instead of creating space for women to tell stories they are naturally good at telling, the studios just keep trying to wedge them into narrow, clichéd concepts. ‘‘I think there’s a fear that females can only tell female stories, like if they’re given free rein, they’ll just write stories where everyone’s braiding each other’s hair and crying,’’ said Jessica Elbaum.

But if only 1.9 percent of the top 100 films are helmed by women, there is virtually no trickle-down effect. ‘‘What struck me the most was how blatant and out in the open some of the discrimination was,’’ says Ariela Migdal. The image of a director as swaggering general is deeply embedded in the Hollywood brain even though it has nothing to do with ability. The actor Alec Baldwin, who has worked with Meyers, notes that the ‘‘clichéd paramilitary nature’’ of directing runs deep. ‘‘They call it shooting,’’ he says. ‘‘Its groupings are called units. They communicate on walkie-talkies. The director is the general. There is still the presumption that men are better designed for the ferocity and meanness that the job often requires.

When considering women in powerful positions, it’s also important to remember the male-dominated terrain they have to navigate. ‘‘When male Hollywood executives make decisions, they are in touch with their 15-year-old self — that’s who they’re making movies for,’’ said one top Hollywood woman. (excerpts by EE) READ MORE:

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Join the Wave of Change!

EQUAL VOICE LOGO

Hedgebrook supports women writers authoring change.

We call Hedgebrook writers Women Authoring Change, because the impact of their work is experienced in so many facets of our culture. Work generated by the writers who come to Hedgebrook flows out from Whidbey Island to reach millions of people around the globe.

When you count up all the writers who’ve experienced Hedgebrook through residencies, festivals, classes, workshops and events at home and around the world— and those yet to come—you see how the ripples of change are building into waves.

Give Hedgebrook a gift this year, and join the wave. Your gift directly enables us to support women writers authoring change in our culture every day. Together, we will reach a future of Equal Voice. http://www.hedgebrook.org

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SCREENWRITING INSIDER ARTCLE FROM INKTIP.COM:

Screenplays pile

THE ART OF EFFECTIVE AND SALEABLE SCREENWRITING

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INSIDER TIPS FOR ACTORS

By Elizabeth English

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My advice for upcoming actors is to take acting lessons, and to study people and events, pay close attention to actions and reactions by people & to events you experience in the world, to body language, tone of voice and accents, as well as facial expressions & then use that information & knowledge when you play a character. Become the character you play & react to the other actors & situation appropriately for that character. Get experience in theater acting, and in film & as an extra and watch what the director wants to see in other actors. Try to get work on a film production, even as a driver, an extra, or any production job, to see how a film is made. Do networking and make good contacts, for future reference.

In your daily life, pay attention & remember what you see people doing & how they react to each other and to different circumstances, situations, crises and events. And then use that in your own acting. Not just people of your same age, race, location, economic situation & gender. Watch everybody & then use what you’ve seen and heard. Make it part of your studies to go to different places, in different weathers, at different times of  day or night, and watch the people there, to see and hear how they go through their daily life & react to others & to events. Be prepared to play any character!

Do not try to be like other actors on TV, movies or theater. Be unique. Every individual has a personal life story, which affects who they are, how they react to others and circumstances, and you should include that unique back-story when you create a character. The world is your acting studio & teacher. Remember: acting is reactingAnd you’ll need a talent agent to get you work, but you need to have good acting experience & some acting credits first. 

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MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS & SUPPORTS:

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World leaders at the UN climate talks have just set a landmark goal that can save everything we love! This is what we marched for, what we signed, called, donated, messaged, and hoped for: a brilliant and massive turning point in human history. It’s called net-zero human emissions — a balancing of what we release into the air and what is taken out — and when the dust settles and the Paris Agreement is in the hands of lawmakers, clean energy will be the best, cheapest, and most effective way to keep their promise. This gives us the platform we need to realize the dream of a safe future for generations!

Everyone expected failure from the climate conference process. Leaders told Avaaz staff over and over again, “people don’t care about climate change” . But we knew better. We knew this community of millions consistently chose saving our planet as a key priority for our work together, year after year.

We have decades of work ahead of us to live up to the promise of this moment. We need more ambition to meet our 100% clean energy by 2050 target, improving on the benchmark of “the second half of the century” now in the agreement. We need rich countries to give more money to developing countries so they can skip coal altogether and lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. We need to push governments everywhere to keep the planet’s warming under 1.5 degrees so that island nations can survive. And most importantly, we need to make sure all our governments keep the promises they made here in Paris.

Avaaz.org is a 42-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

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Without climate action, humanity, wildlife, and the planet we know and love will suffer. Many species will be under increased threat when they’re not able to adapt to rising seas, changing rainfall patterns, warming temperatures, an acidifying and warming ocean and other consequences of increased carbon pollution. We cannot stand back and let this happen. We need to start today and change the way we choose and use energy and resources. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the United States and the world today. The only way to protect life on our planet from its worst impacts will be strong action by all countries. READ MORE:

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https://www.worldwildlife.org

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Racing Extinction!

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Watch the trailer for Psihoyos’s groundbreaking film and see how you can take action.

Oscar-winner Louis Psihoyos, based in Boulder, Colorado, in his latest film, Racing Extinction, he and his team of eco-spies explore the global loss of wildlife by infiltrating the world’s most dangerous black markets and exposing the disastrous effects of carbon emissions and acidified oceans, with state-of-the-art equipment and Bond-esque strategies.

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EARTH JUSTICE LOGO

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Dangerous Neurotoxic Pesticides in Our Food!

After years of pressure from Earthjustice lawsuits and advocacy efforts by a diverse coalition of groups, the EPA recently proposed banning the dangerous neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos from all food crops. Dow AgroSciences—which manufactured the millions of pounds of chlorpyrifos sprayed on our agricultural fields this past year—is doing everything in its power to stop or weaken the ban. Chlorpyrifos poisons farm-workers and communities at alarming rates and causes serious brain and neuro-developmental impairments in children.

The EPA has already found that extensive scientific evidence links chlorpyrifos to serious harm to children’s brains, including reduced IQ, loss of working memory, delayed development and attention disorders. It is already banned for residential uses because of its harm to kids.

What’s worse is just how widely the pesticide is used—millions of pounds applied each year on crops from corn to almonds and fruit trees—and even Christmas trees sold during the holiday season! Tell the EPA to stand up to the pesticide industry and ban this neurotoxic pestcide for good. http://earthjustice.org

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POPCORN’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

BY ROBIN WALTER | NOV 12 2015

POPCORN & FILM REEL

It’s no secret that Americans love popcorn. We consume more than 16 billion quarts of the buttery gold each year. But few know that most of what we’re feasting on comes from seeds coated with toxic bee-killing pesticides called Neonicotinoids.

No bees, no popcorn.

Which is why conservationists are celebrating popcorn giant Popweaver’s recent decision to phase out the use of neonicotinoid-coated seeds. An estimated 80 to 95 percent of America’s corn and nearly half of its soybean seeds are pre-coated with Neocotinoids. Scientists have linked the use of these pesticides to an alarming decline in bee populations over the last decade. Beekeepers are reporting annual hive losses of 40 to 50 percent, with some as high as 100 percent. Overall, the number of managed honey bee colonies in the U.S. has dropped from 6 million in 1947 to fewer than 2.5 million today.

This has enormous implications—bees pollinate 71 of the 100 crops that provide 90 percent of the world’s food, according to the United Nations Environment Program. And bees aren’t the only ones in trouble. Nearly 40 pollinator species are listed as threatened or endangered, with many more under consideration for listing. Without pollinator species, over 70 percent of plants would be unable to reproduce or provide food.

Pressuring popcorn companies to use non-coated seeds is a step in the right direction, but biofuel, grain, fiber, food, and beverage industries also rely upon Neonicotinoid-coated crops. A shift in large-scale agriculture’s reliance on pesticides would give pollinator species a fighting chance, bolster national food security, and ensure guilt-free popcorn eating for all.  WHAT YOU CAN DO: Want to help the bees? Buy or grow organic popcorn! Tell PopSecret to stop using neonicotinoid-coated seeds.

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SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

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“The way I see it, there are reasons to never be unhappy. First, you were born. This, in itself, is a remarkable achievement. Being born is easily the most remarkable achievement of your whole life. Second, you are alive. For the tiniest moment in the span of eternity, you have the miraculous privilege of existing. Since you are able to sit here right now in this never-to-be-repeated moment, reading this, is really wondrous beyond belief.” ~ Bill Bryson, “Notes from a Small Island”

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Llanrwst Bridge, Conwy River, Wales

Llanrwst Bridge, Conwy River, Wales

Love is the bridge between you & everything else” ~ Rumi

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GRAPES ON VINE PURPLE

“The sun, with all those planets orbiting around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes on the vine, as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.” ~ Galileo

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T I M E • O U T !

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Time is arguably the biggest luxury. Why have wealth if you have no time to enjoy it? Why wait until we retire to dabble away at what we enjoy in the final expanse that time affords us? Most creative people understand the importance of empty space in their lives, time to mull, chew the fat, daydream, gaze. It is in this space our best ideas come. When our lives are stuffed from morning to night there is barely a moment for contemplation or inspiration, to go and play, think, snooze.

But many people are terrified of not being ‘busy’. They want to fill up time with as much activity as possible, most of which is non-essential. They are scared of time, scared of being bored or lonely or being faced with difficult questions like ‘what the hell am I doing with my life?’ The idea of taking a day to just do ‘nothing’ is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. What’s that? they ask, no way, I am far too busy for that. With what?

Neuroscientists are having a field-day researching the benefits on the brain, of timeout through mindfulness and meditation. The results are fairly conclusive. Give your brain the chance to slow down, notice the insignificant, observe emotions with detachment and it gradually starts to rewire itself; from hyper-frenzy, addiction, negativity to acceptance, calmness, control. Timeout is a sure-fire self-optimization tool for the super-technology age, a practice as old as time itself. ~ Lou Hamiltion, UK

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Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues! 

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

CONTACT US TYPEWRITER

[email protected]

MERRY XMAS IN SAND

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

NEWS-BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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Moondance December News & 2016 Call-for-entries!

"Mer-folk" Sculpture by Charlotte Zink, of www.zinkmetalart.com

MOONDANCE 2016 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES:

Accepting submissions

January 1 through June 30, 2016

IN THIS NEWS-BLOG:

  • ABOUT MOONDANCE
  • ANNOUNCING THE 2016 MOONDANCE FESTIVAL EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
  • MOONDANCERS COME FROM AROUND THE WORLD!
  • SAVE THE MANATEE
  • SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
  • THE CASE FOR MELANCHOLY
  • THERE’S ALWAYS HOPE!
  • IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD VIDEO

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Lights, Camera, Action! The Moondance International Film Festival invites all talented US & International filmmakers, writers and music composers to submit their films, written works and film scores to its 17th annual season, planned to take place in September 2016. Our fabulous & memorable festival event location venue will be announced shortly.

Moondance is known as the “American Cannes” of film festivals, and features the very best of indie films, music & writing by talented artists from around the world, Plan now to participate in this unique competition and film festival! For the last 16 years, the annual Moondance International Film Festival has showcased many hundreds of top-quality award-winning indie films, and hosted filmmakers, writers, composers, actors, industry professionals and media, from around the world.

