Unpacking a Suitcase of Travel Shoot Souvenirs

While the experience was undeniably incredible, I'm currently feeling a bit overstimulated and numb from this last month of travel shoots around Europe. It really was the adventure of a lifetime. A lot of this content won't surface until 2023 now, but I'm enjoying rediscovering all of the random bits and pieces I've brought home as I unpack and reorganize. 

Here are a few early highlights.

1. Kitschy French singles from a Parisian thrift shop.

2. Various pieces of the Berlin Wall.

3. A mini bar's worth of different Scotch from Scotland.

4. Belgian comicbook souvenirs - with an emphasis on finds from Tintin and Lucky Luke.

5. Retro inspired merch from Euro Disney's 30th anniversary - now known as Disneyland Paris.

6. A handcrafted "willy warmer" from Amsterdam ... for dressy occasions.

These were clearly all must haves in the moment lol.

Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral in London, United Kingdom

With a series of travel shoots across Europe organized and scheduled months in advance, I can't say that I expected our arrival in London, England to coincidentally line up with the passing and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. From the memorials and crowds to the media coverage and profound focus that such a singular event manifested, our visit to London unexpectedly provided a front row seat to a defining moment in British history.  

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning monarch in British history and celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 marking 70 years of service. Her funeral was held at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19, 2022. She was 96 years old.

 

Post-Production Extended on Monarch Documentary

In an alternate timeline I'd be celebrating the completion of "Your Cinema Needs You", my latest feature length documentary, this one about the Monarch Theatre in Medicine Hat, Alberta. In production since the beginning of 2022, the project entered post-production this summer and had originally been scheduled for completion by the end of August. Well, that didn't happen.

Overall, early reception to teasers, previews, and behind the scenes images from the documentary have all been well received throughout production and there's no question that a lot of progress on this story has been made over the last few months. While nothing has gone wrong per se, it just became clear in early assembly that there was a lot more material to go through and distill than was feasible within the existing timeline - particularly because as it turned out I'd amassed enough material from this 110+ year history to make a mini-series.

The newly revised timeline will still see the documentary completed this year, but there's still a lot to do and a lot of uncertainty about what may actually happen to the Monarch Theatre in this time. Everyone is still being pretty hush-hush about what may "officially" happen to this old cinema. That said, as things continue to be refined and take shape I'm only getting more excited to reveal the incredible amount of effort that's gone into producing this story. 

"Your Cinema Needs You" is going to be amazing! With any luck we'll be able to debut it at the Monarch Theatre upon its completion. Please stay tuned for further updates.