Pixie Cram directs musicians in a scene from The Factory of Light

"I am not a political filmmaker, but Iraq was in my mind when I began thinking of the film in 2003," says Cram, whose indie films have been shown at festivals as far flung as Kansas and Kaliningrad, Russia. Her new film recently had its premiere in Montreal, where she attended Concordia University, and will play to the home crowd this Friday at Club SAW.

Shot in Ottawa last summer, the 30-minute film is a poetic yet disturbingly realistic exploration of a modern and empty city as seen through the eyes of children, principally a young girl (Julie Baribeau). There are the sounds of a war raging nearby, but it as much a state of mind as an actual conflict. Dialogue is purposefully minimal and sometimes stilted, but a sense of foreboding is created by a superb original soundtrack by Montreal musician John Wrinch Williams.

An occasional songwriter herself, Cram believes in mixing film with live performance, and the Ottawa premiere will be accompanied by onstage musicians playing the soundtrack.

After the screening, there will be a performance by Montreal rock band Flotilla. They've had raves for their first album, Disaster Poetry, an eclectic, harp-driven, pop-orchestral record recorded by Ottawa's Dave Draves. As well as doing a stop-animation music video for Flotilla, Cram has created film and video projections for the band's live show.

The Factory of Light
Friday, May 11, 8 p.m., $10
Club SAW









 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

Onto Empty Cities     I am glad that films of the foreboding are hitting the screen, too many of us are living in bubbles thinking that the squalor in southern Asia will never hit the big cities here. Hospitals are already overcrowding, staff is more and more discontent in many job places because benefits have been erased and homes are less available to certain income groups. All this is happening while wars are going on and the earth is being permanently scarred for the sake of condo highrise developing, strip mining and fish depletions. The sadness this film represents is not far from a possible reality. And I am thinking of those wanting fresh air for their kids...
Martin Dansky	{2 votes}	June 17th, 2007
Filmmakers' Response     I want to thank T.S. Warren for reviewing my film. As a local filmmaker, it is an invaluable thing to be given press coverage for my work. I would like to comment on the article's byline: The Factory of Light refracts a dark future. Sadly, the image of an empty city does not belong only to the future, but is a common theme in our time. When the film was in production last summer, cities were being evacuated in the Middle East, and this continues to be the case today. Here in Canada, we hear about it in the newspapers, over the radio and the TV.
Pixie Cram	{1 vote}	May 21st, 2007
Film Review 101/Pixie Cram's Factory of Light hits the SAW! Pixie Cram's Factory of Light hits the SAW! Pixie Cram's Factory of Light hits the SAW!     Ok, ok, not exactly my cup of tea but it doesn't sound half bad. At 10 bucks you're pretty much guaranteeing yourself something original and different from the norm. I've seen major studio productions for free that weren't shit so maybe this one surprise a few people. Hey, I'm just saying...
Pedro Eggers	{4 votes}	May 11th, 2007

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