Get Ready for Your Close-up! Moondance celebrates, encourages, inspires, and supports original independent films, written works and music, not just during our film festival, but throughout the year. Moondance screens the very best in independent cinema to enthusiastic audiences from the US and around the world. Our super-productive workshops, pitch-panels, networking parties and events, film screenings, filmmaker Q&A’s, and gala awards ceremony and reception are very popular and always very well-attended. Thanks for helping keep Moondance in the international entertainment community spotlight!

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ANNOUNCING THE 2016 MOONDANCE FESTIVAL EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

GEORGES LECLERE:

GEORGES LECLERE PHOTO

A native of Paris, France, Founder and President of LGMA Inc., a global media consulting company, Georges Leclere is also the creator of several initiatives using television and media to fight the causes of global warming. Through LGMA, Leclere advises international companies on worldwide media, ranging from classic television events to future visual media on any platform. Among its clients and endeavors, LGMA was appointed director of the Banff World Television Festival Program Competition and Awards. Leclere created the Francophone TV Programs Competition and the Banff International Pilots Competition (see www.banffmediafestival.com). That same year, Leclere produced the History-Makers Awards competition and awards, (see www.historymakers2011.com). Georges is also advisor for the Foundation for International Understanding, an initiative of the US Congress, advisor for the Sichuan TV Festival in China and the Seoul Drama Awards, La Cinquième, the Franco-German Cultural Channel, ARTE, and Sesame Street Workshop. Most recently, Leclere was consultant for several companies from the Monaco Media Forum and the Rose d’Or Festival, The Prix Galien, the Elie Wiesel Foundation and will be a co-producer of the 2016 Canada International Film & Television Festival in Vancouver, Canada.

Leclere, together with the board of directors, has started a new initiative: Music as a Natural Resource, (www.musicasanaturalresource.com), for which he produces the awards ceremony. Georges Leclere is an international journalist, producer and communications specialist who from 1986 through 1993, served as director of radio and TV for the United Nations. Currently a Fellow of the International Academy, Leclere is credited with the creation of the iEMMYs Festival, screening International Emmy-nominated programs. The French Government has awarded Georges Leclere the prestigious Medal of “Chevalier des Arts & des Lettres”. He is now the executive producer for the Moondance International Film Festival!

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MOONDANCERS COME FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

Moondancers are part of an amazing worldwide community; a unique collaboration of multi-talented writers, film score composers, filmmakers and audiences. The Moondance mission is to entertain, inform, inspire, encourage and educate. We honor those artists who, through their creative work, actively increase awareness, provide multiple viewpoints, address complex social issues, and strengthen ties between international audiences At Moondance, you can come together with film audiences, filmmakers, writers, directors, producers, actors, agents, and composers to create new opportunities, develop tools for success and forge new alliances within the international film and entertainment industry.

MIFF FLAGS

In our continuing efforts to promote top-quality original filmmaking, writing and music composition by talented artists from around the world, the Moondance International Film Festival is very pleased to announce that our festival competitions have brought in great submissions, in all categories, from: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Republic, the UK & US, Venezuela, and more! Come join us!

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MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS & SUPPORTS:

SAVE THE MANATEE LOGO

http://www.savethemanatee.org

MANATEE

Manatees are gentle and slow-moving animals. Most of their time is spent eating, resting, and traveling, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more.. The manatee’s closest relatives are the elephant and the hyrax (a small, gopher-sized mammal). Manatees are believed to have evolved from a wading, plant-eating animal. The average adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds. The Florida Manatee Recovery Plan was developed as a result of the Endangered Species Act. The recovery plan is coordinated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and sets forth a list of tasks geared toward recovering manatees from their current endangered status. Manatees are easily injured or killed due to their large size and generally slow pace, which makes them vulnerable to being hit by motorboats and caught in fishing nets.

Because of its warm waters, Florida's Blue Spring State Park is a winter refuge for a growing number of manatees (pictured). Photo by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic

Because of its warm waters, Florida’s Blue Spring State Park is a winter refuge for a growing number of manatees (pictured). Photo by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic

Sailors across many cultures have thought these aquatic mammals were the mythical mermaids! The scientific name for manatees is Sirenia, a name reminiscent of mythical mermaids, or sirens of the sea. Save the Manatee Club’s mission is to protect endangered manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations. To achieve this mission, we work to: increase public awareness and education; sponsor manatee research, rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts; and advocate for strong protection measures, such as boat speed zones and sanctuaries. SMC also supports research and conservation efforts for other sirenian species around the world. Adopt-A-Manatee® now and help support manatee protection efforts! Unlike some other animal adoption programs, the manatees in our adoption programs are real, living manatees with names & known histories.

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SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

dove

“True peace is a state of mind brought about only by peaceful people.” ~ Jawaharal Nehru

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CANDLE SCONCE BY MIRROR

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror.” ~ Edith Wharton

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Illustration by E. H. Shepard

Illustration by E. H. Shepard

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” ~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

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SEE YOUR GOAL

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BUDDHA & LOTUS

“Seek freedom, and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline, and you find your liberty.” ~ Frank Herbert

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"Amelia" Photo by SKV

“Amelia” Photo by SKV

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect, and beginning to work on just becoming your best self.” ~ Anna Quindlen

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HORSE STAMPEDE

“There is much more to creative endeavors, riding races, and survival than fearlessness and being able to stay in the saddle; more than tactics, more than experience, more than ambition. Winning races, like survival or success, begins in the mind.” ~ Excerpted & edited from “Longshot”, by Dick Francis

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THE CASE FOR MELANCHOLY

Melancholy’s Sweet Allure

By Laren Stover – Nov. 7, 2015 – NYT (excerpted)

Illustration by Shannon Freshwater

Illustration by Shannon Freshwater

Everywhere you look these days you see something on how to be happy — how to manifest abundance, desires and success, find your bliss. A quick Google search will produce instantaneous remedies for the blues: the promise that it’s possible to find happiness in 10 or 15 easy steps. Some strategies promise happiness in as few as three steps.

Whatever happened to experiencing the grace of melancholy, which requires reflection: a sort of mental steeping, like tea? What if all this cheerful advice only makes you feel inadequate? What if you were born morose? Melancholy, distinguished from grief, is not caused by events, like losing your job, the passing of beloved pets, your miscarriages or health problems. Nor does it vanish when you receive excellent news, like a big film star optioning your novel, or being invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to Venice for the Biennale.

Melancholy is more … ephemeral.

It visits you like a mist, a vapor, a fog. It is generally uninvited. And as some people are born into royalty, wealth and prestige, others inherit a disposition for sadness. Personally, I’d much rather open the windows to the fragrant garden of melancholy, and spritz on something to go with ennui, reflection, wistfulness. Such a gentle perfume might smell like autumn rain, or a rain-damp windowsill infused with wilted, decaying roses and tears.

Should melancholy descend, you may as well welcome it, wear your finest lounging outfit; give it your finest fainting couch or chaise to lounge in, or that hammock stretched between two elm trees. Let it settle in. You may as well enjoy it reclining with a pot of green thunder tea as you watch the rolled leaves unfurl their poetic fury as it steeps, as you listen to Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé” or Jean Françaix’s Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, 2a.

I propose there be melancholy perfumes, fashions, footwear (no running shoes under any circumstances), music (Lana Del Rey is the melancholy diva du jour, and Joni Mitchell and Billie Holiday still work), elixirs (no alcohol; look what happened to Edgar Allan Poe) and furniture ideally suited for indulging in or succumbing to the deeply tinted blue moods….I want moonlight.

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Photo by Paul Emerson

Photo by Paul Emerson

“Hope requires stepping out from the past and looking to the future. It’s about imagining a better tomorrow and being prepared to do what it takes to make it so. It’s about creating a vision and taking affirmative action. It makes the difference between success and failure, triumph or defeat, confidence or fearfulness. Hope is the leading indicator of success in relationships, academics, career, and business—as well as of a healthier, happier life. Without the proactive approach of constructive and creative endeavour, the belief that tomorrow will be better than today is merely an optimistic attitude. Wishful thinking doesn’t get us where we want to be, hard work in the right direction does. To create a hopeful attitude we must use our imaginations to envision positive outcomes, we must develop a plan of action and we must take the necessary steps. When we actually do something about making the future a better place, then we are living in the real definition of hope.” ~ Lou Hamilton, award-winning screenwriter & filmmaker, career coach, UK READ MORE

Clark Little shooting a wave in Hawaii, www.clarklittlephotography.com

Clark Little shooting a wave in Hawaii, www.clarklittlephotography.com

“It requires bravery to do something no one else around you is doing.” ~ Amber Heard

IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD VIDEO:

Don’t miss this beautiful & inspiring BBC video,

narrated by Richard Attenborough!

SNOW MONKEY

https://www.youtube.com/embed/auSo1MyWf8g?rel=0

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CHAMBERED NAUTILUS

7SEAS PRODUCTIONS LOGO TEXT

PROFESSIONAL COVERAGE OF YOUR SCRIPT OR FILM!

Ready to get your screenplay or film on the right track? 7seas Productions now offers script reading services, critiques, coverage and edits to all screenwriters, playwrights & filmmakers, and to production companies and agencies, at special discount prices!

Focusing on the elements crucial to creating a compelling and readable script, and/or a winning, marketable film, our helpful comments will allow you to concentrate on solving the problems that will make your material move toward receiving a CONSIDER or a RECOMMENDED from a studio or production company reader, and will assist in advancing your script or film up toward WINNER in screenwriting competitions & film festivals.

A big advantage of this low-cost critique service is that we will help you prepare your screenplay before sending it to screenwriting competitions, film producers, agents, managers and others who may have requested it. READ MORE

7seas Productions annually produces theMoondance International Film Festival, and also offers film festival start-up consultations!

~ ELIZABETH ENGLISH ~

[email protected]

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Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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Moondance Mid-November Blog: On Creative Writing

theredish.com

Nos coeurs sont avec Paris. Nous sommes unis.

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CATS & PIGEON

“Creativity is a magic wand that works two ways. When you set it in action and seek to create something, it does not just brings into existence that object or work, it also raises in your heart a dream, a hope, and a will to achieve that creation.” ~ Jyoti Arora

WHAT’S IN THIS NEWS-BLOG?

