I made up for my lack of reading time this month.
Clearly.
I did not catch that I had documented ‘The Art of Gathering’ until I realized I captured it twice.
It’s a lovely cover nonetheless.

Shadow & Light | Tsh Oxenreider

Preparing for Christmas in a mindful way has always been important to me. This book celebrating Advent provides a reading for every day leading up to Christmas along with music and art suggestions for a true and meditative Christmas journey. Tsh also provides a few alternative ways to use this book. Be you traditional or in need of something to prompt you into the tradition of Christmas, this book has made our December evenings all the more meaningful.

The Nutcracker | E.T.A. Hoffman

I had forgotten that I had read The Nutcracker a handful of years back, but this book gives us as a family the ability to read aloud this beautiful story with all its magical and traditional Russian / German story.

All About Feelings | Felicity Brooks & Frankie Allen

This book has been in our home for a few years, but recently I re-read it and am so moved with how it was put together to give children the tools through language the nuances of feelings and how to identify with them.

At Home in Mitford | Jan Karon

Revisiting this book as a comfort read during Autumn and the heaviness that the pandemic has brought. I am enjoying living inside the town of Mitford and all its characters.

The Arrival | Shaun Tan

A surprising find of a graphic novel. No words, yet many illustrations fill the page to create a unique and moving story. I have a feeling that the interpretation and meaning behind the book is dependant on what the ‘reader’ brings to it.

Stories that Stick | Kindra Hall

Although this was an interesting and on-brand topic for me, I was left feeling like I could have had more. Understandably this was from the business perspective of how a story can elevate one’s business message and what one is selling.
This all seemed very primal and obvious to me. I am sure there are entrepreneurs and others in business who would find this enlightening.

The Art of Gathering | Priya Parker

Another slightly disappointing read. It could be due to hearing Priya Parker interviewed on various podcasts before I read her book. I resonated with what she had said in these interviews in regards to creating an atmosphere for gathering either virtual or in person.
It could also be due to the concept that this book was written pre-COVID-19, and thus, its message gets lost at times.

Clanlands | Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish

I wasn’t amazed by Sam and Grahams account on their journey through Scotland for their TV docu-series ‘Men in Kiltz’. I adored the series and did find a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes amusing, but I would say, the series is just as good, if not better. Looking forward to season 2. Always a fan of Scotland and those that are involved in creating Outlander.

FILMS/TV SERIES TO WATCH

Selling Sunset S02,03,04 - because other people’s drama is my kind of drama. & the houses !!!
Modern Love S02 - There should be more anthology series in the world. This has me crying with the sentiment.
Annie - Because this is the version of Annie I fell in love with and ADORE.
Succession S03 - Because media mogul families exist and there is something alluring about seeing how all this shakes out in the next generation.
Nine Perfect Strangers - A mysterious take on what healing can look like…in all its forms.

I think it's safe to say that Women Making Waves 2020 was a banner conference weekend. Not only was it a particular anniversary year, but it was also the last weekend we would all be gathering like that for a long, long while. For many of us, it was our last social event of the 2020 year.

It only made sense that we would want to recreate some of that connection, opportunities and space for our 2021 conference but the 'how' during the restrictions was a huge question.

I also think it's safe to say that the committee and forces that made Women Making Waves 2021 happen are forces.

Not only was the conference still happening and all over various webinar platforms, but it was one of the most accessible events yet.

Highlights for me:

Using the Medium of Film as a Tool for Activism with Elena Rossini and Donna Davies.

Elana's passion and compassion for others are evident not just in her documentary The Illusionist but also in her presence, conversation, and how she articulates her approach with her work.

What do Script Suprivisors Do Anyway?

As a writer, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Daniela Saioni's methods of madness to keep continuity and intention behind a story in the front of her work and methods as a script supervisor. She also had many antidotes as a writer herself that made me fully enthused about taking notes the whole time.

