The talent of Greater Sudbury musicians and filmmakers will be showcased May 1 at the annual Music and Film in Motion (MFM) awards ceremony, which will take place at the Great Hall of Laurentian University. Tickets go on sale March 22.
The mandate of MFM — a Sudbury-based non-profit organization — is to help develop a vibrant music and film industry in all of northern Ontario.
Songwriters and storytellers from all over northern Ontario were nominated for 10 categories.
Dennis Landry,
MFM executive director
In addition to the awards evening, there will be three conferences with industry panels, including networking, and music and film showcases.
“We have added a day to the usual two-day format in order to provide opportunities for francophone and aboriginal youth to direct them towards career opportunities in music and film,” Landry said.
Sudbury jazz artist Sarah Craig has been nominated for best album by a solo artist. Her 2008 release, The Threshing Floor, was produced by local musician and teacher Paul Dunn, in Mission Studios in the Donovan area.
“I first met him when he came into my Grade 5 public school class in Dowling,” Craig said. “We reconnected at Northern Lights Festival Boréal about five years ago. We have been collaborating ever since.”
The album is a combination of Craig’s jazz and gospel with Dunn’s folk music, she said.
Craig has won two songwriting awards for the song Dig The Dirt from the Threshing Floor album, which she said was inspired by her experiences on Manitoulin Island.
Craig said the nomination is important to musicians like herself.
“The nomination creates a buzz about your albums that is impossible to create on your own,” Craig said.
She also said the fact that MFM deals with both music and film can create some cross industry connections.
“I was at an MFM panel on how to place your music in film and television. That has lead me to a possible video project this summer with Paul Stark. He is a filmmaker originally from Timmins but is now in Toronto. He was nominated for a filmmaking MFM award before.”
Craig said since both music and film industries in Canada are mainly based in Toronto, connecting to a filmmaker like Stark was a good way to get her music into other entertainment sectors.
Tickets for the awards ceremony are $15 for non-members and $10 for members in advance, and $15 for everyone at the door.
For more information, contact MFM at 674-9954 or e-mail communications@thinknorth.ca
Sudbury’s 2010 Awards Nominees
Best Album by a Solo Artist
Sarah Craig - The Threshing Floor
Faye Blais - Two Pieces
Best Album by a Duo or Group
Shift (formerly Konflit) - Shift
Best Songwriter
Faye Blais - Something’s Changed
Best Vocal Performance on a Recording
Faye Blais - Canvas, Something’s Changed
Larry Berrio - Rocktown
Best Engineer
Billy Bruhmuller, Dave Jeffrey
Best Film & Best Director & Best Film Editor
Ben Bruhmuller - Vs.
Best Cinematography
Greg Tremblay - The Doomzday Jezuz