  • THOUGHTS ON CREATIVE WRITING
  • A MOONDANCER WRITES US
  • MOONDANCER NEWS
  • OFF-BEAT POWER PLAYERS
  • MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS & SUPPORTS:
  • SUMATRAN TIGERS & CINNAMON?
  • A MAN-MADE CRISIS FOR ORANGUTANS
  • MARINE MAMMALS IN DANGER
  • EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION
  • IS THIS THE LIFE YOU’RE MEANT TO LIVE?
  • SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

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New Yorker magazine cartoon, by Isaac Littlejohn Eddy

New Yorker magazine cartoon, by Isaac Littlejohn Eddy

OLD BOOKS PILE

“(Writing is) the carrier of civilization. Without it, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.” ~ Barbara W. Tuchman

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Screenplays pile

“It is the function of the arts to renew our perception. What we are familiar with, we fail to see. The writer shapes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see new meaning in it.” ~ Anais Nin

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PILGRIMS PROGRESS BOOK

“What is important – what lasts – in (any) language is not what is said, but what is written. For the essence of an age, we look to its poetry and its prose…” ~ Peter Brodie

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CABIN IN SNOWY WOODS

“(Creative) writing preserves you in a state of innocence – a lot passes you by – simply because your attention is otherwise diverted.” ~ Anita Brookner

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KIDS LISTENING-by A.w. Rossi

“Writing means sharing. It’s part of the human condition to want to share things – thoughts, ideas, opinions.” ~ Paul Coelho

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Ernest Hemingway in Africa

Ernest Hemingway in Cuba

“Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

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Buster Keaton

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader – not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” ~ E. L. Doctorow

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New Yorker magazine cartoon, by Charles Barsotti

New Yorker magazine cartoon, by Charles Barsotti

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A MOONDANCER WRITES US:

“Received the Moondance Seahorse Award.  Beautiful!  Will frame and hang it ASAP.  I want to thank you again for including the play in your wonderful festival.  Wish I could have attended.  Now if I can just get someone to produce it…” ~ Fred Perry, playwright (The Ascension of Twyla Potts)

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MOONDANCER NEWS:

http://www.christinetulis.com

Christine Tulis and Kem Stone, Having forged a musical partnership based on their shared beliefs, Tulis and Stone have traveled widely to share their music, including performances at the United Nations in New York and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. They have produced two recordings. Their first CD, “Portal,” won the Gaia Award for Spiritual Music from the Moondance International Film Festival in 2008. They are currently working on their third release at their recording studio in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tulis finds inspiration for her lyrics in the mystical poetry of Rumi, the writings of Saint Theresa of Avila as well as personal experiences. She writes songs to celebrate “the universal qualities of divine love and beauty,” according to a press release. “The harp has an ancient history of being used to facilitate healing and help people connect to the sacred, inner dimensions of their being.” Tulis and Stone, both award-winning composers and musicians, present concerts that highlight the healing qualities of music.

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OFF-BEAT POWER PLAYERS:

(Jacob Koffler, Time Magazine: August 17, 2015)

Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish

JELLYFISH: Scientists in Sweden have harnessed a protein from glow-in the-dark jellyfish to create miniature fuel cells for electronics, and more.

DANCING: Club Watt in Rotterdam uses floor vibrations, generated by people walking and dancing, to power its light system.

BODY HEAT: The Mall of America. in Minneapolis. has long relied on human shoppers & visitors to help warm its corridors, and now London and Paris are piping heat from crowded subway stations into nearby homes during cold weather.

HUMAN WASTE: Scientists at the University of California at Irvine have developed a method of deriving hydrogen from processed sewage, which is being used to power fuel cells for cars.

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MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS & SUPPORTS:

SUMATRAN TIGERS & CINNAMON?

Sumatran-Tiger copy

Indonesia—one of the world’s largest rainforests: This region is:

  • An important center for global cinnamon production
  • One of the last habitats for the critically endangered Sumatran tiger
  • About cinnamon: Harvested only once every 10-15 years
  • Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farm land is carefully mapped in clusters, forming critical wildlife corridors to protect Sumatran tiger habitat

So the next time you order that cinnamon latte, think about how we’re working to help people, animals and forests thrive in harmony. This is just one piece of the puzzle in our work to protect vital rainforests.

RAINFOREST ALLIANCE LOGO

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Orangutan babies, Indonesia

The forest fires currently raging in Indonesia are a man-made crisis driven by decades of forest destruction by some of the biggest palm oil and paper companies in the world. As you read this, Indonesia’s forests are burning. Orangutans and tigers are losing their homes with nowhere to go. And at the root of this tragedy is one of the greatest environmental crimes of our time: decades of forest destruction by some of the world’s biggest palm oil and paper companies.

FOREST FIRES

Can you join me in taking action today? Greed is winning over the survival of people and amazing wildlife like orangutans and tigers. Millions of people in Indonesia and neighboring countries are suffering from the toxic haze caused by the fires. Please HELP restore and protect Indonesia’s forests and peatlands, and implement an industry-wide ban on trade with companies that destroy forests and peatlands. Around the world, tens of thousands of Greenpeace supporters are building the pressure on the Indonesian Government and company CEOs to act. Take action now: sign the petition to help save Indonesia’s forests, wildlife and people!

GREENPEACE LOGO

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MARINE MAMMALS IN GRAVE DANGER:

DOLPHINS TRAPPED IN GILLNETS… SEA LIONS HOOKED ON LONGLINES… WHALES ENTANGLED IN LOBSTER POTS…

Here’s a truly unimaginable statistic: More than 650,000 whales, dolphins and other marine mammals are killed or seriously injured every year after being hooked, entangled or trapped in commercial fishing gear used by fleets across the globe.

Diver trying to help a whale entangled in fishing gear

Uncontrolled “bycatch” now threatens the very survival of some of the world’s most endangered marine mammals, including the North Atlantic right whale, the Mexican vaquita and the Mediterranean sperm whale, and others. This needless killing must be stopped! Sign the petition to end this assault on our threatened marine wildlife.

NRDC LOGO

The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires the U.S. to import only fish and fish products that meet U.S. standards for protecting marine mammals — but this lifesaving measure has never been enforced by the federal government. Shockingly, that means that the majority of foreign seafood we eat — from shrimps, to sea bass, to fish sticks — has been caught in violation of federal law. Meanwhile, our planet’s most vulnerable marine mammal species remain in grave danger, and are suffering and dying.

But here’s the good news: the Obama Administration is finalizing new regulations to end this horrendous practice and save marine mammals. These new rules would enforce the existing law, only allowing seafood from foreign fisheries to be imported into the U.S., only if it’s been caught in accordance with U.S. standards for protecting marine mammals. READ MORE:

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http://rosemarypencil.org

Empowering through Education!

Some of these children are on the Rosemary Pencil scholarship program who attend CITW’s after-school eco clubs.

Some of these children are on the Rosemary Pencil scholarship program who attend CITW’s after-school eco clubs. 

THE ROSEMARY PENCIL FOUNDATION believes that all children have the right to an education.  Working with our local partner, Children in the Wilderness, we help transform the lives of children in rural Malawi and Zimbabwe by providing scholarships for them to attend secondary school and pursue higher education.  Although primary school education in these countries is free, secondary school requires tuition fees.  Through the kindness of donors, we are able to expand the opportunities for these children and, by extension, their communities.

Nearly all our students are orphans and without your help would finish elementary school at age 13 or 14 and remain at home in their villages. This is particularly true of the girls. Despite very challenging circumstances, these boys and girls have an incredible spirit and hope for the future.

Since our founding in 2005, more than 100 children have benefited from our program and completed four years of secondary school in Malawi. We currently have more than 70 students at school in Malawi and Zimbabwe as well supporting some former students in higher education, job training and teacher’s training.

In 2013 the Rosemary Pencil Foundation in partnership with Worldreader introduced e-readers to Malawi, giving students more than one hundred African, American and British authors to read and enjoy as well as being able to access the Malawi secondary school curriculum on a Kindles. In 2015, thanks to the gift from one individual donor, we were able  to bring  a  second shipment of e-readers to another  school in Malawi. DONATE NOW!

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IS THIS THE LIFE YOU’RE MEANT TO LIVE?

Dominique Browning photo

Because most modern people have separated their minds from their bodies, and their souls have been banished from their ordinary lives, they forget that the well-being of all three (body, mind, and spirit) is intimately entwined. Health begins with firmness in body, deepens to emotional stability, then leads to intellectual clarity, wisdom, and, finally, the unveiling of the soul. These are relative to and dependent upon the stage of consciousness we are at.

Your body is the child of the soul. You must nourish and train your child. Physical health is not a commodity to be bargained for, nor can it be swallowed in the form of drugs and pills. You have to create within yourself the experience of beauty, liberation, and infinity. This is health. Healthy plants and trees yield abundant flowers and fruits. Similarly, from a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun.

“Freedom” by Zenos Frudakis

Even in simple yoga asanas, one is experiencing the three levels of the quest: the external quest, which brings firmness of the body; the internal quest, which brings steadiness of intelligence; and the innermost quest, which brings benevolence of spirit. As long as the body is not in perfect health, you are caught in body consciousness alone. This distracts you from healing and culturing the mind.

(Excerpted from the book, Light on Life, by B.S.K. Iyengar)

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SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

DANCING BY THE OCEAN

“I CHOOSE…to live by choice, not by chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated, not manipulated; to be useful, not used; to excel, not compete. I choose self-esteem, not self-pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinions of others.” ~ Author Unknown

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graphic artist unknown

Graphic artist unknown 

“I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to be.” ~ Carl Jung

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BUTTERFLY & BOY

“If you give yourself up to unproductive emotions, you cannot focus on your goals.” ~ Anonymous

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jigsaw_puzzle

“If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, just pick up some of those pieces and begin again.” ~ Flavia Weedn

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SUNRISE ON ROAD

“Whatever you want to be, or do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.” ~ Pope Paul VI

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CHAMBERED NAUTILUS

7SEAS PRODUCTIONS LOGO TEXT

PROFESSIONAL COVERAGE OF YOUR SCRIPT OR FILM!

Ready to get your screenplay or film on the right track? 7seas Productions now offers script reading services, critiques, coverage and edits to all screenwriters, playwrights & filmmakers, and to production companies and agencies, at special discount prices!

Focusing on the elements crucial to creating a compelling and readable script, and/or a winning, marketable film, our helpful comments will allow you to concentrate on solving the problems that will make your material move toward receiving a CONSIDER or a RECOMMENDED from a studio or production company reader, and will assist in advancing your script or film up toward WINNER in screenwriting competitions & film festivals.

An advantage of this low-cost critique service is that we will help you prepare your screenplay before sending it to screenwriting competitions, film producers, agents, managers and others who may have requested it. READ MORE

7seas Productions annually produces the Moondance International Film Festival, and also offers film festival start-up consultations!

~ ELIZABETH ENGLISH ~

[email protected]

starfish chain

MIFF WAVY FILM IMAGE BANNER

Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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No trees or natural habitats were harmed in the creation of this news-blog!

Eiffel Tower image by theredish.com

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Moondance November News & Insider Tips: the Craft of Screenwriting!

LOTUS

Selected Moondance winning films have been invited to be screened the annual 2015 Canadian International Film & Television festival (CIFTF), which takes place in Richmond & Vancouver, BC, Canada, November 6-8th. Moondance winning films will be screened as a special Moondance Roadshow part of this important event, from November 8-10th. Many of the event’s attendees & invitees are from China, and include the director of the China Film Group in Beijing, who is responsible for all films produced or screened in China. Please consider attending the festival. This is your best chance to network with the powers-that-be in the lucrative Chinese film & television industry! All events and film screenings are free of charge.

CIFTF LEOPARD LOGO

Website: www.naimfs.org   Email: [email protected]

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THE CRAFT OF WRITING: EXTERNALIZING THE INTERNAL, PART 1

Award-Winning Screenwriter Jacob Krueger

http://www.writeyourscreenplay.com

The extraordinary thing about working in the medium of film is that we get to tell stories with compelling images that capture the imaginations and the emotions of our audiences. And the challenging thing about working in film is that half of the things that exist in the world, we can’t see! We can’t see thoughts and we can’t see feelings.