Nothing About Us Without Us Understanding What With Us Truly Means

Kay Douglas, Sarah Podemski, Nathalie Younglai, and Lindsey Addawoo were absolutely on fire with their grace, insight, depth, and honesty. They managed to create a space where they honoured each other in the process of their sharing. These are women blew me away with their ability to sink into each other and the topics discussed.

My Take-Aways

• Work to create the space for others outside of yourself. When you think you've done that, create even more space. There's always more room to grow and discern what voices you are missing at the table.

• The message behind who you are and the work you are doing matters. It can have other outlets that come from its one main form.

• Appreciate each other.

• Embrace your methods of madness in work.

• Don't be a jerk when giving feedback. Be appreciative of the work it took to create and think deeply about what this creator may need to be asked to bring it to its next best level of itself.

• Sometimes there are technical difficulties, but we're all doing our best to show up, muddle through, learn and create something along the way.

Somehow, somewhere, at some point we are apt to find ourselves believing that in order to do what we feel intrinsically called to do (especially those called into creative industries) we must sell our whole selves to an industry in order to be taken seriously.

To be a writer, one must be churning out manuscripts, scripts, poems and plays like machines.
To be an actor one must be in every topical show, series, performance that the current society is raving about on twitter.
To be a visual artist, one must have a booming social media account full of Lucious images that gain a million likes within seconds of posting.

Somehow we have found that this means ‘success’ and that this is what we need to do in order to be validated in our work, our life and our ultimate existence on this earth.

It’s all a lie.

All of it.

If you write, you are a writer.

If you act, you are an actor.

If you make visual art, you are a visual artist.

How much or how little is irrelevant.

How many people know your name is a selfish and silly game the creative industries and society have taught us to believe equals our self worth.

What matters?

How much of yourself is in the work you do?
How are you showing up for your work, not just in the moments you do it, but also the moments you don’t?
How do you cultivate and create space for those that consume, collaborate and support the work?
How do you honour your own rhythm and pacing?
How are you living not just within the work, but outside the work?

Everything informs everything.

Martin Short is known to have this idea that he is only the sum of his total whole self. If he has nine sections of his life, and one aspect of his life isn’t doing the hottest at any given moment then the rest of those parts, no matter how seemingly important or unimportant are all part of the balance to remind oneself, being successful at one part of life, but terrible at the other parts does not mean success. But to find ways to honour varying aspects of oneself, is to approach life and work as a whole person.

Creatives like to think they are the best or the worst depending on the day.

I’d like to see more of us believe that we are just like each other.

Human beings answering a calling as best they can while working to be there for their friends, family, side projects, personal growth and everything inbetween.

We are more than our awards, subscribers, honourable mentions, our nominations and our successes, or lack thereof.

We are people.
Living.
Breathing.
Thinking.
Reflecting.
Working.
people.

Devon Pennick-Reilly

Filmmaker & Creative Arts Facilitator

Devon can be found studying at NASCAD University, working with a group called Art Bikers which brings free art programs to underserved communities, while also staying open to where her creativity takes her.

Devon loves seeing what art can do and is passionate about creating and being a part of collaborative projects that bring each person’s talents and skills together in ways akin to a colourful mosaic.

She also happens to carry a beautiful openness with her that creates space for others and truly listens to others and the world around her.

MORE DEVON

Website:

https://devonpennickreilly.weebly.com/?fbclid=IwAR2TxAacxkamvF4XhSVvjJ3RzMkkKioZJaK0cD_tH3I3OTZT9cgI9NHhlEM

Women in Film and Television Atlantic is a chapter of the international ‘WIFT’ that is found all around the world.

Here, in the maritimes, ours started in 2009.

WIFT-AT is coming to it’s ten year anniversary of the Making Waves Conference which is a yearly conference that brings in women in the screen based industry from far and wide to give workshops, panels and encourage growth and solidarity for women in the Atlantic provinces.

