Monday, May 5, 2014

Web Fest Kicks Off At Imperial In Vancouver

WITH SPARKLING lounge, state-of-the-art sound, cushy seats and a red carpet, it was a pleasure to view some of the top web series from around the globe on Saturday.

The international festival was held at the Imperial on Main Street in Vancouver’s eastside. The décor in this recently rejuvenated multi-purpose facility reflected its Asian roots.

When Kung Fu movies were the rage in the early 70s they were shown at what was then called the Golden Harvest Cinema.

Since then, the theatre (located near Vancouver's historic Chinatown) gained increased functionality along with its new name.

This was the perfect venue for a new generation of storytellers developing content innovatively through webisodes. A large screen showed off their selected works with elegant flair.

Modern technology and video streaming opened the door to a community of independent artists, producers and directors.

Although creative pioneers can now use digital palettes to help the process bloom, age-old challenges all moviemakers have faced still exist. Topics of financing and marketing were included during a question period after the screenings. The background screen (photo below) showed some sponsors of the festival.

This was mostly a laugh-filled Saturday since comedies were the focus during my visit to the inaugural event. Outside it was raining and a more dramatic performance was going on.

A man took off his shirt and tried to start a confrontation near where I parked the car at Main & East Hastings. Thankfully, no Kung Fu kicks ensued because the larger men did their best to ignore the man who eventually settled down.

Similar scenes possibly happen regularly in this small corner of the city where the neglected past struggles to transition into a more hopeful future.

Personal stories that make you laugh or cry can be discovered anywhere. They are great fodder and inspiration for the movies.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

To see more sights from around the globe visit Our World at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

13 comments:

  1. All very interesting, reading and photos. Glad the altercation settled down. It's always a bit disconcerting to come across these things. Fortunately very rarely.

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  2. Glad the altercation ended. Not a great part of Vancouver to be in, but interesting read on event you attended.

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  3. Sounds like a perfect day at the cinema.

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  4. Interesting post. Glad there wasn't any violence.

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  5. Fascinating and great shots of event for OWT ~ xoxo

    artmusedog and carol, (A Creative Harbor)

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  6. I'm glad good sense overtook tempers. You were brave to take a photo.

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  7. So they are small short movies for the web? This sounds so intriguing...I'm going to look into it.

    I'm so glad that the altercation is over, scary to be involved in something like that.

    Jen

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  8. Life on and off the screen.

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  9. Someone said you were brave to take the photo and that is what occurred to me as well. I have so often wanted to record intense situations like that but have never had the courage. You caught a moment in time that, as you said, is probably repeated along a similar theme quite often in that part of town. The Imperial looks so very luxurious and that vase is gorgeous. Thanks for telling us about Web Fest. I've never seen one but will keep an eye out for next time :)

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  10. I'm glad the "personal story" didn't ruin your day!

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  11. I might have been brave had I tried to intervene … but I was at a comfortable distance from the action. :)

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  12. It must have been a nice way to spend a rainy day at the cinema and to laugh away daily stress. I haven’t seen such a dramatic scene on the streets so far but especially the life with my grandchildren or my elderly ailing mother make stories that make my smile or cry on daily basis. Wish you and your family continue to weave a heartwarming story.

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  13. Interesting juxtaposition! A real life scene unfolding outside as people watched movies inside. Strange to think how I could watch something like that on the screen, but would hurry away quickly in real life. I would have enjoyed the comedies a lot tho ..that's my kind of viewing! A neat event for your City,

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