And that means, as screenwriters, our job is to externalize these internal thoughts and feelings. To take them outside of the mind, and put them into the body and the action of our screenplay. To translate the emotional language of our writing into compelling and visceral action.

As one of my great mentors, Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili, who is a world-renowned set designer, used to say, “If you want a director to do what you want, you must make him think it is his idea.” And one of the ways we allow directors and producers to do what we want and connect and visualize our movies in the way that we want them to see them is by externalizing the internal: capturing our story in images exactly the way that we are seeing it in our heads.

Similarly, if you want to attract an A-list actor to your film, you need to learn to externalize the internal in a visceral way, so that you can capture their attention from the very first line, stimulate their imaginations, and allow them to see themselves doing all those exciting things that your character is doing, as if they were already playing the role! These are the practical reasons to externalize the internal.

But here is an even deeper artistic reason you want to externalize the internal, which is that often times when you’re not externalizing the internal it’s because you have not actually seen it yet in your own mind’s eye. Which means you are not yet fully serving your own creative vision of the movie, or getting your full talent onto the page. To understand how you can go about externalizing the internal in your own work, in this week’s podcast, we’re going to be looking at one of the best examples of this technique, There Will Be Blood.

ISA LOGO

International Screenwriters’ Association

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MOONDANCERS WRITE US:

I wanted to thank you for the wonderful opportunity to screen a sneak preview of our film at Moondance. So many wonderful things came out of that screening. It was especially great to have Bill Ury, author of Getting to Yes, and Randy Compton, and Mark Gerzon, Author of American Citizen, Global Citizen: How Expanding Our Identities Makes Us Safer, Stronger, Wiser – And Builds a Better World. They were both very enthusiastic about the film and we look forward to further collaboration with them. We also loved all the great feedback we got on the Audience Comments forms: “I think it’s awesome”  “I love his story, mission, tenacity and love for the future!” “The world will be a better place because Garry was in it.”  “Needs to get out into the world. It will shift consciousness.”  “Like, it’s about time!” In addition to accolades, the audience feedback forms also gave us valuable suggestions for further improving our work-in-progress version.  — which we incorporated into later edits of the film. Several funders also loved the film – we received important donations in Boulder – also building excellent prospects for the future. So again, thank you for who you are and all you do for the world.” ~ Arthur Kanegis, director of The World Is My Country

“I find these (Moondance news-blog) articles so helpful.  Thank you for caring enough to help us first-time screenwriters!” ~ Kentrell Liddell

“This is a very spiritual and moving newsletter. Congratulations! ~ Chris Nebe, award-winning documentary filmmaker, “Mysterious China” series

“If you hadn’t recognised there was something of merit about my stageplay. “Stitched Up”, the production wouldn’t have happened, so, on behalf of Mr Nibbs, Rags, their wonderful palace colleagues, and, of course, myself, many, many thanks for that.” ~ Celine Gibson, award-winning playwright, New Zealand

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DO A DOODLE!

By Lou Hamilton

DOODLE

A blank page and a pen is ripe territory for doodling and if you do it while your brain is apparently attending to something else, your ability to broaden your creative thoughts and ideas, make sense of and retain what you are listening to, is hugely increased. In decision-making, problem-solving and creative thinking we need to engage with at least two of the four learning processes: auditory, visual, reading/writing and kinetic. So in a lecture or in class or on the phone, where information density is high, doodling, simple shapes, mind-maps, grids, nothing tricky, but the act of doodling allows (one) to explore…thoughts, by placing words into the shapes has the benefit of exploiting…decision-making, problem-solving and creative thinking we need to engage with at least two of the four learning processes: auditory, visual, reading/writing and kinetic. Which is why (doodling) is so effective!

The shapes, along with your hand movements, stimulate parts of the brain that allow you to make connections between things that you otherwise would likely have never come up with. It helps you tap into your memory, your emotions, your desires, your intellect….a way of aiding learning, processing, problem-solving, creative thinking and remembering.

Sunni Brown, named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” and one of the “10 Most Creative People on Twitter” by Fast Company, is the leader of “The Doodle Revolution” the purpose of which is to “disrupt social norms about visual language and visual thinking, and educate people around the world about doodling’s power and potential.” Using deliberate pen strokes and a vocabulary of abstract patterns, artists and non-artists alike are equally able to focus on their marks with no pre-determined end result, while their attention shifts “to a state that allows fresh thoughts, new perspectives, and creative insights to flow unhindered by anxiety or effort.” Zentangle… is a form of combined doodling and meditation, devised by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts in 2004 as an elegant system of structured patterns for zoning out. READ MORE

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MOONDANCE SUPPORTS & RECOMMENDS:

CHINA YELLOW RIVER FOUNDATION logo

"Yellow River Mother" sculpture, by HeE, Gansu

“Yellow River Mother” sculpture, by He E, Gansu

The Yellow River is called “the cradle of Chinese civilization”, because its basin was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization, and is the third-longest river in Asia. Water is the source of ten thousand species, of rich and varied topography and biological species, and the feeding, nourishing, and our civilization. The river is the mother, nurturing the luxuriant creatures & is a natural parent. Human economic and social development has entered a new historical period, and river and water are faced with unprecedented crises and challenges. The Yellow River is one of several rivers that are essential for China’s very existence.

We have a responsibility to have an obligation to action, with reason, courage and strong faith, to maintain the health of the Chinese mother river of life… maintaining river health, life, and river ethics. The CYRF makes the most of the advantages of this non-governmental organization, to promote Chinese civilization, inherit the Yellow River culture, take actions to protect the Mother River, and to involve more people in devoting their time and resources to the protection and maintenance of the endless life of the vital Yellow River. Our mission is: Carrying out regular activities toward the Yellow River protection, and to promote long-term maintenance of the healthy life of the Yellow River. The Yellow River is 5,464 kilometers long, with a total elevation drop of 4480 meters. READ MORE

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NATURE CONSERVANCY LOGO

A World Without Florida Panthers?

FLORIDA PANTHERS

They’re the last of their kind! A mere 180 Florida panthers are all we have left. When we allow places like the Florida Everglades to be torn apart, whittled down and chopped up for commercial purposes, we all lose more than just our beloved landscapes. We lose the migratory pathways the Florida panther and many other animals depend on for survival. Without intact migration corridors, these great cats can’t reach the additional habitat they need in order to survive as a species. They’re trapped and isolated…with nowhere to go to establish healthy populations and thrive. These lands are critical to the recovery of this iconic species and a cornerstone in the plan to support their survival.

Your donation today will help The Nature Conservancy’s vital work to protect and create habitats for threatened animals like the Florida panther — among too many others — who are simply running out of time. You’ll know that your dollars will be hard at work in endangered places like the Everglades. The Nature Conservancy is working to protect 18,529 acres of prime panther habitat that could help make a difference in securing their future. Thank you for helping to protect the lands and waters on which great migrations depend! http://www.nature.org

A World Without Sea Turtles?

Hawksbill Turtle

Hawksbill Turtle

Imagine travelling more than 1,000 miles, through danger and hunger and hardship…only to find your destination washed away. Too often, that’s the fate waiting for hawksbill sea turtles at the end of their long migrations. They risk their lives only to find that their habitats have been destroyed and they’re left with nowhere to go. It’s a tragic end to an incredible journey. Today the Pacific nesting beaches hawksbills rely on are in grave danger. Development and sea level rise are shrinking them fast. And as the hawksbill populations are now a mere 20% of what they were 100 years ago, we have to fight for them to make sure that number doesn’t get any lower.

The truth is sad and simple: if more nesting beaches continue to disappear…so will hawksbills. If you’ve ever seen a sea turtle swim, you know it’s like flying under water. They coast along with so much grace, it would make anyone feel peaceful and calm. But their effortlessness hides one of the toughest survival stories on our planet. They’re up against predators, poachers, developers, climate change, and so much more. These animals do everything they can to survive in such desperate conditions, and right now, they need our help. Your gift will help with hands-on conservation like: helping expand the network of protected beaches for hawksbills, bringing together communities to safeguard their beaches & creating more turtle conservation sites so they can finish their migrations in peace. http://www.nature.org

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SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

Artwork by Christopher David White

Sculpture by Christopher David White

“You do not make sculpture because you like wood. You make sculpture because the wood allows you to express something that another material does not allow you to do.” ~ Louise Bourgeois, French-American artist  (This quote can be extrapolated to include creative writing, filmmaking, music, dance, theater, & other arts)

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Mermaid figurehead by Jan Reichard

Mermaid figurehead by Jan Reichard

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard

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HOPE QUOTE-LIN YITANG

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THE CATCH-22 OF ORIGINALITY:

"WOLF TOTEM", Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

“WOLF TOTEM”, Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Film audiences crave originality – or at least a fresh take – and so it seems do movie distributors. And yet film financiers tend toward the tried and tested. They want to back name actors, proven concepts and known quantities.” Hear from two leading film sales agents how they go about resolving that eternal contradiction: http://info.slated.com/the-catch-22-of-originality/

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STUDIO-TYPE COVERAGE OF YOUR SCRIPT OR FILM!

CHAMBERED NAUTILUS

7SEAS PRODUCTIONS

Ready to get your screenplay or film on the right track? 7seas Productions now offers script reading services, critiques, coverage and edits to all screenwriters, playwrights & filmmakers, and to production companies and agencies, at special discount prices!

Focusing on the elements crucial to creating a compelling and readable script, and/or a winning, marketable film, our helpful comments will allow you to concentrate on solving the problems that will make your material move toward receiving a CONSIDER or a RECOMMENDED from a studio or production company reader, and will assist in advancing your script or film up toward WINNER in screenwriting competitions & film festivals.

An advantage of this low-cost critique service is that we will help you prepare your screenplay before sending it to screenwriting competitions, film producers, agents, managers and others who may have requested it. READ MORE

7seas Productions annually produces the Moondance International Film Festival, and also offers film festival start-up consultations!

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MIFF WAVY FILM IMAGE BANNER

Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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No trees or natural habitats were harmed in the creation of this news-blog!

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Moondance Insider Tips for Writers & Filmmakers!

FALL LEAVES LARGE

WHAT’S IN THIS BLOG:

  • SCREENWRITERS: ALLIES & ENEMIES ARTICLE: Cultivating a circle of allies & avoiding & deconstructive feedback, by Amy Wheeler
  • FILMMAKERS: BLENDING THE FANTASTIC & THE REALISTIC. New York Times article about the unique directing of the film, “The Assassin”, by Mekado Murphy
  • REQUEST FOR MOONDANCE 2015 FESTIVAL PHOTOS!
  • WHAT’S MISSING FROM “THE MARTIAN” film, an important New Yorker magazine article, vital reading for filmmakers & writers, by Richard Brody
  • TRAVELS IN THE GREAT TREE OF LIFE
  • BAREFOOT COLLEGE, entrepreneurial skill-building designed by and for rural poor, illiterate & semi literate women around the world
  • HELP SAVE THE MOONBIRD!
  • BAN MICROBEADS!
  • SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

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ALLIES AND ENEMIES

The writer’s journey

by Amy Wheeler, Executive Director and alumna

HEDGEBROOK LOGO

Writers have different ideas about when to share our work with others, and for good reason! Before you share fresh pages or a new draft, your writing belongs to you. There are no other voices in your head, no opinions clouding your vision. But because we don’t write for ourselves alone, there comes a time when the perspective of others is valuable. The key is knowing when and how to solicit feedback, and from whom.