There are some exciting changes coming this new year for WIFT-AT

and although we haven’t had a chance share them all, they will be rolling themselves out in the next few months.

As a new board member I am still learning exactly how I fit into the organization and am starting to see where those places are, which is exciting and re-affirming for me.

Currently, I am writing and creating monthly article ideas for the Tidings the newsletter and aiding the communications committee with their outcomes.

I am so excited and honoured to see where this first year on the board will bring us to.

Tidings Articles from the past few months:

Interview with Martha Cooley

FIN Fast Facts

Interview with Claire Fraser

New member Profile: Marie David

Heading into the screening of our Brilliansea Documentary: ‘Her Business Our Story Your Calling’

Having ‘Her Business Our Story Your Calling’ accepted into the FIN ‘Atlantic International Film Festival’ was an honour. I am so proud to have had the opportunity to work with Claire Fraser on this short documentary and work towards creating it into a feature.

Although I have written and produced theatrical plays, written and collaborated on various screen pieces, this is my first screening of a produced work of film.

The Festival was packed with various opportunities and events as a film maker to enjoy and be inspired by. The opening film Murmur was a perfect way to celebrate locally made films and various colleges. Murmur is a perfect example that quality is better than quantity. It had a quiet confidence about itself and was made with excellence.

I found the Mussel Bar reception hosted by WIFT-AT a time of solidarity and connections with my peers. I am looking forward to seeing more of them both at events and also by design.

FIN gave me the opportunity to see my local film and television community on a broader scale, find solidarity and get inspired for what can be possible.

Onward I go…

The Secret Garden

A classic on all accounts.  There is a beauty in this version that comes out in the cinematography and music.  It transcends the medium and get's into your soul. 

The Importance of Being Earnest

The introduction to this film was given to me by a close family friend who is no longer with us.  The memory of her knowing that I would find this film exceedingly funny and enjoyable is one I like to revisit.  A classic Oscar Wild this is full of humour and complex story lines.  A lighthearted mood.

Father of the Bride II

A longstanding favourite in my family, Father of the Bride II has the same quality as the first film with an added double pregnancy to the mix.  Steve Martin and Martin Short are the best as a duo.  I could watch these characters for days.

Virgina's Run

Filmed in Nova Scotia it's hard not to love this movie.  With it's beautiful embracing of our coastal weather in it's cinamatography to it's beautiful choices in music, this film follows a young girl who wants to overcome her own personal pain and put it into her passion for riding horses, while still keeping her family happy.  If you you're a Nova Scotian by birth like me or never been, this film will make you fall in love with this place.  

Girls

When I watched the first episode I thought I wouldn't watch it anymore.  There was something gritty and too revealing about this show.  It was uncomfortable.  I was put off and annoyed.  I thought, I'll watch episode 2 and then leave it.  That's when I got it.  These 'girls' were me.  Different, sure.  But they were my age, asking the same questions and trying to find their place while mostly failing at it, and sometimes succeeding.  For me Girls was a banner show where I realized the lines can truly blur on how much you related to a character and how much impact characters can have on your life as you watch them grow and evolve.  I and my best friend grew along with Girls and when Season 6 ended and the show was done, it was bitter sweet, but I will ALWAYS remember those spring days watching or re watching girls in our pyjamas because the day just seemed too much to handle.  Girls took us from girls to Women.  

Secret Garden

My favourite Korean Drama.  A classic Freaky Friday moment occurs between a young man and a young woman who can't stand each other.  Something about each other not only intrigues them but they are now stuck together in order to find a way to switch back to their bodies.  It's a simple concept put into a love story that just has all the spring vibes and feels.  

Other Spring Films & Television

Thoroughly Modern Millie - Throwback 1920's musical in New York.
The Catch - Only two season of cat & mouse lovers with a light hearted tone.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The rise of the feminist character
Tuck Everlasting - Whimsical, bright, light and love ache.
Bambi - Animated with nature in mind.