The Voice and the Lens

The Blue Hippo project is still underway, it's starting to snowball and gather some momentum now which is very exciting! Blue Hippo's current LAST SHOP STANDING has also generated national and international screenings and acclaim! To find a screening near you, check out this nifty little map on their website: http://lastshopstanding.com/screenings/

I'm also currently working on a project for an exhibition to be held at the IKON Gallery (Birmingham) next month. The exhibition, titled The Voice and the Lens, will be exhibited from 8th-12th November and the programme can be found at: http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk/programme/current/event/710/launch_screenings_and_performa/

I am working with a member of choir - Ex Cathedra, to discover the jewels and treasures of performance work. What is so special about singing and why are choirs great to be involved with? I have had great fun filming and following our subject and understanding the years of hard work involved with fulfilling such a passion. You don't have to be a professional to enjoy the benefits and highs of singing.

This project is now in it's edit and soon to be available to watch online after the gallery screening.

What's On?

So I've spent a lot of time conducting some research for my recent project with Blue Hippo Media. We're working on creating a series of short films with the Mashriq Challenge Resource Centre (Birmingham) who deal with Asian women of ethnic minorities who have suffered from an unstable emotional well being. This centre brings the women together to befriend, unite and support them in their life's challenges. We are also working in correspondence with the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. These films will address and highlight the causes, issues and the consequences of what some women have gone through. They will evoke an awareness with how these issues are culturally perceived.

At the moment I'm looking at a broad range of films and works from movements dedicated to helping oppressed women around the globe (Half The Sky, Apne Aap) to television shows who address and get involved (Satyamev Jayate, Mann Ki Baat) and feature films (Provoked, A Beautiful Mind.) 

I have also been looking at short films like Touretters Haiku which I was most impressed with (bottom link) documentaries (Tulisa, Stephen Fry) and even some literature (The Yellow Wallpaper.) We decided to look at absolutely everything and anything so that when we have found a writer, we should be able to easily pick out themes and develop our plot from there on.

I've also been asked to attend the BCU Student Awards (The Trevor Awards 2012) this year to present the Blue Hippo Award to a film student (the award which I won last year!) This is a little nerve-racking as I've never been too great in front of an audience and in honesty I feel like I've only managed to achieve so much within the last year. It's certainly all been snail paced!

Alongside this I've been applying for many jobs, trying to decide which path I should venture down now and also planning on updated the good old www.amritpalsembhi.com which needs to have buckets of photos, videos and information pumped into it!!

Last Shop Standing

I'm currently working with Blue Hippo Media and they are producing a documentary about the decline of Independent Record Stores in the UK. Their campaign is at http://www.indiegogo.com/Last-Shop-Standing-Documentary-phase-2 and here you can donate towards the project and claim great perks... which gets your name on the film!

Blue Valentine

I watched Blue Valentine last night with my sisters. Great film - about the realities of what actually happens to particular couples after they go into marriage thinking its a fairytale, the wearing out of connections and how it becomes ok to disregard each others' feelings. It was very realistic - I felt like I was really looking into the characters (Dean and Cindy) life..
I'm still trying to depict how: but throughout this film there remained an uneasy atmosphere. As if something big was about to happen. Something extreme was to occur - blowing everything out of context, but this wasn't resolved as I would have wanted it to be. The entire film was centred around these two people so much that I started to feel claustrophobic myself. Perhaps this is because Derek Cianfrance wanted the audience to relate to it as much as they could, seeing the two different points in their lives and how it was so clearly and predictably mapped out (I can think of many who fit this right now!) It is a plotline which is done a lot, however these actors work well together and the soundtrack, I admit, was charming. Overall an enjoyable film - but a tad too cheesy, would have liked to see a glimpse of their future self in the early days.

My Facebook page & Website (admittedly of which I need to be using some more!)

www.facebook.com/pages/Amritpal-Sembhi-Filmmaker/223974837645039

www.amritpalsembhi.com

Hope it is of some interest :)

New Showreel

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R8l_ZJllpU