Cultivating a circle of allies you can share your fresh writing with is essential. Allies, your trusted readers, are eager to help you realize your vision of your story. They ask questions that spark “aha’s”, or respond to your questions in ways that are helpful and constructive. Allies are not just cheerleaders and fans of your work, they are catalysts, challenging you to go deeper, to be more clear and honest and rigorous as you hone your story.

Here’s an important distinction: it’s not just what your allies share, it’s how they share it that matters. The way feedback is given can open your process up, or shut it down. If you’ve ever endured a “free for all” feedback session, with responders offering their blunt opinions, or pontificating about how they’d write your story, you know how devastating that experience can be.

As an antidote, I heartily recommend a model for constructive feedback, developed by choreographer Liz Lerman and used widely by the theatre community for new play development. Based on the premise that the best outcome from a feedback session is for the creator to want to go back to work, Lerman’s “Critical Response Process (CRP)” gives creator and responders the tools to make the session constructive and useful.

Now, about those “enemies”, who seem ready to jump at the chance to deconstruct your work: they only have the power you give them. So ignore them (easier said then done), or listen for that kernel of something that’s helpful, and let go of the rest. “Water off a duck’s back.”

Deconstructive feedback flows from jealousy and insecurity, from those who are afraid to take their own creative risks, or may be well meaning but inept. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if the responder is a friend or family member, a fellow writer, a critic or reviewer, don’t allow anyone to throw you off course. This is your journey.

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BLENDING THE FANTASTIC & THE REALISTIC 

By MEKADO MURPHY OCT. 7, 2015 NYT

The director Hou Hsiao-Hsien has made a film rooted in martial arts, but with imagery and settings that make “The Assassin” feel almost painterly.

ASSASSIN-image

Photo courtesy of Spotfilm

Landscapes: In the Clouds

To create a sense of a time long past, Mr. Hou and his team traveled to locations in China that had changed little in decades. “We looked for higher-altitude places where modern soci ety hasn’t come in,” he said. Mr. Hou and his team used the environment as part of the filmmaking as well. “We allowed the weather to change the content,” he said. “If it started snowing, we would not stop shooting.” The camera relishes nature, holding on long takes of rustling trees with the sound of birds in the background. It was important to Mr. Hou for everything to seem natural and authentic: “If we shoot during the daytime, we will try to use natural lighting to light the colors of the room. If it’s at night, then the light should look as close to candlelight as possible.” READ MORE:

REVIEW: ‘THE ASSASSIN’ FINDS DELIGHT IN A DEADLY VOCATION

A. O. Scott, New York Times

 “The Assassin” is a stately action movie, graceful and slow-moving, with bursts of smoothly choreographed violence. Apart from those moments, the film unfolds almost like a series of exquisite paintings: landscapes and interiors composed with an exacting eye, every shape and color measured and placed according to a rigorous aesthetic. READ MORE:

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SEND IN YOUR 2015 MOONDANCE FILM FESTIVAL PHOTOS!

image by www.universityaffairs.ca

image by www.universityaffairs.ca  

The email address for sending festival images for the

2015 Moondance photo album is: 

[email protected]

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WHAT’S MISSING FROM “THE MARTIAN”

BY RICHARD BRODY

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORP. /

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORP.   

Ridley Scott’s sci-fi Mars adventure, starring Matt Damon, is so consistent in its storytelling and coherent in its details that it breezes gloriously past some of its biggest and best questions.

Directing is more than choosing expressive shots and coaxing emotionally satisfying performances from actors. I worked with a director who likened the job to being a general. For any strong director (one who’s no mere hired hand), the shaping of the story, the casting, the creation and approval of sets and props, the details of costume and makeup, the sound design—in short, the movie’s over-all tone and style sense—are the director’s indirect handiwork. That’s exactly how Ridley Scott exercises his authority on “The Martian.” Scott, who’s in his seventies, puts on a virtuoso display of cinematic professionalism, aligning all the movie’s elements—visual and sonic, dramatic and thematic, human and material—to move ahead briskly and compactly, with the seeming unity of one meticulously designed and properly functioning machine.

The film is so consistent in its storytelling and coherent in its details, magnetically aligned according to the ideas and tastes of one person, that it breezes gloriously past some of its biggest and best questions. Of course, questions aren’t action or suspense but merely motives for the artist, prods for creation; filmmakers craft their work on the basis of the questions they choose to address—and the ones they ignore. Scott’s ideas and his skills mesh so happily that they sent this viewer nearly bouncing out into the street, propelled by a blast of cinematic pleasure that soon dissipated and left a hollow so big as to nearly swallow up the entire viewing experience. So what’s missing? READ MORE

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RECOMMENDED ONLINE READING:

TREE OF LIFE LOGO

All living things – from the smallest microorganism to the largest vertebrate and redwood tree – are genetically related!

D-2 TREETOP

Travels in the Great Tree of Life is a fascinating, multimedia exhibition, from Yale University & the Peabody Museum of Natural History that explores the complex relationships that link all living organisms. For example, crocodiles and birds (the owl) are more closely related to one another than either is to mammals (the Gorilla); surprisingly, mushrooms are closer to humans than they are to plants; the common ancestor of all spiders & arachnids probably resembled the now extinct sea scorpions, fearsome aquatic predators; and the tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the giant tyrannosaur are genetically related. Birds, it turns out, are just a highly divergent branch in the dinosaur tree! Read More

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MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS & SUPPORTS:

BAREFOOT COLLEGE LOGO

BAREFOOT WOMEN

Our dedication to listening to the communities we serve has resulted in an innovative cooperative curriculum curated by communities called ENRICHE. 13 Barefoot Engineers Solar Electrify 600 Households in Zanzibar and Become Master Trainers. The 13 original women trained through the Barefoot College came back to Zanzibar transformed; ready to teach and share their knowledge and skills. They have created a revolution that is bringing renewable energy and clean light to their neighbouring communities.

On June 8th, Barefoot College opened the 1st of Six International Regional Training Centres entirely focused on technology transfer, vocational and entrepreneurial skill-building designed by and for rural poor illiterate & semi literate women. As you read this, our workshops are teaching women reproductive health, self awareness, basic digital IT skills, environmental stewardship, human and civil rights, micro-enterprise skills, income generation capacity building and more…READ MORE

 “By opening six training centers, we will train mature women to be capable and confident solar engineers to fill a basic and critical need for reliable energy in African villages. These Solar Mamas of Africa will become competent, confident and able to scale technology themselves to raise quality of life for all.” ~ Bunker Roy, Founder of the Barefoot College

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NATURE CONSERVANCY LOGO

MOONBIRD - philliphoose.wordpress.com

Photo by philliphoose.wordpress.com

This is the moment when Moonbird’s incredible migration will continue…or end. In this moment, at the place where this tiny bird stops to refuel during an epic journey, it’s survival — and it’s species — hang in the balance. But you can protect endangered spaces that birds like this count on during their migrations. The Moonbird flies 18,000 miles every single year — from the Canadian Arctic to the tip of South America and back. It has made this marathon migration so many times over the past 22 years that it has flown farther than the distance to the moon!

And, unless we act now to protect the lands and waters where the Moonbird stops, exhausted and starving, it won’t be able to continue it’s journey much longer. In fact, every migration depends on resting grounds like Moonbird’s — and many of them are being torn apart. Moonbird’s resting grounds on the Delaware shore are just one critically endangered area. The sole reason it stops here is to feast on horseshoe crab eggs. Without them, Moonbird won’t be able to survive the rest of it’s migration. But the beaches where it could once find plentiful eggs are disappearing fast.

www.wildlifesouth.com

Delaware Shoreline Wetlands photo: www.wildlifesouth.com

And as more and more development tears this land apart, it’s imperative that we act fast to protect those beaches and wetlands that Moonbird — and other species — rely on during their great migration. For example, in Delaware alone, we’re working to conserve 15,000 unprotected acres, including areas that are vital to Moonbird’s migration. Plus, we’re restoring marshes and protecting horseshoe crab breeding grounds. But we can’t finish important work like this without you. You can help safeguard lands like these all around the world with even a small donation today. Donate now to help take action on urgent threats like these that threaten migrations around the world. Your support will help expand our efforts for Moonbird and other migratory animals.

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IT’S TIME to BAN MICROBEADS, FOREVER!

MICROBEADS

Microbeads, including those that are supposedly biodegradable, are in your body- and face-scrubs, toothpaste, as well in many other home cleaning and personal care products these days, but they are damaging and destroying our environment! Microbeads, when flushed down drains after a shower go into our water system, our city sewer systems, where these tiny beads cannot be filtered out, and they are eventually flushed into our streams, rivers, lakes, oceans and seas. Fresh-water and marine fish, mammals, reptiles and birds, all ingest these toxic microbeads and die. Delicate coral reefs are killed.

Scientists have found millions of microbeads in parts of the Great Lakes in the US, with the highest concentrations occurring near urban areas. Studies estimate that microbeads make up at least 20% of plastic pollution in some parts of the Great Lakes, which provide drinking water to millions. Once they are unleashed into our waterways, microbeads can make their way up the food chain. They absorb dangerous pollutants such as PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are already present from other toxic dumping in the marine environment. When fish, birds and other wildlife ingest these plastics, the harmful pollutants accumulate in species low in the food chain and are passed onto larger predators, eventually contaminating the fish and other wildlife species, including seafoods consumed by humans. Please encourage your governmental representatives to initiate an immediate ban on these deadly microbeads, and just stop purchasing or using ANY product that contains them! 

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SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

photo by S.V.

“Amelia” photo by S.V.

“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something, but to be someone!” ~ Gabrielle Chanel

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OLD KEYS & OLD BOOKjpg

“Little keys can open big locks. Simple words can express great thoughts.” ~ William A. Ward

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LOU HAMILTON FISHING DOODLE

Doodle by Lou Hamilton

“Fish for those subconscious inspirations as they swim up into your consciousness!” ~ Lou Hamilton

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Mahatma Gandhi’s glasses

Mahatma Gandhi’s glasses

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” ~ Helen Keller

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ADVERTISEMENT:

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~  7 S E A S  •  P R O D U C T I O N S  ~

• Ready to get your screenplay or film on the right track? 7seas Productions now offers script reading services, critiques, coverage and edits to all screenwriters, playwrights & filmmakers, and to production companies and agencies, at special discount prices!

• Focusing on the elements crucial to creating a compelling and readable script, and/or a winning, marketable film, our helpful comments will allow you to concentrate on solving the problems that will make your material move toward receiving a CONSIDER or a RECOMMENDED from a studio or production company reader, and will assist in advancing your script or film up toward WINNER in screenwriting competitions & film festivals.

• An advantage of this AFFORDABLE critique service is that we will gladly help you prepare your screenplay before sending it to screenwriting competitions, film producers, agents, actors, managers and others who may have requested it. READ MORE

7seas Productions annually produces the Moondance International Film Festival, and also offers film festival start-up consultations!

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MIFF TEXT BANNER

Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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No trees or natural habitats were harmed in the creation of this news-blog!

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Moondance is Always the “Girl on the Right”!

