VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA: SNEAK PEEKS

I've been over my head getting back to work after Cannes, Nice and Venice, so forgive today's lazy post. Here are random sneak peeks of upcoming places and people to get us back into the swing of the travelogue of Vietnam and Cambodia . (You can see Saigon and Dalat in previous posts. :))

Below, variously, are sample shots from Nha Trang, Hoi An, Halong Bay and Siem Reep -- with much much more to follow in future posts. (Hanoi, Hue, Elephant Mountain, Cloudy Mountain and Danang are absent from the mix. They'll be coming, not to worry, but not just yet.:))

Enjoy!



















Hope these have tempted you to come back. :)

LIFE ABOVE ALL (CHANDA'S SECRETS): OFFICIAL PRODUCTION STILLS

Well, a lazy post today. Here are official production stills from LIFE ABOVE ALL, based on my novel CHANDA'S SECRETS. If you're interested in seeing the reviews or trailer, or shots from Cannes, just scroll back a few posts! :)

Tomorrow I promise to return to our tour of Vietnam and Cambodia which got interrupted what with all the excitement of last week. After that, a tour of Nice and Venice!

PIX FROM CANNES!

Well I'm back from Cannes via Nice and Venice and am still on a cloud. Here's some pix of my time there, including the red carpet, the onstage bow, the standing ovation, pandemonium outside, meeting Roger Ebert, and our young star putting everything in perspective! (For newcomers, this is about the premiere of LIFE, ABOVE ALL, the film adaptation of my nobel CHANDA'S SECRETS published by Annick Press.)

First I gotta say that Cannes is pretty chic. (Although these shots don't quite capture how frenetic it is around the Palais where Official Selections are screened.) The pix are from balconies inside the Palais that I accessed thanks to my magic badge which opened the most amazing doors.





First we were taken for official photographs. Left to right, the women: Harriet Manamela (Mrs. Tafa), our star Khomotso Manyake (Chanda) and Lerato Mvelase (Mama). the men: Greg Buckle (S.A. producer), Oliver Stoltz (German producer) me, Dennis Foon (good friend and screenwriter) and Oliver Schmitz (director)...



Then up the red carpet...



Then paraded on stage for a pre-screening bow...



After the film, pandemonium. A standing ovation...



Things got a little teary at the ten minute mark...



Outside, more pandemonium...



Meeting Roger Ebert, a major fan. Wow!...



At a chi-chi lunch with the team...



Dennis and I catch a breather by the Cannes poster...



At the team dinner dinner that night, thirteen-year-old Khomotso put everything in perspective...

WATCH THE TRAILER FOR 'LIFE ABOVE ALL'

Watch the trailer for LIFE ABOVE ALL on the Cannes Film Festival's official website HERE!

TEN MINUTE STANDING OVATION FOLLOWING 'LIFE ABOVE ALL' SCREENING AT CANNES!

LIFE ABOVE ALL, the film adaptation of my novel CHANDA'S SECRETS, has received a ten minute standing ovation and a rave from Roger Ebert!

Roger Ebert's Blog: Of emotion and its absence

The Daily Maverick: Applause, emotion and Life Above All

From CBC News: Canadian filmmakers bask in the warm glow of Cannes

The Globe & Mail: 'This could have been a big Canadian film at Cannes'

Miss N-tertainment: Life Above All in Cannes

National Post: How a Canadian's book on HIV made it to the Cannes filmfest

So much more to say but will blog at length later. Gotta run or I'll miss my plane to Venice!

A bientot,

Allan

CHICAGO: MAYOR DALEY'S BOOK CLUB

Sorry to take time away from the Vietnam/Cambodia tour, but hey, I've had kind of a busy weekend I thought you'd like to know about -- namely a trip to Chicago and then off to Cannes!

First off, I flew down to Chicago, Friday -- like you couldn't tell from the photo of The Bean -- where I was put up at the Marriott Hotel to be keynote speaker to 1,500 fans of my novel CHANDA'S WARS. It was on Mayor Daley's Book Club that goes all across the Chicago school board -- the third largest in America. An honour and a thrill.

I love Chicago -- especially Millennium Park. More Bean please...







...the Gehry amphitheater...





... and that totally cool glass block statue with the changing faces of locals who spit jets of water out of their mouths. (In the heat of the summer, kids run through the water jets squealing with laughter.)






But more than anything, I love public speaking. I'm great with people if either (a) they're a small group of friends, or (b) if I'm on a stage in front of a crowd. I mean what's the big deal in talking to a few hundred fans? It's fun. But put me in a cocktail party and in five seconds I want to bolt. Honestly, who invented cocktail parties? -- "Minglers" where total strangers breathe cheap wine and brie in each others faces and talk about the weather. CHEQUE PLEASE! Getting through one of those suckers sober is a total drag!

BUT ANYWAY, MAYOR DALEY'S BOOK CLUB WAS FANTASTIC!. 1,500 STUDENTS WHO HAD READ MY BOOK AND WERE DEVOTING A SATURDAY MORNING TO THE BOOK CLUB EVENT. AUTHOR HEAVEN! And meeting Mayor Daley was terrific too. what he's done to beautify Chicago is truly amazing.

I also love Chicago's architecture, the cityscapes, street life...









And the cool public art. "Me see buildings. Yum."



After the event -- Saturday --I flew back to Toronto and packed for Cannes where LIFE, ABOVE ALL, the film adaptation of my novel CHANDA'S SECRETS, is premiering on the 18th. Daniel and I flew out yesterday -- Sunday -- so today we're either arrived or en route, heading from Rome to Nice and then a shuttle to the film festival. Then after that a few days in Venice to research my next book, and then home where I'll tell you all about it!

If you want to see some cool photos before I get back, I've pre-scheduled a post for May 20 of random shots of new stuff from Vietnam and Cambodia, to give you a taste of where I'll be taking you after Cannes and Venice. I think you'll especially like a preview of Angor Watt... :)

A bientot,

Allan

FINAL CHANDA'S SECRETS FILM POST -- THEN ON TO ARGENTINA!

A few last memories before heading home, then off again to blog about Argentina and Cuba!

The shot above is of some of the extras getting ready for the last scene outside Chanda's front door. Extras are always a problem for continuity and editing. Generally speaking they're amateurs and have little sense that a short scene can take a day toi film. Or that it MATTERS that they be in exactly the same position for each take. See the woman in the blue hat? At various times, she decided it was too hot to keep her hat on! Fortunately, the ace continuity editor had an eagle eye and digital shots of every take. Before "Cameras Rolling And Action" she'd sweep in to ensure that the hat was back in place.

More memories. Of the outdoor market, a farm, and a flowers that grew out of an unturned tree:







And here's me getting an interview from a TV crew in from Berlin. I was on set during press week and there were TV, radio and print reporters flying in each day from Germany and up from Johannesburg. Some actually wanted to talk to the author of the book. I also got to do a really fun interview for the DVD Extras section. So even if I'm not up on the screen, you can hear me blabbing on on the rental. :)



I'm including this shot just because :)



Finally, here's a shot from down the road, and also of a couple of kids' toys I saw hanging from a clothesline.





But wait! I still haven't told the true story of the missionaries and the hyenas! So next post, back to the bush for a quickie before we head home! AND OFF RIGHT AWAY AGAIN TO CUBA AND ARGENTINA!!!

Till then,

Allan

UPDATE: The film adaptation of CHANDA'S SECRETS is called LIFE, ABOVE ALL and will premiere as an Official Selection at the 2010 Cannes International Film Festival.