Nyon Film Festival 2009
Jared Bloch
In “C’est Notre Histoire,” the filmmaker Frank Wimart retraces the trajectory of his absentee father’s life, beginning from the younger Wimart’s 30th year to the moment his father, Jean-Pierre literally sailed away from the family 25 years before. As Wimart unwravels his father’s convoluted past, he begins to discover if not to understand, the injuries that plagued Jean-Pierre and made him capable of abandoning his wife and young child.
Nyon Film Festival 2009
Jared Bloch
Sergiy Bukovsky’s, “The Living,” is a 75 minute indictment of the methodological impoverishment and starvation imposed on Ukrainian “kulaks” by the Soviet State in the 1930′s.
The film presents a chronological accounting, via diplomatic letters, of the excruciatingly purposeful suffering inflicted on Ukranian peasants, in the form of farm collectivization.
"I'm afraid to remember those times". Photo courtesy of Visions du Réel Film Festival
The anger and sadness in the faces of those who lived through this tragedy is almost unbearable to look at as they describe in minute detail their ordeal. “I’m afraid to think about, let alone remember those times,” one interviewee tells the camera.
Ed. note: We’ve now moved this post to Jonell Galloway’s food blog on GenevaLunch, “The Rambing Epicure.” You’ll find this and much more on buying, cooking, eating at home and dining out from our food expert! Be sure to visit soon.
from Bruno Giussani’s blog, Lunch over IP
LiftAsia08: an Dubno knows a cool gadget when he sees one; Sarah Marquis has walked across the Australian desert solo; Philippa Martin-King talks about energy
(Running notes from LiftAsia08, in Jeju, Korea. I’m moderating this session, so only partial blogging.)
Dan Dubno — technologist, broadcaster, producer, conference host (the invitation-only Gadgetoff), blogger (Gizmorama), pioneer in the use of graphic and visualization tools on television, and more — is Mr Gadget. He is the opening speaker of the sustainable development session which, sponsored by WattWatt, is becoming a permanent feature of the Lift conferences. So Dan talks also about (and shows) “green” gadgets — although, he says, clearly no gadget is really sustainable.
Suzy:
“We are the first band opening the Paleo. Obviously, this is all wrong, it’s like having dessert before dinner, the orgasm before sex, but anyway, we say good morning to you paleo, ARE YOU READY?!”
"Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl. With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there."
Photos: Sarah Minchin. Reproduced with permission
This Barry Manilow song covered by Kylie Minogue at the start of her concert at the Geneva Arena on Friday night could have applied to Kylie herself.
She is a showgirl through and through. Not only did she appear with feathers in her hair, but corsages and wigs, various hats, thigh-length boots, elegant evening dresses, cute short-shorts, geisha dress, and many other outfits, all with gravity defying shoes. This evening was about fabulous costumes and fun.
If you are in the non-seated area, the Geneva Arena is a good place to see bands close up and personal. In many other major city arenas, Kylie would have been a speck in the distance. As it was, this small but perfectly formed venue is ideal for a small but perfectly formed artist such as Kylie. Addressing the audience in perfect French she won the crowd over in the first few minutes and then went on to give her all.
Minogue is a consummate performer, a seasoned trouper and gave the audience exactly what they wanted, dancing, audience participation, and singing most of her hits, in a great show.
If concerts could be judged on excellent value for money then this was one of them. A 20 member stage act (including band and dancers) for a CHF79 ticket, in a show lasting well over two hours, worked out at approximately 65 centimes a minute. A bargain.
Lots of technical wizardry and spectacle included Minogue being lowered on to the stage atop a giant shiny skull. The grand finale resulted in thousands of gold streamers being released into the audience, and the train back into central Geneva after the concert was full of smiling, happy fans, the sign of a very good night out. Showgirl supreme indeed.
(This article is reprinted with permission from the GWIT web site.)
Be open to opportunities, ask for what you want, build up your contacts and find a mentor – that
Xing, Twitter, Second Life: are you on top of it? If not, come along to an event in Geneva that will put Web 2.0 into perspective.
The event is organized by the newly revived Switzerland chapter of the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) and is designed to demystify the world of social media for those working in communications. It