BE THE GIRL ON THE RIGHT

At Moondance, we don’t just accept differences, innovations, creativity, independence, and uniqueness – we celebrate them, we support them, encourage & inspire them, and we thrive on them for the ultimate benefit of the international film industry, as well as for writers, filmmakers, composers, festival film audiences, and our world community.

READ ON:

  • 2015 Festival Photo album request
  • 2015 Awards requests
  • Moondance news
  • Tom Shadyac at Moondance
  • Moondancers write us
  • Screenwriting: ALL-CAPS on sounds?
  • Radio plays
  • Moondance recommends
  • Some things to think about
  • Rules for the blues

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The 2015 Moondance PHOTO ALBUM will be online soon!

 ONLY IF YOU send us up to 5 of your best Moondance 2015 photos in .jpg, to: [email protected] with MIFF PIX in the subject line.

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ATTENTION MOONDANCE 2015 WINNERS NOT AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY:

If you won an award, but could not attend the event, and want to receive your Moondance Award, Award certificate, & a 2015 Moondance festival program, please use this option to pay only for postage to send it to you:

AWARDS POSTAGE: USA ADDRESS POSTAGE: $10 • FOREIGN ADDRESS POSTAGE: $25 

The Moondance winners’ star award

The Moondance winners’ star award

Send your request now; this offer expires October 1.

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MOONDANCE NEWS:

FILMMAKERS: Moondance International Film Festival is now an IMDb Qualifying Festival, granting all eligible film submissions (via Withoutabox), a fast-tracked title page on IMDb.com!

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DRONE CAMERA

Moondance 2016 wishes to celebrate the art of DRONE CINEMATOGRAPHY with our newest competition category, and offers an international venue for talented & innovative drone filmmakers from around the world to exhibit their winning work to film industry professionals and to the drone cinema fan audiences, at this world-class film festival.

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Film director Tom Shadyac gave a fascinating Q&A at Moondance 2015 to an enthusiastic audience, participated in the productive networking & photo ops, and was presented with the Moondance 2015 Calypso Award!

Watch this video:

CELEBS FAVORITE PLACES ON EARTH: DOUBLE-WIDE: TOM SHADYAC’S LIFE NOW

SHADYAC V

Read this article on Oprah.com:

FROM MULTIMILLIONAIRE TO MOBILE HOME!

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MOONDANCERS WRITE US

“Let me know when the 2016 early, early, early-bird submissions can be sent. I’m itching to send you the “Sock Opera” feature screenplay. I love to write, but this is the first time I actually felt real joy when working on a project. Although animation is probably the most difficult category to break into, I think, after all these years, I may have found my bliss.” ~ Janice MacDonald, 2015 Moondance winner for “The Sock Opera” short musical screenplay

I am sorry to have missed the 2015 festival, but I see that it was a great success! It is a wonderful service you offer to new writers and filmmakers who are trying to find a way into their chosen profession. I – for one – feel that your input and help has given me the confidence to keep writing, so thank you once again!” ~ Liz Falconer, 2015 winner, short screenplay, “One Door Closes”

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PILE OF SCRIPTS

NOTE TO SCREENWRITERS: Please, please do NOT put noises & sounds in all-CAPS in your spec screenplay! That formatting is only for final production scripts, when the funding is in place & the Foley editor needs to know what sound effects to include. Your script should be, at this early stage, a reader’s script. All-caps on sounds are very distracting from a smooth read. We certainly already know that a door SLAMS, a gun goes BANG, a dog BARKS, a lion ROARS, cars HONK or CRASH, FOOTSTEPS make a sound & so on! If you are seeing all-caps on sounds in scripts that you may be reading online, you are looking at director’s scripts, or production scripts! To sell this sucker to an agent, actor, producer, director, funder, or distributor, it needs to read almost like a scripted novel. To send out a production script is egotistical, arrogant & un-professional, as if the film is already in production. I have passed on way too many otherwise pretty good spec scripts that are filled with all-caps sounds, in the festival competition. 

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RADIO PLAYS ARE MIND-MOVIES!

RADIO:VINTAGE

Radio is sometimes known as the writer’s favorite medium; as Malcolm Bradbury once said, it is “a world made with words shaped into being, without a physical presence.” With radio, you have to use your imagination – something you don’t need when watching TV or movies. We can be whom-ever we want to be, travel wherever we want to go; all in “our mind’s eye”, thanks to radio programs. The stories and scenarios are often planted forever in our memories and in our own personal “theatre of the mind”.

Radio drama has long been a fertile training ground for writers and is a genre in which screenwriters, playwrights and television writers feel at home. It has given voice to generations of writers. From Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and Irish writer Samuel Beckett to Orson Welles and American playwright Harold Pinter; all have been involved with radio drama.

Moondance includes audio drama in our competition categories not merely in order to get the attention of the film industry. We want to promote audio drama for it’s own cultural value, and to encourage writers, storytellers, musicians/composers, audio producers, voice actors & others to create new works for radio & digital listening…whether it’s drama, comedy, kids’ stories, news & info, or documentary, and getting people to use their imaginations, to see the story in their minds, & to visualize, rather than have it shown to them in film, on their digital devices, online, or on TV, while they just sit there, being only consumers, rather than being creators or using their imagination to visualize the story! Consider learning how to write for radio, and revising your screenplay into an audio play! Moondance is dedicated to ensuring that audio drama remains an integral and dynamic part of our international broadcasting and cultural heritage.


MORE INFO: theaudiodramadirectory.com/ • www.audio-drama.com/www.artc.org/‎audiodramaproduction.com/ • jimfrenchproductions.com/

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MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH IMAGE

Friends of the Earth understands that the challenges facing our planet call for more than half-measures, so we push for radical change, not tweaks to the status quo. This means speaking uncomfortable truths to power and demanding more than people think is possible. It’s hard work. That’s why we’re dedicated to building and organizing a workforce for Earth. Earth H.Q. is an action center where you can tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our planet and discover practical, meaningful ways that all of us can work together to fix them. Let’s get to work! https://earthhq.foe.org

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WHY TALENT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH IN HOLLYWOOD

From the desk of: Nat Mundel, Founder/CEO of Voyage Media, Los Angeles, CA

MARKETABLE BOOK

Let’s assume for a moment that you’re a great writer, which you likely are… How far has your talent alone gotten you? There are thousands of talented writers creating excellent stories right now in Hollywood…So what is it that separates the great writer who gets projects made from the also-great writer who has a bunch of unsold scripts sitting on the shelf? A professional writer becomes so when he or she learns how to be part of the business of entertainment and drive his or her own projects forward  (not waiting around to be ‘discovered’). Talent is the minimum barrier to entry in entertainment… the real measure of your success is how effective you (the creator) are at building a marketable package for your project. Countless brilliant screenwriters and filmmakers never get their projects made because they don’t understand the importance of packaging their project in a way that speaks to the people who write the checks…

All successful writers and filmmakers in Hollywood know this, but most learned it the hard (and long) way. It doesn’t have to be that way. So to help you get your projects moving, I’m offering you a free copy of my report, “Building A Marketable Package: How To Get The Team You Need In Order To Market To The Audience You Want”. 

Click here for your FREE GIFT:

I hope this free report helps you to drive your project forward and attract the attention it needs in order to get made — and maybe you and I can work on a project together in the future!

 Do great things!

 When you download the report above, I’m also going to give you free access to our popular video training course, “Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro”, featuring over 4 hours of training from high-powered executives from HBO, CAA, Alcon Entertainment, Wes Craven, the Weinsteins, Dimension Films and others, who are finally spilling their most honest insights on what it takes to get their attention, build a reputation and get your material noticed and bought again and again.

In the past, I’ve sold this course for $297, but today I am giving it to you for free!

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SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

 

Three Planets

“I CHOOSETo live by choice, not by chance. To make changes, not excuses. To be motivated, not manipulated. To be useful, not used. To excel, not compete. I choose self-esteem, not self-pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the opinions of others. I choose to be myself, not someone else’s idea of me.” ~ Author Unknown

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FOOTSTEPS IN DESERT SAND

“Here are two options: Make progress or make excuses.” ~ Anonymous

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Vincent Van Gogh, "Wheat-field with Crows"

Vincent Van Gogh, “Wheat-field with Crows”

“The true artist reveals the unseen, and creates that which is new and uniquely his or her own,” ~ Ralph Ellison (excerpted & edited)

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Illustration by Maurice Sendak from “Open House for Butterflies” by Ruth Krauss.

It does not generally take much strength to do something, but it often requires great strength to decide what to do.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

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~~~ RULES FOR THE BLUES ~~~

Howlin' Wolf

Howlin’ Wolf

 

  • Most Blues begin, “Woke up this mornin’…”
  • “I got a good woman,” is a bad way to begin the Blues, ‘less you 
stick something nasty in the next line, like “I got a good woman with 
the meanest face in town.”
  • The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. 
Then find something that rhymes … sort of: “Got a good woman – with 
the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher – and she 
weigh 500 pound.”
  • The Blues are not about choice. You stuck in a ditch: You stuck in 
a ditch, ain’t no way out.
  • Blues cars: Chevys and Cadillacs and broken down trucks. Blues 
don’t travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues 
transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and 
state-sponsored motor pools ain’t even in the running. Walkin’ plays a major 
part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin’ to die.
  • Teenagers can’t sing the Blues. They ain’t fixin’ to die yet. Adults sing the 
Blues. In Blues, adulthood means being old enough to get the electric chair 
if you shoot a man in Memphis.
  • Blues can take place in New York City, but not in Hawaii or any 
place in Canada. Hard times in St. Paul or Tucson is just depression. 
Chicago, St.Louis, and Kansas City still the best places to have the Blues. 
You cannot have the blues in any place that don’t get rain.
  • A man with male pattern baldness ain’t the blues. A woman with male 
pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg cuz you skiing is not the blues.
  • Breaking your leg cuz a’ alligator be chomping on it is.
  • You can’t have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is 
wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
  • Good places for the Blues: 
lonesome dirt road or highway, 
jailhouse, 
empty bed
  • 
Bad places: 
Ashrams, 
gallery openings, 
Ivy League institutions, 
golf courses
  • 
No one will believe it’s the Blues if you wear a suit, ‘less you 
happen to be a’ old black man, and you slept in it.
  • 
Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if: you’re older than dirt, 
you’re blind, 
you shot a man in Memphis, 
you can’t be satisfied.
  • No, if: 
you have all your teeth, 
you were once blind but now can see, 
the man in Memphis lived, 
you have a retirement plan or trust fund.
  • Blues is not a matter of color. It’s a matter of bad luck. Tiger 
Woods cannot sing the blues. Gary Coleman could. Ugly white people 
also got a leg up on the blues.
  • If you ask for water and Baby give you gasoline, it’s the Blues. 
Other acceptable Blues beverages are: bad wine, 
bad whiskey or bad bourbon, 
muddy water, 
black coffee. 
The following are NOT Blues beverages: 
mixed drinks, 
kosher wine, 
Snapple, 
sparkling water.
  • 
If it occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it’s a Blues death. 
Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So 
is the electric chair, substance abuse, and dying lonely on a broken down 
cot. You can’t have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match, in a spa or hot-tub, or while getting 
liposuction.
  • 
Some Blues names for women: Sadie, 
Big Mama, 
Bessie, 
Fat River, Dumpling. 
Some Blues names for men: 
Joe 
Willie, 
Little Willie, 
Big Willie. 
Persons with names like Sierra, Sequoia, and Rainbow can’t sing the 
Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.
  • 
Make yer own Blues name (starter kit): name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) 
first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.) 
last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) 
For example, Blind Lime Jefferson, or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc.
  • I don’t care how tragic your life is: if you own a computer or cell-phone, you cannot sing 
the blues. You best destroy it – with fire, a spilled bottle of Mad Dog, or get 
out a shotgun. Maybe your big woman just done sat on it.

I don’t care.

From John Morrison’s Swing City website

STARFISH

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Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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Moondance Thanks for a Great 2015 Film Festival + Audience Favorites

*THANKS IN SAND

starfish chain

Thank you for joining us & participating in the 2015 Moondance, which featured the very best of indie films from the US and around the world, as well as our fabulously productive networking parties & events. You were entertained, encouraged and inspired at this annual world-class event, in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, USA, and helped us celebrate the 16th annual Moondance International Film Festival!

Being fearless & bold, Moondance is a unique, one-of-a-kind and a truly international film festival where monotonous conformity is considered mediocrity, and where talent, extravagant individualism, innovation, independence and experimentation is encouraged, awarded and applauded!

And thanks again for all those many great hugs!

We definitely made a BIG Splash!

~ Elizabeth English

Moondance Founder & Executive Director

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 2015 Moondance PHOTO ALBUM will be online soon!

Please send us up to 5 of your best Moondance 2015 photos in .jpg & labeled as to who is in the image, to: [email protected], with 2015 MIFF PIX in the subject line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STARFISH
THANKS A MILLION TO ALL THE 2015 MOONDANCERS!

  • FESTIVAL FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Elizabeth English
  • FESTIVAL EVENTS & VOLUNTEERS COORDINATOR: Meghan Laxton
  • FILM JURY: Elizabeth English, Bill Tremblay, Ted May, Chris Anastasiadis
  • FILM SCREENNGS COORDINATOR: Daniel DiBella
  • FILM PROJECTIONISTS: Bill Tremblay & Miguel Carson
  • FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHER: Daniel DiBella
  • ALL OUR VALUED VOLUNTEERS
  • ALL OUR 2015 COMPETITION ENTRANTS
  • SPONSORS & FRIENDS OF THE MOONDANCE
  • FESTIVAL WEBSITE MANAGER: Norm Strassner
  • FESTIVAL PRODUCER: 7seas Productions
  • HOTEL BOULDERADO EVENTS MANAGER: Linda Curatola
  • HOTEL BOULDERADO AUDIO-VISUAL MANAGER: Ezra Harmon
  • HOTEL BOULDERADO AUDIO-VISUAL STAFF: Kyle
  • DAILY CAMERA NEWSPAPER
  • TOM SHADYAC: ACTIVIST FILMMAKER
  • SHADY ACRES ENTERTAINMENT COORDINATOR: Harold Mintz

& OUR FILMMAKERS, WRITERS, COMPOSERS, AUDIENCES & SUPPORTERS OVER THE YEARS!

STARFISH

*SHADYAC & EE

Tom Shadyac & Elizabeth English

We had a very welcome surprise visit from Hollywood film director Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Patch Adams), after the screening of his feature documentary film, “I Am”. He gave a fascinating & well-attended TOMversation Q&A to an enthusiastic audience, and generously participated in the productive networking & photo ops afterwards. Tom was honored to be presented with the coveted Moondance Calypso Award by Elizabeth.

ABOUT THE MOONDANCE CALYPSO AWARD: This award is to encourage a spirit of enterprise toward improving social issues, and in saving the environment, habitats and wildlife by dedicated and creative individuals from around the world. The award is presented annually to the person who expands knowledge of our world, seeks to improve the quality of all life on the planet, and actively contributes to the betterment of humankind.

STARFISH

ATTENTION MOONDANCE 2015 WINNERS  WHO WERE

NOT AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY:

Congratulations! If you won an award, but could not attend the event, and want to receive your Moondance Star Award, Award certificate, & a 2015 Moondance festival program, please use this option to pay only for postage to send it to you: AWARDS POSTAGE

AWARD STAR

USA ADDRESS POSTAGE: $10 • FOREIGN ADDRESS POSTAGE: $25

Order now; this offer expires on October 1, 2015!

Listing of 2015 Moondance film & film score winners, finalists & semi-finalists HERE

 Listing of 2015 Moondance written works winners, finalists & semi-finalists HERE

Laurels for 2015 Moondance winners, finalists & semi-finalists HERE

STARFISH

2015 AUDIENCE FAVORITE FILMS ANNOUNCED!

• SHORT NARRATIVE FILMS:

*SANDBOY

SANDBOY

*LAMBING SEASON

LAMBING SEASON

*RED EARTH CALLING

RED EARTH CALLING

• FEATURE DOCUMENTARY FILMS:

*BECOMING BULLETPROOF

BECOMING BULLETPROOF

*CIRCUS WTHOUT BORDERS

CIRCUS WITHOUT BORDERS

MUSIC VIDEO:

*INDIGO GRAY

INDIGO GRAY: THE PASSAGE

ANIMATION:

*THE DIVER

THE DIVER

• Audience Favorite winners: You can download a

2015 Moondance Audience Favorite Laurel HERE!

FILMMAKERS: Moondance International Film Festival is now an IMDb Qualifying Festival, granting all eligible film submissions (via Withoutabox), a fast-tracked title page on IMDb.com!

STARFISH

MOONDANCERS WRITE US!

• “Volunteering for your Moondance festival this year was a real treat! Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you provide all these creative minds.” ~ Katy Palmer

•  Thank you very much for holding that Festival and to stand by those values you promote with it. It is with people like you that we make the world a better place to live. Sur ce, je vous dis à bientôt!” ~ Simon-Gabriel Auger, Composer

• “We are so happy, excited, and mostly so grateful to you for hearing us and considering our request… And also for going above and beyond in helping us promote the film and its “second coming”!!! You are wonderful. That’s really great news, and we really feel like the trip is worth it.” ~ Neeti Fidurko, director, “Who Would Jesus Date?”

• “Thank you again for your incredible support of our short dance film, Red Earth Calling.  We thoroughly enjoyed being part of the 2015 Moondance International Film Festival.  You featured an interesting mix of high-quality works and provided a lovely forum for conversation and exchange.  Receiving two awards from the festival proved a wonderful end to our stay in Boulder.” ~ Jillian Harris

• “Congratulations on another successful Moondance Festival. My bag was packed and I was ready to attend, but nature being unpredictable, my beautiful daughter didn’t deliver her baby boy until September 9th. Nothing short of a first grandchild, though, could have kept me away! Next year, I plan on being there, early.” ~ Janice MacDonald, 2015 winner for “The Sock Opera” musical screenplay

STARFISH

MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS:

• MISSION OF MERMAIDS •

Ship’s figurehead, By Jan Reichard

     Ship’s figurehead, By Jan Reichard

What you can do every day to make a difference:

• Refuse single-use plastics. When you can, don’t accept plastic bags in supermarkets, shops or local markets, or at least re-use them. There are many practical, small cloth bags that you can now carry in your purse and unfold very easily to hold your purchases. Instead of plastic bottles for your juice, soft drinks or water, try to carry around a reusable bottle. There are plenty of attractive options.

• Be selective with your fish. There is plenty of information available about what species are endangered, which ones are enduring unnecessarily painful deaths (such as sharks for shark fin soup), and what fishing practices have a lethal impact on the ecosystem of the oceans (such as trawling). And there are restaurants, shops that are making sure that what they serve or provide as catch is done with more attention to the conservation of the ocean and its creatures. Read up this information and on the suppliers of your food. Consume with care. Don’t purchase coral or wild-caught fish for your home aquarium.

• Walk, bike, run. Find alternative means of transportation. Or alternate the days that you use the car. Your body will appreciate the effort as much as the environment. The extra carbon dioxide contributes to ocean acidification and global warming, which is a major threat to coral and the many creatures of the ocean.

Photo by Atmo, www.wildquest.com

         Photo by Atmo, www.wildquest.com

• Follow the 7 C’s of ocean conservation: Commit to making a real difference, Conserve in your home, Consume consciously, Communicate your interest and concerns, Challenge yourself daily, Connect to your community, Celebrate our beautiful and life-giving seas & oceans.

STARFISH

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

CLIPPER SHIP SEPIA TONE

“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide (French author, 1947 Nobel Prize for literature)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

doorknob

“When one door closes, another one opens. But we often look so long upon the closed door, that we do not see the one which has opened.” ~ Helen Keller

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ch. nautilus

“Apathy can only be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite, viable plan for carrying that ideal into practice.”
~Arnold Toynbee

STARFISH

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Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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Last Chance for the 2015 Moondance!

WHITE RABBIT-WATCH

Come join us to see the best of indie films from the US & around the world!

Moondance International Film Festival

September 7th & 8th, 2015

Beautiful Boulder, Colorado USA

The 2015 film program features several world premieres, a sneak preview, plus Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Patch Adams), Ed Asner, Susan Rockefeller, Julian Lennon, America’s Got Talent’s Hammerstep, and others! 

Film tickets are still only $10, souvenir logo T-shirts & totes are available,

& best of all: the entire festival is always welcoming, affordable & user-friendly!

EVENTS AT THE FILM FESTIVAL:

  • INDIE FILM SCREENINGS (documentaries, animation, music videos, feature & short films)
  • PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOP FOR FILMMAKERS & WRITERS (Titles & Loglines)
  • PRODUCTIVE NETORKING PARTIES & EVENTS
  • PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS WITH THE PROS
  • SPECIAL VIP CELEBRITY FILM
  • Q&As WITH THE FILM DIRECTORS
  • GALA AWARDS CEREMONY & RECEPTION!
  • COCKTAIL NETWORKING AFTER-PARTIES

~~~~~~~~~~ COME JOIN US FOR THE 16th ANNUAL MOONDANCE! ~~~~~~~~~~~

Boulder’s #1 & longest-running international film festival

Monday & Tuesday • September 7th & 8th

6:PM – midnight

Hotel Boulderado • Conference Area
Columbine & Alpine Theaters
2115 13th Street, Boulder, CO

In the RED HEART-very small of Boulder 

3 red tickets-small

~ Tickets are available at the venue box office during the event days & times. ~

TINY STARFISH  IMAGES FROM JUST SOME OF OUR GREAT 2015 FILMS:

2015montage

For more info:

MOONDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Check these links for 2015 festival info:

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

SCREENING SCHEDULE

FILMS DESCRIPTIONS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF SELECTED FILMS

SPECIAL FILM SCREENING EVENTS

COMPETITION RESULTS – FILM AND FILM SCORES

COMPETITION RESULTS – WRITTEN WORKS

2015 MOONDANCE LAURELS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS WORKSHOP

NETWORKING & AWARDS EVENTS

TRAVEL INFO

BOULDER LODGING INFORMATION

STARFISH

MOONDANCERS COME FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

Moondancers are part of an amazing worldwide community; a unique collaboration of multi-talented writers, film score composers, filmmakers and audiences. The Moondance mission is to entertain, inform, inspire, encourage and educate. We honor those artists who, through their creative work, actively increase awareness, provide multiple viewpoints, address complex social issues, and strengthen ties between international audiences At Moondance, you can come together with film audiences, filmmakers, writers, directors, producers, actors, agents, and composers to create new opportunities, develop tools for success and forge new alliances within the international film and entertainment industry.

In our continuing efforts to promote top-quality original filmmaking, writing and music composition by talented artists from around the world, the Moondance International Film Festival is very pleased to announce that our festival competitions have brought in great submissions, in all categories, from: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Republic, the UK & US, Venezuela, and more!

 PEOPLE LINED UP

“Within the global entertainment industry, film, television, stage and radio actors are the public representatives of all people, and should come in all genders, sizes, colors, ethnic backgrounds, ages, locations, abilities, and appearances; not just young, white, male, and physically attractive.” ~ EE

STARFISH

FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS WANTED!

CLARK LITTLE WAVE SMALLLet’s make a splash! 

You are cordially invited to volunteer to help out at the film festival!

All volunteers can earn free movie tickets for hours worked.

Contact Meghan at:

mailto:[email protected]

With “MIFF volunteer” in the subject line.

Another great way to make this film festival even more successful is to contact your social media, organizations, blog, website & mailing list/ colleagues right now about the upcoming Moondance event & strongly recommend that they attend, too! Let’s fill those theater seats!

STARFISH

MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS

~ FIRST IMPRESSIONS: ~

TITLES & LOGLINES WORKSHOP

Presented by Elizabeth English

Wednesday, September 9th

Noon-2:PM • Limited to 10 attendees

Hotel Boulderado • Corner Bar Loft

RED SHOES & YELLOW BRICK ROAD

“You’ve got 5 minutes; pitch me what you’ve got.” That’s what the entertainment industry producers, directors, actors & agents, the real movers & shakers, will tell you. But to get that first meeting or even a reply to your query letter, you need an interesting, attention-getting & unique title and logline for your script, story or film. Elizabeth has developed a sure-fire method for quickly finding that great, eye-catching title, and a sizzling short logline to go with it. You’ll end up with a great title & logline, and knowing how to “dress” your scripts, stories or films for that all-important first impression, and…success!

STARFISH

MORE HAPPY MOONDANCERS WRITE US:

• “I just wanted to drop you a short note of appreciation of your advice and kind responses to my piece, “Victor”.  I was really happy to make the semi-finalist list, thank you!!  I can only imagine how thrilled the finalists and ultimate winners were.  Thank you for putting on the competition, and in particular the helpful, personal and engaged response you gave me. There are plenty of discouragements in this process to overcome and continue overcoming, it goes with the territory, but the encouragement that you and your contest has given me, has been priceless.” Tony Heaver-Wren, Cayman Islands

• “There’s no doubt that the Moondance is an important and fun event. Wishing you all the success in the world!” ~ Janice Garden Macdonald, award-winning author & screenwriter, environmental conservationist, Canada

• “Thanks so much for recognizing my music video, I am Gone. It means so much to me to know that it will be seen and that the message came across. Congratulations to everyone who made your selections. Thanks for all the wonderful work you do!” ~ Andie Naar, USA

• “I’m a finalist in the Film Score category for the 2015 Moondance International Film Festival, for EP, The Aftermath of a Silent Storm.  I really want to thank you. I’m very excited at being finalist in the Film Score category at such a well-known film festival.” ~ Simon-Gabriel Auger, Canada

• “Set in the beautiful foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Moondance International Film Festival is a breath of fresh air – especially for those who feel their more soulful writings and productions are shunted aside by the mainstream festivals. Moondance awards not those films with the most car crashes and mayhem, but those with the courage to show nonviolent heroism and nurturing values. And they award the best screenplays, short stories, stageplays, scripts for TV episodes, children’s stories, and even music scores and libretti. It’s an opportunity to get the recognition and exposure you deserve.  In contrast to the more glitzy festivals that originate in the macho world of power and money, the Moondance festival reaches for that soul connection — people writing stories or making movies that make a difference.” ~ Arthur Kanegis, Baja California, Mexico / READ MORE:

Elizabeth English presents the 2004 Moondance Film Festival Screenplay Award to Arthur Kanegis

STARFISH

MOONDANCER NEWS:

• Sonya Lea, 2015 Moondance winner for her short film, Every Beautiful Thing, will be at a book-signing for her memoirs, Wondering Who You Are, in Seattle, September 11. Her book has also gotten an Editor’s Pick on Oprah! Sonya and the film’s composer, Trey Gunn, also a 2015 winner for his film score for Every Beautiful Thing, will be at Moondance for the film screening, their Q&A, and the networking parties, too.

• Our much-coveted Moondance Calypso Awards will be presented at the Moondance awards ceremony to dedicated &  long-time local environmental activists, Jim Morris & Leslie Glustrom. Jim Morris also creates our organic Moondance logo T-shirts & totes, annually, since 2000.

• About the Calypso Award (named after Jacques Cousteau’s ship): This award is to recognize, encourage & reward a spirit of enterprise in saving the environment, habitats and wildlife by dedicated and creative individuals from around the world. The award is presented annually to the person who expands knowledge of our world, seeks to improve our quality of all life on the planet, inspires others, and actively contributes to the betterment of humankind and the natural world.



• Finally revealed: Who is the artist who designed the Moondance Mermaid logo back in 1999, when the Moondance was founded? Answer: Our festival founder & executive director, Elizabeth English.

MIFF BW

Why a Mermaid logo?

STARFISH

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“Good intentions are, at least, the seeds of good actions; and everyone ought to sow them, and leave it to the soil and the seasons as to whether anyone gathers the harvest.” ~ William Temple

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3-1 RUSTY TRUCK IN FIELD

“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” ~ Sydney Harris

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BE THE GIRL ON THE RIGHT

STARFISH

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Please forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues!

Join our 8583 connections, to date, on LinkedIn.com

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

NEWS-BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog

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Moondance Film Festival: September 7th & 8th + Insider Tips for TV writers

HORSE STAMPEDE copy 2

~ Be sure you don’t miss this event! ~

Moondance International Film Festival

September 7th & 8th, 2015

Beautiful Boulder, Colorado USA

The annual Moondance international Film Festival event is where you can have the best opportunity to network with colleagues, audiences, filmmakers, writers, composers, distribution executives, talent agents, international film industry celebrities & execs, and to promote your project or film industry services!

Moondance provides a substantive and transformative alternative to all those sound bites, and the distortions spun out by the corporate media. Our films, written works and music reinforce our belief that for those talented artists, our film festival audiences, and for many of you, the annual Moondance International Film Festival & competition, with our mandate for integrity, the highest quality, and our important mission, is an essential part of a creative and progressive future.

EVENTS AT THE 2015 FILM FESTIVAL:

  • INDIE FILM SCREENINGS (documentaries, animation, music videos, feature & short films)
  • PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOP FOR FILMMAKERS & WRITERS (Titles & Logines)
  • PRODUCTIVE NETWORKING PARTIES & EVENTS
  • PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS WITH THE PROS
  • SPECIAL VIP CELEBRITY FILMS
  • Q&As WITH THE ATTENDING FILM DIRECTORS
  • POSSIBLE CELEBRITY APPEARANCE
  • AFTERPARTIES
  • GALA AWARDS CEREMONY & RECEPTION!
  • A SPECIAL SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE FESTIVAL FOUNDER

COME JOIN US TO CELEBRATE THE 16th ANNUAL MOONDANCE!

Boulder’s #1 International Film Festival
Monday & Tuesday • September 7th & 8th
6:PM – midnight
Hotel Boulderado • Conference Area
Columbine & Alpine Theaters
2115 13th Street, Boulder, CO
• In the RED HEART-SMALLER of Boulder •
3 red tickets-small

Tickets available online until September 5th, & at the venue box office during the event days & times.

MOONDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Check these links for 2015 festival info:

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

SCREENING SCHEDULE

FESTIVAL TICKET SALES

FILMS DESCRIPTIONS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF SELECTED FILMS

SPECIAL FILM SCREENING EVENTS

COMPETITION RESULTS – FILM AND FILM SCORES

COMPETITION RESULTS – WRITTEN WORKS

2015 MOONDANCE LAURELS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS WORKSHOP

NETWORKING & AWARDS EVENTS

TRAVEL INFO

BOULDER LODGING INFORMATION

STARFISH

FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS WANTED!

ELEPHANT IN CAR-SEPIA TONE

You are cordially invited to volunteer to help out at the film festival!

All volunteers can earn free regular movie tickets for hours worked.

Contact Meghan at:

mailto:[email protected]

With “MIFF volunteer” in the subject line.

STARFISH

A HAPPY MOONDANCER WRITES:

“Oh my goodness gracious, thank you so much! I’m over the Moon! (You must get that a lot, sorry, but I really am) This was the competition I most wanted to win because I love your ethos, beauty, and spirit of sincerity and joy. Thank you for selecting my script ‘Flappers’ as the only finalist in the TV Pilot category. I did a happy-1920s Flappers-Charleston-dance!” ~ Kristina Day, UK

HAND-CASTLE

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only by night.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe

STARFISH

MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

TITLES & LOGLINES WORKSHOP

Presented by Elizabeth English

Wednesday, September 9th

Noon-2:PM • Limited to 10 attendees

Hotel Boulderado • Corner Bar Loft

RED SHOES & YELLOW BRICK ROAD

“You’ve got 5 minutes; pitch me what you’ve got.” That’s what the entertainment industry producers, directors, actors & agents, the real movers & shakers, will tell you. But to get that first meeting or even a reply to your query letter, you need an interesting, attention-getting & unique title and logline for your script, story or film. Elizabeth has developed a sure-fire method for finding that great, eye-catching title, and a sizzling short logline to go with it. You’ll end up with a great title & logline, and knowing how to “dress” your scripts or films for that all-important first impression and success!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STORY POWER INKTIP MED.

Read these articles for insider tips on writing for television:

OLD RED TV SET

Shaping the Story for Television

&

InkTip Advice: Beat Sheets

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ezine box

STARFISH

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Picasso, "Fleurs"

Picasso, “Fleurs”

“All true communication, even between two people speaking the same language, requires translation. In the end, our hearts must hear what cannot be spoken.” ~ Takashi Matsuoka, author, “Cloud of Sparrows”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

howlin_wolf

Howlin’ Wolf

“When we let ourselves see only what we expect to see, we merely view the contents of our own minds, and miss what is truly before us.” ~ Takashi Matsuoka, author, “Cloud of Sparrows”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHINA-WINDING HIGHWAY

Tianmen Winding Highway, Hunan Province, China

“If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel only the worn paths of accepted success.” ~ John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAILING SHIP-HIGH SEAS

“Take a moment to ask yourself if you’re on track with you. Now is the time to take responsibility for your own life and to love yourself enough to take the action required. Take responsibility for what you are doing. You are the captain of your own ship. You can do it for you.” ~ Amy Lyndon, acting coach, The Lyndon Technique

STARFISH

MIFF WAVY FILM IMAGE BANNERPlease forward this news-blog to your creative artist colleagues! 

Please let other colleagues and friends know about Moondance, via your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Stage 32, and other social media accounts. 

 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

[email protected]

WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com

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